[GRHawk]

I launched from Lake Norman State Park shortly after 8AM. Air temp was lower 40's, water temp was 51. No breeze, no other boats until later in the morning. All fish were caught on a crankbait. I don't currently keep track of my lure brands, but this is the rattling culprit. I took a pic after I got home:

I pulled a few small bass from the sunny banks.

After a short spell of no hits, I marked some fish on the finder, and caught one a little larger from 15-20 feet.

There were plenty showing on the finder at this point, so I stuck around and caught several more. Around noon, the wind was picking up and constantly changing direction, so I was just going with the flow at this point. I threw my lure and let it sink for around 15 seconds. Almost immediately after beginning my retrieve, I got a hit that had a little weight to it. I grabbed my net for the first time ever. I soon found out why......

I got fish number one unhooked while his buddy waited patiently in the net. Number one measured ~ 16 inches.

Number two was a little longer and a little fatter.

I fished a while longer and started jigging the same crankbait verticallly. I caught 2 more bass using this method in about 25-30 feet of water. I tied a beetle grub onto the ultra light gear (no blade), and got a few hits - but no takers. All in all, it was a great day on the water!
I haven't been kayak fishing for long, but I believe that all of these are LMB? Maybe the double were spots?

Greg

 

[1Brookie]

a good day on the water by any standards.....

 

[24/7 tight lines]

haha nice 2 on one! never seen that before on a rattle trap. i have that same onemight have to use it now.been using my other one i thought was better. cant beat that type of day!

 

[Fishbucket]

Congrats on the double hook-up... aint everyday that happens.

 

[wademaster]

awesome job man, i was fishing Norman all day too from a dock for cats and stuff, im gonna post about it in a few, i think all those might be spots, glad you had some luck, wind was pretty rough on us

 

[Stew-Rat]

All look like spots to me. Just rub their tongue and if there is a rough patch of "teeth" it`s a spotted bass. You can see that it is darker there too if you look.
Congrats on the double and good day!

 

[GRHawk]

Thanks all!

It was a nice day to be on the water, the fish made it even better. Stu, I forgot to check the tongues for the patches, will do next time.

Greg

 

[egboyd]

all of those fish are definitely patterned like spots. great day!

 

[turtlestewsbro]

And if they are spots I think you've got a couple citation fish there. Nice job.

 

[TacoBo]

I love that picture of the two spots hanging from the same lipless crank in the net! That's exactly how I've been catching them lately on LKN as well. The spots are hanging out in 20' to 30' of water in small schools on the edge of 50' to 55' of water. Once you mark them, get your lure down to the correct depth and hold on. Sometimes it feels just like a crappie bite, other times the line just gets HEAVY...either way, set the hook! A few times I've watched my lure drop on my sonar and have seen the fish rise to meet the bait before it even gets to the correct depth.

Great job.

 

[Abert43]

Great day!! Congrats on the double as well! Beautiful looking bass. Oh jsut wondering....what brand of lipless crank were you throwing?

 

[JohnYaksJax]

Greg....very nice fishing report and pix....and Thanks!!

You had a really fine day, which was topped of course by that rare double....Ya Dun Good!!
JohnYaksJax

 

[GRHawk]

And if they are spots I think you've got a couple citation fish there. Nice job.

Thanks, I will look into that!

Once you mark them, get your lure down to the correct depth and hold on. Sometimes it feels just like a crappie bite, other times the line just gets HEAVY...either way, set the hook! A few times I've watched my lure drop on my sonar and have seen the fish rise to meet the bait before it even gets to the correct depth.
Great job.

Thanks TacoBo, that is exactly what I was experiencing; the line would get heavy, set the hook and reel them in. I picked up some tips from your LKN jigging thread that were very helpful as well!

Great day!! Congrats on the double as well! Beautiful looking bass. Oh jsut wondering....what brand of lipless crank were you throwing?

Thanks, Abert43. I don't know the brand, there aren't any markings on the body of the lure (which is showing some wear at this point). It does have a rattle. I was at BassPro on Thursday night, and didn't see an exact match for it.

Thread derail.... BPS could REALLY upgrade their lighting in the lure section.....

Greg....very nice fishing report and pix....and Thanks!!

You had a really fine day, which was topped of course by that rare double....Ya Dun Good!!
JohnYaksJax

Thanks John! Many threads that I have read at NCAngler here helped on that trip.

 

[24/7 tight lines]

i have the same rattle trap.its a bill lewis.and yes they could get better lighting and for the day those dang windows up high the sun is so bright i literally could not see what i was looking for

 

[Abert43]

GRHawk- Did some research and some diggin' on BPS.com and yes 24/7 tight lines is correct it is a Bill Lewis Rattle Trap Mini Trap in yearling bass color #30.

 

[GregMc52]

Great day of fishing there veryinformative post thanks!

 

[turtlestewsbro]

Yeah citation for spotted bass in NC is 2lbs or 15". So you've got 2 citations by length alone. And from the look of it, I'd say they are both over 2 lbs. And caught at the same time is a feat most will never do..with any gamefish..so I'd think of a mount; I wonder how many people have net mounts - like the one pic..just sayin...