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Belews Lake 1-28-20

2K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  NCFM 
#1 ·
My fishing buddy and I went to Belews Lake yesterday, air temp was high 30's when we arrived, only got to 46', water was 47 degrees right by the ramp but 53 to 54 degrees on the other side of the Hwy 65 bridge.

Shad was so thick that the depth finder kept going from 20-25' (actual depth) to 5' while sitting still.

We tried to keep track but lost count somewhere in the mid 30's, so we conservatively estimate we caught 50+ spotted bass, 2 largemouth bass, and one crappie. No huge ones, but several decent ones in the 16-17.5 inch range. There was one other guy fishing the same spot, he had at least 30 more...it was a pretty epic day for January. Vertebrate Water Fish Fisherman Fishing
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#14 ·
That's true, I have seen them schooling together on shad out there. One of my best days on Belews was a misty drizzly day in late February, no one else on the lake and there were bass busting all around in 30 to 50 feet of water. Caught 22 bass in 90 minutes all on topwater. Actually more largemouth than spots that day, so yeah, they certainly target shad, but I have caught so many largies with crawfish antennae or tails sticking out of their gullets that I think they target craw when they can (warmer months I guess).

Point being, I don't think the ratio is all that lopsided, I think it depends on the day and when and where you are. Last time I fished it was a few years ago, but I have logged a lot of hours on that lake and the last time I was there I still caught as many largies as spots. I think they will find an equilibrium at Belews. Other lakes, I can't speak for, and I wouldn't personally want to see them in places like Randleman or City Lake, but I think Belews will be fine. I mean hell, there weren't even hardly any bass IN Belews in what was it, the early 80's? Now it's got huge numbers of bass.
 
#15 ·
That's true, I have seen them schooling together on shad out there. One of my best days on Belews was a misty drizzly day in late February, no one else on the lake and there were bass busting all around in 30 to 50 feet of water. Caught 22 bass in 90 minutes all on topwater. Actually more largemouth than spots that day, so yeah, they certainly target shad, but I have caught so many largies with crawfish antennae or tails sticking out of their gullets that I think they target craw when they can (warmer months I guess).


Large numbers but can the spots been contained there/
Point being, I don't think the ratio is all that lopsided, I think it depends on the day and when and where you are. Last time I fished it was a few years ago, but I have logged a lot of hours on that lake and the last time I was there I still caught as many largies as spots. I think they will find an equilibrium at Belews. Other lakes, I can't speak for, and I wouldn't personally want to see them in places like Randleman or City Lake, but I think Belews will be fine. I mean hell, there weren't even hardly any bass IN Belews in what was it, the early 80's? Now it's got huge numbers of bass.

Can the "spots" be contained there?
 
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