Fishing Long Lake in Stanly County, North Carolina

• Overview

  Long Lake is one of the Stanly County waters in North Carolina. The surface lies 469 feet up. It measures about 75 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The bank runs about 1.6 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Albemarle is the closest place, 1.9 miles off. Badin is 7.5 miles and Oakboro 10 miles. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Long Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Points where the flooded channel swings in are the reliable ones. Standing timber shows when the level drops, and fish sit against it. Fish documented in Stanly County include redbreast sunfish, bluegill, green sunfish, pumpkinseed and striped bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Long Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 79°F, while January sits near 40°F. Cooler months are the productive ones on most of this water. The first and last hours carry the summer; the middle is slow. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. Anyone fishing Long Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Parking is close: a car park sits 140 yards from the bank. Public data records a pier about 130 yards out. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Reservoir Lake sits 3.7 miles off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Long Lake for certain.