April Kerr Lake Report
By Jason Houchins
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With water levels more stable and conditions clearing throughout the Lake, the spawn is close. Some are spawning, a few have spawned, but most are in a holding pattern. With front after front, constant wind, and water temperatures hovering in the upper 50s, the bass have been hesitant to commit. But eventually they all will commit and I’m guessing the first full moon of April that things will be pretty interesting. But, as long as we have nights in the 30s, it could keep them at bay and us confused. Once we can get consistent water temperatures above 60 start looking. It will not be long.
April is a great month to fish here and this April will be no different. All phases of the spawn will be happening throughout the lake and you can catch them however you feel comfortable. One bait that will always be on my deck is a spinnerbait, and if the wind blows I will have two on the deck. A jig or something to flip or pitch will also always be there as well. This year the water is pretty low, leaving fewer pieces of cover to spawn on. Look for fish to spawn on stumps, wood, or rock, or really anything available. As the month continues the shallows will have fish spawning and guarding fry in and around pockets on the main lake and in creeks. A buzzbait is a great tool to cover water fast and locate spawners that are hard to see. Follow that up with a wacky rig worm of some kind and you can really catch some fish. Just remember all pockets are not the same and you may have to fish a few before you locate one that has several fish. This is where history can help you, fish always seem to use the same areas to spawn year after year. If you have an area where you’ve caught them in the past, chances are they are there.
With the number of large five fish limits I’ve seen this year, I’m really excited for the future. There have been several bags over 20 lbs. caught this past month and at least two over 24 lbs. This lake is really on the rebound and with the lower water, I think you could see a fish in the 9lb-10lb range caught this April. I could be wrong but the amount of fish being caught in the 4 lb. range is awesome. So either way you should have an excellent opportunity at a great bag of fish. Come out and enjoy the outdoors at Virginia’s largest lake this April, who knows you may get the big one.
