CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Targeting bass feeding around a shad spawn should lead anglers to the top of the leaderboard in a postspawn duel at the 2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Norman presented by Battery Tender according to Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Matt Arey.
“Typically in late April and early May, there will be a full blown shad spawn,” the Shelby, N.C. pro said. “That should be the primary deal for this Open. I think guys can get really well really fast if they find the right stretch first thing in the morning.”
Tournament days for the third stop of the Division I slate are April 30-May 2. Daily takeoffs are scheduled for 6:30 a.m. ET out of Blythe Landing and anglers will begin checking in at 2:30 p.m. The winner will punch their ticket to the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, given they’ve fished all four Division I events. The Top 50 finishers in Division I points will advance to the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops.
The largest reservoir in North Carolina at 32,500 acres, Lake Norman has plenty of space for anglers to spread out. The last time the Opens visited Lake Norman in the fall of 2021, local pro Cody Hoyle claimed the trophy with three-day total of 40 pounds, 4 ounces.
Spotted bass rule the fishery these days, and Arey points out that some of them are big, but having a kicker largemouth or two goes a long way in a tournament setting.
“I can go out and catch 50 bass and I’d be lucky if four or five of them are largemouth,” Arey added. “Whoever wins will have to have some largemouth in their bag. If it was late summer or early fall, you could win with all spotted bass. But this time of year, you have to have some largemouth in your bag.
“I think 14 to 16 pounds a day is going to be really strong,” he added.
Western North Carolina is in the middle of extreme drought conditions, and Lake Norman is several inches below full pool as it currently stands. While the far northern reaches of Lake Norman below the Lookout Shoals Dam won’t have the same current flow, Arey doesn’t see the lower levels having a huge effect during this tournament.
“As long as the water level is fairly consistent, it won’t affect things too much,” the six-time Classic qualifier explained. “It could have a negative effect on some late spawners, but as far as the shad spawn is concerned I don’t think that will have an impact.”
Each section of the lake sets up a little differently. Two warm water discharges pump into the lake, one in Ramsey Creek on the south end and another close to the Highway 150 bridge. The bass in that section of the lake spawn much earlier than the rest of the population.
“This place fishes like several bodies of water,” Arey said. “One thing about Norman, it fishes really big. Tournaments can be won on potentially any section, it just depends on which section is producing the biggest bites that week. You have to figure out the lake in sections. You can get bit everywhere, and that spreads people out and gives people false hope in areas that don’t have the potential.”
Overall, Arey believes the field will be fishing for mostly postspawners, with plenty of those feeding on a threadfin shad spawn around marinas, docks, deep riprap banks, bridge pilling and seawalls. Once the shad spawn dissipates, he expects anglers to target fry guarders and lone postspawn females around floating docks and any other available cover.
“You’ll have some big postspawners doing their recovery under the floating docks and you can target those with a big swimbait. Those shad spawn bass will hang out in the area. They might slide to a community dock or a secondary point,” he said. “It is too early for bream beds and a little early for the brush bite to be good.”
Although diminished, there is a population of Blueback herring that live in Lake Norman as well, a bite that could greatly benefit an angler who is lucky enough to stumble across them.
Georgia’s Cody Stahl leads the Division I points race with 378 points followed by fellow Georgian Buddy Benson in second, also with 378 points. Florida’s Bryson O’Steen is third with 368 points, Texas’s Niko Romero is fourth with 361 points and Tennessee’s Dillon Falardeau is fifth with 359 points. Connor Jacob (358 points), Bo Thomas (354), Chase Clarke (351), David Williams (350) and Jonathan Kelley (348) round out the Top 10.
Follow along with all of the action from the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Norman presented by Battery Tender on Bassmaster.com.
Visit Lake Norman is hosting this event.