Perch, bass, catfish making fishermen happy on Badin, Tillery

Late-summer smorgasbord is filling anglers’ coolers, livewells

Fishermen are catching a variety of species at Badin Lake and Lake Tillery, two impoundments on the lower end of the Yadkin/Pee Dee river system.

“People right now are catching what they call Waccamaw perch, or white perch, at both lakes,” said Sid Lefler of Joe’s Bait & Tackle in Albemarle, and the largemouth bass bite continues to be excellent on Badin, with night-fishing there good for catfish.

“What’s unusual is those bass are still in the (shallow) grass at Badin,” he said. “Guys are throwing spinnerbaits on windy days and using buzzbaits early in the morning for topwater bites.

“It’s taking 16 pounds to win those four-hour (wildcat) tournaments at Badin. Some of the bigger bass are going over four pounds.”

As mornings progress and the sun gets higher, bass are pulling off shallow-water areas but still not orienting too deep.

“They’ve been catching some good fish in eight to 10 foot of water by throwing plastic worms and jigs,” he said.

Fishermen targeting white perch are using small pieces of cut bait on multiple-hook drop-shot bottom rigs.

Fishermen targeting catfish are doing so after dark.

“I think it’s more comfortable to fish for them at night, but the catfish also seem to bite better at night,” said Lefler, who said flatheads, channels and a few blue cats are leaving deep water and slinking onto flats at night to feed on shad and panfish.

 “The bigger flatheads though are coming from people who drift fish and use live bait, particularly bream,” he said. “The blues like cut bait. Channel catss are going from five to 15 pounds.”

Fishermen are mostly using Carolina rigs to fish cut bait on the bottom and Santee rigs while drift fishing.

“The favorite cut baits to use are bream or shad,” Lefler said. “The flatheads like live bream, but you have to catch them using a hook-and-line; you can’t throw a cast net.”