Norman Rewind: Three Key Tips
Shallow tactics proved to be a key on Lake Norman. (PAA: Chris Dutton)
PAA Communications
CONCORD, N.C. – Lake Norman presented a good challenge at the halfway point of the season on the PAA Bass Pro Shops Tournament Series presented by Carrot Stix.
Norman is rife with spotted bass that make up most of the population in the 28,500-acre lake. The field knew a limit of spots in summer probably wouldn’t get the job done. At least one, if not two, largemouth kickers each day most likely would have to be in the bag to offer a run to the top.
That’s exactly what played out for Nitro Boats pro Edwin Evers of Oklahoma, who claimed the win with a four-day catch of 41.71 pounds. A 1-pound late check-in penalty the first day knocked his final total back a pound, but it was enough to win by almost six pounds over late-charging Bass Pro Shops pro Ott DeFoe of Tennessee and Ranger Boats pro Chris Baumgardner of North Carolina.
Despite the penalty, Evers didn’t need it after bringing in 15.70 pounds on the final day. The week’s biggest limit included a 5.19 largemouth, another over four pounds and a third of about three pounds.
Here are three things we learned this week:
Quietly buzzing along
Evers used a combination of a Booyah 3/8ths-ounce green pumpkin jig and a quarter-ounce Texas-rigged Yum! Dinger stickbait around docks where largemouths were hanging out.
On the final day he threw those two primarily around deeper brush in front of the docks. But his third bait was a Bass Pro Shops Lazer eye buzzbait, also 3/8ths ounce, that he worked around shady areas near the docks. Evers also threw it around shady shoreline cover or areas with sandy banks where bluegills were spawning.
Even late in the year, bluegills still will spawn. Evers noticed a few beds along with ‘gills milling in the shade, and that means largemouth probably won’t be too far away.
“There’s no clacker on the Lazer Eye buzzbait so it’s more quiet,” he said. “I worked it very slowly, almost under the surface, so it was just moving along like something swimming on top. The areas I was in were calm and dingy or clear, and I believe something noisy doesn’t work as well in those conditions. I throw a noisier buzzbait in dirty water or when it’s windy.”
Key tip: Think about the conditions next time you’re on the water, and if it’s calm and quiet then don’t cause a ruckus. Start out subtle and see what happens before breaking out the noise-makers.
Watch the weather
Evan Williams Bourbon pro Jason Quinn held up a spinnerbait that was bent and mangled, the result of a stellar final day when he bolted up the standings to finish fifth.
The veteran South Carolina pro has fished Norman, Lake Wylie and other regional spotted bass lakes for years. When on Friday he learned the forecast called for possible storms and wind building, he got excited.
“If the wind blows here, they’ll turn on,” he said. They did, and Quinn capitalized to the tune of between 50 and 70 keepers on the final day. The spotted bass got active with the changing weather. Quinn burned the spinnerbait and the flashy blades revved up the hungry spots.
“If it had blown harder then it could have gotten ugly,” he said. “Then the big ones would have been biting.”
Key tip: Stay tuned into your surroundings. That seems logical, but sometimes we get so focused on what bass have been doing that we might not think about what could happen. Be prepared to shift gears accordingly.
Keep it simple
DeFoe moved from 34th place to second in the final two days with a two-part plan: try to pick up a keeper spotted bass or two on the lower end of the lake with a topwater bait before going up the Catawba River toward Lookout Dam to target largemouths.
The second part of that strategy zeroed in on shallow shady areas along the bank with wood cover or small eddy areas. He used a Texas-rigged 7-inch Berkley Power Worm with a quarter-ounce weight and made precise casts to those targets.
That’s about as simple and old-school as it gets. If you had to pack a tackle box to go bass fishing just about anywhere in the country, a 7-inch worm probably would be on the list. DeFoe used pumpkinseed, a versatile color, and the light weight allowed the bait to have good action.
Key tip: Anglers love all the cool baits, colors and techniques. But sometimes it’s just a matter of going old-school, putting your knowledge to use and hunkering down. DeFoe proved that masterfully and it’s a good tip to remember.
Just wanted to say thanks to PAA and to the three guys they let me go out with and be an observer. Thanks Charlie Hartley,Steve Kennedy,and Mark Rose. These are First Class Fisherman very knowledgeable and seem to be good guys…Thanks again
I went to the final day weigh in at BPS in Concord NC. I got there early and talked with several pros, all was very good about helping.
The weigh in was done in a very class manner, opening with the National Anthem…Thank You from a Vet for that!!.
The MC did a fine job and it seemed all the anglers was treated very well from my view. I am sure they was hot and tired, but they was all smiling.
Good Job PAA. I hope to fish a PAA event or 2 local to me next year!! Guy Eaker amazes me. He looked like he could go out and fish another 8 hrs even though he humbly stated the heat was hard on him. He is an awesome representative in the industry.
I WAS UP THE RIVER, AN TO SEE HOW THE PROS FISHED IT WAS GRATE.IT SOMETHING HOW THEY WOULD BRAKE OFF THERE CRANKBAITS. I KNOW WHERE 4 BAITS ARE IN LESS THEN 30 MIN. BUT HE COUGHT 4 BASS AN LOST ONE THAT WOULD HAVE PUT HIM IN THE TOP 5.