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Fishin' with Capt. Gus! ~ Summer Striper Fishing
June 6, 2010
Many people stop fishing for stripers during the warmer months because fish are more difficult to find in deep water. For the few who do brave the summer pleasure boat traffic, the reward is often a four fish limit of tasty filets. If you want to try your luck, give one of these time proven techniques a try.
Live or Cut Bait - Drift or slow troll live baits (one mph or less), at depths from thirty feet to just off the bottom. Popular warm water baits are shad, herring, shiners, perch, bream and black salty’s. Attach the bait to a 1/0 or larger circle hook and tie it to the end of a Carolina rig using a ½ ounce or larger slip sinker.
Deep Jigging - When striper schools are found, some prefer to use a metal spoon and/or a bucktail instead of natural bait. Drop the lure just above the feeding fish and yo-yo it up and down. As a rule, the fish will strike while the lure is falling, so maintain a taut line so you can feel the bite. Depending on depth, wind and current, jigs from ½ to 1¼ ounces are preferred. Best colors are white, yellow and chartreuse.
Deep Trolling - Tolling allows anglers to cover large areas. Down riggers, down planers, lead core line or inline weights must be used to get lures to depths of thirty feet or more. Best baits are bucktails, roadrunners, spoons and long lipped diving baits.
Be reminded that from June until September, stripers are in the deeper sections of river and creek channels. Many anglers fish Mountain and Reeds Creeks. The Catawba River channel from Markers 23 to 19 at the upper end of the lake, and Marker 11 to the dam at the south end, are also recommended areas to fish.
Because stripers are nocturnal, many fish are caught at night. The most popular area is the deep water near Cowan’s Ford Dam. Waterproof lights are used by savvy anglers to attract baitfish, which in turn, attract stripers. The light draws fish to the boat and makes it easier to catch a limit.
Note – Between June 1st and September 30th, most stripers will become stressed and die when released. Therefore, anglers are encouraged to keep fish they catch. There is no size limit during this period, but the creel limit of four fish per day per angler is strictly enforced.
Tips from Capt. Gus:
While night fishing for stripers is good, there is also a pretty good bite from dawn until nine or ten o’clock on most mornings.
Upcoming Events:
Saturday, June 12, 2010, the Coast Guard Auxiliary is offering a Boater Safety and PWC Class. The class will be held at Kings Point Marina (Morning Star) in Cornelius, NC. For more details, contact John Marino at Marinoj@cgadavidson.org or 828 478 2507.
Thursday, June 17, 2010, Light House Marine Services is offering an instructional course entitled, “How to Safely Navigate Lake Norman.” Topics to be discussed will include “Understanding Lake Norman’s Marker and Buoy System”, “Identifying and Learning how to avoid Dangerous Shoals” and “How to Use and Interpret Lake Maps”. Registration fee is $25.00 for the two and a half hour course conducted by Capt. Gus. The class begins at 6:30 p.m. at Gander Mountain, Exit 36 Mooresville, NC. To register, or for more information, call Lt. Scott Spivey – 704 587 0325 or visit www.lmservice.org.
Free Fishing Seminar - “How to Catch Summer Striped Bass on Lake Norman” will be discussed at Gander Mountain, Exit 36 on Thursday, June 24, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. This informative session conducted by Capt. Gus will cover day and night fishing while trolling, live baiting and deep jigging. Contact 704-658-0822 for additional information.
The Hot Spots of the Week:
Stripers are hitting around the islands north of the State Park and in Mountain Creek from Slanting Bridge to the river channel. Bass are surface feeding on points and in coves at dusk. Cat fishing is good to excellent off shallow points and around boat docks. White perch are for the taking in water fifteen to thirty feet deep.
The lake level is down about 1.5’ from full pond and the water surface temperature is in the 80’s.
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
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