Lake Norman is most definitely a dock lake, and when the fish are in pre-spawn, "docking" is usually the best thing going. At the recent Norman FLW Tour, some good fish did come in that were caught away from docks, but by far the dominant pattern for big fish was dock-fishing – or fishing brush near docks.
Winner Bryan Thrift cranked spotted bass in the morning, then ran up the river
to focus on largemouths. For the details of his winning pattern, click here.
Here's how the rest of the Top 5 caught their fish.
2nd: Rusty Salewske
> Day 1: 5, 9-05
> Day 2: 5, 13-05
> Day 3: 5, 13-09
> Day 4: 5, 13-04
> Total = 20, 49-07
Rusty Salewske's pattern was a little different than the rest of the patterns in the Top 5. He cranked, but he did it in dirty water in Mountain and Muddy Creeks. It was a pattern that his practice partner Brett Hite turned him onto.
"I was fishing very shallow – 2 feet max – and I tried to deflect the crank off anything," Salewske said. "On the third day, I had a pretty good stretch of time when they were on certain kinds of docks, but the last day they were on rock. And the big ones were on natural rock, not riprap. It got real cold the night before, and that rock retains heat. I fished as much rock as I could find."
He cranked as fast as he could with a 6.2:1 reel – he called it "uncomfortably fast" – but he'd work in some stops and a few rips during the retrieve.
"I got really good with the crank as far as knowing the feeling – if it hit any little piece of cover," he said. "When I felt anything I'd rip it, and by the time I got the handle going again, they'd be on there."
> Crankbait gear: 7'5" medium-heavy Powell cranking rod (glass), Shimano Chronarch casting reel, 10-pound Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon, Lucky Craft RC 2.0 (white).
> He wanted to fish heavier line, but it affected the action of the bait, he said. "The bait wouldn't run as wild and it would keep it from wobbling, so I had to fish 10-pound."
Andy Montgomery threw a Shooter Lures jig – a hand-tied bait that's a local favorite.
3rd: Andy Montgomery
> Day 1: 5, 14-05
> Day 2: 5, 12-01
> Day 3: 5, 12-09
> Day 4: 5, 10-04
> Total = 20, 49-03
Thrift and South Carolina's Andy Montgomery are longtime pals and running mates, and like Thrift, Montgomery grew up fishing Norman.
During the event, Montgomery focused exclusively on docks and threw a jig, although he did weigh one crankbait fish
"I fished way up the river a little bit the first day, then I spent about 3 hours up there the second day but it was no good," he said. "For the most part, I fished from the dam to mile marker 13.
"All my bigger largemouths came off floating docks," he added. "I call them floats – they're just big, floating docks that make a lot of shade. But I was catching all my spotted bass off poles. It seemed like the spot bite was better early, and I'd catch a limit, then I'd fish floats the rest of the day."
He noted that he caught five largemouths the first day, two each of the next 2 days, then none the final day.
> Jig gear: 7' medium-heavy Daiwa Zillion rod, Daiwa Zillion casting reel (7.3:1), 20-pound P-Line fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce Shooter Lures jig (crawdad), Zoom Big Salty Chunk (green-pumpkin).
Brian Travis noted that the fish bit a crankbait best on the final day – he threw a Rapala Shad Rap.
4th: Brian Travis
> Day 1: 5, 12-07
> Day 2: 5, 10-08
> Day 3: 5, 12-07
> Day 4: 5, 8-15
> Total = 20, 44-05
Travis, a former TBF National champion from Conover, N.C, was the third local to make the Top 5, and he spent years fishing Norman against the likes of Thrift and Montgomery.
Travis threw a jig and cranked a Rapala Shad Rap. "I've been fishing this lake forever, and I know a hundred docks that have brush," he said. "I caught a limit each morning in the lower end fairly quickly, and culled a few times too, and I'd have 8 or 9 pounds each day by 10:00. Then I'd gradually work my way up the river for big largemouth. The upper area is pretty much where the big largemouths come from."
When he fished downlake, he found that the bigger spots were on deeper docks with brush in 8 to 12 feet of water. Later in the week, when it got tougher, he thinks the fish may have moved shallower.
Up the river, he focused solely on docks and "little rocky points." However, on day 4 when it turned cold, he caught fish on boat ramps and riprap, because they retained heat. The Shad Rap was the better bait on day 3.
> Jig gear: 7'2" medium-heavy Shimano Cumara rod, Shimano Curado casting reel, 17-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, 3/8-ounce Shooter jig (green-pumpkin/punpkinseed), Zoom Super Chunk (green-pumpkin, tails dipped chartreuse).
> Crankbait gear: 7'6" medium-action Shimano Cumara spinning rod, Shimano Symetre spinning reel, 8-pound Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, Rapala No. 8 Shad Rap (crawdad).
Rusty Trancygier worked a hard-to-reach honey hole, but the water dropped on day 4.
5th: Rusty Trancygier
> Day 1: 5, 12-11
> Day 2: 5, 14-14
> Day 3: 5, 12-15
> Day 4: 2, 2-08
> Total: 17, 43-00
Georgia pro Rusty Trancygier entered day 4 in 2nd place, but a water drop left him pretty much high and dry. It was a little backwater pocket, and with the lower water, he had to jump several sandbars just to reach it. It took so long to get back he was committed to the area for the rest of the day.
The fish in the backwater weren't yet on beds – they were still cruising. What made the area so good, he said, was a dark-bottom depression that was warmed faster than other areas of the lake.
"They were kind of staging on dark-bottom lily-pad stalks," he noted. "The water was 4 to 5 degrees warmer in there than in the river. In a few more days the fish will really be ready to go."
He cranked the first 3 days, but when it got cold on the final day, he switched to a Senko and eventually to a spinnerbait.
> Cranking gear: 7'5" medium-heavy Powell cranking rod (glass), Abu Garcia Revo Premier casting reel, 17-pound Sufix Elite mono (camo), Mann's Baby 1-minus (red craw).
> He threw the Gary Yamamoto Senko in two colors – watermelon/red and black/blue.
> His spinnerbait was a 1/4-ounce Hildebrandt in chartreuse/white with small, silver Colorados.
