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  Fishin' with Capt. Gus! ~ The Fishing Pox
September 21, 2008
Summer is winding down, kids are back in school and cooler weather is just around the corner. Each fall brings an epidemic that spreads throughout the fishing community like a plague. The disease, known as “Fishing Pox”, is not fatal and does not require a doctor’s care, but it will cause many to miss work.
It usually targets male adults with a high propensity to spend their leisure time fishing. It spreads rapidly when weather conditions are extremely cold and winds are blustery with extended periods of rain, sleet or snow. The more time a person spends indoors, the higher the likelihood of contracting the disease.
Little, if any, medical research is available. Random questioning of affected anglers suggests that those who scour the pages of fishing catalogues, surf the internet for fishing web sites, and watch more than two fishing shows per week, are at risk. The disease is highly contagious and spreads rapidly among attendees of fishing/boat shows, outdoor seminars, and unsuspecting shoppers in sporting goods stores.
The symptoms might not be obvious at first, but it doesn't take a doctor to confirm the illness. Symptoms include a severe itch in the palm of the victim's casting hand and mental visions of leaping bass. Large sums of money are wasted on bogus remedies that never work. To rid the disease, hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on new fishing tackle, lures, marine electronics, and numerous useless gadgets, all for naught. In more advanced stages, “Fishing Pox” will cause the unwary to purchase luxury bass boats and ten-day trips to far off fishing destinations. Fishing Pox is not covered by group medical plans, Medicare or Medicaid.
A quick and relatively inexpensive cure for the disease is to GO FISHING! The sooner you go, the sooner the disease will disappear. Bigger is better; catching a big fish seems to eliminate the disease almost immediately.
Upcoming Events:
The Norman Fishery Alliance Annual Meeting and Fish Fry will be Saturday, October 11, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Gander Mountain, Exit 36 Mooresville, NC.
Hot Spots of the week:
Cooler water temperatures have stripers and bass feeding on the surface, particularly during the early morning hours. Best bets are the south hot hole and boat basins for bass and long shallow points that extent to river and creek channels, for stripers. White perch fishing has recently been particularly good for anglers deep jigging Sabiki rigs in water to forty feet. Catfish are being taken on both live and cut baits. Flatheads seem to prefer live baits and blues like cut baits, so fish with both. Lake Norman’s water level is near normal for the month of September. Surface water temperatures are in the high seventies and low eighties.
Tips from Gus!
Many times, the first throw with a cast net is the most important one. The quicker the bait can be caught, the quicker you can begin fishing. If you use a cast net frequently, store it in a few inches of water. A wet net will cast easier and open wider.
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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