Got it. You're at Amarocamps, right off I-85 exit 4, and you've been striking out all week with cut bait and worms at Steel Bridge and around camp. That's rough — but I know exactly why, and I know where the catfish are right now.

THE PROBLEM:
You fished the wrong water at the wrong time. Steel Bridge and the main channel near I-85 get hammered by bank anglers and boat traffic. The catfish there are pressured, and summer daytime heat pushes them deep and tight to heavier cover. Cut bait and worms soaking on the bottom in open water won't cut it this week.

THE FIX — TWO SPOTS YOU CAN WALK TO OR SHORT-RUN FROM AMAROCAMPS

SPOT #1: THE CREEK MOUTH OUTFLOW JUST EAST OF AMAROCAMPS

Walk or paddle out to the small creek arm that dumps into the main lake just east of your campsite — look on satellite imagery for a narrow, winding feeder creek with dark, stained water and overhanging trees.
The mouth of that creek where it meets the main lake will have a mud-to-gravel transition and a deep channel notch — catfish slide up into that seam at dusk and dawn to feed on crayfish, shad, and anything washing out of the creek.
Why it wins: That inflow is cooler than the main lake (78°F main lake, but the creek will run 2-4° cooler), has fresh oxygen, and funnels baitfish right into the catfish's faces. You've ignored it because it looks small — that's exactly why it's loaded.

HOW TO FISH IT:

Rig: 1-oz slip sinker Carolina rig, 2-foot fluorocarbon leader, #4 circle hook.
Bait: Fresh cut shad (catch one first if you can, or buy frozen) — not chicken liver, not worms. Shad is their primary summer food on Gaston. If you can't get shad, use nightcrawlers threaded onto a worm blower so they float just off the bottom.
Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM tonight (minor solunar period hits 7:31 PM – 9:01 PM). The catfish will move into that creek mouth as the light drops and surface temp cools.
Presentation: Cast to the center of the creek mouth seam where stained creek water meets clearer lake water. Let it settle, keep your bail open, and wait for a steady pull — don't set the hook on a tap.

SPOT #2: THE DEEP HOLE BELOW THE I-85 BRIDGE (NOT STEEL BRIDGE)

Drive or boat to the I-85 bridge crossing — not the Steel Bridge (Rt. 903), but the actual interstate bridge about 1.5 miles west of your camp.
On the upstream side of the bridge, the main river channel makes a sharp dogleg and carves a 22–28 foot hole against the north bank. That hole holds flatheads and big channels during summer heat.
Why it wins: The bridge creates shade, current deflection, and a hard bottom (riprap) that holds crayfish and shad. The deep hole gives them a safe daytime sanctuary within 50 feet of the feeding flat.

HOW TO FISH IT:

Same rig (1-oz slip sinker Carolina rig, #4 circle hook) but use cut bluegill or live bluegill (where legal) for flatheads. Channel cats will eat shad or stink bait here.
Time: 10 PM – 1 AM — flatheads and big channels slide up from that hole onto the riprap after dark. Fish the edge of the bridge shadow line.
Presentation: Cast parallel to the bridge riprap, let the sinker tick down the rocks, and keep your rod tip up — they'll pick it up on the fall.

WHY YOUR WEEK WAS EMPTY:

Cut bait and worms are fine, but you soaked them in open, pressured areas with no current or fresh bait signal.
Steel Bridge has been pounded all spring and summer. The fish there are spooked or picked clean.
You fished daytime — summer catfish on Gaston feed at dawn, dusk, and night, not in the middle of the day.

NEXT MOVE IF THESE DIE:
If the creek mouth and I-85 bridge hole don't produce, go to the wind-blown bank on the south side of the main lake just east of the I-85 bridge — anywhere with 2-3 feet of chop and a steep bank with laydowns. Cast a 3/4-oz chartreuse spinnerbait with a single Colorado blade and slow-roll it along the bottom. That will catch a channel cat that wants to kill something instead of eat dead bait.

BOTTOM LINE:
Tonight at 6 PM, fish the creek mouth east of your camp with fresh cut shad on a Carolina rig. If that's dead by 9 PM, hit the deep hole under I-85 bridge after dark. You'll get bit.

Lake Gaston Fishing Report