Tight Weights and Big Decisions on Day One at Lake Norman
The bite is steady at Stop Two of the NPFL season on Lake Norman, with most of the field putting together a five-bass limit—but quality is hard to find. The fish are chewing across the lake, but the tail end of a cold front is making it tough to find better-than-average bites.
With a jig locked in hand, veteran angler Greg Hackney’s 16-pound, 6-ounce Day One limit was enough to take the top spot. A last-minute decision to fish for a big fish from practice paid dividends, adding a 4-pound, 10-ounce largemouth to his box just 30 minutes before check-in.
In second, Greenback, Tennessee pro Ricky Robinson fished against the grain, bringing 16 pounds even to settle into the second-place spot, just six ounces behind Hackney. In third, Catawba, North Carolina angler KJ Queen relied on history to catch his 15-pound, 8-ounce limit.
Big fish of Day One - a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass - was caught by fifth-place angler Richard Cooper, anchoring his 15-pound, 2-ounce limit. Of the 114 anglers weighing a fish on day one, all but four had a limit.
Patience Key for Hackney
After a slow trek to fill a limit this morning, where most of his “better fish from practice” had vacated, the area veteran Hackney settled in and made use of a zone he felt held a good population of bass.
“This morning, I just kind of went fishing and tried to take advantage of the dark and get a big bite—without luck,” said Hackney. “Then I made a move to some fish I knew were there, but I was in a bad rotation to start, and those fish had either been caught or moved off.”
His next spot was more of a community area, a place known to hold fish. To his surprise, he had it to himself and filled a limit, with one fish going nearly 4 pounds. It was enough to calm his nerves.
“I got settled and worked through a few places I had planned to fish and the fish were there, but they were mostly new fish that had moved in,” he said. “I was rotating several baits—a swimbait and a jig mostly, both swimming and flipping produced. I had a decent limit and decided to fish for a single bass I saw on Day Two of practice.”
To his surprise, the big female was still there—and had a male with her. With only 30 minutes left before check-in, he connected with the male and worked on the female, who wasn’t locked on a bed and was circling a tree top.
“I picked up a wacky rig and tried to get it in front of her, but she kept circling and wasn't stationary,” he added. “She swam up towards the bait but quickly turned and darted away. I figured she saw the boat and got spooked, but next thing you know, my line went tight and I fought her to the boat. It took me from a decent bag to a big bag, and that is the key to this place.”
Hackney rotated through over 30 bites on the day, with four being decent keepers and no lost fish that mattered. He’s anticipating the bite to get better over Thursday and Friday with the weather stabilizing and temperatures rising.
“We are here at a good time,” he said. “The cold fronts, I had ice on my cover in practice and it was chilly. My goal was 13 pounds today, which will keep you in the hunt here.”
Robinson Needs the Wind
Tennessee angler Ricky Robinson is likely the only angler in the field praying for wind. Throughout practice, while others were hiding from it, Robinson was using a technique he perfected back home in Tennessee for smallmouth - replicating it here on Norman to catch big spotted bass.
“Practice was fantastic for me, having never been here, and I have a way I catch them back home that I figured out would work,” he said. “Every day in practice I caught 15 or 16 pounds, and that was one here, one there.”
He located a total of 28 places to rotate through during the three-day tournament, and only fished a couple on Day One, bringing in 16 pounds of spotted bass. And if it weren't for some misfortune, would have upped his start.
“On my second spot, I made 9 casts and landed all but two—and those two were over 3 pounds,” he said. “The wind keeps them grouped up, and when it stops blowing, they leave. Today I had enough wind, but tomorrow I’m worried—you don’t know how happy I’ll be if it blows 10 to 15 MPH tomorrow.”
Queen Keeps It Simple
Local angler KJ Queen knows Norman as well as anyone, living just up the road in Catawba. He opted to focus his practice without a rod and reel in hand, using just his eyes to scan for shallow fish. Coming into Day One, he had several fish marked, but like Hackney, a lot of them were caught or had left.
“There were not a lot of bass left in my areas where I had found them,” he said. “Really I just swapped to light line and a Queen Jig Head with a Zoom bait and pitched it around some key areas I know should have fish.”
His 15-pound, 8-ounce limit will keep him in contention as the event progresses, but he’s hopeful the rising water and water temperatures will stabilize and some new fish will move in.
“I just sort of got into some historical area and felt like a lot of fish were, or are, coming to me,” he added. “Throughout the event, more and more should move in. I filled a limit quickly with the Queen jig head, and then slowed down and was able to cull a few times.”
Top Ten:
Greg Hackney 16-6
Ricky Robinson 16-0
KJ Queen 15-8
Patrick Walters 15-5
Richard Cooper 15-2
David Williams 15-1
Derrick Snavely 14-15
Justin Adkins 14-10
Barron Adams 14-8
Jason Burroughs 14-7
