Lake Country Visitor & Newcomer Guide 2009 - (Page 67) 67 FISHING Although many anglers come to the area with a boat in tow and prefer fishing on their own, the area has a long list of guides who know when and where to go. fishing These nationally known lakes are reason enough for sport fishermen to journey to Lake Country. T o gauge the popularity of fishing tournaments in the Lake Country, simply come to the parking lot of the Best Western On the Lake at Clarksville during springtime. You’ll find all kinds of bass boats hooked on trailers and charging their batteries. Fishermen come to Buggs Island Lake/John H. Kerr Reservoir seeking bass from February to December, and they’ll hook crappie, bass and catfish nearly year-round. Many kinds of bass inhabit this 50,000-acre lake, stretching across southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. The majority of the lake remains wooded and undeveloped, as the shoreline is controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Historically, Buggs Island Lake has been famous for its striped bass, a self-sustaining population that swims upstream on the rivers and then reproduces in the more-than-a-mile-wide waters of the reservoir. Many anglers like to head upstream to see what awaits in the river channels. They troll in quiet coves, as winter runoff feeds tributaries on the Roanoke and Dan rivers. A valid license from either Virginia or North Carolina will permit you to fish from a boat in both states. Lake Gaston, in turn, is also known for its striped bass fishery, as well as being a place to hook catfish, bluegill, bass, shad, speckle, herring and crappie. Vast stump-filled flats characterize many of Lake Gaston’s coves, and these spots can be popular places for fishermen to troll for trophy-size largemouths, spawning in the backwaters. Summertime is popular on either lake if you simply want to head to the shoreline with a bucket of worms and try hooking bluegill. You may also want to try your luck with channel catfish. In Clarksville you will find a great opportunity to fish at night now that a set of fluorescent lights has been installed on the U.S. 58 business bridge. These 76 lights are comprised of two rows of fluorescent green lights – one row above the lake’s surface and one row below. The bridge’s Hydro Glow Fishing Lights attract millions of feeder fish, which, in turn, attract big game fish like catfish and bass. This unique habitat makes not only a great place to fish for fun, it’s also a place to challenge others during the Lake Country’s constant string of fishing tournaments. < Visitor & Newcomer Guide
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