THE CAROLINA TRACE
T.U.F.F. Club
Sanford, NC 27332
Lake Trace Hotline
919-499-1300
by Miss Libby
Posted on Sat Jan 04 2020
Buster Harrill (NS) took home the First Place Bass plaque in our seasonal TUFF Derby which runs from March 1st to November 15th.. Read all about the details of his eight plus pound catch in the July 1st Blog (Lake Trace Spring/Summer Fishing News). Not pictured above is our 2nd Place Bass winner in the Adult Division Nick Gay of Mallard Cove, but you can also see his almost four pound catch in the July 1st Blog Picture Gallery. Two winners in our Youth Division showed up (with their proud moms) for the photo above including Harika Mergen (LT3 ) 1st Place Catfish and Ezekiel Bucur (SGN) 1st Place Bass, Crappie and Bream plus the "Golden TUFF". Not shown is Aidan Bailey of Lakewood, 2nd Place Bass and Tyler Kerecz of Harbor Creek, 2nd Place Bream. You can see pics of their catches in the blogs below by clicking on Read More and then clicking on the Picture Galley pics to read captions of where, when and how they caught their fish! Congrats to all our winners! Happy New Year and Tight Lines in 2020! ...
Read Moreby Miss Libby
Posted on Sun Aug 18 2019
A muggy day but the fish were still hungry! Click on the big pictures in the photo gallery for more details. ...
Read Moreby Miss Libby
Posted on Wed Jul 31 2019
Lake Trace Summer Fishing Update
Very pleased to announce that 13-year-old Ezekiel Bucur (Stonegate N) caught a 24 inch largemouth bass on Monday at noon “up the creek” from the 18 Creek Golf Cart Bridge. (Note: Sizeable crappie have also been reported caught creekside near that bridge.)
EZ has already qualified for our new 2019 Golden TUFF Lake Trace Fishing Award because he caught and released a Bass, Crappie, Bream and Catfish from his POA Stonegate pond. Any Trace youngster (lot owner family or renter) who catches any size fish in those four categories from Lake Trace, their POA pond or Lake Arnold in Trace qualifies for the Golden TUFF.
Ezekiel had been in 2nd Place Bass with a 12 inch bass after Aidan Bailey caught a 21 incher out of Lakewood basin. Ezekiel's awesome catch catapults him into First Place Bass (TUFF Youth Division). Best news is he has started using artificial bait (green pumpkin trick worm) rather than live worms. His mom Eunice shared with me that they had never really fished anywhere until they moved here. Very proud of EZ and school doesn't start until Aug. 26th. Hope more "KidCasters" will get involved.
BTW, in past weeks fishermen who braved the goose poop situation brought to the shore almost four pound and five pound bass from Lakewood basin and North Traceway Bridge. Check blogs below. Click on big pics in Photo Gallery for captions with details.
Despite this heat, there are fish to be caught in Lake Trace! Even the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission (NCWRC) agrees!
... Read Moreby Miss Libby
Posted on Mon Jul 01 2019
Long time TUFF member Buster Harrill (NS) reported not one but two 22.5 inch length by 17.5 inch girth largemouth bass caught in early April near Charles Holder's (NS) brick wall. The first seven pound, eight ounce lady was caught on a green pumpkin shaky head and a Dinger green pumpkin w/ purple/green flakes landed #2 lunker about 30 feet from the first one caught a week earlier. Fourteen to 19 inch bass have been landed during March/April fishing excursions by long time bass anglers in Lake Trace. These one to four pound "dinks" are not plentiful and hard to catch. (Our fishery is unbalanced and over populated with white perch which can decimate a fishery and eat bass, bream eggs/fry). They should be culled out. Click on Page 8 of BLOG for pics & details..
NOTE: Click on big pics in photo gallery for captionsHowever, monster bass are still around in 2019. In early March another 13# largemouth was caught around the spawning grounds of South Bridge/Eagles Nest/Harbor Creek. Double digits were also reported in shallow areas there. Another nine pounder reported on a spinnerbait at North Traceway Bridge.
Lake Trace probably has a NC State record largemouth bass in its waters. It would have to be a sixteen pound bass! I know she's here!
UPDATE FROM BUSTER - A dramatic catch from a true Bassmaster of Lake Trace! Any one who has fished 18 Creek bridge knows that it is famous for hang-ups around those bridge pilings and dropped fish structure from years ago! Here is his story:
"I caught a good one Friday the 24th at the creek 18 bridge. It weighed 8lbs 2oz and 24-1/2" long. Got it on a shaky head with a purple roboworm. I pulled it out from under the bridge over those cross members. The fluorocarbon leader was frazzled so bad that it was hard to believe a fish that size could have been caught. My rubber land ...
Read Moreby Miss Libby
Posted on Sat Jun 01 2019
In case you didn’t know, the first week in June is “National Fishing and Boating” week, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. With summer vacation almost upon us, here is something fun for Trace families!!
CLICK ON READ MORE TO SEE OUR FIRST QUALIFIER FOR THIS AWARD! Click on each photo in picture gallery for captions.
To encourage more fishing (the other sport) in Carolina Trace, the Trace Union of Fervent Fishermen, aka the TUFF Club, has announced a new fishing award aimed at youngsters (13 and under) who catch one sunfish, one crappie, one catfish and one largemouth bass. They can be any size. Just measure the length, take a picture of your child with the fish and release the fish where it was caught. Send the pic to gofishin247@gmail.com and call the Lake Hotline at 919-499-1300 to register. The new prize (the “Golden TUFF”) features a large gold fish mounted on an engraved marble stand (suitable for bragging rights).
These four species are the categories in our seasonal TUFF Derby which runs every year from March 1st to November 15th. If any fish has some size to it, it will automatically be entered into our 2019 derby where youngsters receive handsome gold, silver or bronze fish medallions, an official TUFF Certificate of Fishing Excellence and a Gift Bag at the winter Awards Ceremony.
To see what each fish looks like, a FREE North Carolina SPORT FISH Identification Pocket Guide is available starting June 7th in the compartment below the TUFF Scoreboard at the Gatehouse exit or by calling the Lake Hotline 919-499-1300.
Click on Read More to see more pics. You can also pick up the Fish ID booklet at my house at 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue in Hidden Lake POA anytime. ... Read More