Schoolers in session for Super Tournament at Kerr
Before live sonar, there were two ways to target fish you could see: sight-fishing for bedding bass or targeting schoolers busting bait on the surface. The latter should definitely be a main strategy in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Piedmont Division Super Tournament on Kerr Lake.
Tournament details
Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Piedmont Division Super Tournament
Henderson, N.C.
Sept. 21-22
About the fishery
Officially, it’s John H. Kerr Reservoir. Unofficially, it’s known as Kerr Lake. And really unofficially, it’s known by many locals as Buggs Island, thanks to the nickname for the project responsible for building the dam being called the “Buggs Island Projects.”
Whatever you call it, the massive reservoir spans across the Virginia and North Carolina border, covering more than 50,000 acres, making it one of the largest reservoirs in the southeast.
The lake has long been dominated by largemouth. That is until recently, as the introduction of blueback herring into the fishery has seen a boom in the spotted bass population.
“A buddy and I went out earlier this year for four hours and caught 60 fish,” said Jonathan Bailey, who leads the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race in the Piedmont Division. “All of them were spots. You never saw that even a few years ago.”
What to expect
There’s no doubt blueback herring are both a blessing and a curse to a fishery once introduced.
They’re a blessing in that bass love gobbling them up, but a curse in that the nomadic forage can completely alter established fishing patterns and force anglers to adapt quickly.
That said, Bailey says while the bluebacks have certainly changed Kerr considerably, two things haven’t changed much – the fish in the lake still love a crankbait and come September, they love schooling, possibly even more now with the bluebacks.
“The fish in that lake are always schooling down there,” Bailey said. “And they’ll school everywhere. Usually it’s off points, but I’ve been running down the middle of the lake, seen them come up schooling, stopped and caught them. It truly can happen everywhere.
“Honestly, I think the person who lands on the right group of schooling fish will win this event.”
Obviously, there’s quite a bit of luck involved with targeting schoolers, both in when they’ll school and getting a bait in front of them when they do. Thus, Bailey is expecting this to be a tough tournament where it may not take a limit both days to make the Top 10. If an angler wants to win, though, he figures 15 pounds a day is going to be necessary.
“If someone can catch 15 pounds they’ll be doing well,” Bailey said. “If they can get 17 even one of the days, they’ll be doing really, really well. The hard part is going to be the consistency with that bite.”