By Capt. Gus
Fish, like people, live in different places. While some folks set up housekeeping in the mountains, others live in the country or at the beach. Regardless, the biggest populations are in the cities and towns that dot our land. Lake Norman has never conducted a house-to-house census of where fish dwell, but anglers know that fish also find shelter in a variety of habitats.
Since the advent of modestly priced marine electronics, specifically sonar and GPS, fishermen are venturing farther and farther from the shoreline to locate and catch fish. There was a time when the expression, âthe fish are deepâ meant they were hovering in water depths to fifteen feet. Today, deep can be anywhere from fifteen feet to any depth of water.
While many anglers cast the shorelines for their favorite species, a growing number of them seldom fish in water less than twenty feet. They believe their chances of catching a lot of fish are greater in deeper haunts.
Striper and hybrid fishermen have been catching their quarry in the deep river and creek channels of Lake Norman and other Piedmont lakes for decades. Now, bass, perch and cat fishermen have joined them. Anglers in brightly colored bass boats are deep jigging, drop shooting and casting big lipped crank baits on deep humps, edges, ledges and drops offs.
The key to locating underwater sanctuaries is easier than it appears¸ particularly if your boat is equipped with a fish finder/GPS. The topo map, loaded into the GPS, shows underwater terrain features, and the fish finder confirms the presence of fish. When a likely spot is located, it only takes a push of the waypoint button to save the spot on the map to return at a later date.
Winter is a great time to fish for deep water bass, hybrid striped bass and white perch. Expect to find your favorite species in creek runs to ninety feet of water. When suspended fish are located, they are usually hungry and easier to catch than those resting on the bottom.
Tips from Capt. Gus! Water-proof topographic maps show the lakes bottom contours and mirror the GPS map loaded in your boatâs electronics. Maps are a great tool for an angler to locate potential fishing areas before actually going on a fishing trip.