Fishing on High Rock Lake has been heavy as local fisherman catch plenty of crappie, largemouth bass, and catfish.

Crappie are biting minnows the best, with people catching their limit of crappie daily. Areas producing good catches include Panther and Dutch Second creeks in the Fisherman's Cove area and Crane Creek on points and structure. Night fishing is picking up, with good numbers and sizes. Fish exceeding a pound are not unusual, with six dozen minnows not lasting very long at all.

Largemouth bass are spawning in some areas of the lake, and people are frequently catching fish weighing more than 5 pounds. Try plastic lizards and crawdads when tempting a fish guarding a spawning bed, the bass will often hit in an attempt to rid the bed of the potential egg predator (your bait). Early mornings with buzz-baits fished in standing timber in upper portions of Black's Bottom and Crane Creek upstream of Goodman Lake Road bridge has produced good-size fish.

Channel catfish have been active, with catches ranging from 1 to 4 pounds common. Cut-bait, chicken liver and worms have been the best baits. Try York Hill Access Area, Hannah Ferry Road at the public boat ramp located at the end and areas downstream of the Buck Steam Station. Blue cats and some flathead catfish weighing more than 20 pounds have been caught in these areas.

Striped bass have been active near the powerhouses on all the area lakes. Some weighing more than 20 pounds have been seen, with 8 to 12 pounds common.

For fishermen that catch live shad for bait, the warm water discharge of the Buck Steam Station is the place to be. Thousands upon thousands of gizzard and threadfin shad can be seen splashing and jumping in and downstream of the discharge. Usually a couple of throws of a cast net will quickly fill a fishermen's daily limit of 200 shad. Throw back any game fish you may catch with the shad and have your current fishing license.

Water levels are generally near full in most Yadkin River Lakes, with water temperatures from 65 to 70 degrees in most areas. Some river portions of High Rock and feeder creeks have been muddy due to recent rains, but overall lake conditions on High Rock, Tuckertown and Badin Lake are clear to stained.

E-mail Sgt. Anthony Sharum of the N.C. Wildlife Resources at huntfishguy66@aol.com.

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