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Thread: Kerr in November??

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    Default Kerr in November??


    My wife and I live in a family compound with my daughter, her husband and children in Chesapeake. The wife and I will need to "social distance" away from the family for a couple of weeks in November.

    So, how is the fishing in Kerr in November? I'm thinking of a cabin in the Clarksville area with no close by neighbors so we can isolate. Any recommendations?

  2. #2
    Ranger690 is offline Crappie.com Legend and 2021 Crappie.com Man of the Year
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    There will be better responses from more experienced guys, but November can be one of the best months of the year. Still good weather, and the crappie will be settling into their winter homes. When you find them, there will be plenty.

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    Barnacle Bill's Avatar
    Barnacle Bill is offline Super Mod and 2014 Crappie.com Man of the Year * Crappie.com Supporter
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    I've stayed at The Little Retreat many times but don't know its status right now. I know it was up for sale. And never tried in Nov but did many week long trips over there in the spring. We really loved it over there
    Fair Winds and Following Seas

    Bill H. PTC USN Ret
    Chesapeake, Va


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    Change in plans, we're going Oct 26 to 30th. I have a charter booked with Fishdoc on the 27th to learn how to fish the lake in the fall.

    So, where in Clarksville is good to buy bait?

  5. #5
    Ranger690 is offline Crappie.com Legend and 2021 Crappie.com Man of the Year
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    Sounds great! You are going to have a good time. You will have a blast with Fishdoc. After fishing with him, you may not even need live bait!

    You have choices around Clarksville for bait.

    Right in Clarksville, at the A-Plus gas station at the RT 58 intersection is Buggs Island Bait Tackle. It is part of the gas station building. You can't miss it. Right hand side, you can see the lake behind it.

    South of Clarksville, is Bobcats Bait and Tackle. Not far at all. You will want to go there just to look around as well. All the good stuff that Buggs Island fisherman want.

    As you come up you will pass Triangle Grocery about 1 mile before you cross over Rudds creek. (7 miles from Clarksville). They have minnows too.

    Now, you are going to be amazed at what Fishdoc shows you. He will teach you some things about fishing brush/structure. Counting down you jig so you can repeat the process once you get bit. And your combo may not fall the same as his. It is very line dependant. Bigger line falls slower and the arc is different even with the same weight of jighead. So pay attention to what is in your hand, and be able to repeat what worked and IT WILL BE ON!!

    I don't know where the fish will be but you may have to fish some docks. Getting under there where the fish are really helps. Doc will show you how to "shoot" dock. Buggs lake level fluctuates greatly, so the docks float. Which means they are no on post where you can easily cast under them. They are built on floating structure. There are openings between the floating "barrels". If you can get a bait in the opening, you can get fish out. You can side arm cast and I hit the opening about 2 our of 10 casts. It will work, just get used to the WHACK sound of my jig hitting plastic. But, Doc will show you how to "Shoot" a dock. If you haven't tried it, look on youtube and see what I mean. Basically, you are grabbing your jig, pulling it back under tension to bend the rod and shooting the jig like a bow/arrow. You let the jig go and a milli-second later you release you line finger and away the jig goes, right where you aim it. It sounds intimidating, but you will learn quickly. Your timing will come naturally after a few jig fall at your feet because you didn't released the line too early, or jigs that take off and come back because you never released the line. Hahahaha! We have all done it. Trust me, you will get it.

    Practice this weekend, when you have five minutes. Take your favorite rod/reel outside, put on a 1/16 oz jig head, bend the hook over on itself so it is easy to retrieve thru the grass. If you have a paved drive, that is even better. Point your rod up and adjust your jig to where it hangs right at your big rod guide closest to the reel. Open the bail and grab the line with your finger as usual like you are preparing to cast. Hold the line. Take your cranking hand and get the jig. Don't let any line go. Pinch the jig between your thumb index finger. Then pull it back and watch the rod bend. You can pull a lot or a little. When you release the jig under tension away it goes! Fun.

    But you want it to go where you need it. So, watch the line from jig to rod tip. The line is exactly where that jig will go. You can shoot it up into the air or down at the ground, but to get under a dock you want it going at that opening. So, play with it. You want the line from jighead to rod tip to be parrallel with the ground (the water when in the boat). So adjust your rod and hand to make the tight line flat. Poiint it where you want it and let it RIP. In the yard, shoot at something. Mailbox post or light post or toss a pan out into the grass and try to ring the bell. All this typing makes it sound harder than it is. It will make perfect sense when you get into Doc's boat and see him do it.

    Just try it to get feel for it. You will get better very quickly. And you will already know what it feels like when you get there and be much closer to catching fish. And remember skipping a rock across the water. The closer to the water (very little angle) the better, and allows it to skip instead of dig into the water. So you will these old guys bending over to get the best angle, with the tight line parrallel, and that pretty little jig will skip across the water and right into the opening, and few seconds later you may here "there's one!".

    I'm jealous. You are going to have a great time!!! And if nothing else works, you have a couple hundred bridge pillings to fish beside. All of those pairs have a crossmember and the fish hold right under it. All you have to do is drop a minnow down there right beside the concrete and adjust your depth until you get bit. Then you just repeat until you are out of minnows or switch pillings.

    The Complete Crappie Dock Skipping System - YouTube

    How to Shoot Docks to Catch LOTS of CRAPPIE - YouTube
    Likes Idunno LIKED above post

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    Barnacle Bill is offline Super Mod and 2014 Crappie.com Man of the Year * Crappie.com Supporter
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    IMO you can't find a better guide on the lake than Doc. Dayton told you lots of good stuff.
    Fair Winds and Following Seas

    Bill H. PTC USN Ret
    Chesapeake, Va


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    Ranger690 is offline Crappie.com Legend and 2021 Crappie.com Man of the Year
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    Been thinking about you today PA ! Hope you are having a blast!!!

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    Default BAck in Chesapeake

    Quote Originally Posted by Ranger690 View Post
    Been thinking about you today PA ! Hope you are having a blast!!!
    We came back early as Thursday and Friday are going to be unfishable.

    Fished Tuesday with Fishdoc. I think his electronics cost more than my boat.

    Fishing was tough, but I got to mark a lot of brushpiles while he tried to find a few with decent fish on them. I'm not used to fishing with someone who catches them better than me. The fish were biting very timidly, one peck and if you didn't get them hooked they were gone. I learned a lot about fishing deeper than here on the river.

    When I cleaned the fish we got, I found they were pretty full of mostly digested minnows, so I think they fed either late in the afternoon the day before or at night under the full moon. Probably explains the tepid bite. They weren't really ready to feed again.

    I went back out Wednesday and hit the better brushpiles, fishing a minnow under a 1/8 oz weight right over the top pf the brushpiles 15 feet down and did OK. I think minnows just do better than jigs when they aren't really feeding.

    With a rainout predicted Thursday and a cold north wind after morning rain and a cold front Friday, we cut short the trip.

    The cabin we rented on Bluestone had no Wifi, and no cell service, I had to drive back toward Clarkesville to make a call.

    Now I have to start shopping electronics.
    Likes wellswings, Idunno LIKED above post

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