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  Fishin' with Capt. Gus! ~ October Fishing Forecast
October 4, 2009
October’s fishing improves with each passing cold front. Cooler water temperatures allow fish to move freely from deep to shallow water. As the month progresses, stripers will move to the back of major creeks.
The early morning surface feeding witnessed in September gains momentum in October. The bite will last longer and bass will also join the fray. Anglers with spinning rods and a variety of artificial lures will cast toward breaks at sunrise. Bucktail jigs, roadrunners, spoons, flukes and top-water plugs with trailing ice flies, are the baits of choice for experienced anglers. Although the major bite is at daylight, a secondary flurry occurs just before sunset. Unexpected surface action can erupt at any time on overcast, cloudy, or rainy days. For this reason, have at least one rod per angler pre-rigged with a casting lure.
By mid October, fish will begin to settle into a more predictable pattern. Fish the breaks early and use live baits throughout the day. Shad and herring will be easier to catch and keep alive with the cooler water temperatures. Live baiters will fish the shallows early and move deeper as the day brightens. By midday, stripers will have located in and around turns in creek channels and off deeper points.
October’s weather can be summer-like one day and feel like winter the next. Striper fishing is best during low pressure and rainy periods that precede a cold front. If your schedule is flexible, plan to fish before the weather clears.
As stripers leave the main river channel, good fishing locations become more numerous in the creek channels that feed the lake. Good bets above the highway 150 Bridge are Hicks Creek, which flows through the Lake Norman State Park, Rocky Creek, commonly known as Skipper’s Creek, and Stumpy Creek. Anglers plying the waters of the lower lake will find stripers in Mountain, Hagars, and Reeds Creeks.
Bass fishermen will also see an improvement in fishing activity. Concentrations of bass will gather over submerged brush, river and creek channel humps and near bridge pilings. While fishing for largemouth’s or stripers, do not be surprised if you run into schools of spotted bass. This hard fighting member of the bass family was introduced to the lake about ten years ago.
The spotted bass can be identified by a rough patch on its tongue, spots below the lateral line, and its bright green hue. Its mouth is smaller than a largemouth, and larger than a smallmouth bass. Various subspecies are found in impoundments throughout the south. Kentucky has Red-Eyed bass, Alabama’s version is the Coosa bass, and a river in Florida has a strain known as Suwannee bass.
If you are not shooting in the woods in October, join me on Lake Norman. I’ll be hunting for schools of bass, stripers and white perch.
Tips From Capt. Gus:
When fishing with night crawlers or red wiggler use a # 4 or #2 J-hook. These hooks are big enough to snare bigger bass and catfish, but small enough to hook sunfish, perch and small channel cats.
Upcoming Events:
The 10th Annual Lake Norman Striped Bass Fish Fry will be held at Midway Bait and Tackle, Terrell, NC on Saturday, October 10, 2009 - 11:00 AM until 2 PM. This fund raiser is sponsored by the Norman Fishery Alliance (NFA) and the Lake Norman Striper Swipers. Bring the entire family to enjoy good food and live music. For additional information, call 704 663 9441.
Hot Spots of the week: Bass, striper, perch and cat fishing has been good to very good in recent days. Largemouth bass are hitting along banks with rip-rap and from underneath docks. Perch and catfish are hitting minnows, cut bait and worms in coves. Stripers are hitting live baits in major creeks, including Reed and Stumpy creeks. Lake Norman’s water temperature is in the mid to high seventies and the water level is 2.5' 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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