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Weather just right to catch stripers
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Published: April 30, 2009
The month of May gives anglers an opportunity to catch a wide variety of fish without the chilly winds of early spring. Fish also seem to enjoy the warmer weather. Most days they cooperate by striking at everything. Fishermen should have little difficulty catching a limit of bass or stripers. Incidental catches of white perch, catfish and bream will add to the stringer. Expect fish to be feeding close to shore and relatively easy to find.
Stripers, the king of Lake Norman's fish, prefer water temperatures in the 60s and 70s — typical for May. Schools will be cruising Reed, Mountain, Hicks and other large creek arms. Daylight and dusk are the best times to fish. Pull baits over clay shorelines and long points. At mid-day, stripers rest in deeper water, but can still be caught along the edges of creek channels.
Largemouth and spotted bass will hit about anything that swims. For largemouths, cast near dock pilings, boat ramps, rock piles, "blow-down's" and submerged brush. Small artificial baits that resemble threadfin shad, attract lots of bites. Preferred colors are, gray, silver, crayfish and chartreuse. Spots tend to bunch together and stay somewhat off shore. Some are easily tempted with jigging spoons and shaky heads, along drop offs and underwater humps.
Catfshing improves with rising temperatures. Boat docks are prime locations. Small cats are especially attracted to worms, shrimp and prepared stink baits. Large cats like fresh filet strips of perch, bream, shad or herring. (The small ones have difficulty removing fish strips, which gives the larger fish time to find the bait.) When fishing is slow, try a small live bream or a large goldfish.
Large schools of white perch will locate in cove openings and along drop offs throughout the month.
Perch stay in the same general area for extended periods of time, so expect large catches. Best baits to use are small minnows, shad, cut fish, Sabiki rigs and jigging spoons. White perch are excellent table fare and are not regulated by size or creel limits.
Upcoming Events:
On Saturday, May 2, Light House Marine Services will offer a Boater Safety and PWC Class. Registration fee is $49 for the eight-hour session beginning at 9 a.m. The class will be held at Gander Mountain, Exit 36, in Mooresville. To register, or for more information, call Capt. Scott Spivey – 704-587-0325 or visit www.Lmservice.org.
A two hour class offered by Lighthouse Marine Services on "How to Safely Navigate Lake Norman" will be conducted at Gander Mountain, Exit 36 at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 21. Capt's Scott Spivey and I will discuss how to safely navigate Lake Norman's main channel, creek arms, danger spots, and back coves during daylight and at night. Other topics will include understanding navigation and shoal markers, boat ramps, marinas, restaurants and other points of interest. The registration fee for this class is $25. To register, call 704-587-0325 or email uscgc17@bellsouth.org.
"How to Use Sonar/GPS to Catch More Fish" — Thursday, May 28. A free 90-minute power point seminar on "How to Use Sonar/GPS to Catch More Fish" is scheduled for 6:30 p.m, at Gander Mountain, Exit 36, Mooresville. Capt. Gus Gustafson will lead the informative session. Additional information is available by calling 704-658-0822.
Tips from Capt. Gus!
Bass like live baits. When your favorite lures are not catching fish, try minnows, shad and herring.
The Hot Spots of the week are the back of coves where bass, perch and stripers are feeding on bait fish. At times, fish are surface feeding, but most of the activity is below the surface. Spoons, spinner baits, and live baits have been quite effective. Warming water temperatures have blue and flathead catfish hitting prepared and fresh cut bait.The lake level is 2.0' from full pond and rising. Water surface temperature is in the 60s.
Visit Capt. Gus Gustafson's Web site at www.fishingwithgus.com, e-mail him at Gus@lakenorman.com or call 704-617-6812.
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