Catawba Reservoirs

Lake Hickory

Randy Moose, (Lyndon’s Riverview Sports, 828-632-7889) said bass will pile up on the points.

“You should cast crankbaits to points in 12 to 18 feet of water,” he said. “Spro Little John 50 and Little John MD and the Rapala DT6 or DT10 are good ones. Any color combinations with chartreuse in them are good choices. If the fish are fussy, try tossing them a lure with some purple or blue flake.”

Stripers will bite on main points. Anglers should cast-net shad in Gunpowder Creek and head for the mouth, fishing them under planer boards on points in 20 feet of water all the way upstream to Rink Dam. Finding the stripers on a depthfinder is the key. Good lures for surfacing stripers include Zoom Flukes or Zara Spooks.

Catfish will bite at 12 to 15 feet in the main lake channel. Night crawlers, shrimp, cut bait and Magic Bait in Chicken Blood or cheese flavors are the best bets. If they don’t bite within 15 minutes, try another spot.

Crappie will be at 12 to 20 feet around docks, brush piles and overhanging trees. Best lures are 1/32-ounce Bobby Garland jigs in Baby Shad or Cajun Cricket colors. The key is fishing with a light rod rigged with 4-pound test monofilament line to increase strikes.

Lake Norman

Capt. Gus Gustafson (Fishing with Gus, 704-617-6812) said big crappie bite in chilly water.

“Crappie will be at 10 to 40 feet, but you should not get hung up on depth,” he said. “Try different depths at bridges, brush and boathouses. Lake Norman has more than 20 bridges so bridge pilings are always good spots. I use 1/8-ounce jigs for deep water. The bigger jigs catch bigger fish and get down faster. I use a jig with a soft plastic or marabou skirt and might add a minnow.”

Big blue catfish bite well into October. Best baits are herring, shad, stinkbaits, bream heads, white perch and chicken parts laced with garlic powder. Anglers should work the edges of coves by slow trolling or try anchoring on points. For channel cats, the best method is stabilizing the boat with two anchors and fan-casting lines baited with stinkbaits.

White perch will school at 30 feet in the deep coves where anglers can spot them with sonar units. A small spoon will catch them, but a Sabiki rig with a jigging spoon for weight is the better choice. Fishing a crappie minnow on a double dropper rig will catch perch when lures won’t and crappie will also be in the perch schools.

Spotted bass surface feed early and late on shallow points and along banks with deep drop-offs. Crankbaits and Whopper Ploppers are the best lures. Another good bet for spots is a soft plastic fished at a dock.

In the upper river, largemouth bass will bust buzzbaits and spinnerbaits. Above Buffalo Shoals, hybrids will bite casting spoons and topwater lures. Any of the islands from Duke Power State Park and Mountain Creek upstream should also attract hybrids.