Digh Hoping Bream Bed Bite Pays Off Saturday In N.c. Bfl On High Rock Lake
Fishing is good on High Rock Lake during the week when water is pulled through the dam for power generation, but it’s a completely different ballgame on Saturdays, said Rob Digh of Denver, N.C., who is ranked third in points in the North Carolina BFL Division.
For that reason, plus the cost of gas which becomes a factor, Digh has not pre-practiced on the lake for the North Carolina BFL tournament on the lake this Saturday.
“I’ll go Friday and practice and try to put something together and then just go fishing on Saturday,” said Digh who trails Matt Lowe by three points and leader David Pless by 11 points with only Saturday’s tournament left before the two-day super tournament on High Rock in September.
“It’s almost 100 miles up there and back from my home, and with gas prices as high as they are it is almost not affordable to go back and forth. If you don’t win you don’t make a whole lot,” he said.
As for the points race, Digh admits he is somewhat between a rock and a hard place, with the two anglers ahead of him pretty hard to beat and some strong anglers right behind him. But he has had a solid year so far, finishing 13th on Lake Norman March 3, then 24th at Kerr Lake March 31 before rebounding with a 3rd place finish on Lake Wylie May 5.
“It’s going to be a struggle,” he said. “It’s going to take a big bag of fish. It’s been taking big bags over there all summer, even in the early spring. It’s been taking 19-20 pounds in tournaments.”
And, he noted, High Rock is kind of unusual this year.
“They had a fish kill over there last year. It seemed to hurt the fishing some for the quantity of fish, but not the quality. There are some really good quality fish coming out of that lake.”
Although the weather has begun to heat up, Digh said he believes Saturday’s tournament will be won shallow.
“It’s about time for them to get offshore, and that could happen this weekend, but the deep fishing is usually better after the Fourth of July. We’ve just had a couple of hot days, but it’s been a really cool spring so I don’t look for them to be out there yet.”
Digh said he believes the best bet will be to fish shallow with bream beds playing a major factor.
“I think it will be won flipping something small like a Beaver Bait or a Brush Hog, possibly a jig. You can do really well there this time of year swimming a jig. There are a lot of mayflies hatching out and the bream will be up on the banks, so I think there will be a topwater and a jig bite fishing around the bream beds. That is what I am hoping for.”
Walmart Bass Fishing League – North Carolina Division
Sat, Jun 23, 2012
High Rock Lake
Tamarac Marina
