A guide’s guide to North Carolina’s best spring bass lakes

Bass fishermen are as crazy over statistics as hard-core baseball fans, so a popular topics among North Carolina chub chasers is which lake is the hottest around during the spring.

Guide Joel Richardson has some definite ideas. Here’s his ranking of the state’s best spring lakes and productive lures:

• Randleman Reservoir. The lake is on the up-slope of the normal bell curve as far as bass production is concerned.

“It’s got everything — food and cover and fast-growing fish,” said Richardson, who likes buzzbaits, floating worms and trick worms.

• Shearon Harris Lake. This Chatham County reservoir is similar in size to Randleman, but submerged aquatic vegetation rings it, providing great food, cover and ambush points for bass. Top lures include Texas-rigged lizards, floating worms, Senkos and topwater frogs.

• Belews Lake. Richardson’s home lake at the corners of Guilford, Rockingham and Stokes counties is a Duke Energy lake that’s “loaded with bass,” he said. A deep, clear lake, spring bass like topwater twitchbaits, Texas-rigged lizards and floating worms.

• John H. Kerr/Buggs Island. This 49,500-acre impoundment of the Roanoke and Dan rivers along the North Carolina-Virginia border is rebounding from an infestation of gill lice and Largemouth Bass Virus.

“Everything’s coming back — bass and stripers,” Richardson said. Texas-rigged lizards flipped into shoreline buck brush, buzzbaits and Senkos are top April bass lures.

• B. Everett Jordan Lake. Anglers should fish willow bushes, laydowns and buck brush at the backs of Jordan’s feeder creeks, Richardson said. Top lures will be plastic lizards in green-pumpkin, watermelon and black-and-blue colors and buzzbaits.

• Falls of the Neuse. “With water up in the bushes, you can catch bass near shallow wood, willows, buck brush and laydowns,” said Richardson, who likes buzzbaits, twitchbaits and Texas-rigged lizards. “In clear water, watermelon is a good color for lizards,” he said.

• Lake Gaston. This lake has extensive stump fields and boat docks that hold spring bass. Floating worms, green-pumpkin lizards and sight-fishing with tube jigs in white or black/purple-flake colors are effective.

“There’s always the possibility of catching a 10-pounder,” he said.

• Badin Lake. April is when this Yadkin River lake “starts getting real good,” Richardson said. “When fish are spawning, they’ll be in four feet or water or less and hit Texas-rigged lizards, floating worms and twitch baits.”

• High Rock Lake. With few monster bass, High Rock nonetheless is filled with 3- to 5-pounders that orient around flooded bushes, shallow wood cover and boat docks.

“It’s a good spinnerbait lake when the water’s dingy,” he said.

• Lake Hickory. This foothills lake has “good clear water and good sight fishing,” Richardson said. “Bass will get around anything shallow — boat docks, pilings, laydowns and gravel shorelines.” Shorelines with wood or pea gravel will have “fish all over it,” he said. Top lures will be Merthiolate-color floating worms in clear water.