I'm on my way to lake Gaston nc/ va and I need some help I have terrible luck out there. I need some bass holes to put my nephew on trying to get him hooked. Were also going to try and do some catfishingaany advice on either subject would be appreciated thanks all in advance. Were staying at ameracamps

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I've been there for a week. What worked for me was weightless senkos rigged on a 1/0 or 2/0 EWG worm hook. I pitch it to the dock, let it sink for about 10 seconds, then retrieve in sweeps. I caught a few nice ones that way. Do not use bigger than a 2/0 hook because the worm will go straight down instead of having that amazing wobbling action bass love so much. good luck and tight lines

Catfish? Set up a few rods in holders at night baited with liver and have bells or alarms on them. I like to use a rig I devised, which is a 1oz pyramid weight on a 3-way swivel, and the 3rd arm of the swivel goes to your leader. The leader should be 20-30 inches long, with anything from a 3/0 to 6/0 octopus circle hook. On my catfish rod I use 60 pound braid for the mainline and 75 for the leader. Keep in mind that I go after 20+ pound cats in the potomac. If the cats you might catch are probably going to be smaller, use 20 pound main line, 30 pound leader, and 1/0 to 4/0 hooks.

ive had good luck catfishing at gaston with minnows and frozen shrimps. there are some nice large cats in there to be had. i usually just tight line with a traditional rig, and if theres no current i will use a slip rig. pay attention because the cats there will hit hard one time and then theyre typically gone if not hooked. i get a lot of just one solid yank bites there, unlike at Smith Mtn Lake where they want to play and toy with the bait before taking it.