Guys, I've been posting some results here, and Fishing Reports web site on how to get a limit of good fish and strategies I use to put fish in the boat here on Lake Norman for a while now. Seasonal patterns are steady for me and I'm doing pretty well on the lake that I live on here in NC (Lake Norman) but am flat stumped as to to how to find that bigger bite? It's just not been showing up for me at all here this year.

I'm weighing a limit in each event, catch a bunch of fish on a regular basis, but am just not finding the larger ones and keep getting knocked off by about 2-4 pounds and that's those larger fish that I am not catching. Ours is not known as a big bass lake by any means and has its issues with forage, cover, pressure, etc but they are in here, I see them here lately each time I make a donation in the form of an entry fee on our tournament trail.

Wondering what you guys do to fish through the smaller fish once you've boated your 5 and what you do to find those larger ones? Or is it really just a matter of being in the right place at the right time with regard to that bigger bite? Any strategy come to mind on this topic that you'd be willing to share.

I've got all the 1-2 pounders you'd ever want down here on Lake Norman but those 4, 5, and 6's that are in here are not making it over the gunnel of my boat and in to my livewell. I'm doing all of the things I believe are the right techniques; bigger baits, slower presentations, etc. but so far have no big ones to bring in.

What to do once the limit has been boated? I'd sure appreciate any input you could send my way. These cookie cutter little guys are fun and I'm happy to be fishing but sure would like to see some bigger fish coming in.

Get away from the bank and target big bass relating to structure in deep water, adjacent to deeper water.

8-)

Get away from the bank and target big bass relating to structure in deep water, adjacent to deeper water.

8-)

This is what Tommy Martin told me years ago for every bass you catch on the bank there is 5 behind you  

Get away from the bank and target big bass relating to structure in deep water, adjacent to deeper water.

8-)

X2 on that.

Go deeper and find structure.  get an overhead map if you can I would bet my house they are easy to find for Lake Norman.

Get away from the bank and target big bass relating to structure in deep water, adjacent to deeper water.

8-)

This is what Tommy Martin told me years ago for every bass you catch on the bank there is 5 behind you

ding, ding, ding.....we have a winner.

Big bass live on big structure in big water.

What that means is you rarely will find a big bass on a shallow flat or on the bank. They got this big by living deep. Spend some time looking for cover on structure in water over 10 feet deep and the larger fish should be there. I have found that if I am catching bunches of dinks then I have to find a different pattern to find the larger fish as the old big girls and the dinks generally do not live together. In my opinion, 85% of catching bass is the right location. 10% Presentation, 5% bait selection. I saw a 53" Muskie caught as she was cruising to deeper water. I saw her and told the back boater to cast toward that log, he put the 3/4 oz spoon (bait) in front of the fish (location) and did not have to do anything (presentation) to get the bite. Most any bait will work if the location and presentation are correct. How many times have we seen one guy say the spinnerbait bite is really great and another guy says oh no--it is a plastics T-rig bite that is working for me? Give me the proper location and I will figure out how to catch the bass with presentation and bait selection, you can too.

I agree with go deeper. Most of my bigger fish are coming from 10-25ft on humps,rock piles and long extended points that most people pass up. One of the spots I have been fishing is a bought 500yards off the shore line on the main body of the lake. Its a rock pile that just comes out of no where. This is a place in the past I would have never thought to fish.

How about in a lake that is shaped like a bowl with no structure at all?

The lake i fish is about 25 acres, 18 - 20 feet deep at its deepest points. But when i surveyed the lake with the depth finder. i found the lake to be almost perfectly contoured to the shape of a bowl and ZERO structure. So where would the Big girls be hanging out here?

Thanks for the input guys.  With the spawn in full swing here and soon to be winding down I am still thinking most fish are shallow and have not tried Summer patterns yet but suppose it's worth a shot.

I've heard that the bigger fish spawn first.  Any truth to that or is it lore?  If so then they should be out deeper on structure for that matter.

Whatcha think?

There are probably lots of guys here who are better anglers than me but I pull back from the spawning flat to the first sturcture or the first drop and work all cover there. The big girls go there to wait to spawn then return to rest up, return to spawn again, then back to rest again. If that does not work go the the last edge of cover nearer deep water and they often will be there. Sometimes they will be in between but my best shot is always the first or last cover. I go slow with a natural colored jig and brush hog or downsize with a natural colored beaver bait on a weighted hook. I will Texas rig it but these bass have seen the fall of a T-rig 1000 times and the 1/8oz weighted hook with  a yum wooley hog in watermelon red flake or green pumpkin fall differently and are my go to baits.

How about in a lake that is shaped like a bowl with no structure at all?

The lake i fish is about 25 acres, 18 - 20 feet deep at its deepest points. But when i surveyed the lake with the depth finder. i found the lake to be almost perfectly contoured to the shape of a bowl and ZERO structure. So where would the Big girls be hanging out here?

Most man made lakes have a dam with the ends of the dam down into the lake being almost a "V" where it meets the main shoreline. If you will stand at the end of the dam and look at the middle of the lake, draw a mental line then get some branches in piles along this line. You will have shallow, medium, and deep piles. It will not take much to draw and hold all kinds of fish if there is no other cover in the lake. Do this, give it 2 weeks and go catch fish. It will work, good luck.

Are there any weed beds Jhawk? If so try the deep edges. One thing I have had luck with is useing a drop shot with the hook tied farther up the line than normal to suspend the worm just above the weeds. I do not fish many places like what you are describing. Any change in bottom type is what I would look for.

no weed beds, no dams, there is patches of heavy reeds along the bank in some areas.

Small lakes and ponds can produce big bass. I have a couple locally that appear to be pretty barren and uninteresting. In small bodies of water, I believe even the big bass move around. Until you have fished a pond enough to know where you never get a bite, I suggest fishing every inch of shoreline. You might get surprised.

Over time, I suspect you will discover that there are in fact some differences in structure or bottom composition. There may very well be things on the bottom that you simply can't see. Be patient and learn the water, there is usally a reason for fish living where you eventually find them.

8-)

I fish J Percy Priest in Nashville often.  I fish 10-20 feet of water often and rarely pick up a 20" bass.  I catch a lot of 15-17 inch fish though.  So, I'm in deep water.  I fish worms and tubes T-Rig off rock ledges.  I stay close to very deep channels (25-40 feet of water).

Why am I not finding them?  Is it possible there just aren't many?  I usually catch 2-3 a year.

no weed beds, no dams, there is patches of heavy reeds along the bank in some areas.

Whats the water clarity like in this said place??

I fish a lot of these "bowl shaped" places and they can drive a guy nuts sometimes.