Central North Carolina is caught in one of those strange weather patterns that occur every so often — part of the Piedmont is suffering through an extended drought while other parts have plenty of rain.
That’s not good news for many farmers, but it’s a happy time for striped bass anglers, especially those fishing at High Rock Lake on the Yadkin chain of lakes.
”We’ve been getting, it seems like, one big storm each day this summer,” said veteran guide Maynard Edwards (Yadkin Lakes Guide Service, 336-247-1287, www.extremefishingconcepts.com).
That means the lake has plenty of current. The Yadkin was running muddy at the I-40 bridge north of the lake Aug. 20, which means lots of water and current — which triggers one particular bite.
“We’ve had current all summer long because of the storms and that gets the striped bass active,” Edwards said. “High Rock’s not the deepest lake (on the Yadkin chain), so it needs lots of oxygenated water coming through to make the stripers feel good enough to want to eat. When there’s little current and it’s hot, they kinda shut down.
“But that’s not been the case most of this summer.”
Edwards uses cut bait at High Rock. Down the river at Badin Lake, he trolls bucktails in much deeper water.
“Overcast days are the best for working the humps that rise up from 30 to 35 feet depths (at High Rock),” Edwards said. “My favorite depth will be 12 to 16 feet. Just find that level, because it’ll usually have some baitfish, and that’ll attract the stripers. Use your depth-finder; striper marks are pretty easy to see.”
Striped bass at High Rock run from 8 pounds to “the lower teens,” Edwards said. “They’re a little smaller at Badin, but you might catch more fish in a day’s time.”
Anglers may keep eight stripers per day caught from Yadkin lakes. The minimum length is 16 inches, but two fish in a daily creel may be less than 16-inches long.
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