With the recent advent of warm weather, water temperatures are rising and bass and crappie are on the feed. Bass may generally be found near their normal spawning grounds, holding in adjacent deeper water and coming up on the flats to feed once the sun warms the water. Crappie are schooled up in 4-6 feet of water adjacent to cover.
Largemouth bass are being caught in shallow coves, back ends of creeks and on boat docks. Better lures are Speed Shads, suspending jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs. Lots of pickerel are hitting shad imitating crankbaits, fished in a stop and go retrieve near willow grass and docks, uplake.
Stripers were caught in good numbers this week on the flats behind the Route 85 bridge on live or cut shad.
White perch are available below the Gaston Dam. Hickory and white shad are being caught at Weldon, N.C.
