Upper-end creeks produce first good slabs on Kerr Lake

Guide Eddie Moody targets the backs of creeks on the upper end of Kerr Lake to find the earliest active crappie in March.

Hit the smaller creeks first for March slabs on Kerr Lake

Once March arrives and water temperatures back in the creeks reach 50 to 55 degrees, the wait is over for Kerr Lake crappie fishermen.

Fish won’t be spawning in every creek to start. Knowledgeable anglers will begin in some of the smaller creeks on the upper end of the 49,500-acre lake along the North Carolina-Virginia border. And guide Eddie Moody of Roxboro, N.C., will be one of them long-lining a spread of jigs and “starting backwards.”

“I like to start out in the creeks above Clarksville (Va.),” said Moody (984-363-5256), who runs Slab’s Guide Service. “They’re smaller and shallower, so they warm up faster. There can be as much as a 10-degree temperature difference between these creeks and those closer to the dam.

“When I’m in a creek I haven’t fished yet, I start trolling in the back. The biggest fish will be the first ones back there on the spawning flats. If you start in the mouth and run into a school of 1-pound fish, you’ll probably never make it to the back where the 2-pounders are. Starting backwards takes out the effect of human nature. And I know for sure what stage the fish are in.”

Trolling is very effective for Kerr Lake slabs this month

This time of year, Moody targets female slabs, which will be bigger on average. Male crappie will sit on a spawning flat in 2 to 5 feet of water, guarding the fry. This is a popular time for tight-liners and single-pole fishermen to work the flats. But Moody will stay on the outside edge in 6 to 10 feet of water where the females will be resting after moving off the flats. They will move back and forth, laying up to 200 nests, he said.

Moody will troll a spread of 16 rods at speeds between 1 and 1.2 mph. He sets eight rods off the bow and eight off the stern. His rods measure between 5 and 12 feet to spread out baits and cover as much ground as possible. Each rod will be spooled with 6-pound Slime Line and carry a jig or 1/16- of 1/32-ounce Road Runner. Moody tips all his jigs with a live minnow and prefers to dye them in Fire Dye from Pautzke Bait Company, believing the bright color is a big factor in the dingy water.

“The fish will be in different stages throughout the creek,” said Moody. “If I’m not catching fish in the back, I’ll work towards the mouth, staying in 6- to 10-foot depths along the shoreline and going over any brush piles or stumps I’ve marked on the way. As I get closer to the mouth and the water gets deeper, I will move on down to 15 feet.”

About Dusty Wilson 274 Articles
Dusty Wilson of Raleigh, N.C., is a lifelong outdoorsman. He is the manager of Tarheel Nursery in Angier and can be followed on his blog at InsideNCFishing.com.

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