Triangle anglers couldn’t pick a better spot than Falls of the Neuse Lake right now.
If lunker bass trip your trigger, fish are just off the banks or in standing timber as the weather dictates their movements at the 12,000-acre impoundment that sprawls across Durham, Granville and Wake counties.
In addition to bass, anglers are catching boat loads of black and white crappie. Most shallow areas in the lake alternately are loaded with slabs or they’re in 7 to 8 feet of water, just off the banks away from spawning areas.
Similar to bass, cool nights that drop the temperature push crappie into slightly deeper water. Then they return toward shore when the mercury climbs into the 60s during the day, which is happening now with regularity.
“Best thing to do for bass right now is to work wood,” said long-time Falls angler Kennon Brown, a 56-year Durham resident who now resides in Roxboro.
During a recent guide trip, three clients of Brown put 13 lunkers in the boat, ranging from 5 pounds to 9 pounds 5 ounces.
“We found bass everywhere, right on the shoreline in timber, in rocky areas 7 to 8 feet deep, and some of our best fish came from an old bridge blowout in 12 feet of water that still has the pilings left,” said Brown (336-599-6054, 877-229-2037).
Favorite lures have been jig-and-pig (blue/black with a dark blue pork rind trailer), Carolina-rigged plastics and white/chartreuse spinnerbaits. Spinnerbaits with a Colorado/willowleaf blade combination and rigged with white ripple legs cut away from topwater plastic frog lures are drawing bass strikes in flooded timber, laydowns and submerged logs. Most bass are hitting lures at the deep ends of such structure.
“I like the jig-and-pig for deeper water and the spinnerbait for shallower fishing,” Brown said.
Brown fishes mostly in Ledge Creek, launching at the Ledge Rock Wildlife Ramp Access at the end of Olive Grove Church Road.
“Crappie fishing also has been good when we’ve hit it right,” he said.
Brown likes to fish when slabs move into the shallows to spawn and has four spots in Ledge Creek that really have produced.
“Me and a couple of other guys caught 130 crappie last week at one spot north of the boat ramp,” he said. “We were right on the bank in 1 to 2 feet of water. Then we went toward the main body of the lake and found a small feeder creek on the east side and caught nine crappie over 2 pounds, including a 2-pound 9-ouncer.”
Brown likes to crappie fish with ultra-light spinning reels and rods, bobbers and live crappie minnows.
“I know some people spider-rig and troll, but I like to anchor up,” he said. “I think you catch more fish that way.
“You probably catch bigger ones trolling, but the action is almost non-stop when you find the right place, anchor up and use a bobber and minnow.
“Catching crappie is a lot of fun, especially for youngsters, and this is a great technique for young ones. It’s a great way to introduce kids to fishing.”
Brown said Ledge Creek isn’t the only good producer of crappie and bass at Falls Lake.
“There are plenty of other creeks in the lake that have just as good fishing, especially for crappie,” he said. “Just look for rocks or submerged woody structure along the shorelines.”
Brown caught three largemouths that hit crappie minnows Monday, April 11.
“I recently had a client catch a 9-pound carp that hit a crappie minnow on a rig with 4-pound test line,” he said. “Now that fish went to war with him.”
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