Fishing locations for the Memorial Day weekend

[5pounds+]

Hi Guys, I will be in NC for the Memorial Day weekend and plan on wetting a line while in the area. I will be in town Saturday-Tuesday and would like to fish on Monday and Tuesday, barring any changes to the schedule. I will be in Mebane which is about 20 minutes west of Chapel Hill. I only practive C & R and only use artificials, so you dont have to worry about me taking fish out of the fishery. I was wondering if you could share some spots that are producing currently. Any help would be appreciated, this way I don't waste time in an unproductive spot. Thanks and have a good Holiday.

[HankV]

I don;t know Mebane well, but I would try the Haw River on Route 54, just behind Allamance Community College. There is a canoe access area there, too, and you can wade (or rent a canoe at Haw River Canoe Co.).
If you have a car, try the Eno River in Hillsborough or Eno River State Park.
Good luck!

hank

[5pounds+]

Thanks Hank, What about any locations around Durham - Chapel Hill? Any particular parts of Jordan Lake doing better then others? What about the impoundment on 54?

[dalton]

The impoundments have been really unproductive this year on the whole...could be something related to the drought. I would check out University Lake, it should be open Monday--they rent out canoes and jon boats witht trolling motors. We held a tournament out there in March and caught a lot of nice fish (well the competing school did...), several around 5lbs and one weighing in at 7.5lbs. Right now throughout NC the bass are in the weird postspawn mode and you really have to work to catch them.

I haven't fished in the area for almost a month now, so I can't really comment on places that are productive at the moment.

[5pounds+]

Thanks Dalton, would you happen to know how much it is to rent a boat and motor at Univ. Lake? If it is anything like the lakes in MD you have to pay for the boat, motor, and battery separately and could easily reach $55. Any chance someone can be productive from shore at Univ. Lake? Thanks, enjoy the Holiday.

[HankV]

How did it go?

I wish I had checked in last night (Sunday), but I was exhausted after a day on University Lake. Our battery died at the end of it, and you know the rest - one paddle, wind blowing the wrong way, etc.


Anyway, Dalton was right, but the past tense would have been more approriate. I caught ten nice bass in the impoundments this week and a few more on Univ Lake. I also caught a 9 lb 2 oz Bowfin on Univ Lake. An absolute monster.

Here's what is working:

- Gulp! soft baits, Carolina rig, fished a few feet off bank.
- Topwater (buzzbaits in particular).
- Shallow running crankbaitsaround structure. The suspending kind have been good to
me of late.

hank

[5pounds+]

Got up early my last day in NC and drove the 24 miles to Univ Lake only to find out it was closed! Thank goodness I have Google Maps on my Blackberry and was able to locate Henry Anderson Park, which turned out to be a bust. I then hit TF.com to find out where else I could go in or near Chapel Hill. I came across your post about a pond near 15-501 so I thought I would check it out. The gate was open and the guys from OWASA didn't seem to mind that I planned on fishing there this morning.

Took a walk around and picked a spot directly across from the island, would be some excellent fishing from the banks of the island, and began my assault. Started with a black n' blue Chatterbait...nothin. Switched to a Chartreuse spinnerbait with willow blades and on my 5th cast landed this pig....



here is another image taken from a bench in the shade,



I am happy to say after these two pictures I placed her back in the water to fight another day.

here is a shot of the blowdown I was fishing.

I cast to the right of the main trunk using a medium retrieve speed. The strike didn't happen anywhere near the tree rather about half way through the retrieve. There are a ton of carp in the pond and at first I thought I hooked a carp. It wasn't until the fish was about 5ft from shore that I got a good look at it and realized it was a LMB. It was a ton of fun battling with a medium action rod, she kept taking line and I would reel her in and she would peel more line the whole time my drag was singing, what a beautiful sound!

I think you guys have an excellent fishery that is very private and with clearer water would be killer, especially knowing that fish of this class call that pond home. I tried to keep the location out of the post in case you guys wanted to keep it a secret.

I should also mention that someone or something has been taking small, under 8", catfish out of the pond and leaving them around the trails. I believe I saw 3 or 4 today.
Good luck and happy fishing!

[HankV]

Excellent fish! Once again, that pond has proved a treasure. Glad to hear that it worked out.

h

[carey]

good work mate!

[ReelinHeel]

Nice hog!