Striped Bass Fishing Lake Norman, North Carolina
by Gus Gustafson

In late Spring the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission will place its 2004 allotment of striped bass fingerlings into Lake Norman. This year s scheduled stocking will be the same as it has been for more than ten years. One hundred sixty-two-thousand five-hundred (162,500) fish approximately one inch in length will be released into the lake at Pinnacle Landing. At first this seems like a lot of fish, but the fact is that only one in ten fish survives to grow and become the legal creel size of twenty inches.

One hundred forty-six-thousand two hundred and fifty (146,250) fingerlings from this annual stocking will not live due to natural causes and predators. Enemies include

 other fish, birds, four legged animals and unscrupulous fishermen. The remaining sixteen thousand (16,000) are sought after by savvy reasons using modern electronics and sophisticated fishing equipment.

Fred Harris, Chief of Inland Fisheries and his team of biologists contend that adding additional fish would overcrowd an already tentative fishing environment. The lake s two largest fishing clubs, the Lake Norman Striper Swipers and the N.F.A., disagree. They reason that as soon as most stripers achieve the minimum legal size limit, they are caught and taken home for a meal. Few, if any, will live four or more years to become trophy size fish.

At a meeting the second half of 2003, Fred Harris admitted to Lake Norman fishing club representatives that there were limitations as to how many fingerlings the state could raise each year. It seems that there are only four holding ponds available for raising striped bass. Each pond can hold about two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) striper fry, which places the total output of the Watha State Fish Hatchery in Pender County at one million stripers per year. Another warm water hatchery, McKinney Lake State Fish Hatchery, raises catfish for public waters. Harris indicated that there was not enough funding available to build additional ponds for striped bass. Fishing club representatives present at that meeting immediately offered to donate twenty thousand dollars, providing the Wildlife Commission use the money to build additional striper ponds. This amount was ample to fund the building of at least two new holding ponds resulting in a fifty percent increase in the state s striper production. Six months have passed since the offer to donate $20,000. Lake Norman s striper fishermen have yet to receive an answer from Fred Harris or from a member of his team.

The Hot Spot of the Week is the Reeds/Davidson Creek arm of Lake Norman. With water temperatures rising to the high fifties and low sixties, stripers are cruising the shallows in search of food. Good fishing is reported by anglers fishing the early morning and late evening bites. Live baits of choice are shad, herring and trout. The lake level is down 4.0 feet from full pond and the surface water temperature is 59 degrees. Sunrise on Sunday, March 28 is 6:15 a.m. and sunset is 6:42 p.m.

Tips From Gus!

Spring is a good time to refill your reel with new line. The easiest and quickest way to spool line is to tread new line through rod guides and secure to the reel spool. Place the new spool of line in a bucket of water. As you begin to retrieve line, the new spool will spin in the water with enough pressure to tightly load the reel. It is interesting to note that for some unknown reason, line always comes off the new spool in the proper rotation, eliminating any twisting that might cause tangles.

Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc., is an outdoor columnist and a full time professional striper fishing guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, Striper Fishing With Gus!, at www.lakenormanstriperfishing.com or call 704-489-0763. For additional information, e-mail him at lknormanventures@aol.com

CLICK HERE TO COMMENT OR READ COMMENTS ABOUT THIS ARTICLE