Catawba River chain of lakes fishing report

Catch a triple play on these lakes right now

Stripers, crappie, and white perch are feeding heavily on the Catawba River chain of lakes right now. Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, and Lake Wateree are the main bodies of water in this group, and the fish are biting similarly on all three.

Many striper anglers are anchoring down in areas and fan casting. Finding areas that offer opportunities for casting in various depths is a good tactic. Some anglers are also catching them by drifting.

Cut menhaden is working well on the stripers, but cut shad will work as well. Some anglers are also catching them on live menhaden and shad. For those anglers using live bait, don’t toss them when they die; they are working just fine when cut up.

Most of the crappie have spawned out, but some are still in the shallows. A few are also still in the creeks between the banks and the main lake, and a lot of fish are already back in the deep holes around structure on the main lake. For these fish, anglers are using electronics to pinpoint them, then dropping baits straight down to them. Live minnows are working well as bait.

Catch multiple white perch on single cast

Some anglers are also catching crappie while trolling with tipped with minnows. Going slow is the name of the game here. Anglers trolling less than 1 mph are having the most luck. When trolling above sunken trees or other debris, pay close attention when your jigs pass over them. Multiple hookups are always possible here.

White perch are biting aggressively, and anglers are catching many of them without even trying. Crappie anglers catch plenty of white perch while trying to locate crappie. But guide Lee Huffman of Huffys Guide Service said even striper anglers using good-sized chunks of cut bait are catching their share of white perch on all three lakes.

But anglers intending to catch white perch are having a field day with Sabiki rigs. One popular method is to locate schools of fish on depthfinders, then drop a Sabiki rig down. When you feel a bite, set the hook but don’t reel it in. Lower the rig back down and wait on another bite. When you’ve hooked the second fish, do the same thing without reeling in. Anglers are catching multiple white perch on a single drop this way.