LAKE NORMAN

[Striperjim]

Yes, Lake Norman's striped bass population is growing at a faster rate. Growth rate is what anglers fishing in the 20th Annual Lake Norman Spring Classic were buzzing about.

The top 15 fish weighed in excess of 6 pounds this year. That compares favorably with last year's event, when only the top three stripers eclipsed the 6-pound mark. The big fish this year weighed 16.58 pounds, caught by Ken Tucker of Lincolnton and Billy Talbert of Sherrills Ford. The duo took home a beautiful first-place trophy and $2,500 in prize money.

Fishermen credit the increased stocking of forage fish for the improved striper growth rates. Prior to the introduction of herring, it took three or more years for a striper to reach the legal size of 20 inches. Today, many fish are achieving this minimum length requirement by the second year of growth.

Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures Inc. is an outdoor columnist and a full-time professional striper fishing guide on Lake Norman.

[CaptainMorgan!]

4,300 12-inch sterile carp were deposited in Work Creek, southeast of Stutts Marina near Mooresville. Another shipment of 1,700 carp is expected Tuesday. The carp stocking is an attempt to stop the spread of the chockingg hydrilla grass. The Adopt a Carp program is a way for residents to contribute, too. To join Adopt a Carp, visit the commission's Web site at http://marinecommission.com/
Stripers are now gravitating from Lake Norman's shallows to the mouths of creeks. They will stage in areas where secondary creeks intersect larger creeks. When water conditions are favorable, they will begin the final leg of their journey to summer haunts in deep water.

This seasonal migration has been hastened in recent days by water temperatures in the mid-70s.

Anglers fishing the main lake are finding fish suspended 10 to 20 feet above humps and underwater islands. Deep points that drop rapidly into creek channels prove to be particularly productive after the sun has risen well above the horizon.

Upriver, fish are still being caught from Lookout Shoals Dam south to the railroad bridge. Most upriver action occurs with running current. Live baits -- herring and shad -- continue to out-perform artificial lures.

Reed Creek. A mixed bag of stripers, catfish and largemouth bass are being taken. Best results are from the areas south and west of Marker D10. The lake level has been at 98 feet, down 2 feet from full pond. The water surface temperature is in the mid-70s. Striper fishing has been good.

[CaptainMorgan!]

LAKE NORMAN: Striped bass on Stretch 25, Redfin, Yozuri lures trolled on lead core line.

[CaptainMorgan!]

Charlotte Observer
LAKE NORMAN STRIPER FISHING | GUS GUSTAFSON


Annual release of fingerlings a success

Sites: N.C. 150 Bridge, Lake Norman Motel, New Stutts Marina


The N.C. Wildlife Commission delivered its 2004 allocation of striper fingerlings to Lake Norman on June 8. The 162,500 fish were about 1 1/4 inches long and weighed a total of about 137 pounds.

The fingerlings were released in equal amounts at the N.C. 150 Bridge, Lake Norman Motel off Mountain Creek and at New Stutts Marina along Reed Creek.

The 6-week-old juvenile stripers appeared to be healthy and adjusted quickly to their new surroundings. The only challenge during the stocking was that three domesticated ducks had to be prodded away at the Lake Norman Motel. The trio of white ducks tried to make a meal of the fingerlings.

Barry Midgett of the N.C. Wildlife Commission said about 10 percent of the fish released will survive to grow to the legal minimum size of 20 inches. Depending on water conditions, the surviving fish will achieve legal size in 2 1/2 to three years.

During that period, they will be prey to other fish and to birds and unscrupulous fishermen. Disease, pollution and extreme water conditions will also take their toll on the class of 2004.

Striped bass have to be stocked in most Southern impoundments because there is not enough water flow to allow the fertilized eggs to free-float during incubation. On Lake Norman, as in most lakes, the eggs will settle to the bottom, where they become bruised or suffocate and do not hatch.

In South Carolina, the rivers that flow south from Columbia provide enough movement for stripers to reproduce naturally.

Hot Spot of the Week

The upriver section of Lake Norman. When the current is running, stripers, largemouth and catfish are actively feeding above the Buffalo Shoals Road bridge. Live bait is preferred, but small bucktails, roadrunners and flukes have also been productive. Down-lake, night fishing around bridges and lighted docks is producing a mixed bag of stripers, bass, perch and crappie. Anglers trolling deep-diving lures in daylight report varying results. Stripers are suspended at water depths of 20 feet to 40 feet. The lake level has been at 98 feet, or down 2 feet from full pond. The water surface temperature has been in the low- to mid-80s. Striper fishing has been fair recently.

Tips from Gus

If you find it difficult to keep bait alive this summer, try fishing with either "fresh dead" whole pieces of bait or with cut bait. Stripers and catfish have a keen sense of smell and will eat dead baits most days.

When using dead bait, slash the body with a knife to allow the odor of the bait to permeate the water. Give the fish a variety of choices by hooking a head section on one rod or either a tail piece or a whole bait on another.

When cut-bait fishing, you can let the boat drift, or you can anchor it. Double-anchor to prevent lines from drifting together and tangling.


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Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures Inc. is an outdoor columnist and a full-time professional striper fishing guide on Lake Norman. Visit his Web site, Striper Fishing' With Gus!, at http://www.lakenormanstriperfishing.com call (704)489-0763 or e-mail him at [email protected].

Gus is also a stripers247.com member / Backcountry

[CaptainMorgan!]

LAKE NORMAN STRIPER FISHING | GUS GUSTAFSON

It's time to bundle up, grab your gear, head for the water
Follow diving birds and be rewarded with strong tugs and tasty meals
Avid fishermen agree that December is a prime month to striper fish on Lake Norman.

Fishing this month is for the hearty, so dress warmly and bring plenty of hot coffee.
Those casting for stripers will often be rewarded with strong tugs and tasty meals. Water temperatures in the 50s cause stripers to expend a lot of energy and to feed aggressively throughout the day.

Those conditions likely are why large numbers of anglers fish during the holidays. Great fishing, and a chance to try out new Christmas fishing presents, make striper fishing even more fun.

Stripers can be found roaming the lake almost anywhere this month. Locations change with each pod of bait as it moves constantly to escape the fury of a striped bass.

This time of year, some prefer to fish the sheltered backwaters of major creeks. These areas not only provide anglers with shelter from the winter winds, but are ideal places for stripers to corral and feed upon hapless herds of shad and herring.

Mountain, Stumpy and Hicks Creeks have a proven track record of limit stringers of fish. Should cold weather arrive early, the hot water discharge chutes of the Marshall Steam Plant and the nuclear station at Lake Norman's lower end will see large concentrations of stripers and other species of fish.

The best gift for finding stripers is free. It doesn't come wrapped in a box, and it is available to all who choose to use it. Flocks of terns and gulls spend the winter diving and feeding on Lake Norman's shad and herring. Their presence, particularly when vigorously hitting the water's surface, indicates that stripers are feeding.

The feeding frenzy area should be fished thoroughly, even after the diving subsides. Limits can be caught in a few casts, when the shore birds locate the feeding fish for you.

Lake Norman fishermen who search for diving birds are known as bird chasers. They scan the sky from afar with a pair of high-powered binoculars. An experienced bird chaser can see diving birds from several miles away.

Once birds are located, the fishermen hustle to the spot and cast to the fray from long distances with light to medium tackle. Bucktails, jigging spoons, Rattle-L-Traps and Striper Swipers -- the original top water striper bait -- are used at various times.

When surface feeding subsides, fish usually head to the bottom, where they can still be lured to bite spoons and jigs.

Remember that even though birds have quit diving, it doesn't mean they have ended their feeding binge. Most likely, they are getting their fill below the boat and can be detected on the fish finder. Monitor it continuously. Should the screen's image resemble a bowl of spaghetti or a fireworks display, quickly drop baits to the depth of the feeding activity and hold on.

Thanks for reading Striper Fishin' With Gus! in 2004. Happy Holidays!
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Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures Inc. is an outdoor columnist and a full-time professional striper fishing guide on Lake Norman. Visit his Web site, Striper Fishing' With Gus!, at http://www.lakenormanstriperfishing.com call (704)489-0763 or e-mail him at [email protected].

Gus is also a stripers247.com member / Backcountry

[CaptainMorgan!]

LAKE NORMAN: Striped bass, gradually moving into coves fed by major creeks, on golden trout. Stumpy Creek arm has been especially productive. Some stripers, white perch, white bass, spotted bass in McGuire Nuclear Station hot hole

[CaptainMorgan!]

Elvert Neal (top), Anthony Webster (left) and Jeff Webb (right)
All of Statesville, holding fish caught on a recent guide trip with Gus Gustafson on Lake Norman.

Striper Fishin' With Gus!

December 19, 2004

Winter striper fishing has shifted to high gear with morning temperatures frequently below freezing. It is amazing how cool water temperatures stimulate the appetite of a striped bass. Good to excellent catches are being reported from both ends of Lake Norman. Anglers pulling live baits behind planer boards are taking fish in all major creek arms. The morning bite is still preferred over midday and evening feeding periods.

In a very active school of feeding stripers, Von Herbert and Lou Mintzer, both of Mooresville, recently limited out in a matter of a few minutes. At one point, all six lines, baited with big shiners, went down at t he same time. The fish were reported to be healthy and between twenty and twenty-three inches in length. Lou capped the stack with a twenty-pound three-ounce blue catfish. The big skin head was fooled by a half-dead rainbow trout dangling in the water at the boat dock.

On a different trip, Jeff Webb and fishing buddies Anthony Webster and Elvert Neal of Statesville, N.C. caught a mixed bag of stripers, bass and white perch off creek points in water twenty five to forty feet deep. Anthony used a deep jigging spoon and at one point caught ten in a row. Elvert and Jeff joined the fun and snatched fish off the bottom with white and chartreuse jigging spoons.


Tips from Gus!

I heard this one while eating breakfast one morning at Stacey's Restaurant in Denver, NC. The pain from the sting of a catfish can be relieved by rubbing the slime of the catfish on the wound. Check with your doctor before trying this remedy.

This year's most wanted items on the striper fishermen's Christmas gift list include a global positioning system (GPS), depth/fish finder, electric knife, cast net, bait tank, Gore-Tex jacket/bib, a guided fishing trip and last but not least, a thirty pound striper tugging on his line.

Happy Holidays!

See ya out there!

For hardy anglers, January is sublime
It's a time for good fishing, and for big tournaments
The first week of the new year has historically been one of the better weeks of the winter season for striper fishing.

If the weather is moderate, fish will appear in popular haunts, including the hot spots on favorite river and creek runs.

Should water temperatures fall into the mid- to high-40s, expect to find fish in the discharge chutes of Lake Norman's Marshall Steam Plant and the Nuclear Power Station. January is for hardy anglers who dress appropriately.

Early morning anglers should look for diving birds at sunrise. Terns and gulls signal the presence of stripers feeding below the surface. Exercise caution when approaching the fray, as fish scatter when frightened by the noise of a boat. Casting spoons or bucktails to surface feeding fish should produce immediate strikes.

Once surface feeding action slows, switch to using shad, herring or trout for bait. Savvy anglers use live baits pulled from planner boards towed slowly behind the boat.

Boards come in various sizes and colors and are designed to spread baits to either side of the boat. The larger swath made by pulling the boards allows an angler to cover up to three times more water. Lines can be fished with or without weights.

Most action occurs early or late in the hot hole areas, but fish can be found throughout the day. The hot holes are a favorite location for spotted and largemouth bass. Hot water stripers tend to be smaller than those found in open water. They are lured to the discharge by the warm water and by millions of small forage fish.

Ice flies, crappie jigs, small spoons and bucktails are popular artificial baits. Drifting live baits also produce good results. People can fish without a boat, since bank fishing is permitted at both hot hole areas.

If history repeats itself, Ramsey, Mountain and Stumpy creeks will see a large number of fishermen throughout the month. Anglers can expect to catch stripers 20 to 24 inches in length, with an occasional fish of more than 6 pounds.

Should the creeks become crowded, plenty of open water fishing is available. Lake Norman is the state's largest impoundment, with 32,000 acres of surface water.

January is an important month for Lake Norman tournament fishermen. One of the biggest tournaments of the year is hosted annually by the Lake Norman Striper Swipers. This year's event will be on Jan. 15 at a site to be determined.

Past winter Invitational Tournaments have drawn as many as 100 boats, with anglers from all over the Southeast. Proceeds will support the programs that benefit Lake Norman's striper fishery. More information about this long-running event is available at www.lnssfishn.com/ .

A Striped Bass Fishing Seminar will be conducted at Bass Pro Shops in Concord Mills Mall in Concord on Jan. 18. The two-hour program, beginning at 6:30 p.m., is free. I and fellow Lake Norman striper fishing guide Craig Price will demonstrate methods used to catch stripers on area lakes and rivers. Sessions will include ways to effectively use electronics, how to throw a cast net and how to rig live and artificial baits.

See ya out there!

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Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures Inc. is a full-time professional striper fishing guide on Lake Norman. Visit his site, Striper Fishin' With Gus!, at www.lakenormanstriperfishing.com , call (704)489-0763; or e-mail him at [email protected].

Gus is also a member here / backcountry

informational credits to the Charlotte Observer.
http://www.charlotte.com/

[CaptainMorgan!]

LAKE NORMAN: Striped bass, 30-35 feet deep, moving to mouths of major creek arms, on golden trout, shad, large shiners, alewives. Also on bucktails, other lures cast to jumps when fish feeding on surface. Largemouth along shoreline, especially at rip-rap, on crankbaits.

[CaptainMorgan!]

Heat-stressed striped bass in Lake Norman might get a reprieve beginning next summer.

Many stripers now caught and released might avoid what amounts to a likely death if the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission in March adopts a proposed regulation.

The regulation would allow anglers to keep stripers smaller than the lake's minimum length of 20 inches, up to the daily creel limit of four fish.

The proposal, put forward by the Norman Fishery Alliance and the Striper Swipers fishing club, would spare anglers from having to release undersized fish from June 1-September 30.

The Norman Fishery Alliance and the Striper Swipers fishing club suggested the proposal as a way to cut down on the deaths of released fish. Warm water temperatures stress out striped bass, genetically an ocean fish.

"We feel the 17, 18, 19-inch fish are being caught and released and are going to die," said Gus Gustafson, Striper Swipers president and fishing guide. "We would urge people to catch four fish and stop ...(striper) fishing go catfishing, go largemouth bass fishing, go perch fishing," he said.

On Thursday, at the District 6 hearing at South Stanly High on 2005-2006 proposed fishing, hunting and trapping regulations, no one spoke against the proposal. The district covers the Mecklenburg County side of the lake.

Staff biologists support removing the summertime size limit, said Christian Waters, Piedmont fisheries research coordinator. "We certainly know summer mortality is high," Waters said after the hearing. "We think (the proposal) could have a positive impact."

[Striperjim]

Gus tells me that the NCWRC has agreed to the revised creel lmits for Lake Norman.
Great work from Gus and the StriperSwipers club out of Lake Norman North Carolina.

[Striperjim]

Lake norman striper swipers

[team red eye]

sat. am around 5 something big group of stripes pushed some bait up on my partner an i when we were driften for cats got 3 boated before they went down . just a little slow tieen atop water on. but it will not be long now (tight lines everone) i'm back

[team red eye]

heres a 4 fish creel noral on LN (DRAG BAITS LIFE SHORT FISH HARD)

[samIam]

Thanks for the report and pics,red eye,keep em coming.I hope to soon be able to post reports from a little downstream of you,lake wateree.Do you live bait for them or use artificals ? sam

[team red eye]

most the time i'm draging bait flat lines an 4 water bug boards thinging about comen down stream some more this year tight lines to all (life short fish hard)