Adam Petty and Brian Fritts of Raleigh won $1,000 by catching 11.42 pounds of bass at the third annual Fishers Of Men state championship on Lake Norman on March 7.
They won another $250 for the biggest fish at 3.9 pounds. Second biggest fish was caught by Marty Nester and Mike Sides and weighed 3.42 pounds.
Second place went to defending champions Wayne Sharpe and Marc Morrison with a weight of 9.42 pounds. Third went to Mike Sides and Marty Nester with a weight of 9.06 pounds.
A.J. and Jimmy Leshock collected the top Adult/Junior prize of $250.
The tournament started at Blythe Landing in Hunters-ville. Weigh-in was at the Bass ProShops in Concord with Hank Parker Jr. hosting.
Fishing tournament coming to Lake Wylie
The S.C. Division of the $8 million Walmart Bass Fishing League will visit the Lake Wylie in Lake Wylie, S.C., on Saturday for the third of five regular-season events. As many as 200 boaters and 200 co-anglers are expected to compete in the tournament, which will award as much as $45,000 in cash.
Register for the tournament online at FLWOutdoors. com or by calling 270-252-1000. Onsite registration will be held March 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Walmart at 970 E. Liberty St. in York, S.C. Entry fees are $200 for boaters and $100 for co-anglers.
Buster Boyd Landing in Lake Wylie will host the takeoff and weigh-in at 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in the S.C. Division will advance to the Lake Norman Regional Championship on Oct. 22-24 and will compete against anglers from the Mountain, Savannah River and Volunteer divisions for an All-American berth.
‘Reefs’ added for fish at Lake Norman
The North Carolina Wildlife Federation began deploying 300 fish attractors to create aquatic structures or “reefs” in Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake to increase and enhance fish habitat.
The project is in conjunction with state fish biologists and volunteers from the Federation’s local wildlife chapters ó Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists and Mountain Island Lake Wildlife Stewards.
The fish attractors look like giant porcupine quills. PVC pipes are connected to a ball-like sphere, forming a circular structure, which measures about five feet in diameter. Multiple attractors are placed together so that the pipes overlap to increase habitat complexity and provide cover and refuge for a variety of fish. In time, algae and plankton growth will concentrate more fish in one area.
State biologists trained those assembling the attractors. Safe deployment depths were calculated with attractors clumped 10-20 per site at 20-30 foot water depths. The depths ensure safety as well as achieving benefits to species such as crappie, spotted bass, and largemouth bass.
Tim Gestwicki, state executive director, said the project will improve lake habitat and fishing opportunities.
“This is a wonderful cooperative project that will benefit local anglers and help get people out doors and connected to nature,” Gestwicki said.
The Habitat Enhancement Program, a cooperative by Duke Energy, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources paid for the attractors.