Story by Ken Duke
Lake Norman, located just north of Charlotte, straddling the North and South Carolina border, is a 32,750-acre recreational gem featuring 520 miles of picturesque shoreline. For bass anglers, it’s one of the most dynamic fisheries in the region. But it didn’t start as a fishing destination. Its story begins with electricity, engineering, and a bold idea that would flood a river valley and create a thriving bass haven.
From River to Reservoir
The foundation of Lake Norman was laid in the late 1950s, when Duke Power (now Duke Energy) set out to build a massive hydroelectric project on the Catawba River. The resulting Cowans Ford Dam, completed in 1963, backed up the river and flooded over 100 miles of the valley—submerging farmland, timber, small towns, and countless creeks and ditches.
Named after Norman Cocke, a former president of Duke Power, Lake Norman wasn’t designed with bass in mind. But it’s become a bass and bass fishing favorite.
The Evolution of a Fishery
Lake Norman is deep and relatively clear. The average depth is 33.5 feet, and the maximum depth at full pool is 110 feet. After impoundment, state-led stocking programs and natural reproduction allowed largemouth bass populations to take off. The lake’s hundreds of coves, rocky points, and submerged cover and structure offered ideal spawning and ambush zones.
Then came the spotted bass, introduced into the lake sometime in the 1990s. These fish, which thrive in clear, deep reservoirs, have been expanding their range throughout the country for decades, and they definitely found Lake Norman to their liking. Today, spotted bass dominate many areas of the lake, often outcompeting largemouths.
Forage species include threadfin and gizzard shad, blueback herring, crayfish, sunfish and the usual terrestrials.
A Numbers Game
While Lake Norman is known for being a numbers lake when it comes to bass fishing, it did produce the state record spotted bass (6 pounds, 5 ounces) in 2003 and a state record sauger (5-15) in 1971. You may not catch a 10-pound largemouth here like at Santee Cooper, but there should be lots of limits of 14-inch bass, a tight leaderboard, and a thrilling final weigh-in. The lake is surrounded by boat docks and brush piles, creating plenty of cover for largemouths and spots.
Home Court Advantage
There are 20 NPFL anglers who call North Carolina home and another 13 who reside in South Carolina. That’s just shy of 30% of the field who almost certainly have significant experience on Lake Norman, and it doesn’t include the touring pros who have competed on these waters in the past.
It will likely take a three-day weight short of 60 pounds to win NPFL Stop Two at Lake Norman, but it’s a certainty that a wide variety of techniques will be used by the top anglers—from skipping boat docks to targeting spawning fish to cranking, jigging and worming points and drops. If variety is the spice of life and what you love about bass fishing, the Lake Norman event is tailor-made for you.
Catch the Action
Practice runs for three days (April 13–15), and each round is followed by the live “Round Table” podcast at 7:30 p.m. ET on YouTube or LIVE on the NPFL website. Competition begins on Wednesday, April 16, and runs through Friday, April 18. You can catch the Livestream with Luke Dunkin and Fat Cat Newton each competition day from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET followed by the Livestream weigh-in with Big Al McCullough beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. All the live action is available on the NPFL website and YouTube.
