BASSMASTER SERIES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS LAKE NORMAN
NOVEMBER 9TH THROUGH 15TH, 2008

by REX CHAMBERS

Last week’s Bassmaster Series Championships on Lake Norman in North Carolina proved to be some tough fishing for all competitors. Numbers weren’t really a problem, but quality was. Practice started on Sunday and Georgian co-angler Jason Wyley practiced with me all three days. I figured that most would be targeting boatdocks, since there is one every ten feet or so, on that daggum lake. The biggest problem I saw with the boat dock pattern was that there really aren’t that many anglers that actually own the docks! The majority don’t have good brush around them. But when you did find one with good brush, there were a few fish to be caught. We tried the shallow largemouth pattern, but it wasn’t producing for us. So, of course I went to my favorite spotted bass patterns. Deep shaky-heads, crankbaits and spoons. A couple solid three pounders later, and several scattered 1.75 pounders, I figured I had found a great pattern.

First day’s weather wasn’t all that bad. Had a fairly quick limit on crankbait and shaky head from right in front of the lake rental house I was staying at. Landed a nice 2.80 pound spot to get a fairly decent limit of over 7lbs, landing in 29th place after day one.

Day two was clouds and rain. Kentucky’s Dan Bashem was my co-angler and again I got a pretty quick limit from in front of the rental house’s dock and boat ramp down around marker #8. Another spot over three pounds on a crankbait anchored the limit. I had thrown up on the boat ramp and gotten two small ones to swipe at it. I told Dan, maybe they will get a big one interested. The next cast in the same place, the bait immediately got snagged on the ramp. I popped it a quick three times and when it popped loose, she about broke my wrist. A little luck never hurts. A limit of just over 8lbs moved me up to 14th place after day two weigh in.

Day three was more wind, clouds and rain. I was sticking with my spot pattern since the sun was not there to drive the largemouth up under the docks. Starting hole was drying up a bit, but just across the cove was productive putting three quick keepers in the boat, and losing a nice one on the crankbait. An awesome net-job by my Minnesotan co-angler, (he made a 22hr drive to fish) landed 3.87 largemouth on a shaky head off of a rocky point that anchored an 8+ pound bag and also won big fish of the event. It’s pretty tough fishing when a fish that size wins big fish honors in a four day event, but I’ll take it. That bag moved me to 8th place going into the final day where only the top 25 anglers fished.

Being over nine pounds back from the leader with only the top 25 advancing to the final day, I was aiming for a top five finish, knowing the fishing would be tough once again with plenty of rain and high winds due for the final day. I cranked a bit more than I should have since I was going for bigger bites. But, the big bites never came. A small limit was all this Alabama finesse fisherman could muster. I had found possibly the best brushed dock on the lake during practice up near Blythe landing that Wyley and I had seen a monster 5 plus pound largemouth up under it during practice. Fished that dock last thing the first three days, missing a couple bites and landing three solid keepers. I stuck what I thought was the big fish I had seen earlier in the week on Saturday’s final day, only to bully it out of the brush and find it rolling on top covering my line with slime and whiskers! A catfish on the final day was just me luck.

So a 13th place overall finish and big fish honors for the tournament fell my way. North Carolina angler David Williams took home the first place prize of $100,000 for his four day weight of 42.33 pounds.