|
|
  Fishin' with Capt. Gus! ~ Deep Water Fishing
January 18, 2009
Since its inception in the early 1960’s, Lake Norman’s predominate forage fish has been the threadfin shad. This soft-sided baitfish spends the majority of its life in shallow areas of the lake, or swimming near the surface in open water. Savvy anglers search for large concentrations of shad, knowing that bass, stripers, perch and other predator fish will be nearby. This explains why many fish are caught by using shallow water fishing techniques.
Today, Norman continues to have a significant shad population. Fishermen still catch them on the surface and off the banks. However, with the introduction of herring, a deep swimming forage fish, the dynamics and techniques anglers use to catch stripers and bass, have changed. As stated, herring prefer to swim in the deep portions of the water column where temperatures are cooler. Coincidently, this is the same habitat where stripers, spotted bass and white perch prefer to live. Instead of leaving their natural haunts, as they did in the past, to feed on shallow swimming shad, the bait (herring), now comes to them.
When under attack, particularly from predators below, shad swim toward the surface to escape. Herring, on the other hand, linger so near the bottom, that frequently their attackers are forced to approach laterally or from above. In turn, the baits dive even deeper and are eaten without ever being seen by the anglers or seabirds above. At times, this explains the noticeable decline in the amount of surface feeding activity and the absence of seabirds diving on distressed bait.
The most likely places to find herring are in the old river channel itself or in the original creek bottoms that crisscross the lake. Other popular haunts are near underwater springs and steep drop offs.
How deep is too deep to fish during the winter? No one can say for sure. Lots of stripers have recently been taken at depths to seventy feet, and there are plenty of spotted bass just off the bottom in water from thirty to fifty feet deep.
Best baits for deep water fishing include jigging spoons, buck tails, shaky-heads or live herring, shad and trout. Tackle is the same as that used for fishing in shallow water – a light to medium action spinning or bait casting outfit. A deep water angler’s best tool is a combination GPS/Depth Finder, loaded with a topo map that details the bottom contours of the lake, and a fish finder that displays fish arches and clouds and/or balls of bait.
Tips from Capt. Gus:
When deep jigging in open water, use the smallest diameter line practical. Lighter line allows the bait to sink rapidly and improves sensitivity at the rod tip when a strike occurs.
Upcoming events:
A free seminar entitled “Learning To Use Your Depth Finder To Catch More Fish” is scheduled for this Thursday, January 22, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Gander Mountain, Mooresville, Exit 36. Lake Norman Fishing Guide, Capt. Gus Gustafson, and Jake Bussollini, author of “Freshwater Fighters”, will lead the discussion. Bring the instruction book for your depth finder and any questions you might have to this 90 minute session. For additional information, call 704 658 0822.
The Hot Spot Of The Week:
The Hot Spot of the week continues to be the deeper water near the mouths of major creeks such as, Stumpy, Little and Mountain Creeks; and in the open water areas of Reeds and Davidson Creeks. Fishing for bass, striper and perch was good-to-very-good last week. The lake level is 96.3 or 3.7' below full pond. Water surface temperature is in the forties
Captain Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is licensed by the US Coast Guard, a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, and is an outdoor columnist and a full time professional fishing guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, Fishin' With Gus! at www.FishingWithGus.com or call 704-617-6812.
For additional information e-mail Gus at Gus@LakeNorman.com
|
|
|
|
|
