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  Fishin' with Capt. Gus! ~ Surprises
8/16/09
Everyone who fishes catches something unexpected at one time or another. Sticks, boots, rusty cans, rags, etc. have fooled more than one angler into thinking he or she had a really large fish.
Recently, I heard a story about a man who thought he had caught a big bass. When he put his thumb in its mouth to pull it out of the water, he felt a very sharp pain and saw blood. As it turned out, it wasn’t a bass at all, but a bowfin (mudfish). A mudfish looks very much like a bass in the water, but has a mouthful of teeth. In another instance, an angler thought he had hooked a striper, and fought it hard to the boat. At the last minute, he realized that it wasn’t a fish at all, but a water moccasin instead.
Anglers who fish from head-boats (drift-boats) along the coast frequently tangle fishing lines with others on board. Nothing is funnier than to watch two anglers pull against each other on opposite sides of the boat, each thinking he has a fish hooked. The see-saw battle that ensues is comical. When one pulls, the other jerks, and the battle rages on until one or the other finally realizes that it’s not a fish.
On many occasions, anglers hook a large fish after it has eaten a smaller one that was originally hooked. Muskies, barracudas and even bass have been hooked when tempted by a small fish trying to escape. The biggest surprise of all is when an angler has been catching small fish, and along comes a monster that is truly larger than the tackle can handle. It happens frequently while catfishing for channels and a big blue or flathead comes along and takes the bait, or when saltwater fishing for Spanish mackerel and a fifty pound King Mackerel hits. Usually, the details of such events are told and retold over and over!
One of the best fish tales ever told was about two friends comparing fishing trips. One said he landed a four hundred pound grouper. The other, not to be outdone, said he hooked a lantern while fishing at the dam, and when he reeled it to the surface, the light was still burning. The first friend said,” I’ll take three hundred and fifty pounds off my grouper, if you’ll turn the light out in that lantern.”
“How to Catch Lake Norman Striped Bass” This free seminar is scheduled at Gander Mountain, Exit 36, Mooresville, NC on Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. I will discuss the “how to’s” of using the proper tackle, catching bait and finding stripers on Lake Norman. Participants are encouraged to bring any striper fishing questions to this informative seminar. For additional information call 704-658-0822.
Saturday, August 29, 2009, Light House Marine Services will offer a State and NASBLA approved Boater Safety and PWC Class. Registration fee is $49.00 for the eight-hour session beginning at 9:00 a.m. The class will be at Gander Mountain, I-77 Exit 36, Mooresville, NC. Graduates will receive an approved picture ID certificate of completion that might help to lower the cost of boat insurance. To register, or for more information, call Capt. Scott Spivey – 704 587 0325 or visit www.lmservice.org.
Tips from Capt. Gus:
Lead core is a weighted line used to deep troll artificial lures. Because the color of the line changes every ten yards, the angler knows how far behind the boat the line is, if he counts the colors that leave the reel. As and example, six colors equal sixty yards or 180 feet. Lead core line sinks at the rate of three to five feet per color depending on diameter and speed – which means a lure trolled six colors back is eighteen to thirty feet below the surface.
Hot Spots of the Week:
Stripers are in the main river channel from Marker 7, south to the dam. Bass are schooling on the surface near the islands just above the State Park and white perch are hitting at twenty to forty feet up and down the lake.
Lake Norman’s water temperature is in the high eighties and low nineties. The water level is about 3.2' below full pond.
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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