Carolinas Fishing Forecast: Lake Norman producing well; coast on lookout for bluefin arrivals
For anglers undaunted by rainy weather, the next few days look promising for trying out fishing tackle they might receive for Christmas.
Lakes Norman and Wateree appear to be the top freshwater locations. The best coastal reports are from Croatan Sound near Manteo, the Morehead City area and Charleston.
The catch during recent days includes a 113-inch bluefin tuna boated off Southport, the largest of that species ever reported from Brunswick County waters. Also, a N.C. record blue catfish weighing 105 pounds was caught at Lake Gaston.
Lake Norman: Good for a mix of largemouth and spotted bass on shakey-head artificial worms and jigs cast to boat docks. Good for crappie 20-30 feet deep around bridge pilings on minnows. Good for white perch in schools 20-40 feet down on earthworms, minnows and small spoons. Fair for catfish on cut baits fished 5-50 feet deep.
Lake Wylie: Very good for blue catfish 35-55 feet deep on cut baits drift-fished at the mouths of major creeks. Good for crappie around brush 20-30 feet deep, mainly on minnows.
Mountain Island Lake: Good for crappie on minnows around cover 20-25 feet down. Good for blue catfish on cut baits.
Cane Creek Park: Little activity.
Yadkin/Pee Dee River lakes: Very good for crappie and white perch at Badin and Tillery. Fair at the others – High Rock, Tuckertown and Blewett Falls.
Lakes James, Rhodhiss, Hickory, Lookout: Good for smallmouth bass at James on spoons trolled in and near the canal connecting the Catawba and Linville arms. Smallmouth at James also are taking shiners around the points. Little activity at Hickory and Rhodhiss, but the anglers trying are scoring fair catches of crappie. Good for striped bass on large shiners at Lake Lookout.
Fontana Lake: Little activity, but the anglers who have fished in recent days have caught a mix of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass on soft plastic lures, crankbaits and shiners cast to points.
Lake Wateree: Good to excellent for stripers in the 5- to 10-pound range on shiners drift-fished or trolled under planer boards at the mouths of creeks. Good for crappie 20-30 feet deep around bridge pilings and brush.
Lake Murray: Good for blue catfish on cut herring and shad drift-fished 25-55 feet down. Fair to good from the mid-lake area up to the river mouths on live baits either free-lined or worked on down lines. Within the rivers, cut bait is working best. Some striper schooling on the surface has been reported.
Lake Thurmond: Very good for crappie, especially in the Little River arm. The fish are suspended 15-20 feet deep over brush that is 30-35 feet down.
Santee Cooper lakes: Fair for largemouth 3-5 feet deep around tree bases and grass beds on artificial worms and Rattletrap plugs.
Lake Keowee: Good for largemouth and spotted bass on drop shot rigs and jigging spoons fished 30-60 feet deep over channels, ledges and points.
Lake Jocassee: Fair for largemouth and smallmouth on a variety of lures cast to creek mouths and points.
Lake Hartwell: Good for stripers and hybrids lake-wide. The fish generally are being found 15-20 feet deep and several methods are working for catching them – trolling umbrella rigs, free-lining live bait and anchoring to cast out cut baits.
Outer Banks: Nags Head area: A few gray trout and whiting at Jeannette’s Pier. Oregon Inlet area: Good to excellent in Croatan Sound for limits of striped bass in the 10-pound range. Little activity offshore, but the watch is on for the arrival of bluefin tuna schools. Hatteras Island: Little activity offshore because of foul sea conditions, but parties that fished as the weather improved Monday caught limits of king mackerel up to 40 pounds. Scattered puppy drum and whiting in the surf at Avon. Ocracoke Island: Little activity. Morehead City area: Very good for false albacore along the beaches. Good for gray trout at the near-shore artificial reefs and the Cape Lookout jetties. Big whiting at the Dead Tree Hole and in Beaufort Inlet. Plentiful speckled trout in the backwaters, but very few of keeper size. Increased bluefin tuna action expected when colder weather arrives.
Southeastern N.C. Coast: A 98-inch bluefin tuna boated offshore of Ocean Isle and several others hooked and lost. Very good just offshore for black seabass. Good for trout in the backwaters.
S.C. Coast: Little River area: Very good for speckled trout up to 6 pounds on live shrimp. In late afternoon the trout are striking surface lures like the Top Pup MirroLure. Grand Strand area: Speckled trout at the Georgetown Jetties, in Bulls Bay, Mud Bay and at Cape Romain on Rapala SW-08 lures and live shrimp under popping corks. Reds on the flats and around jetties. Little activity offshore.
Charleston area: What locals term a “fantastic inshore speckled trout bite” continues. They are hitting live shrimp, ZMan Slim Swimz and DOA Shrimp lures around shell rakes. Excellent for sheepshead around jetties, bridge pilings and other hard structure on fiddler crabs and shrimp. Good for wahoo offshore when sea conditions a favorable. Beaufort area: Good for reds in the backwaters either sight-casting lures to schools on the mud flats are working live shrimp under a popping cork.
This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Carolinas Fishing Forecast: Lake Norman producing well; coast on lookout for bluefin arrivals."