Submitted by 31Airborne

Date Fished: 6/1/2008
Water Temperature: 76
Water Clarity: 1 foot

This report covers 30 May - 1 JUN.

Had two events on this trip - SAT was the VA East FoMNTT TX. Fished today w/ my club on our annual Kerr TX. Was great seeing Kerr back up. Last time I was down the lake was at 297 or there abouts. Was surprised to see how high the water had been -- maybe another 3-4' higher just a couple weeks ago. Upper lake is still stained w/ a foot or less of viz. Gets dirtier the further back you go into creeks or coves. Dam end of the lake is clear w/ 3-4' of viz (Eastland). Breakpoint for the stain is about the #14 channel marker (vic Goat Island). Water temps were in the low 70s at launch each day and rose to mid 70s by mid afternoon.

I found fish often and on a wide variety of baits & presentations all weekend. Once again, my challenge was finding fish that would measure. Found good keeper fish during prefishing on FRI, but struggled on TX days. Only pattern I can offer up is that the fish are scattered (attempt at humor here). Some are post spawn while others are already deeply entrenched in summer pattern. Others were just coming up on or leaving beds (bloody tails and bright red mouths. You kinda get the idea of where this report is going . . .

Found fish in flooded brush w/ senkos (greens, blue), shakyhead (red bug), and PacTac jig (green w/ Paca trailer). Found fish at the first breaks (5-10') w/ shallow runners (RC 1.5 and Bandit 200 - blue on chartreuse and shad pattern) and shakyhead. Found fish on main lake and secondary points w/ PacTac (green w/ a little orange) that had red clay on them. Fish were tight to rocks or flooded brush/willow trees). Flipped into flooded brush and found fish w/ the same green/orange PacTac jig. I even caught a fish out of the middle of a cove when I cast my crankbait out to get a loop out of the spool. It was that kind of a weekend. I don't think I went anywhere w/o catching at least one fish. Again, I just didn't find any that would measure but it sure was fun.

The VA East FoM TX team put on yet another great show. Steve - enjoyed our day on the H20 today. You did good!!

A few observations: 1) Not sure what the CoE plans are for Kerr, but I hope they keep the water level up a little higher when they draw it down for the summer. We're still behind on rain even though the lakes are full. 2) Fish we caught all weekend are fat and healthy. Some chunky 12" fish in Kerr. 3) We had quite a few dead fish in the FoM event. I'll guess the heavy winds made it hard to feel bites and some fish were throated. I think the heat may have also contributed. Don't forget to use the recirc on your livewell. 4) Saw what looked like submerged grass in several places down lake. I've never seen grass in Kerr. I know what a brushpile looks like on my electronics. I know what grass looks like. This looked like grass - lots of it in depths ranging from 10-20'. 5) Fish were all over the water column all weekend. Good numbers stayed up (5' or shallower) the entire time. Oddly, no topwater bites for this kid. Must've been holding my mouth in the wrong position.

Summer is here, folks. Make sure you hydrate and use sunscreen.

Tight lines.

ATW, B

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