Lake Norman
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Lake Norman Fishing Reports
Stay up to date with the latest fishing reports from Lake Norman. Reports are submitted by local anglers, fishing guides, and our team of fishing experts.
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- Species
Spotted BassTechniqueHard Body SwimbaitsSeasonSummerStructureOpen Water/BasinFound schools of spots feeding on top and threw everything I could think of and finally they bit the chad shad
SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueHard JerkbaitsSeasonSummerStructureRip RapCloudy summer morning fishing a rip rap where deep water is close by. These fish would feed against the rip rap early summer mornings and move out deep as it get hotter in the day. This rip rap drops down to about 15ft of water. I was throwing a megabass vision 110 jerkbait on a st croix mojo bass spinning 7’1 mh with a stradic 4000. I chose the pro blue color because the water was pretty clear. In clear water, you want more natural and translucent colors. I was throwing this on 15lb braid with 12lb mono leader. On Jerkbaits, I also like using a snap swivel for easy color change and gives bait better action. I was mainly casting perpendicular to the rip rap to catch most of my fish. I would say when fishing rip rap, they best way is to fast along the rip rap perpendicularly. These bass were destroying the jerkbait on fast twitches.
- SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueVertical Jigging Deep (20'+)SeasonSummerStructureRiver Channels
The water temps are now into the upper 80’s and fishing conditions have gotten tough. However, schools of spotted bass can be found along the main river channel but they are going to be suspended over deep water just above the thermocline. Once found they can be caught with several baitfish presentations as: try dropping down to them and twitching a soft plastic jerk bait in a very transparent color, or suspending a dropshot at their depth, or counting down the sink of a smimbait and slow rolling it through the school. Also an umbrella rig is an excellent choice. They’re some schools mixed in with hybrid striped bass so the bite could get interesting for those who seek after the hybrids. Catfish are feeding heavy right now along points and humps especially if you locate some muscle beds you can bet the blue cats will be there feeding on them so throw some kind of live bait rig near bottom for them. But please remember to make yourself and others to stay hydrated while out in these humid hot summer conditions, it will be the determining factor for a good day on the water!
Omnia Community MemberBronze AmbassadorSpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueFootball JigsSeasonSummerStructureDocks15 to 20 foot deep
- SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueDrop ShotSeasonSummerStructureDocks
Best shallow bite still remains in the early morning hours or at night. Topwater or a fluke then. As the fish transition deeper, dropshot produces quantity with a few 2-2.5 pound class fish mixed in.
- SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueSoft Body Swimbaits (Small/Medium)SeasonSummerStructureDocks
Tough bite for 4days... Been a hot summer. Night time is a good way to beat the heat.
SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueHard Topwater (Walking)SeasonSummerStructureBaitfishToday I went to a place where there’s a bit of discharge. This discharge creates some current which is key to shad and active fish. This area is fairly deep so the shad likes to run in there even in the summer because of the current. Today I saw schoolie size spotted bass chasing tiny shad on topwater so I threw a super spook jr. This bait is pretty heavy so I could make really long cast from the bank to reach areas they were chasing. Most of my bites today were when I casted to the spots where they just jumped. Not many bites just blind casting. I was throwing this super spook jr on my megabass orochi enforcer with a stradic 4000. I had 15lb braid to 12lb mono leader and I used a snap to allow the spook to walk easier. Although I didn’t catch any big ones today, I caught a decent amount on topwater which is always exciting.
SpeciesSpotted BassTechniqueDrop ShotSeasonSummerStructureDocksSwimbaits..jackhammer,n a bigass magdtaft.
