NC July Fishing

[LrgmouthShad]

Badin 7/8/2024 solo kayak 

Water temps ???, wind direction: yes, wind speed 1-5mph, sky conditions: yes 

 

Weather conditions were all over the place today and seems to have made for a rough day of fishing. The winds changed in the middle of my trip from South to North. The sky conditions changed from overcast to sunny. I had probably the toughest summer fishing day I’ve had on Badin. I launched twice, trying to see if going to the other end of the lake would help. It didn’t.  I experimented a bunch trying to find a good bite. It is tough to know whether I would have done better just sticking with one thing and running with it. I got one tiny bass deep in grass, barely avoiding a skunk. 

Going to forget about this one 🫥

[LrgmouthShad]

I don’t feel like doing full reports so let’s just get this over with. Been fishing a ton. 
 

7/9/2024 Badin solo kayak 

Weather conditions: wind generally from the south, hot and sunny

3 on jigs skipping docks. Slow bite but good quality

7/9/2024 Ol Muddy evening for 45 minutes 

Nothing

7/10/2024

Morning on Pat’s pond with @FishTax, @Pat Brown, and son. Pat got one on????? I think a frog? FishTax got one on a swim jig, I think he lost/missed a couple. I got one on spinnerbait, lost/missed couple on worms. Wind out of South generally, mostly cloudy

7/10/2024 Afternoon into evening 

One of Pat’s Lakes Jon Boat fishing. New lake to me. No change to conditions other than sunnier and wind picked up considerably. We caught the following on weightless plastics (Pat), jigs, and spinnerbaits (me):

 

 

[IcatchDinks]

Killing it! Wish I could still be down there with y'all. Looks like a blast! 

[LrgmouthShad]

7/11/2024 Private Lake solo kayak

Water temps??? Winds E 5-8mph, overcast

Last trip in NC on the private lake yielded a bunch of small bass and one big grass carp. Bass would not eat topwater but the carp sure did. Ol monster 1/2oz black grape, coda lures apex jig 3/8oz Sassy Chica Rage Lobster caught bass. The grass carp ate the same Baby Bass PopMax. Weird that the bass would not hit topwater on a still, overcast day. There were many bass hanging out underneath the small homeowner docks. The big dock on the lake produced no fish over leave. I have a feeling there is a very old wise bass or two dominating that dock. It’s the only explanation I can think of because that dock should be loaded. 
 

Best baits over this leave were the rage lobster and Megabass Popmax. Biggest bass 5.57lbs out of Ol Muddy. Very good leave! I learned a lot and will be bringing back some tricks to TX! I do think that fishing in TX has made me a better NC fisherman and I look forward to the next time I can see @Pat Brown, @FishTax, and @IcatchDinks!