College anglers prepare for Lake Norman in Eastern Regional

Anglers fishing the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops head to Lake Norman for the Eastern Regional.

While most college students are headed south to the beach for spring break, anglers fishing the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops head to Lake Norman for the Eastern Regional. The Bassmaster College Series last traveled to Norman in mid-April 2013 for the Eastern Regional.

Although this year’s event is two weeks earlier, 2014 national champion Jake Whitaker of University of North Carolina-Charlotte says it’s not earlier to the fish at all. Former UNC-Charlotte teammates Shane Lehew and Eric Self won the 2013 Eastern Regional sight fishing.

“They’re not behind,” Whitaker said. “There aren’t many on the bed, but there are a lot of fish looking. It’ll be won shallow for sure.”

The looking fish are in the final stages of prespawn where they are roaming around the shallow, spawning areas looking for a place to make a bed and lay their eggs.

“There are a lot of 12- to-14-inch males up shallow right now, so there will be a bunch of 10-pound limits," Whitaker said. "It’ll be the teams that get 12 to 14 pounds a day that will do well. The local tournaments have been taking 16 to 18 pounds to win, and I know a Friday night tournament took 22 last week. But that’s a night event, and those are local boys.”

The creeks on Lake Norman will be a big player here this week. Despite the massive amounts of rainfall a large portion of the country has experienced the past few weeks, the Charlotte area has stayed relatively dry or at least hasn’t flooded.

“A lot of the creeks are pretty clear for this time of year,” Whitaker said. “If you go way back in the backs of the creeks it’s a little stained. But the rain coming on Friday may change that.”

The weather forecast for the Charlotte area has a 70 percent chance of rain on Friday and a drastic drop in temperatures from 79 degrees for a high on Thursday to 28 by Saturday night. This rain and cooling trend will definitely alter the best laid plan.

“The fish that are up now will last Thursday, but Friday and Saturday, who knows?,” Whitaker said. “They’ll still be up somewhere, just back off a little probably.”

Whitaker is fishing with Andrew Helms again this year after the duo teamed up to win the 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship. Having won last year’s National Championship, the two are already qualified to fish the 2015 National Championship. So what’s at stake for UNCC is a shot at an Eastern Regional title and bragging rights.

For the rest of the 236 Eastern Regional contenders comprising 118 teams, there’s a lot more at stake. The full field will fish Days 1 and 2, at which point the field will be cut to 20 for Day 3, and those anglers will compete once more on Norman for the title. When the dust settles on the final day, the Top 17 teams will qualify for the 2015 Carhartt College Series National Championship, and an Eastern Regional champion will be crowned.

To follow along with all the action, visit Bassmaster.com, or come out to Blythe Landing for 7:30 a.m. ET daily launches and the Day 1 and 2 weigh-ins starting at 3:45 p.m. ET. The final day weigh-in will take place at Bass Pro Shops in Concord, North Carolina.