Docking Stations

For prespawn Lake Wylie bass, take advice from the ‘coach’ and concentrate on piers and boat docks.

André Powell, who has coached running backs for the University of North Carolina, Clemson University and now the University of Maryland, spends most of his free time away from the gridiron on the deck of his bass boat.

The sun was just peaking over the hills on the east side of Lake Wylie as Powell pulled into the parking lot at the Buster Boyd Access Area to launch for a day of bass fishing with his partner, Brian Porter — a regular occurrence for the two.

Wylie, which was impounded in 1904 and covers 12,455 surface acres, is one of 11 impoundments on Duke Energy’s Catawba-Wateree river system. Wedged between North Carolina and South Carolina southwest of Charlotte, it is among the finest “urban” bass-fishing lakes in the country. Because of the dense population around the lake, piers and docks constitute prime bass habitat, and March is a month when prespawn fishing for hungry largemouths really puts those pieces of structure into the equation.

Even though it was just after dawn, Powell said he doesn’t expect a lot of early-morning action when he fishes Wylie in March.

“In March, I really don’t have a preference for a particular time of day,” he said. “When the sun comes up and beats on the water for a couple of hours, things start to happen. Fish are easier to target because they congregate at boat docks and piers. They hold a little closer to cover.”

Powell and Porter learned the hard way the previous year on a visit to Wylie that docks and piers were prime cover — because there was nothing doing with the pattern they had planned to fish that day.

“Water temperatures were in the low 50s when we got on the water (that day),” Porter said. “We anticipated a jerkbait bite, and we tried jerkbaits but didn’t get much action.”

That brought them back to the shoreline cover that dominates the lake, fishing docks and piers with a jig-and-pig combo.

“When the sun hit the water, that’s when the action started,” Porter said. “When we noticed the temperature rising, we started to catch fish. They were scattered, but in close proximity to docks. They weren’t necessarily under the docks, but close by. Sometimes they were near brushpiles the distance of a long fish pole from the docks.”

Porter prefers football-head jigs. Because of their oblong shape, these jigs are more likely to sit upright on the bottom than a round-head jig. Powell likes to fish a 3/8ths-ounce Booyah jig in brown crawfish, and he prefers jigs from Booyah’s Bed Bug series. The two like to fish NetBaits’ Paca Chunks as trailers in green pumpkin.

As the spawn approaches, bass head toward the backs of coves, and that’s where Porter and Powell target them, looking for boat docks in those areas.

“In March, the place to start is in the backs of creeks coming into the lake, maybe flats along the edges of the creeks, and boat docks in the creeks,” Powell said. “That’s where the bass are going to be as they prepare to spawn. Wylie is a classic bass reservoir, and the classic rules apply.”

Porter agreed. “Last year we started at Buster Boyd bridge and we hit boat docks in the backs of creeks,” he said. “That’s what we did this year, too. And the bass were right where we thought they would be.”

In addition to a jig-and-pig, Porter and Powell like to fish Texas-rigged worms and lizards. They like green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail on sunny days, darker colors on cloudy days, with junebug one of their favorites.

“Generally, (use) the lightest weight you can get away with,” Powell said. “It depends on the depth. Deeper water requires a heavier weight. The best weights vary between an eighth- and a quarter-ounce. Most of the bass we caught were about eight feet deep, so the quarter-ounce weights were most appropriate. If the bass are in shallow water, a heavy sinker dropping in the water will spook fish.”

A stiff breeze may also require a heavier weigh,t lest the wind blowing against the line prevents the lizard or worm from sinking to the desired depth. When their jigs, worms and lizards hit bottom, they rely on giving the lures a little action, lifting them off the bottom and letting them sink back, then repeating it throughout the retrieve.

Powell will often switch to a small crankbait later in the day when fish are more active.

“I like the square-billed Bombers,” he said. “In March, the best color is one with a chartreuse base. I think this color suggests bluegills, and there are lots of small bluegills in Wylie.”

Powell likes the balso model, which is more buoyant and will suspend or float up when fished in heavy cover, and the Fat Free Fingerling.

Porter will choose his crankbait color based on the clarity of the water.

“Water clarity affects whether a crankbait is effective,” he said. “Dirty water is a little cooler in March than clear water. Lots of guys like dirty water for crankbaits.”

The March trip to Wylie last year produced 24 or 25 bass, with action steady from daylight to mid-afternoon. The fish ranged from two to four pounds, but Wylie surrenders a pretty fair number of bass in excess of five pounds during the presepawn.

DESTINATION INFORMATION

HOW TO GET THERE — Lake Wylie straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border southwest of Charlotte and south of Gastonia. I-85 crosses the upper end of the lake. The Buster Boyd Access Area west of the US 49 bridge at mid-lake is a very popular starting point for bass fishermen. US 49 is also used to access the Copperhead Landing off Shopton Rd. west of Charlotte. The South Point Landing south of Belmont gives excellent access to the upper end of the lake.

TACKLE/TECHNIQUES — Lake Wylie’s shoreline is heavily developed, and docks and piers are wedged into just about every corner of the bank. That’s good for bass fishermen, because fish will use those docks and piers as cover while they move back into creeks and coves as the peak of the spawn approaches in late March or early April. Fish around docks, looking for brushpiles and other cover, with a jig-and-pig or Texas-rigged worm or lizard. Medium-heavy to heavy tackle is required. Small crankbaits can also be very effective, especially late in the day after the sun has warmed the water and fish become more active.

FISHING INFO/GUIDES — Jerry Neeley/Chris Nichols, Carolinas Fishing Gudie Service, 704-867-5116; Rusty White, Fishing With Rusty, 803-230-1906; Byrum’s General Store, 8510 Steele Creek Rd., Charlotte, 704- 588-0434. See also GUIDES & CHARTERS in Classifieds.

ACCOMMODATIONS — N.C. Department of Commerce, Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development, 800-visitnc or http://www.visitnc.com/.

MAPS — Kingfisher Maps, 800-326-0257, Ext 1, http://www.kfmaps.com/.