Lake Norman is one of the largest lakes in North Carolina, and is very popular for shore fishing due to strong populations of fish as well as open areas available for free shore fishing. Lake Norman has large stocks of striped bass, largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, spotted bass and bream.
Lake Norman is a vast body of water located just north of Charlotte, North Carolina. At the high water mark it is 32,510 acres with over five hundred and twenty miles of shoreline.
Luckily for those who don’t own a boat Lake Norman has several different areas available for free shore fishing by the public. I fished in these locations frequently and can tell you the shore fishing opportunities on Lake Norman are top-notch for anglers.
Lake Norman shore fishing areas open to the public for free fishing are:
McGuire Fishing Area
Marshall Steam Station Fishing Area
Lake Norman State Park
Jetton Road County Park
Ramsey Creek Access Area
Blythe Landing County Park
The McGuire Fishing Area is located off Highway 73 and is a shore fishing recreational area operated by the Duke Power Company at the McGuire Nuclear Station power plant. It is free to the public, with a parking lot, gravel walkways, porta-johns, and lighting at night. It is handicapped accessible with a fishing pier.
The Marshall Steam Station Fishing Area is located off Highway 150 and operated by Duke Power at the Marshall Steam Station power plant. It is free to the public and has a large parking lot with porta-johns, graveled walkways, and lighting at night.
Lake Norman State Park is an excellent beach-like facility which has areas for swimming and hiking as well as shore fishing. In fact, Lake Norman State Park has its own 33-acre lake where fishing and boating are permitted.
North Carolina fishing regulations are in effect at all of these shore fishing areas. One rule specific to Lake Norman is the size and creel limit for striped bass, which is currently 4 striped bass per day with a 16-inch size limit.
Striped bass are a very popular fish at the Lake Norman shore fishing areas. Anglers can fish on the bottom for stripers using cut bait (such as shad or bream), live minnows, or earthworms or bloodworms.
You can also use a wide variety of lures to catch striped bass. When striper fishing from shore I like white fluke-style grubs on ¼ ounce lead jig heads.
Shore fishermen can also use lures and minnows to catch largemouth bass and spotted bass. Cut bait and live bream on the bottom are great for catfish, especially at night, and crappie like little jigs and live minnows.
Another shore fishing fish that doesn’t get much attention is the white perch, a panfish which can be caught on worms or cut bait.
You can find a lot more information about fishing Lake Norman at the Lake Norman Ventures site operated by Captain Gus Gustafson.
You can also visit my blog A Dash Of Salty for information on shore fishing Lake Norman as well as a lot more fishing tips, articles, and links.
Sources:
Lake Norman Ventures, Lake Norman Information
Lake Norman’s Web, Lake Norman Public Fishing Areas
NC Division of Parks and Recreation, Lake Norman State Park
