Yadkin River Smallmouth Bass Fishing

We left out of the Triad area and headed to the Coast on Friday morning. We arrived prepared to wet the layals around noon and started our journey to Shackleford Banks. We fishind a little on the way but were anxious to find a good spot on the island. Two of us had hammocks so an area with trees was a must. We found a great place directly in the direction we crossed the Core Sound near Harkers Island . After making the landing and deciding on the camping spot, I declared to a friend ‘the only thing better may be a stampede of horses running through camp’…and no more than to get my words out he exclaimed…’look at that!’. (ncriverangler.wordpress.com)

But the Yadkin and Dan? majority of people relate those two rivers with the reservoirs downstream and with crappie, catfish and striped bass. But the headwaters of the two rivers are fed by cold streams flowing from the mountains. And their water temperature, particularly throughout early spring in the upper portions of those two rivers, is ideal for smallies. In fact, with winter refusing to release North Carolina from its grip, water temperatures in the rivers are below normal for smallies to spawn. (northcarolinasportsman.com)

I don t really have any favorite places, however I tend to catch most of my fish from the Alcoa area to Palmer Mountain — that s generally good in the winter — but also in the upper end of the lake, around Circle Drive and the Lake Forest area, he said. I m looking for rocky banks that will be near a channel, or deep banks with rocky corners. Most of the places I catch fish are close to a channel, where you may be able to sit in 25 feet of water and cast up into 2 feet. And there are lots of banks at Badin where you may be sitting 10 feet off the bank and be in 20 feet of water. (Click here)

The Yadkin River gives the chance to catch bass smallmouth, spotted, and largemouth, sunfish, catfish, and suckers. Access points are available at Crater Park in Elkin, the U. S. 601 bridge, Rockford, and at Shoals Road, north of East Bend access points at U. S. 601 and Shoals Road are on the Yadkin County side of the river . Call today to learn more about scheduling your Yadkin River Fishing trip. (Visit this website)

Private landowners donated use of the two sites to Surry and Yadkin counties to offer river access to the public. The Wildlife Commission constructed the sites with money from the Sport Fish Restoration Program, fishing license sales receipts, and a grant from the Recreational Trails Program, a federal help program that gives money to states to develop and maintain recreational trails for both non-motorized and motorized recreational trail uses. Maintenance for Burch Station will be handled by Surry County while Yadkin County will be accountable for maintaining Yadkin Shore. (outdoornewsdaily.com)

A small river that goes through a big part of Uwharrie National Forest, the Uwharrie River is a perfect destination for fishermen who favor to get away from the crowds that can on occasion be attracted to Badin Lake. The river has a thriving population of crayfish, which sustain both largemouth and smallmouth bass in great numbers. The regions now downstream from rapids tend to be particularly productive, and bass will strike plugs, flies and crayfish-imitating lures. The simplest access is in the lower river, just before it spills into the Pee Dee River, however some number of roads and trails offer access to the upper part of the Uwharrie River also. (traveltips.usatoday.com)

Update to the advisory issued January 6, 2011. Testing showed levels of PCBs in blue catfish and channel catfish in Mountain Island Lake exceeding the state action level for PCBs of 0. 05 mg/kg. Last analysis have shown that largemouth bass in all waters of North Carolina have elevated levels of mercury. DHHS recommends that nobody eat channel catfish from Mountain Island Lake. Also, public health officials recommend that pregnant women, nursing women, women who may become pregnant, and kids under age 15 shouldn’t eat any largemouth bass or blue catfish from Mountain Island Lake. Other people shouldn’t eat more than two meals a month of largemouth bass and one meal a month of blue catfish from this lake. (epi.publichealth.nc.gov)

The state stocks about 25, 000 striper fingerlings every year and Badin is called a reliable put-and-take striper lake. Anglers can bound out on 5-to-12-pound fish with a rare 20-pounder. Trolling live shad is the best way to catch stripers. Bottom fishing with chicken livers or cut-up shad will land catfish and stripers. A good rule is bigger bait for bigger fish. Striper specialists bounce white or yellow bucktail jigs off the tops of submerged hills. Soaking the hair with shad scent makes the tempt more efficient. Look for excited seagulls working the water and you’ll probably find a school of frightened shad under attack by hungry stripers. (gorp.com)

One of these tracts is our 310-acre Capel Property located at the confluence of the Uwharrie River and the Yadkin-Pee Dee River, with frontage also on Hidden Lake. NCWRC won’t only make this tract open for hunting, however they have plans to develop a formal canoe and fishing access here also by 2016. The development of this access is a continuation of our partnership with NCWRC on the Uwharrie River Blueway, with newly opened access places upstream at Highway 109 on NCDOT-owned land, and at our Land Trust-owned Low Water Bridge Preserve. This last stretch of the Uwharrie River must be my favorite – hands-down, says relate Director, Crystal Cockman. (landtrustcnc.org)

Historical Significance: A perennial favorite of BASS pros and fans, the Big O has maintained its position as one of the country’s premier bass factories for more than 30 years. The second-biggest freshwater lake located completely inside the continental United States, Okeechobee surrendered a seven bass stringer weighing 36 pounds to Kentucky pro Ron Shearer in 1982 a record that stood for many years. In a survey of the pros in the mid-1980s, Okeechobee was selected as the best lake of the last 20 years, the best lake at that time, and most probably to be the best lake over the next 20 years. (bassmaster.com)