Angler introduction of both spotted bass and blueback herring (alewives) has changed the nature of the fishery at Lake Norman. Fishermen point to much better catches of largemouths and spotted bass, and more quality largemouths than in recent years, and they credit the introduction of the bluebacks with providing more food for the lake's game fish.

And McRae agrees that the fishery is at a high point.

"There's a good number of harvestable fish, and we've seen an increase in size of those fish from recent years," he said. However, he went on to add, "But on the flip side, we've seen a decline in the number of fish between 8 and 12 inches long. It could be a supply-and-demand kind of thing, where you've got competition for the available nutrition, and the larger-sized fish will get most of it.

"There are concerns about the decline in 8- to 12-inch fish. We need to have more smaller fish to have bigger fish down the road. We've seen fewer small fish in Lake Norman since about 2000, and that could come back and rear its ugly head and pose a problem in coming years. Will we have enough small fish to restock the fishery?"

McRae hopes to have answers to many of those questions as soon as possible. The commission started a creel survey on Norman last September, and the commission is starting in 2007, in conjunction with N.C. State University, a "food-web project" to determine how the lake's forage base is being utilized.

"We want to look at all the interactions. What are the spotted bass eating? What are the largemouth bass eating? Is there any overlap? What are the white perch eating? How is that affecting the stripers?" McRae said. "We hope in a couple of years to put our finger on it and get a good management plan together for the lake."

On the Yadkin/Pee Dee system, High Rock is the crown jewel. Electro-shocking last spring showed an extremely healthy bass population, with approximately half the fish sampled being 14 inches or longer -- "We're content with anything above 30 percent," McRae said -- and near the top of the scale as far as relative weights and health.

Badin Lake, two dams downstream from High Rock, had something of a renewal this year, with local fishermen reporting excellent catches all year. Better known for its excellent striper fishery, Badin is a deep, clear lake, and its bass fishery is especially good during the colder months. It lacks High Rock's numbers but has always been considered a better "trophy" fishery.

Likewise, Tuckertown Lake, which is upstream from Badin and downstream from High Rock, has been an excellent fishery for years, especially for quality fish, even if it has been somewhat lower in overall numbers by comparison.

Downstream from Badin, Lake Tillery also has a large percentage of its total bass fishery at 14 inches or better, but its fish are not quite as healthy. McRae said, however, that the lake has an extremely strong class of fish from the 2004 spawn that were 8 to 10 inches long last spring when sampled.

"If they continue to grow as expected, you may see a large class of fish become available in the next year or two," he said.

The Piedmont is full of small, municipal and watershed lakes that attract a decent number of fishermen with excellent fisheries. Although Salem Lake in Winston-Salem and Lake Brandt, Lake Townsend and Lake Higgins in Greensboro have long been good fisheries, the best may be Asheboro's Lake Lucas, which covers 230 acres.

"It's a great fishery for largemouth bass," McRae said. "We were shocked when we were out there at the number of bass and the size of fish we were seeing. Better than 50 percent were 14 inches or longer, and the relative weights were very good. The biggest fish we shocked up was 9 pounds, and there wasn't just one; there were a number of 8- and 9-pound fish we sampled. There are really good conditions there, and the fishery there is almost ideal."