I spent the past weekend practicing for the Jamie McMurray Carolina Oakley Big Bass Classic this upcoming Saturday and Sunday on Lake Norman.
Three of our members are fishing in the tournament this weekend. Myself, Adam Waters, and Shane Lehew will be testing our luck on Lake Norman — the home body of water for all of us. The winner walks away with a fully-equipped Nitro Z-8 with a 200hp Mercury engine valued at $33,000, along with hourly weigh-ins both days.
The name of the game for this tournament is strictly big bass. The weather forecast is going to be warm and sunny with highs in the 80′s. We have all spent time on the water this weekend pre-fishing and have found that 80% of the bass on Lake Norman have already spawned out and fry are everywhere along with empty beds littering the banks. Bluegill/bream are taking over the empty beds and starting to make beds in the shallow pocket areas. A good portion of the fish are in a post spawn pattern and are eating everything from crankbaits to jigs but they are thin from the stress of spawning and missing the added weight of carrying around eggs.
Joe Kinchen caught 40 post spawn fish in the 1.5-3lb range on Sunday but was unable to locate any bedding bass. Shane and Adam were fishing in a different section of the lake and caught 12lbs in a J & J fishing trail tournament on Sunday, fishing only for bedding bass. This tournament will be won with a 6-7lb bass caught off of one of the few remaining beds on Lake Norman. These boys all plan on strictly targeting bedding bass to win the tournament.
Maybe Andy Montgomery could give us some advice on where to target our efforts this weekend!
Joe Kinchen
Stay tuned for updates from this weekend’s Oakley Big Bass Classic!
More information on the Jamie McMurray Classic here.
Fetha Styx announces partnership with UNC Charlotte Bass Rats
Pingback: Oakley Big Bass Classic-Lake Norman | Joe Kinchen