Miller Fishing Against His Strength In Bws North Carolina Division Tournament On Lake Norman
Fishing a tournament series across different bodies of water, an angler has to be pretty versatile to maintain a high level of competitive consistency.
Some tournaments are won shallow, some deep, some in-between. Winning anglers have the capacity to catch fish in all conditions.
As one of only two anglers on the boater side in the North Carolina Division Bassmaster Weekend Series to catch a limit in both tournaments, points leader Mike Miller considers shallow-water fishing his forte.
“I’ve had a good year in the weekends series and I am second in points in the Piedmont BFL, plus I’ve done well on the CATT Trail,” said the Archdale, N.C., angler. “The water has been up all year so that has helped me a lot for the way I fish.”
But on Lake Norman Saturday, conventional wisdom says the fish will be caught off points and humps in deep water.
“I think the majority of the fish will be in the 8- to 20-foot range. Norman is known for fish to be schooled up offshore this time of year and I think that will be the way to win the tournament,” he said.
“I plan on practicing Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday – three days – because there will be a little change in strategy for the deep water fish. That’s why I need three days of practice on Norman. I don’t think you can win on the bank at Norman right now.”
Miller said there should be a very early topwater bite, but then it will be down to Carolina rigs, crankbaits and jigs to capitalize.
“There are brushpiles on Norman and if you can find the brushpiles on the drops that is where the fish will be.”
Miller leads Robert “Stump” Morrison Jr. of Winston-Salem by two points and Stephen “Steve” Dyer of Mt. Pleasant, N.C., by four points going into the Lake Norman tournament. If he can hold on for a good finish at Lake Norman Saturday, Miller believes he will have an easier time for the rest of the series – June 27 at Lake Wylie and Sept. 14-15 at High Rock.
“High Rock is my home lake and I fish Lake Wylie quite a bit. It has a lot of piers and that plays more into my style of fishing than Norman does,” Miller said.
Bassmaster Weekend Series – North Carolina Division
Sat, Jun 29, 2013
Lake Norman
Midway Marina
Call Gary Conner 256-230-5627
