Timmy Walter of Jupiter, Fl holding a trophy catfish caught while fishing with his dad Timothy and grandfather Victor Walter on Lake Norman.
Fishin’ with Capt. Gus!
Fishing Luck
8-14- 2011
Recently, an angler caught a rather small fish. When asked what he was going to do with it, he replied, “Keep it! I don’t want to throw back my good luck.”
It seems that the word “luck” and “fishing” go hand-in-hand. Sometimes fishing luck is good and at other times, it’s bad. When a big one is landed, you are lucky, but when a fish is lost, bad luck, never the angler is to blame. Luck is often used as a crutch to cover up when things go wrong. That might be okay though, since most of the time fishing is for fun anyway.
Fishing lore has it that certain scenarios actually create luck, some good and some bad – like catching a fish on the first cast in the morning. That should count as good luck, but most of the time, fishing is slow the rest of the day. On the other hand, if you wear a lucky hat or shirt, your fishing luck might be good until you either wash it or lose it. Then, there are lucky rods, lures, boats and fishermen that cause one to wonder the reason for all the good fortunes.
On the bad luck side, if you want to guarantee a terrible day, bring a banana in your lunch bag. It doesn’t matter how many. It only takes one. Peanuts also have the same negative effect on a fishing trip. The color green might be lucky to some, but it is not a good color for fishermen. Seldom does one see a green fishing boat. The darker the green, the more unlucky a fishing trip might be.
Back in the old days, spitting tobacco juice on a hook was considered good luck. Today, television fishing hosts profess that kissing a fish before it is released improves your luck. When fishing offshore, luck improves when a man-of-war bird is seen circling above the boat, but good luck turns bad when a school of porpoise swim nearby. Closer to home, when cows are feeding in a pasture, the fishing will be good, however, should they be lying down, fishing luck will likely be bad.
The ringing of an alarm clock sometimes indicates the kind of fishing luck your day will bring. You might catch lots of fish if you hear it and get up, but it is awfully unlucky to oversleep and miss the start of an early morning fishing trip.
In closing, if you are lucky enough to be fishing, you are lucky enough!
Upcoming Events:
Free Safe Boating Class - “How to Navigate Lake Norman Day or Night” will be held at North Point Watersports, Exit 36, Mooresville, NC on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Topics for discussion will include “Understanding LKN’s Channel Marker and Buoy System”, “Identifying and Learning How to Avoid the Ten Most Dangerous Spots”, and “Interpreting Lake Maps”. For more information, call me: 704-617-6812 or email Gus@LakeNoman.com.
Tips from Capt. Gus:
The more you learn about the sport and the more you go fishing, the luckier you will become.
Hot Spots of the Week: White perch are on river and secondary points suspended in water to seventy feet deep. Large bass and flathead catfish are in the vicinity of schooling perch. Bass are hitting top water lures at dawn and schooling on shallow points throughout the day. Night fishing around bridges is good for crappie, bass and perch. Cat fishing is good to very good when using cut bait in water to fifty feet.
The surface water temperature varies by location, but is mainly in the high eighties and low nineties in open waters not affected by power generation. The water level is about 3.4’ below full pond on Lake Norman and 2.7’ below full on Mountain Island Lake.
Capt. Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is an Outdoor Columnist and a full time Professional Fishing Guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, www.Fishingwithgus.com or call 704-617-6812.
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