“It looks like it will be kind of wet,” said tournament director Phil McCarson. “We’ve been kind of lucky all year, but Saturday looks like a washout.”

McCarson said the temperature at Kerr is like everywhere else in the Southeast right now – hot. But by Saturday that could change drastically.

“They are calling for a big high pressure front coming in from the north Friday evening into Saturday, with showers and thunderstorms. The wind is going to change and come out of the East-Northeast at about 5 to 10 miles per hour.”

It should not be terribly stormy, he said, but it will be wet.

“I don’t know how that pressure change will affect the fishing. If it moves on out at midday I don’t know if the fish will be deep or shallow. You might be having a good shallow bite flipping docks and stuff and then you might back off and do real good with crankbaits.”

McCarson said that with a good cloud cover, depending on oxygen levels shallow, there should be a good shallow bite down to about 10 feet. Another factor is the surface temperature. Kerr is running around 75 degrees on the surface, while most of the lakes around North Carolina are up in the 80s.

“It’s hard to say what the bass will be doing, but Kerr is a good fishery and winning weights up there are running around 18 pounds for five fish. I’d be surprised if the winning weight went over that,” he said.

“The fish at Kerr are not as big as most of the fish in the other lakes around here because of a bass disease they had a few years ago. That is supposed to be over now and the fish are looking healthier and getting up a little bigger in size, but you don’t seen many fish over 4 1/2 to 5 pounds right now.”

McCarson said Saturday’s tournament will be the third of eight qualifiers leading to the championship.

The Cashion Fishing Rods ‘End of Year’ Team Tournament Bass Fishing Trail schedule includes Aug. 23, Falls, Ledge Rock; Sept. 13, Jordan, Farrington Point (Right Side); Sept. 27, Mayo, Triple Springs; Oct. 11, Shearon Harris, Cross Point Landing; and Oct. 25, Falls, Ledge Rock; with the championship Nov. 1, also on Falls, out of Ledge Rock.

McCarson said he combined the previous summer and fall trails into the Cashion Fishing Rods ‘End of Year’ trail to give the fishermen a break in entries.

“Because of the economy, we combined the two and called it the ‘End of the Year’ Trail. It starts in July , which gives me time and gives the anglers a break. They don’t have to fish through the fall so there is not so much pressure on them – and it gives me a break, too. I get to stay home a visit my grandkids occasionally,” he said with a laugh.

He’s hoping for a field of 30 to 40 boats at Kerr on Saturday.

“That would not be too bad for this time of year,” he said. “I hope we have a good catch. It’s a good lake to fish.”

 

Piedmont Bass Classics End of year Team Trail

Sat, Aug 9, 2014

Kerr / Buggs Island Lake

Flemingtown Landing

Call Phil McCarson 919-971-5042

www.piedmontbassclassics.com