After a solid 2022 season, Alabama pro Matt Lee has qualified for his first REDCREST and will compete on Lake Norman in North Carolina this week. He's excited about the chance to fish for $300,000 and although he last went to the lake nearly a decade ago, he likes how it sets up.
Prepping to Fish Lake Norman
Even though he hasn't fished the lake in years, he likes the prospect of a new fishery. Instead of some other lakes, Lake Norman hasn't been a regular on the schedule since Lee started fishing professionally.
"I'm excited because most places are on the schedule almost every year, it seems like," said Lee. "I haven't been doing this that long but have fished the Kissimmee Chain and Champlain around five times each in big events, so it's nice to go somewhere different. My last time here was during the fall, so it will be like a new lake for me."
Lee has researched the lake and viewed past tournament results and two keys he sees are staying consistent and keeping an open mind.
"It seems like guys will pop a big bag one day and the struggle the next, so staying consistent every day will be very important," he said. "It's also going to be different every day with the weather and we will have to adjust. The lake is notorious for fishing much differently if it's rainy, windy, or sunny. You'll have to adapt every day and just because you catch them one way on one day, it's not a given that you can do that the next day."
What Lee is Rigging Up
As he prepared for practice, Lee said he was rigging up a host of different baits, everything from moving baits to finesse and also plenty of things to fish around the numerous Lake Norman docks.
He plans to fish the standard offerings of jigs and plastics for fishing docks but is looking to give the fish a different look with unique baits.
One is the Deps Cover Scat, a relatively new import from Japan that has gained many fans stateside. Lee most often fishes the 3.5-inch size, weightless, and rigged on a 5/O Owner Extra Wide Gap hook.
"You can't tell me that won't play; it's a perfect mix of a jig and worm that everyone fishes around docks," he said. "It's got a bulkier profile than most jigs and you can skip it even better than a wacky rig around those docks. It can also be fished deeper because it's a heavily weighted plastic."
He also believes a finesse jig may get more bites on a lake that sees countless anglers fishing standard sized jigs every day of the year.
"I started throwing a finesse jig a lot more in the last year and it's hard to find a trailer that fits them right," he said. "I like the Deps MS Craw because it keeps the profile small and has great action."
For moving baits, Lee believes a swimbait, glide bait, and crankbait will come into play on these prespawn North Carolina bass.
"If the fish want a 'finessy' crankbait, a Deps Evoke Shad is a perfect option," he said. "It has the same profile of the old Shad Rap but casts a lot better and works well on pressured bass that see a lot of crankbaits. It's something not many people throw and has a nice action."
He'll have the Optimum Boom Boom line-thru swimbait rigged up throughout practice. During practice, he'll remove the hook and use the bait as a search tool.
"It's great for fishing around sparse cover, but what I like the most about it is that it's a perfect practice bait because the fish will chase it and show themselves," he said. "Fish that are getting ready to spawn are getting territorial and will follow everything and you can see where they live and come back on tournament day. You can cover so much more water with it than you would shaking a drop-shot around all day."
The final bait in Lee's REDCREST arsenal is the ima Glide Fluke 125, which was developed in the Carolinas for blueback herring lakes. "It's such an underrated bait and works everywhere," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in it, especially in the prespawn when fish want that bigger meal. I'm not a huge 'swimbait only' guy, but I've seen how good this bait is early in the year."
As Matt Lee launches his boat for his first REDCREST, he'll be ready with various tactics that will be perfect for the tournament site. His home lake of Smith Lake in Alabama fishes very similarly and he shines on lakes with a healthy mix of largemouth and spotted bass, which will suit him well in Major League Fishing's biggest event of the year.
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