If any body of water could convincingly be called North Carolina’s best fishing lake, it’s Lake Norman. This massive reservoir spans around 32,510 acres, making it the largest artificial impoundment in the state.
An excellent bass lake that also offers trophy catfish potential, Lake Norman is just as well known for its abundant black crappies and growing population of hybrid striped bass.
There’s truly something here for every angler. Keep reading for our top Lake Norman fishing tips.
The impoundment is part of a series of reservoirs along the Catawba River just north of Charlotte. Duke Energy constructed the lake in 1964 with the completion of the Cowans Ford Dam, and the company operates two power plants on its shore.
With a maximum depth of about 110 feet, Lake Norman has clear, cool water and an abundance of deep structure like points, humps and channels that support deep-dwelling giants like blue catfish and stripers.
The lake also has abundant cover in its warmer, weedier shallows, including brush piles and miles of boat dock-lined shores that provide hiding places for black bass and panfish.
Lake Norman is also a true four-season lake that offers excellent fishing any time of year.
Lake Norman Bass Fishing
Largemouth Bass
Lake Norman has been one of North Carolina’s best largemouth bass lakes since virtually day one. Within a few years of the dam’s completion, the reservoir was kicking out impressive largemouths.
It still does, although the introduction of invasive Alabama spotted bass has somewhat diminished the largemouth fishery.
You still have a solid shot at catching largemouths over 5 pounds here. However, the fishery has changed, and anglers’ tactics have changed with it.
These days, largemouth fishing is concentrated in Lake Norman’s coves and creek arms like Reeds Creek and Little Creek, as well as at the upper end of the main lake.
This reservoir is a really excellent lake for anyone who enjoys fishing shallow cover.
The dock bite is an especially productive pattern that can set you up for success year-round. Lake Norman’s shorelines are lined with innumerable docks, piers and boathouses, and fishing them can produce good largemouth action practically any time of year.
March through April, which includes the pre-spawn and spawn periods on Lake Norman, is a great time to work your way along the shores of any of the lake’s major coves, picking your way from dock to dock.
Soft plastics including Senkos, creature baits, soft jerkbaits and jig-and-pig combos are great tools for skipping under docks.
Local guides generally point to docks and piers above NC 150 as the best fishing spots on Lake Norman for big bass.
During May, another pattern takes shape. Bass will have finished spawning, but bluegill and sunfish are still in the thick of their own spawn. That’s when big largemouths will hunt for an easy meal on bream beds.
Look for bedding panfish around any of the lake’s major boat ramps, which tend to have ideal spawning habitat nearby. The Stumpy Creek boat ramp is a prime example.
Topwaters like Rebel Pop-Rs and Zara Spooks tend to draw explosive strikes during May and June.
In summer, turn your attention back to the docks. While some bass head to deep structure, the deep summer bite on Lake Norman is less consistent than in many North Carolina reservoirs.
Most of the trees and stumps were cleared out before the reservoir was built. As a result, largemouths tend to seek shelter from the summer sun beneath shady docks. In particular, look for docks in the 5 to 12-foot range that have weeds or brush piles nearby.
Spotted Bass
For decades, largemouth bass were the only black bass species in Lake Norman. But spotted bass were found in the lake in 2001—most likely introduced illegally by anglers—and have since exploded in numbers.
A regionally native strain of spotted bass and invasive Alabama spotted bass have both been found in the reservoir.
Though the two species are virtually indistinguishable to the naked eye, it’s the latter that has Wildlife Resources Commission biologists most concerned.
Alabama bass grow bigger than native spotted bass, and they out-compete largemouths in many lakes.
In Lake Norman, Alabama bass have all but taken over the lower part of the main lake. Tournament weigh-ins often consiste mostly of ‘spots’ with one big kicker largemouth.
Despite their invasive status, Lake Norman’s spotted bass do provide some great angling opportunities. The reservoir has gained a reputation as arguably North Carolina’s best spotted bass lake. Lemonade out of lemons, as they say.
Spotted bass are smaller than largemouths, sometimes reaching 4 pounds but more often weighing 1-2 pounds. (The state record spot, at 6 pounds, 5 ounces, came out of Lake Norman.)
They’re more comfortable in open water and commonly follow schools of shad and herring around main lake points and creek mouths.
Spots also relate to cover like bush piles, bridge pilings and riprap banks, and they’re more likely to be close to the bank in the morning or evening. Anglers who target largemouths under docks are likely to catch a few spots as well.
Rat-L-Traps and Zoom Flukes are popular baits to throw for spotted bass, but these fish are known for being more aggressive and less discerning than largemouths. On days when the bite is going strong, virtually anything you throw could work.
If conditions are tough, switch to finesse techniques like drop-shotting or a Ned rig around deeper structure, including rocky shoals marked by buoys in various parts of the lake.
Lake Norman Crappie Fishing
With such a great reputation as a bass lake, Lake Norman’s crappie fishery tends to be underrated. But this lake puts up good numbers and also produces some serious slabs. Both white and black crappie are abundant.
The dominant species tends to shift back and forth, as do crappie numbers in general. These notoriously cyclical fish have their ups and downs here just as they do in most lakes, with the success of any given spawn season significantly impacting the next few years’ fishing.
But Lake Norman has more good years than bad, and 10-inch crappies are usually quite common. You’ll even hear tell of the occasional 15- or 16-inch monster.
The best crappie fishing is at the upper end of the reservoir, above NC 150. During the winter months, the so-called “hot hole” where warm water is discharged from the Marshall Steam Station is a hot spot—no pun intended—for crappies. The warm outflow also draws hybrid stripers and catfish.
Most years in February, crappies start to leave winter haunts and head toward the backs of coves, though they tend to alternate back and forth until warming trends become more consistent in March.
The spawn usually happens around early April in the backs of coves. Until then, a good approach on any given day is to start shallow (5 feet or so) and work your way out to about 25 feet until you find fish.
Docks can often be among the best places to find crappies on Lake Norman, especially the large floating dock complexes at marinas.
Bridge pilings are also great crappie spots, including the NC 150 bridge and many smaller roads that cross the creeks on the upper end of the reservoir.
Just about any soft plastic trailer on a 1/16- or 1/32-ounce jig head can tempt crappies, but the Bobby Garland Baby Shad is a local favorite. Come with a supply of “Blue Back Shad” bodies to imitate the threadfin shad that make up a good chunk of crappies’ diet.
Crappie fishing tends to slump quite a bit in the summer, but deep brush piles and bridge pilings can still produce until cooling trends invite crappies back towards shallow areas again in the fall.
Lake Norman Catfishing
Channel catfish are the only major catfish species that is native to the Catawba River watershed. However, like many reservoirs across the state, Lake Norman has gained a reputation for big flathead and blue catfish in recent years.
Nobody seems to know exactly how this fishery developed. Though a few blue cats and flatheads were stocked when the lake was first impounded, it took decades before anglers started to catch them in significant numbers or sizes.
These days, blue catfish weighing around 20 pounds are common, and anglers occasionally catch even larger fish.
Lake Norman isn’t quite the producer of 100-pound behemoths that some Carolina reservoirs are, but an 85-pounder caught here did enjoy a brief stint as the state record.
Lake Norman also produces decent numbers of flatheads, many of them weighing 10 to 15 pounds and a few topping 50.
Channel cats also remain abundant as ever, with lots of 2- to 4-pound fish that make great table fare.
If channel cats are what you’re after, tossing chicken livers, nightcrawlers or dip bait near brush piles, docks and bridges can almost always produce, especially around dusk on summer nights.
Flatheads are most common at the upper end of the lake and its major creek arms. They enjoy a more riverine environment and typically spend daylight hours in thick, snaggy cover.
Try fishing after dark with live bluegill or white perch.
Blue catfish are the star attraction for most folks who come to Lake Norman for catfish, and the best fishing for them tends to be during the colder months. As temperatures drop in the fall, shad head toward Lake Norman’s creeks, and blue cats follow.
Little Creek and Ramsey Creek are a couple of great blue cat areas toward the lower end of the lake, but just about any major creek has potential.
Try drifting or slow trolling cut bait close to the bottom at a range of depths. In winter, 15 to 25 feet is usually about right.
White perch, which are very common in Lake Norman, make ideal cut bait, but anglers often use shad, bluegill or crappie filets.
Hard structures like ledges, rock piles, humps and points are the best spots.
A lot of quality blue cats are caught in summer, too.
This time of year, post-spawn blue cats feed on mussels, and the abundant mussel beds at the upper end of Lake Norman are the best places to find them. Try drifting cut bait over the mussel beds.
Other Fish Species
Lake Norman supports a diverse fishery that includes many species other than those listed above. The fishing for these additional game fish can also be excellent.
Hybrid Striped Bass
Lake Norman was once known as one of North Carolina’s best striper lakes. But after that fishery collapsed due to a series of catastrophic hot-weather fish kills, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission implemented a new hybrid striper stocking program in 2012.
Today when anglers talk about Lake Norman striper fishing, it’s all about these hybrids between striped bass and white bass. Hybrid stripers tolerate warmer temperatures and provide excellent fishing in open-water areas of the lake in summer and arguably even better fishing in winter.
Some of the best hybrid fishing tends to be around the edges of humps and points at 10 to 20 feet. Trolling is a good way to cover water, but switching to casting can be more efficient once you’ve found fish, not to mention more fun.
Hybrid stripers weighing 1 to 3 pounds are common, and occasional 10-pounders turn up as well.
They have somewhat smaller mouths than true stripers and favor smaller lures. Lipless crankbaits like Rat-L-Traps are effective, as are white bucktails and jigs tipped with curlytail grubs or paddle tail swimbaits.
One of the key winter hybrid striper spots is the warm water discharge from the Marshall Steam Plant near NC 150, along with the lake’s other “hot hole,” located near the McGuire Nuclear Station at the south end of Lake Norman.
Catch More Stripers
North Carolina’s Best Striper Fishing (Includes Hybrids)
Striper Fishing Techniques that also catch hybrid stripers
White Perch
Some of the most abundant fish in Lake Norman, white perch are members of the temperate bass family, making them close relatives of white bass and striped bass. They’ve become much more common in Lake Norman in recent years.
Local anglers favor smaller white perch as catfish bait, while larger individuals that weigh around a pound are often harvested for the table.
For the most part, white perch inhabit open water and travel in massive schools.
White perch have a mixed reputation, and their increased number in Lake Norman has not been universally regarded as positive. White perch directly compete with white bass and yellow perch, both of which used to be much more common in Lake Norman than they currently are.
Trolling with live minnows is a good way to find white perch, though they’re also easy to spot on electronics. Spring and fall are good times to catch them, as they gather at 20 to 40-foot depths in creeks like Hagers, Little, Beaver Dam, Stumpy and Rocky creeks.
Sabiki rigs, which include multiple tiny jigs on a single line, have proven very effective at tempting white perch. Anglers ofrten catch multiple fish on a single cast.
In winter, try casting these rigs around the Marshall Steam Plant hot hole.
Bluegill & Sunfish
A lot of anglers keep tabs on Lake Norman’s abundant bream—a name that usually refers to bluegill but is often applied to any member of the sunfish family—because bass are usually attracted to bream beds in late spring and summer.
But bream merit more attention in their own right.
Lake Norman supports abundant sunfish populations, with bluegill being the dominant species. They grow big here, too, and it’s not uncommon to catch bluegill measuring 6 to 9 inches.
Locating and catching bream is usually pretty easy. In early spring, warming waters in Lake Norman’s creeks will wake bluegill up and prompt them to become more active.
Little Creek, Ramsey Creek and Stumpy Creek are just a few areas where anglers find large numbers of them.
Live worms and crickets make ideal bluegill baits, but any small jig can also do the trick, as can fly fishing with poppers and nymphs. Spawning takes place during the warmer months over broad flats, often with hundreds of nests close together.
Bluegill spawn in waves starting in May and usually extending well into the summer, with peak spawning activity taking place around the full moon each month. The areas where they bed down tend to get successively deeper as summer progresses.
Catch More Bream
Planning Your Trip
There’s no off-season for fishing on Lake Norman, though the best time to visit depends on what you want to catch and how high your tolerance is for boat traffic. Summer is the busiest tourist season, and most bass tournaments occur in spring and fall.
Several communities are on or near the lake, including Sherrills Ford, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Denver, Westport, Mooresville and Troutman. Each offers a variety of amenities, including shopping and dining, as well as lodging options ranging from campgrounds to resorts.
Getting to Lake Norman
The city of Charlotte is roughly a 30-minute drive from the southern end of Lake Norman and 45 minutes to an hour from the upper end.
Interstate 77 runs north-to-south along the east side of the lake, skirting Davidson and Reeds Creeks and providing a straight route from the city.
Lake Norman can also be reached from NC 73 along the south shore, NC 16 along the west side, and NC 150, which crosses the upper lake between Sherrills Ford and Mooresville.
Bank & Boat Access
Lake Norman’s shoreline is, for the most part, highly developed. Most of it is made up of private residences, though public parks and ramps around the lake provide ample access. Duke Energy operates several access areas.
The following are some of the best places to launch a boat or fish Lake Norman from the bank, listed from north to south.
- Long Island Access Area: The uppermost launch on Lake Norman is the Long Island Access Area, which includes two boat ramps with a floating dock and a medium-sized parking lot. Launching is free, though bank fishing access is limited.
- Lake Norman State Park: Located near the upper end of the lake along Hicks Creek, Lake Norman State Park offers various access and facilities, including boat ramps, a fishing pier, and camping for tents and RVs. Boat rentals are available seasonally.
- Stumpy Creek Boat Landing: The Stumpy Creek Boat Landing is an Iredell County launch site on the east side of Lake Norman, overlooking its namesake creek arm. A modest launch fee is required. This spot includes bank access, ample parking, two launch ramps and a floating dock.
- Pinnacle Access Area: Just north of NC 150 on the east side of the lake, the Pinnacle Access Area is a free public launch site with five ramps and two floating docks. There’s plenty of parking, but bank access is minimal.
- McCrary Creek Access Area: Four ramps, two floating docks, and a large parking lot are available at the McCrary Creek Access Area, a free public access site just south of NC 150 on the east side of the lake. This area is also a good spot for bank fishing, with ample access including a sandy, beachlike area and a section of riprap bank.
- Marshall Fishing Access Area: One of the best bank fishing spots on the lake, the Marshall Fishing Access Area is located on the west side of the lake near the Marshall Steam Station’s hot hole. This area is one of several sites on the lake operated by Duke Energy.
- Hager Creek Access Area: The Hager Creek Access Area is another excellent free public launch, located on the east side of the main lake not far from the mouth of Hager Creek. This site includes four ramps, two floating docks, two large parking lots, and a long stretch of open shoreline for bank fishing.
- Little Creek Access Area: A fairly small access site on the west side of the lake, the Little Creek Access Area offers a great stretch for shore fishing on the Little Creek arm of Lake Norman. Anglers can use two free launch ramps and a floating dock.
- Beatty’s Ford Access Area: Four launch ramps, two floating docks, and a great stretch of open shoreline are available at the Beatty’s Ford Access Area, on a long point extending from Lake Norman’s west side. There is no launch fee.
- Jetton Park: Located in Cornelius on the east side of Lake Norman, Jetton Park spans over 100 acres and offers bank access and lakeside hiking trails. Access is free, but there are no launch facilities in the park.
- Ramsey Creek Park: Best known for its popular swimming beach, Mecklenburg County’s Ramsey Creek Park also offers an excellent fishing pier and boat launch facilities. At this writing, the launch fee is $5 for county residents and $8 for nonresidents.
- McGuire Fishing Access: Adjacent to the discharge from the McGuire Nuclear Station—which is known as the lake’s second “hot hole” after the Marshall Steam Station—the McGuire Fishing Access site offers ample bank access and parking near the south end of the lake.
- Blythe Landing Park: A variety of access is available at Blythe Landing Park, a Mecklenburg County Park at the south end of Lake Norman. An excellent fishing pier and ample shoreline are available for shore fishing, and there is also a six-lane launch site.
In addition to the public access sites above, more than a dozen privately owned marinas provide launch facilities, boat rentals, and docking around the lake. Many offer lodging as well.