Kerr Lake fishing and holiday FAQ's

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American Fishing Holidays

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FISHING TIPS AND HINTS

KERR LAKE : FISHING FROM A UK PERSPECTIVE

I guess that however I approach this article it will almost certainly offend many of our American friends. Not deliberate but none the less inevitable.
You see, they don't fish,........ they hunt, and there is a hell of a difference. Their basic approach to catching fish is to use exactly the same methods as salt water fishing. Go out on a boat with a dozen or so rods, wait for a shoal of fish to show on the sonar, bait the rods with either whole or cut fish and drop them over the side with a variety of basic indicators such as small balloons or nothing at all, then wait for the rods to bend. If nothing happens after a few minutes they wander off somewhere else. It's a bit like Mackerel fishing. The terminal tackle is invariably treble hooks or size 1's with heavy barbs. As a result the idea of ' catch and release ', whilst heavily promoted by various bodies, is a concept that is almost entirely ignored mainly because the fish are so severely hooked that releasing them without harm is next to impossible. The fish has it's hook and half it's stomach pulled out and it's tossed unceremoniously into the cool box. This attitude is changing however and many American fishermen are far better at handling fish than some Europeans.
On the second day of our latest trip we managed, with only partial success, to target the Carp and having caught one informed our host Larry. The look of sheer bewilderment on his face as I carefully unhooked the fish, put antiseptic on it's lip and placed it back in the water was one I will never forget. This in no way is meant as criticism, they have an abundance of resources that are hard to imagine from a European perspective and of course there are many exceptions, but in general their attitudes are vastly different.

From a European anglers point of view, particularly for instance a UK specimen angler, the whole thing is barbaric. Now the bit that will really annoy them,...... to be perfectly honest their knowledge of habitat and behaviour is limited to seasonal movements and the accuracy of their sonar. There are of course some dedicated anglers who target Bass and various other species who do have a more detailed knowledge of their chosen quarry but they are certainly in the minority. Carp are very rarely caught even though the place has loads of them and their understanding of how to catch them is nil. Perhaps because, as one guy in the local tackle shop put it, “ They taste like shit “
We got most of the useful information from the black guys and Mexicans that fish the Dam area as these guys had to know more about the various species purely because they relied on them to feed their families. I have to thank all the ones we talked to as they were really friendly and they shared the information they had, as did we, with genuine enthusiasm. I spent quite some time explaining some of our own methods and exchanging information which resulted in some fascinating conversations.

Anyway, suffice to say that there is little point in spending money on a trip with the various guides that ply their trade at Kerr, you would be far better off using your eyes and the knowledge you have gained from fishing in Europe on hard pressed fisheries because the skills you have acquired on locating fish etc will almost certainly serve you better.
I have to stress that whilst the attitudes to fishing are vastly different, the American anglers in general do leave us for dead on many issues. For instance, their pride in their indigenous species, care for the environment as a whole and their strict adherence to the various policies on catch quota's etc make most European attitudes look prehistoric. The guys have a kind of weird and basic honesty that has to be admired. It all comes down to a simple statement. They look on fish as food , we look on them as sport. Of course I enjoy fresh Catfish barbecued with Cajun spices but using European techniques does allow you to be selective as to what fish you eat and what goes back and , importantly, if I were going to eat a fish I would kill it before removing the hook, why put it through the agony of de-hooking it first ?
So, remember ..... when you fish Kerr you are on their territory. If you do come across another angler don't get into arguments about how to handle fish and don't be offended by the way they fish. Perhaps in the future things will be different as more guys out there come across European anglers and examine our methods but I wouldn't hold your breath.

There are a great many European anglers who are far from blameless themselves and at times act quite disgracefully so there's not much for us to shout about. As I have already said, the two methods of fishing are very different but perhaps the end result and health of the species and their environment itself is what counts in the end. In this respect they leave Europeans and their venues standing, which is something worth remembering before taking the moral high ground.
Now, to the fishing itself ............................

There are almost too many types of habitat to even begin describing them. You have seen the pictures of the vast open areas and the contrasting creeks, all of which hold plenty of fish.
The first thing you need to do is look at the place from an entirely different perspective and think through the basics. For instance, a boilie fished over a PVA bag full of trout pellets would be useless unless you want a net full of small Catfish and once they move in you can forget catching anything else. You won't fish them out as they are never ending ferocious feeders of which there are quite literally thousands. Think things through, decide where your target species is likely to be based on genuine behaviour patterns rather than those modified to suit an 'angling' environment. These fish have never seen a hook and don't come out for a cuddle every few weeks.

To begin with place one rod on a likely spot and fish another in a more general way with a universal bait such as worm or bread just to see what you can catch as you never quite know and it's great fun identifying the various species. Be prepared also to be suddenly surprised with a sizzling run that peels line off at an alarming rate ! Keep a close eye on your rods and make sure that you are either using a baitrunner or a line clip otherwise your rod can easily disappear without warning. If you fancy a crack at the predators use a strip of small fish or a whole one. In general, the bigger the bait the better chance of catching the bigger specimens. There are other factors to take into account of course, presentation and location for example that are also essential for targeting the bigger fish, bait alone as you well know is only a small part of the equation.

Take a few minutes to read your chosen swim. Some areas, particularly the creeks, are quite heavily silted and a bottom bait will sink without trace. The open areas tend to be more gravel based but again it varies so check it out first. This whole place is pretty much left to it's own devices so watch out for underwater snags in the creeks, fallen trees etc. Line BS is obviously species relevant but try not to use anything below 8lbs, even when light float fishing, as you never know what is coming. Hooks should be 10's or below although if you are targeting the smaller species you can risk a 12 or even 14. You will need all your skills to interpret what's going on in the swim as it's very difficult at first to know what is causing the silt to rise, what's making the bubbles and so on. It isn't as obvious as watching a European venue and can be very confusing.

Most of the bigger fish are very wary, particularly the Carp. This isn't because they are aware of being caught but due to the large number of predators which include Eagles and large Otters. If a fish isn't ultra wary and paying tight attention to its environment it gets eaten so they will detect the slightest movement. The bigger fish are obviously very good at detecting danger otherwise they wouldn't have been around long enough to grow and they will evacuate any area that holds a potential threat and refuse to take any bait that doesn't ' look right '. Catching fish at random, mostly small with the occasional surprise is easy as the fish in general are very competitive and hungry, but getting to grips with the bigger specimens is another story.

They are tuned to their environment and well capable of finding their food so if your offering isn't exactly as it should be it will be rejected. Don't go clomping around and generally making a racket, the fish have a million and one places to go so they have no need to stay anywhere near you. They are not confined to a pond like most in Europe and they will simply go away. Think your way through the whole trip and the results can be spectacular. Aim especially for the numerous creek entrances, particularly the margin areas or the middle of the main channel and ignore the strip in between. Anything feeding or waiting in ambush will be near the margins, there is no easy food for them deposited by anglers in open water so there's no reason for them to be there. If the fish are passing through or heading for other feeding areas they will be using the main channel where its deeper and safer. Carefully note all surface activity, watch for reeds and plant life moving and keep your eyes open for the big herons and turtles. If either of these are in an area looking for small fish you can bet that the predators are not far away. All obvious stuff but details that tend to get overlooked when you are use to fishing your favourite swim at home where you often don't have to think at all.

If you are after big Carp keep an open mind, forget boilies and go back to the basics. These fish over 25lb are in abundance but extremely difficult to hook. Their mouths are smaller than the European species and they have a habit of nosing their way through the silt areas carefully picking up the food rather than sucking so if you decide to use a hair pay particular attention to the qualities of the rig otherwise all the sizzling runs you get will result in nothing as the hook will not take.
Small Catfish are everywhere so pick a spot that's well concealed and likely to be visually hidden. Catfish also have a highly developed sense of smell but tend to follow other fish to the food so do not over bait or spread the free offerings over a wide area. Trust your judgement of likely location and keep the offerings tightly confined. Most meat based baits will literally catch anything as will fruit based boilies ........ the small catfish love 'em.

Bread works well with the Carp but American bread is very sweet compared to ours and has an odd texture so it expands and becomes fragile very quickly. If you can visit a local supermarket it's far better to get some flour, Rye if possible, and make your own paste. If you intend to pre-bait an area use boiled corn or sweet corn and do not add extra flavourings. Fish three or four good sized kernels and keep it simple. I can't emphasise enough that you must use a free spool set up otherwise your rod WILL disappear the instant you are not paying attention. Sods law I guess but if you leave the rod unattended with the spool locked you may never see it again because the runs from the big Carp are like nothing you would have experienced in Europe. Unlike many European Carp, the fish tend to run for open water rather than underwater obstacles or weed so you can usually afford to let them run rather than trying to muscle them in so you have the option of lighter lines provided you are onto the fish quickly.
Lots more to follow ........ Keep watching for the links as they are being added daily.

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