FALLS LAKE, N.C. -- Early morning is good for fishing and good for quality time.

“We really enjoy coming out. Most of the time I come I bring my son with me,” said Sampson County resident Hank Purvis.

He enjoys Falls Lake, but he doesn't enjoy what this time of the year usually brings: drought. Right now the lake is at its normal level, but Purvis remembers just last year when this body of water was six to eight feet below normal.

“Its treacherous navigating a boat in this lake, you can still catch fish when water is done but it has an impact on the fish,” said Purvis.

“We're getting into the time of the year where we see a cold front come through and we'll get a quick shot of maybe three of four hours of shower and thunderstorm activity, some locations picking up an inch or two of rain in a short period of time, other locations just getting a sprinkle just depending on how the system goes,” said News 14 Carolina chief meteorologist Gary Stephenson.

He said the problem with those quick bursts of rain in a short amount of time is the water doesn't soak into the ground.

“What we'd like to see in a best case scenario is not a strong hurricane coming on shore to give us precipitation and all the other nastiness that can come with a hurricane but maybe a weak tropical depression or a weak tropical storm that can move inland, give us maybe six to 12 to 18 hours of tropical rains,” Stephenson said.

While Purvis is dreading a potential drought, he says bass fishermen have to adapt to change and that's what he'll do.

“You have to stay on your toes,” he said.

News 14 Carolina meteorologists said unless this dry pattern breaks down, we'll most likely see drought conditions worsen across North Carolina over the next few weeks or months.

Raleigh is implementing water restrictions July 2. City leaders hope the restrictions will help conserve water at Falls Lake.