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Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Kerr Lake (Buggs Island): a 50,000-acre Corps reservoir on the Virginia-North Carolina line, about 12 feet low in October 2026 with most ramps closed.

Lake low and many ramps closed. The lake is about 12 feet below its 300-foot pool. The Army Corps of Engineers lists ramps closed at Bluestone, Buffalo Park, Eagle Point, Eastland Creek, Grassy Creek, Island Creek, Longwood, North Bend, Palmer Point, Rudd’s Creek and Staunton View; North Carolina State Parks says only Kimball Point and the Hibernia wildlife ramp are open on its side. Source, read October 8, 2026.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
288.03 ft -11.97 vs pool
Air / High
67 / 67 F
Wind
NE 8 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The gauge reads 288.03 ft, 11.97 ft below pool, easing 0.19 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 67. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassFair

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Similar at 66 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Virginia requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $23.00 for residents. What a Virginia licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with DWR before you keep anything. The season dates for Virginia, read off the agency, are on the Virginia seasons page.

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.

289.84293.85297.85pool 300288.03 ft09/2310/0410/1410/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp67 F
High / Low67 / 39 F
WindNE 8-12 mph
Pressure1024.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:27 / 18:26
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) this week

The best day on Kerr Lake (Buggs Island) this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:48 AM-11:48 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM
Minor period
4:09 AM-5:09 AM
Sun
07:27 to 18:26
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 10 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

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: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

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
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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: Virginia DWR says Virginia licenses are legal lake-wide, and North Carolina's agreement with Virginia covers boat fishing on Kerr and Gaston reservoirs and their tributaries accessible by boat. Striped bass (both states): Oct. 1-May 31, 2 a day, 20 to 26 inches only; June 1-Sept. 30, 4 a day, no length limit. Crappie 25 a day, 9-inch minimum. Virginia DWR also lists black bass 5 a day (only 2 under 14 inches), catfish 20 a day (only 1 blue over 32 inches) and white bass 10 a day, 14-inch minimum.

Access

Corps parks and ramps around the lake, Kerr Lake State Recreation Area (eight North Carolina access areas) and Virginia State Parks campgrounds. Check the Corps Lakes Gateway and NC State Parks first: in October 2026 most ramps were closed by low water.

About this water

50,000 acres (Corps; Virginia DWR says 48,900) on the Roanoke River along the Virginia-North Carolina line; Mecklenburg County, VA. Lake level on this page comes from USGS gauge 02079490, John H. Kerr Reservoir at Dam near Boydton.

Fishing Kerr Lake (Buggs Island): the full guide

The reservoir

The Corps of Engineers operates the 50,000-acre Kerr Reservoir, also called Buggs Island Lake, and 55,000 acres of surrounding land. It was built in the 1950s mainly for flood control and hydropower, and its 900 miles of shoreline stretch across three Virginia and three North Carolina counties. Virginia DWR puts the lake at about 48,900 acres at full pool.

Low water and ramp closures

On Oct. 8, 2026 the USGS gauge at Kerr Dam read 287.9 feet, about 12 feet below the 300-foot pool. The Corps listed boat ramps closed at Bluestone, Eagle Point, Eastland Creek, Grassy Creek, Island Creek, Longwood, North Bend (fishing pier also closed), Palmer Point, Rudd's Creek and Staunton View, and North Carolina State Parks said its Kimball Point ramp and the NC Wildlife ramp at Hibernia were the only ramps open on the North Carolina side.

Striped bass and crappie

Virginia DWR says stripers move to the upper lake and the river above it in spring to spawn, gather from the dam to about Buoy 9 and the mouth of Nutbush Creek in summer, and are usually best from Goat Island to the Clarksville bridge in fall and winter. About 75 percent of stripers released in summer die, so DWR dropped the summer size limit and asks anglers to stop once they have four. DWR also calls the lake one of Virginia's best for crappie, best from February through April, and names Grassy, Bluestone and Butcher creeks; white perch are now abundant.

Bass and catfish

DWR surveys show high reproduction and growth in largemouth bass, with 2- to 4-pound fish typical and bass over 8 pounds rare. Channel catfish have traditionally been the most sought, and flathead and blue catfish are increasingly popular.

Common questions

Which license do I need on Kerr Lake?

Either state's. Virginia DWR says Virginia licenses are legal lake-wide; North Carolina honors Virginia licenses for boat fishing on Kerr and Gaston reservoirs and their tributaries reachable by boat.

What are the striped bass rules on Buggs Island?

From Oct. 1 to May 31 you may keep 2 a day between 20 and 26 inches; from June 1 to Sept. 30 the limit is 4 a day with no length limit, and DWR asks anglers to quit once they have four.

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: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Gaston25 miRoanoke River41 miFalls Lake48 miTar River64 miJordan Lake74 miJames River79 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 02079490 β€” JOHN H. KERR RESERVOIR AT DAM NEAR BOYDTON, VA
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:25 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.5955, -78.2983 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.