Ranger Boats of Lake Norman: Cut Banks and Soft Baits in Summer

This post contains some great advice on fishing the steep cut banks of Lake Norman and Mountain Island lakes!



Ranger Boats of Lake Norman: Cut Banks and Soft Baits in Summer: Pick Spots Based on Current Conditions The water temperatures have dropped to the low to mid-eighties thanks to the cooler weather ...

The Lake Norman Fishing Report - June

It is one of those times of the year that I look forward to - the chance of frost is long past, but the nights can still get cool, and the days of May and June are often more than comfortable - they are, some of them, very nearly perfect.

What could be better than experiencing the miracle of nature, and what better way to do it than fishing? Thoreau said:

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after"

but I think that Thoreau underestimated the average angler - hunters and fishermen appreciate the natural world, most of them, with a deep and residing respect. Most of them are the last to litter, and the first to pick up the litter from others.

Lake Norman near Marker 3, just south of Governor's Island (or as us old timers call it, Goats Island!)

No Matter what Thoreau had in mind, though, one of the things we ARE after is fish, and the fishing has been pretty good on Lake Norman this spring. The water is now ranging from between 78 to 81 degrees as the fine month of June rolls in. Soft baits are working well, and Spring time is always great for crank baits – this striper, which John Thompson caught while towing a rattle crank off of a shoal was a great catch, right at the end of the day when the sunset above was taken.

Oddly enough, that was it for that day – we got not a bite after that, even with live minnows. A few mornings later they were a bit more active, but in the spring time, after the spawn they are liable to be all over the place; I was catching some at 13 – 15 feet of water, like this guy:

Who hit a work which I had allowed to sink straight down at the end of this dock – when I went to pull it off the bottom, the fish was already on my line. The technique has worked for me often enough that I try to let at least one worm sink straight down at the end of every dock I pass, and this spring has been no exception.

The bass are also holding shallow, though – perhaps trying to catch little guys like this!

This largemouth hit my softbait several times, and this one is a lesson in persistence. I could tell it was a decent sized fish, and when you don’t hook a fish it does not always spook them. He hit the worm I was using twice, and tore the back half of the worm off; I then switched to a shad rap crank bait, and this time he hit it and did not get away; at least, not until I took a few photos and threw him back in. He was perched in very shallow water, right where the dock joined the land.

Don’t let these beautiful days of spring pass you by – get out there, and whether you catch fish or not, enjoy your friends, and the amazing beauty of the place that we live in!

The First Mystery Tackle Box Review!

I signed up for Mystery Tackle Box last month, and got my first shipment right on schedule – it consisted of the Dahlberg Diver Frog from River2Sea, a green Culprit Spinnerbait, a set of 5” BioSpawn ExoSticks in deep blue, a set of KVD Fat Baby Finesse Worms by StrikeKing, the Raptor Tail Chunk Craws from Xcite Baits, and a 2 pack of VMC 7316 Wide Gap Hooks in 5/0 (all of the items are pictured except the hooks).

The plastics come in small sample packs (usually 2 – 4 baits), and there is always one or two nice crank baits or other another more expensive lure. This month the premium bait was the Dalhberg Diver Frog, one of the nicest frog baits I have seen or fished. The lip is clear plastic and serves double duty, propelling the frog underwater; it also acts as a weed guard for the hook, and unlike many frog baits this one has legs. The legs are made of a nice, supple soft plastic and are replaceable – there is an extra set with each lure.

As seen in this lure, the legs can achieve a very neat action, actually looking like they are propelling the frog with a steady crank – twitch action from the rod. With the rod tip up, the lip makes a bit of a splash; with the rod tip down or submerged the frog dives under the water. The website says it doves down to 30”, but it did not look like it was going quite that deep on the style of retrieve I was using the first time out.

Unfortunately, I did not catch any fish on this outing but I did try out all the baits. The next up was the Strike King Perfect Plastic KVD Fat Baby Finesse work. I rigged this worm in a hybrid manner, sticking it on a weighted swimbait hook. The paddle tail provided excellent swimming action, but you do have to hook a substantial amount at the front of the worm to get it to slide over the hook weight without tearing the worm.

I tried rigging the Raptor Tail Chunk Craw a couple of different ways, but my favorite was putting it on a weedless shaky head jig. A nice, soft pump and retrieve action , bouncing it along the bottom looked great, especially since the claws are ridged and formulated to make them float.

The BioSpawn Bait, the ExoStick in blue, was another of my favorites from this month’s Mystery Tackle Box – I used the VMC hooks and rigged this bait Carolina style with a ¼ ounce weight. It looked great on the fall, as well as being pulled through the water with a variable speed retrieve, and as a jerkbait with a quick, pumping retrieve. The color was excellent in the shallow murky waters of some of the coves pictured below, and the rubber was supple but very durable, unlike the StrikeKing KVD bait, which would probably need to be replaced every fish or two (not that that is a bad thing).  

The Culprit is a classic spinner bait, 2 bladed with a bright green skirt – these are versatile baits, can be fished shallow with a steady retrieve, or worked like a jig, allowed to fall and then bounced along the bottom; they are also excellent thrown at the base of bushes and worked around shallow cover like the fence and the logs.

I will be covering all these lures in greater detail in future posts – it is my goal to catch a fish on each one. Last year I was concentrating on improving my soft bait game; my short term goal for this June is to catch a fish on the new Diving Frog, and to work with the included soft baits. The value for lures is there; even though with careful local shopping you can buy as many or more lures for the same money as the Mystery Tackle Box, one of the big draws is exposure to baits you would not normally see, especially (for me) soft baits.

Lake Norman on a Fine May Morning

I catch these views whether or not I catch fish - and it makes it all worthwhile!

The other think I really like about the Mystery Tackle Box set-up is the emails I have been receiving; they are a good mix of fun emails and very informative articles based on hard science, like the article seen here about whether the color of lures really matters. Color is not that important, but the rule of using lighter colored lures in clear water and darker colored rules in dark or murky water does seem to be valid – I will be putting that to the test in the coming weeks too!

I will be reviewing the next few Mystery Tackle Boxes and other aspects of the membership in the coming months; so far, I am quite happy with the money I have spent, and the lures I have received!

This post has been brought to you by Gaston Music & Pawn - remember, when you want good used fishing gear, come to the pawn shop Gastonia residents have depended on for over 25 years!  

Spring - No, it's Winter, it's 31 degrees - Nope, Spring Again. The Uncertainties of Fishing!

Spring is here - and then it is gone again. The difference of one day can never be overestimated when bass fishing - or as I often like to call it, lure fishing. There are anglers who strive to catch nothing but largemouth, and big largemouth. I am not that angler; I love to use lures, and big mouth bass are my theoretical target, but the lures I use are chosen to optimize fish caught. In general, these fish include largemouth, crappie, white bass, black bass, rock bass, bluegill - and believe it or not, catfish and carp.

These last two are fish you don't expect to see striking at lures, and yet here they are! And may I say - sometimes a net is just a mess waiting to happen, especially when there are crankbaits involved!

But, after the crankbait was freed, the fish quickly followed - fisherman John Thompson did an excellent job removing the hooks; catfish are never easy with treble hooks, but a nice pair of long nose pliers helkps tremendously.

This is a ncie sized cat - note the lure John used to catch this channel cat, a small red and brown Rapala in a crawdad pattern. The fish was caught on a sloping shelf off of a shoal at 10 - 12 feet on 4-21-2014 at a slow troll.

This one was caught on the same day a few minutes later with a soft, green and brown Super Fluke swim bait on a weighted hook.

There were schools of cat's swimming around the shallows - only after we came in did I realize that it was schools of males chasing larger females; the ones we caught were not in the chase yet, or had already completed the yearly urge.

Just a few days before, on similar crankbaits and slighter lighter green swim baits the day was much faster - like many days, it happened when I was alone on the water; such days are much more enjoyable with company, but alas, the fates of fishing are not friendly to our schedules - they come and go with no predictability.

Fortunately, a slow day in Spring is usually a few fish over a few hours, as opposed to the winter time, when a slow day is no fish and a lot of cold to boot. On a good day, about five or six days before the catfish, I had about 6 fish in 2 hours, and a good mix at that.

The water on that day ws a bit warmer - around 65 - 67 degrees. This one was caught with a Carolina rig in 8 - 12 ft of water - in fact, all the iswh below were caught at the same depth.

The largemouth above was caught around the semi-submerged bushes against the bank. I have now way of knowing, but I think the fish followed the softbaits about halfway to the boat and hit the bait during a 'slowing' retrieve.

This one was caught on a segmented, suspending crankbait:

As you can see here:

against a field-stone wall. which sloped away from about 1 foot deep to abut 12' deep where the boat was, about 40' away from the wall.

This one was a bit smaller:

Caught around these docks - there was a much bigger fish there I could not entice at ALL!

And, of course, the day would not be complete without some white bass

and a really nice Rock Bass, about . . .

fifteen inches long, and caught next to a dock with the softbait pictured above - this was a very nice fish that I really wanted to deep fry, but I did set him free, and then saw a neat little turtle. Maybe  he was good luck - I have a nice boat, access to good waters, and the time and seasons to enjoy long, lazy days floating, fishing, thinking and talking. And what more could a man ask for?

The answer is not much - not much at all!

At least some of the lures inn this article were purchased at a a pawn shop Gastonia NC  residents, Hunters and fishermen have relied on for years! For fishing gear, rifle scopes and more check our Gaston Music & Pawn!

The Spring Is Here, The Spring Is Here!

Ahhh, the weather is warming, and so is the water! On April the 2nd, the average water temp on lake Norman was around 58 - 59 degrees (as high as 61 in some small coves) and the fish were biting nicely; by the time April 6th had come around, the temp was above 60 degrees, and as high as 63!

Fishing over the winter month's can be especially trying (the fish are just so often not cooperative), but the warm weather stirs their ancient instincts and increases their hunger - and the breaking of Spring is a great time to break out the crankbaits!

There has been good activity around the end of docks in 10 - 15 feet of water, and this monster was caught in a shallow cove in the northern sections of Lake Norman at the Duke Power State Park.

This one hit the Rapala Shad Rap (the three inch, deep diver in blue and green accents with a white underbelly) lightly the first time, and smashed it hard when I sent the lure back for a second run - never think that a missed strike spooked the fish! John Thompson helped land this little monster and took a great picture. You can see the fish is already showing eggs; as always I set her free, and was careful not to lip her. Especially with big fish, handle them gently and support the body with another hand to keep the fish from being injured!

The water in this cove was a nice 61.5F; we also caught a little white bass on a segmented Rapala crank, also in natural colors, so take the time to get onto the water, and don't be discouraged if you see someone fishing your favorite hole - at least three boats had been in this cove before we got there (we saw them leaving on the way out).

Springtime is also the gear time of year, whether it is stocking up on new lures and soft baits, or getting a new rod and reel combo, but if you are like me sometimes you just don't want to pay new prices for essential gear. With a little effort, you can make some great finds and save a LOT of money;l in fact, it often takes less effort than find a nice bass on the end of your line, though sometimes i does take just as much patience.

Craigslist is always a good resource for finding good gear cheap, as well as flea markets, and yard sales are always a great place to stop - but hit the yard sales early if you expect to find the good stuff. Putting some pawnshops into your shopping rotation can also net some great deals on rod and reel combos, as well as some fantastic deals on complete tackle boxes. Pawnshops generally do not like to break gear like that into small pieces, and buying a complete tackle box can net you a lot of lures, sometimes as cheaply as 2 - 3 bucks per lure or less.

Another great resource I have seen this year is the Mystery Tackle Box - for just $14.99/month these folks will send out a great selection of lures and other gear, along with a breakdown of what you received and the retail prices of those items. It is a great way to expose yourself to new products, or things which you normally would not purchase in a store, and the first month is only $4.99 when you use the promo code get499; you can also cancel at any time. I will be writing reviews of the boxes they send me in the coming months and let you know what we think of this deal (if it is as good as their commercials, it will be worth the money and then some!).

The important thing is to get on the water, and to take a friend and family with you. Whether you catch fish or not, getting close to nature is a reward in itself and should never be downplayed - so get out on the water, and let us know how the fishing is and what works for you!

And, for great tackle, guns, Buck knives and lots of other stuff go to Gaston Music & Pawn, one of the pawn shops Gastonia relies on for great deals and service

When You Are Stuck on the Water

I have been there more than once, and it is not a good feeling; I have had to paddle back to the dock, get towed back to the dock, or just drive back to the dock - in one instance, at an excruciatingly slow speed. The motor ran great, but all it takes on a jet drive outboard is for one small screw to go missing, and 3 mph is about as fast as you are going to go.

In fact, breaking down once to often is one of the main things that caused me to bite the bullet on buying a new boat. Every boat can suffer a breakdown, though - or lose a propeller. In such instances it is sometimes hard to tell who to call, or if there is anyone to call. The good thing is, if your stuck on Lake Norman, North Carolina or Mountain Island Lake, North Carolina you can now call us here at LakeHawk Fishing!

We offer the following services at reasonable rates:

• Lake Norman Boat Rescue
• Mountain Island Lake Boat Rescue
• Emergency Lake Services (NOT medical care)
• Boat search and retrieval from Storm Loss
• On Water Gasoline/Fuel Delivery
• On Water Boat Towing from Landing to Dock

If you are stranded and need help, call LakeHawk Fishing 24 hours a day at 704-748-6980. 

If we are not available leave a message and we will call back as quickly as possible. If we are not available, another great company is TowBoat U.S. at 704-200-1930. They also offer 24 hour service and they have a great AAA style subscription plan (which we do not).

Being stranded can be more than a bother - it can also be life threatening. I have had over 25 years experience on the water and our rates are extremely competitive! If you are stuck on Lake Norman or Mountain Island Lake and need help, call 704-748-6980 24 hours a day!

The Year of the Soft Baits (the actual post)

Ahh, soft baits - I have avoided them through most of my fishing life for one reason or another (they always seemed like so much trouble when crankbaits and spinnerbaits were right there). But, for some reason this year I decided that I would learn how to use these things properly.

These are just a few of the formulations - there are way to many to show on here, but this is one of the best things about soft baits - they are extremely adaptable in form as well as color and size. The three pictured below are all 5" baits, which seems to be a good average size for soft baits, but they are also made in extremely small sizes and jumbo, bucket-mouth sizes.

First, a quick word on knots - I like a Palomar knot (brought to you by the folks at Take Me Fishing - they have an excellent knots section!) or a double looped knot (sometimes called a Trilene Knot, brought to you by NetKnots!) 

The rigging choices offered by softbaits are the other ways they are so adaptable to different waters and combinations. They can be rigged in Carolina or Texas style with various sized weights so that they can go deep, with weighted hooks, and completely weightless which allows them to fished as a faux topwater lure, or one which is so near the surface of the water as to be virtually the same.

We will start with a technique that is by itself extremely adaptable, the Carolina rig.

Carolina Rig with Fluke Paddle Tail 5" swimbait, 1/4 ounce weight

For some reason, a well-made Carolina Rig is almost impossible to buy in the stores unless you are lucky enough to find a very good custom fish shop (like Tackle Town in Pumpkin Station, NC). The Carolina Rig consists of two parts – 1^st is a snap swivel used to attach the rig to your line; from the snap swivel there is a leader, usually around 8" with a weight and 1 – 2 colored beads (normally red or orange) on either side of the weight, or below the weight if there is just one bead. I like bullet or barrel weights, usually 1/8th to 1/4 ounce.

This is tied to a barrel swivel, and on the other side of that is a leader (1’ to 3’ long) which ends in a weightless hook. The weight on the front part of the rig will usually be a barrel weight or a bullet weight, and the size of the weight will be determined by the size bait you want to use, your tackle, and how deep you want to fish the bait.

Shown with different bait, rigged wacky style - weedless hooks are preferred for type of bait rigging

These are perfect for the Wacky rig (just hook your softbait through the middle and slow twitch it!

This is tied to a barrel swivel, and on the other side of that is a leader (1’ to 3’ long) which ends in a weightless hook (see top Carolina Rig picture). The weight on the front part of the rig will usually be a barrel weight or a bullet weight, and the size of the weight will be determined by the size bait you want to use, your tackle, and how deep you want to fish the bait.

I know a lot of people like to use rather large weights on these, and that is usually all you can find in the stores. I do not like to large a weight – in the one pictured, it is only XX heavy, which is a perfect weight for my applications. It allows for deep deployment with a quick sink rate, but is also not too heavy.

Weightless/Weighted Hook

These are rigged the same - the weight just gives a bit of extra casting power and a quicker sink time, but both of these are very versatile, especially with the twitch receives. The weightless rig can be fished almost like a topwater - the sink time on these is incredible slow, and they make great shallow water finesse baits. Twitching them slowly along docks is a perfect method with these guys.

The weighted hook method is especially useful with swimbaits like this Fluke in muted brown and salmon tones below - this color is great for dirty water or dim days. With a steady retrieve these rigs will stay very close to the surface; dial it in slowly or with variations to determine the depth of the retrieve!

We will cover the most popular retrieves below - the weighted retrieves will have varying effectiveness on whether you are using weighted or unweighted hooks, but the motions can be done even if your rig is not heavy enough to sink to the bottom each time. The important thing is that these retrieves, like the Bounce and the Carolina Retrieve will have a surge of speed followed by a sinking period - classic signs of distress and easy prey!

The Carolina Rig Retrieve

This is where soft baits really come into their own, and where the Carolina Rig gets a lot of its adaptability. The first is slow, and very effective in certain situations – the drop and drag.

Its a Monster!

In the drop and drag, the rig is allowed to sink to the bottom of the lake or river, and then using a slow retrieve (sometimes excruciatingly slow), the weight is dragged along the bottom, through mud and over underwater obstacles. Because of the weightless hook, the bait itself floats along behind the weight as it is dragged across the bottom. This retrieve is slow, and can try the patience but when the fish are holding to bottom structure this can be extremely effective. It works in shallow and deeper water. That's how I caught this little guy (picture above)!

Bouncing

This retrieve looks exactly like it sounds, and makes a Carolina Rig into a fantastic jig rig; after the cast, allow the weight to fall to the bottom, then with a smooth motion pull the rod from 8 o'clock or 9 o'clock to noon or one o'clock; lower the rob, reel some in and as soon as the weight hits bottom, pull back up - that's how this one got in the boat, dragging it from shallow water off a shelf going down to about 15' deep. You can see the natural colors he was going after - a crawbait in red would be perfect after seeing this!

This one was caught here:

Cast to the shore, and drag or bounce the Carolina rig back to the boat!

Under the tree is a perfect spot for largemouth at the end of summer!

I cast to near the shore, and then bounced it outwards, past the dock and down the slope - the fish hit it about halfway to the boat, or 20 - 25 feet from shore at about 10' deep.

And another one, caught the same way

Twitches - fast and slow, combo

The Twitches category of retrieves will vary in speed, but it involves slight twitches of the rod tip, only a foot or so, combined with a steady or erratic retrieve. Letting the lure sink slightly longer between twitches and cranking the line in will often trigger strikes. You know you have one when a twitch turns into a hook set!

This technique is deadly when used with a weightless or weighted hook rig; the direct action makes the bait switch direction and then sink naturally, making it irresistible!

 Standard retrieve with varying speed

This works equally well with all weight classes - with a Carolina rig and a swim bait, this can perform excellently as a fake crankbait. The weigh size and the retrieve speed, along with smoother pauses and just an occasional rod twitch will net some nice fish - use it in situations like those below, and don't forget to turn around and cast out towards the center of the cove - it works!

Flip a weightless worm under these trees and get ready!

This bank is begging for a Carolina Rig bounced along the bottom back towards the boat!

And there you have it, an easy softbait tutorial - I will add some links as time goes on, but these baits really are easy to pick up on with just a little practice and a few bucks spent!

As always, thanks to the guys at Denver Marine and Ranger Boats, and until next time, smooth waters!

Going up against docks works great - let the bait, even lightly weighted ones,
sink to the bottom before retrieving!

Yes, they are great hooks!