Share your catch

Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Buggs Island: 50,000 acres straddling two states, where striper history was made and crappie fill livewells all winter.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Lake level
290.65 ft -9.35 vs pool
Air / High
99 / 99 F
Wind
SSW 7 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02079490, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The gauge reads 290.65 ft, 9.35 ft below pool, easing 0.50 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 7 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 99. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassFair

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassSlow

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 99 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from JOHN H. KERR RESERVOIR AT DAM NEAR BOYDTON, VA.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02079490. Conservation pool is 300 ft.

292.26295.31298.36pool 300290.65 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp99 F
High / Low99 / 77 F
WindSSW 7-11 mph
Pressure1011.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain20% cloud, 19%
Sunrise / Sunset06:47 / 19:37
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 99/77 F, wind 10 mph, rain 19%

Fair or better. A 10 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Kerr Lake (Buggs Island): seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

1/5 Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk. Striped bass led the card at fair. High of 98 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 97 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Virginia requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Virginia or North Carolina license under the reciprocal agreement on most of the lake: verify current terms. Striper seasons and slots vary: check DWR and NCWRC.

Access

Occoneechee State Park, Longwood, Rudds Creek, Bluestone (VA) and Kerr Lake SRA ramps (NC).

About this water

A 50,000-acre Corps reservoir on the Roanoke River spanning the Virginia-North Carolina line, impounded 1952.

Fishing Kerr Lake (Buggs Island): the full guide

The big lake on the border

Kerr Reservoir: Buggs Island Lake to everyone who fishes it: floods 50,000 acres of the Roanoke River valley along the Virginia-North Carolina line, making it one of the largest lakes in the mid-Atlantic. Its striped bass fishery is historically important: the Roanoke strain that populated reservoirs across the South came from this system: and it still delivers, alongside a serious largemouth population, crappie in numbers, white perch and catfish that reach genuine trophy size.

Stripers, natural-spawning

Kerr holds one of the few naturally reproducing landlocked striper populations in the country: fish run up the Roanoke and Dan river arms each spring to spawn, creating a legendary March-April fishery around Clarksville. Summer moves them to the deep main-lake channels: down-line live shad at 25-45 feet. Fall brings surface schooling across the open water: watch the birds and keep a bucktail ready.

Bass, crappie and cats

Largemouth relate to the endless standing timber, points and creek mouths: crankbaits and jigs along the drops, with spring fish flooding the shallow brush. Crappie are the lake’s bread and butter: spider-rigging the creek channels and brush from late winter through spring produces limits, and the fall bite is nearly as good. Blue and flathead catfish patrol the river channels: cut bait on the drift moves fish past forty pounds.

Access across two states

Ramps ring the lake at Occoneechee State Park, Longwood, Rudds Creek, Bluestone and multiple Corps areas: the North Carolina side adds Kerr Lake State Recreation Area launches. A Virginia or North Carolina license covers most of the lake under a reciprocal agreement: check the current terms and the boundary specifics. Clarksville and Boydton anchor supplies and lodging.

Common questions

Why is Kerr important to striper fishing?

Its naturally reproducing Roanoke-strain stripers stocked reservoirs nationwide. The spring spawning run up the river arms remains a genuine spectacle.

When is crappie season?

February through April for the shallow spawn, October-November for the fall bite: spider-rigging the creek channels works nearly year-round.

Which license do I need?

Either state covers most of the lake by boat under reciprocity: confirm the current agreement and fish the tributaries under the correct state rules.

Is fishing good at Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Lake Gaston25 miRoanoke River41 miFalls Lake48 miTar River65 miJordan Lake74 miJames River78 mi
Share your catch