Hirapetian Leads on Norman
Longtime co-angler catches 14-7 for the lead
This week Lake Norman is playing host to the first of two FLW Tour Invitationals – unique events with no co-anglers, designed to give pros a couple of extra tournament opportunities during the late summer and fall seasons. Norman has historically been a breeding ground for some of the best run-and-gun pros in the country. The lake’s limitless number of docks and piers usually rewards anglers who can run docks the fastest, covering more “dockage” than anyone else in the field.
On day one of the event presented by Lowrance, the lead is being held by a local pro who chose to dissect fewer docks more thoroughly. George Hirapetian of Charlotte, N.C., checked in five bass weighing 14 pounds, 7 ounces by fishing an estimated 30 docks on the day with a Texas-rigged finesse worm and a drop shot.
Hirapetian is considered to be a shaky head master on Norman. In fact, he goes by the nickname “Shakyhead” among the Lake Norman locals due to his penchant for a shaky head worm. But today he broke away from his tried and true shaky head staple and switched to rigging his finesse worms on a Texas rig and a drop shot in an effort to keep his worms from bogging down in Norman’s mucky short grass that lines the bottom.
“Lake Norman is my confidence lake,” Hirapetian says, “I live closer to Wylie, but I come to fish here instead because it has so many fish in it. You can catch a lot of fish here no matter what season it is. It’s just a fun place to fish.”
Though Hirapetian ended up in the lead, his day did not exactly start with a bang. In fact, he did not have a fish in the livewell until about 10:30 a.m.
“I started the day power fishing with a spinnerbait and a topwater,” he says. “But I didn’t do any good with those baits so I started fishing specific docks where I had bites in practice – skipping a Texas-rigged worm under them.”
And that’s when things turned around for Hirapetian. He caught five fish off of one dock. With a limit in the well, he decided to slow down and settle in, thoroughly working each dock.
“I normally love a shaky head,” he adds. “But we now have a lot of slimy grass on the bottom in Norman and the shaky head balls up in that grass. That’s why I went to a Texas-rig and a drop shot – those come through that grass much cleaner.”
Hirapetian says he fished docks all over the lake, but only fish a few specific docks in each section very slowly instead of running and gunning as many docks as possible.
Hirapetian estimates he caught 10 keepers on the day. The limit he weighed in included three largemouths and two spotted bass.
Top 10 pros
1. George Hirapetian – Charlotte, N.C. – 14-7 (5)
2. Wesley Strader – Spring City, Tenn. – 13-0 (5)
3. John Cox – DeBary, Fla. – 12-12 (5)
4. Jason Meninger – Gainesville, Ga. – 12-3 (5)
5. Scott Beattie – Lincolnton, N.C. – 12-0 (5)
6. Scott Canterbury – Springville, Ala. – 11-15 (5)
7. Todd Hollowell – Fishers, Ind. – 11-12 (5)
8. Tracy Adams – Wilkesboro, N.C. – 11-10 (5)
8. David Dudley – Lynchburg, Va. – 11-10 (5)
10. Ron Farrow – Rock Hill, S.C. – 11-7 (5)