Kerr Won U.S. Open With Single, Super Hole

A lot of times, events at Lake Mead are won by runners – those who gun across the lake's massive expanse and make five or so casts to a point or cut, then move on.

Other times a single cut, bluff-line or creek-arm wins.

But at the most recent WON Bass U.S. Open, winner Justin Kerr of Simi Valley, Calif. focused on a single 20-yard area

that produced three consecutive limits.

He used those limits to edge runner-up Gary Dobyns by a half-pound, and in so doing, banked cash and prizes totaling $150,000. Here's how he did it.

Practice

As a western pro, Kerr's all too familiar with Mead. He'd competed at the lake plenty of times, including last April when he finished 3rd at the WON Bass Southern Pro-Am, and last May when he finished 83rd at the Mead Western FLW Series.

He was able to squeeze in 2 days of pre-practice for the Open, when he camped on the lake to maximize his time.

"I threw a topwater plug the whole time, and saw that they'd bite a topwater," he said of that overnight trip. "And to tell a little story, I got some tackle from a buddy of mine who passed away – he was a real close friend. He had a Spook that was custom-painted in 1996 or '97, and I got that Spook out – the only one he had, for some reason – and threw it.

"They wouldn't leave that Spook alone. I don't know if it was my confidence with it or what, but they ate it really well. It was kind of a blessing – like he gave his Spook to me as a last good-bye."

Kerr spent the entire pre-practice trying to locate schools of fish with the Spook. He didn't set the hook much – his main intent was to pinpoint schools.

During official practice, he checked his fish and one particular area was strongest. It was close to the launch in the lower basin. He also had three other spots with fish.

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 8.89
> Day 2: 5, 9.26
> Day 3: 5, 9.16
> Total = 15, 27.31

Kerr's plan for day 1 was to start on his close spot and spend all his time in the lower basin. He wanted to see where a lower-basin limit put him in the standings, then gauge what to do after that.

"I caught a limit out of the first spot I went to and never upgraded the rest of the day," he said. "For the second day, my gameplan was to hit the limit spot again.

"I went back and Robert Lee was sitting right on it. He moved out, I moved in, and whacked them again until 9:00. I had another limit, and again, never upgraded all day."

He went back to same spot the third day.

"It was the only thing I had," he noted. "I never expected 9 pounds a day to win – more like 11 pounds – but I just figured I could stay in the Top 5 if I went there and caught a limit. So I went back and caught my limit again in that one 20-yard section."

It didn't end there, though. He had enough weight to stay in the Top 5, but destiny called with 10 minutes of fishing left.

"When I was going back to the marina, I pulled into a cut I'd fished in the past and fired a cast to the back. One came out after the Spook, and I reeled in quickly, because I'd rather catch it on a worm (for a better landing percentage). I threw the worm back and caught a 2 1/2-pounder, which culled out a 1 1/2. That's what sealed the deal for me."

Winning Pattern Notes

Kerr threw the custom-painted Spook and a Roboworm all 3 days. He'd switch back and forth between each, and he also switched between a dropshot and splitshot with the worm.

About his winning area, he said: "It was a cove, but it was an outside cove – outside meaning on the main lake. It was protected, and had cover. It was just a real weird spot.

"In back, it had two reefs that came up with grass in the middle. The reefs weren't visible until you got up to them. You could leave the boat in about 30 feet and not disrupt anything up on the bank."

Photo: BassFan Store

Along with the Spook, Kerr worked a 4 1/2" Straight Tail Roboworm (color shown: hologram shad).

He believes that schools of bass funneled bait up against the reefs each morning, which was why the bite only lasted until 9:00.

"I'd throw the Spook, worm, Spook, worm, and new groups of fish I think were cycling through there. I'd never get a bite after 9:00. It was all timing."

Also notable was he used the spot last year to finish 5th at the U.S. Open.

Winning Gear Notes

> Spook gear: 7'4" medium-action Performance Tackle rod, Shimano Core casting reel, 75-pound Evergreen braid (green), Heddon Super Spook (custom-painted with green back and pearl-white belly).

> He replaced the stock Spook hooks with No. 4 Decoy trebles.

> Dropshot gear: 6'6" medium-light Performance Tackle rod, Shimano Stradic spinning reel, 5-pound Evergreen Bass Seil fluorocarbon, 1/0 Roboworm ReBarb hook, 3/16-ounce Kanji dropshot weight (6" drop), 4 1/2-inch Roboworm Straight Tail worm (oxblood and hologram shad).

> He also threw the worm on a splitshot rig using the same equipment, except with a 3/16-ounce Mojo weight.

The Bottom Line

• Main factor in his success – "The water that was close by the spot was so deep, the fish could push the bait up into the cove and keep the bait there. They did that every day – otherwise, they'd have been gone. They were all bait-oriented fish, and they were all eating shad."
• Performance edge – "I'd say it was that tungsten Kanji dropshot sinker. It falls so fast to bottom you get right to where they're at. I was fishing the worm in 20 to 25 feet, so getting it down there in a hurry when they're there was key."

   

  Notable

  > Kerr's sponsors include: Triton, Mercury, Evergreen International, Roboworm and BassTackleDepot.

  > The U.S. Open is a shared-weight format. He said he had his amateurs fish the split-shot, and they contributed several fish. "They were a real benefit," he added.

  > He also won the Havasu Western Stren this year.

  > He fishes full-time, and would like to join the Bassmaster Elite Series. He hopes to attain sponsorship to fish the 2009 Bassmaster Opens to qualify for the 2010 Elite Series. "I've just always wanted to fish BASS," he noted. "I qualified several times when BASS was out here, but now I want to give it a shot. And it's like my buddy who passed away gave me a second chance to do that."

  > He's no relation to past U.S. Open champion John Kerr.