After being on scene at Lake Norman the last couple days for video interviews with FLW Tour pros (found in the video section of Player’s Advantage) I’m no closer to narrowing down my Fantasy Fishing picks than I was a month ago.
Normally when the FLW Tour visits a lake, the lake’s unique characteristics favor certain pros styles, hence Fantasy Fishing picks become a bit easier.
But Lake Norman is a neutral lake, meaning it has just enough of everything to give every pro’s specialty a fair shot. David Fritts and his crankbait would be just as viable a pick here as Glenn Browne and his flipping stick as would Craig Powers and his love for topwaters. Truth is just about any lure in the tacklebox will catch a bass right now on Lake Norman. In fact, I have seen more than one pro with big floating frogs tied on their rods, proving just how vast the lure selection can be.
The FLW Tour has previously visited Norman twice during this same time of year and sight-fishing has always played a big role. This year is a little different in that Norman is higher and has more stain to it, especially up in the river sections.
There’s still plenty of clarity to sight-fish, but some of the better sight-fishing areas might be a little more crowded due to there being less places to sight-fish this year. Also, with the water being a little higher and colored, power fisherman will have some more water to play on.
Another thing that makes picking at Norman so difficult is there is little differentiation in the size of fish. At Guntersville and Table Rock, 3- to 5-pound bass were common. Here, a 3- to 5-pound bass is as rare as snow pack in North Carolina. Everyone will have 7- to 9-pound limits; catching a 3-pounder or two is what separates a pro from the rest of the pack. But catching a 3 to 4 pounder could simply come down to making a lucky cast.
So the bottom line is with little differentiation in lures, cover and fish size, picking at Norman will be the hardest lake to gauge on the FLW Tour schedule all year.
The best advice probably comes from Jay Yelas who suggested going back and looking at the two previous Lake Norman events and picking pros who did well in those tournaments.
“Even though the lake is a little different this year, I can tell you this,” Yelas offered. “I’ve been coming here for years and I always get bit in the same pockets and same banks year after year. Guys who know good stretches of bank or good stretches of docks are going to catch them again, no doubt.”
Also, Yelas noted a new moon is on the way and conditions for the event are supposed to be sunny. Translation: don’t leave the sight-fishing gurus out of your picks.