Lake Norman Invitational Preview
2016 Walmart FLW Tour Invitational Preview
Cornelius, N.C.
Sept. 15-17, 2016
Hosted by Visit Lake Norman
About the Fishery
Lake Norman offers 520 miles of fishable shoreline. With its many coves and pockets, it’s the largest manmade body of water in North Carolina. Norman is clear, with a variety of cover and structure types, though the primary fishing targets are brush piles and docks. In fact, the shoreline is rimmed with thousands of docks – they’re seemingly everywhere. Norman’s shoreline is heavily developed, with residences all around the lake, and, at times, there is a tremendous amount of boat traffic.
Last Time
The Tour visited Lake Norman every April from 2007 to 2010 for an annual showdown that usually revolved around sight-fishing and the spawn. The last visit involved a matchup of local knowledge. Three of the top five finishers were from the area, and locals Bryan Thrift and Andy Montgomery (who often fish team tournaments together on the lake) duked it out during the staging phase of the spawn. Thrift ended up running away with it, winning by nearly 9 pounds over Rusty Salewske, who finished second. Montgomery ended up third. Thrift’s three-day total of 58 pounds, 5 ounces earned him his first win on the FLW Tour.
Thrift was on a prespawn pattern with jigs and crankbaits, and in his typical fashion, he seldom stayed in one place long and fished dozens of spots all over the lake. The year before, 21-year-old Stetson Blaylock earned his first Tour victory there in a sight-fishing duel.
What to Expect this Time
This is relatively uncharted territory for the FLW Tour as Lake Norman has never been a fall destination. If BFL tournaments that have been held that time of year are any indication, the dominant pattern will be fishing docks, fishing docks and fishing docks. Fish relate to docks year round, and there are plenty of them to target.
Other possible patterns include throwing topwater lures in creeks as shad and bass begin to transition in from the main lake, and fishing brush piles or more traditional offshore structure.
Expect weights similar to those of typical springtime Tour events – somewhere in the mid-teens per day to win. A 4-pounder per day will be critical for winning.
Baits and Techniques
- Dock fishing – The water under some docks is as shallow as 2 feet, while others are in deeper water with brush under them. Many are elevated by tall wooden pilings to account for the reservoir’s fluctuating water levels. Depending on the specifics of the dock, anglers might use jigs, finesse baits or crankbaits.
- Offshore fishing – Worms fished on Texas rigs, shaky heads or drop-shots will work offshore in brush and on drops, while jigs, swimbaits and crankbaits will be employed where the cover allows.
- Topwater – Walking baits will be prime for bass chasing shad.
3 Critical Factors
1. A kicker fish bite – A 5-pound fish is huge at Lake Norman. Each day, adding a fish near or better than 4 pounds will be crucial to staying atop the leaderboard.
2. Casting mechanics – The docks are going to be heavily pressured. Those anglers who can get their baits back to where others can’t will have a big advantage.
3. Deep cranking bite – This might be the dark horse pattern if the conditions are right. If someone dials it in, he could make a run at the title.
Anglers to Watch – Look to the locals. This is a lesser-known fishery to many Tour anglers, especially in fall, and neighborhood knowledge will likely be the key, though, as Blaylock proved, that’s not always the case. Nevertheless, our picks: Bryan Thrift, Shane LeHew and Matt Arey.