Justin Kerr – Red River Update

The Red River was a pretty neat place. I really thought I could do well in the tournament after a pretty good practice. The issue I faced during the tournament was the severe drop in water levels that I didn’t expect. The water levels dropped differently based upon pool which was a unique circumstance I hadn’t prepared myself for. The Red River incorporates a lock system and between each lock is a pool; the fish I found were in backwaters located in the nearest pool: pool five. From the last day of practice to the start of the tournament the backwaters I was fishing became inaccessible and it left me stuck fishing really obvious community water. I had my chances, I really did, but I didn’t execute well and I was sharing water with elite level anglers like Dave Lefebre and Larry Nixon.

It’s hard to describe the Red River to someone who has never seen it. Yes, it’s somewhat similar to the delta, but the water is really dirty, there are snakes everywhere, and there are more stumps than you could even imagine. While navigating the Red River you will surely hit stumps, it’s a certainty so the boat gets beat up a bit. The entire week I caught my fish pitching and flipping a Berkeley Havoc Devil’s Spear which was really subtle and it is easy to make precise presentations. My setup for flipping and fishing started with my Evergreen Tactics Pitchin Frog Rod on 20lb Bass Seil fluorocarbon, a 3/8 oz weight and a 4/0 BMF hook. Looking back, I most likely should have switched to braid. I figured the water was really pressured and it would be better to downscale to fluorocarbon, but the lighter line cost me when I lost two good fish the second day, man that was frustrating. I’m sure sooner or later I’ll start putting it together.

My next tournament is at Kentucky Lake and I’m looking forward to using my Evergreen crankbait arsenal. I know a few other Evergreen pro-staffers have done really well on Kentucky with those baits and I thinkI’ll be able to fire them up with some of the Combat series of crankbaits that Evergreen makes, I love those. This tournament will be really important for me because right now I’m on the edge of Forrest Wood Cup qualification and with only two tournaments left I need to really finish well in order to qualify for the biggest payout in bass fishing held at Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs Arkansas during August.

I know my summer plans changed drastically when FLW announced that our last tour event was going to be held right on top of the U.S. Open. Man what a bummer. I love that tournament and I always look forward to it, but what can I do. I’m sure a lot of guys feel the same way and even last years champ Clifford Pirch will be a no-show due to the same conflict.Really a bummer.
Until my next tournament I’ll just be at home organizing the garage and just preparing for the long drive back out east. Hopefully I’ll catch up with you guys again soon.

www.justinkerrfishing.com