Tag Archive for: #kerrlake

N.C. Fisherman Reels In Top Prize At Kerr Lake Tournament

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– Information courtesy of Vance County Tourism Development Authority and Phoenix Bass Fishing League

Boater Jake Monti of Mooresville caught a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 38 lbs., 12 oz., to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional on Kerr Lake last weekend.

The tournament, hosted by the Vance County Tourism Development Authority, finished up Saturday, Oct. Oct. 5.

Monti’s prize package – valued at $63,429 – included a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200hp Mercury or Suzuki outboard, $10,000 and a $2,500 Phoenix MLF contingency bonus.

The field for the Kerr Lake event, served as regional championship for BFL Region 2, included the top 45 boaters and co-anglers based on point standings, plus each of the tournament winners, from the 2024 Buckeye, Northeast, Shenandoah and South Carolina divisions. The top six boaters and co-anglers in the Regional have qualified for the 2025 BFL All-American, which will be held on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, May 29-31.

It was an up-and-down … then-back-up-again tournament for Monti, according to information from BFL officials. He opened with a 21-pound limit that was easily the biggest stringer of the event. But on Day Two, Monti slipped, weighing just four bass for 6 lbs., 5 oz. Though Monti was able to hang onto his lead, Ohio’s Chris Martinkovic cut the distance, getting within two pounds of the leader.
On Day Three, Monti scrapped everything he’d been fishing to that point and was able to pull together 11 lbs., 7 oz. to close out a wire-to-wire win by a margin of 1 lb., 7 oz. over fellow North Carolinian Logan Anderson. Reflecting on the experience, the 21-year-old Abu Garcia MLF College Fishing competitor and local business owner admitted it was his own stubbornness that caused such a stressful swing on Day Two.

“In practice, I’d found a couple areas that had fish that were wolf-packing shallow,” Monti said. “Day one of the tournament, I went back there in those same areas, and they were there big time. I had 21 pounds in about an hour all within about a hundred-yard section.”

Monti caught those fish flipping a 1/2-ounce Queen Tackle jig. Assuming the fish would stay in the area, Monti left early, thinking he was preserving his best spot for Day Two.

“Day two, I go back, and I re-fished that area and didn’t have a single bite,” he said. “I caught one bass off a willow tree at like 10 o’clock. At 12, I was still sitting on one bass, and that’s when I went back into Nutbush (Creek) and just started flipping a little area that at the end of day one I found a couple bites in. I ended up putting three more in the boat.”
After weighing just the four keepers on Day Two, Monti decided he needed to make an adjustment. He swapped rods, tackle, areas and tactics.

“I ended up going out deep (Saturday), fishing schooling fish. I threw a bait in 30 feet with LiveScope, using a Queen Tackle Rollin head. And I caught a really big spot early that got me up to a little over 11 pounds. I stuck with that throughout the day and got what I needed.

“I wish I would’ve adjusted sooner and I wouldn’t have made it so stressful. I was just stubborn,” added Monti, who qualified from the South Carolina Division. “I thought there were fish in that area because I laid off them on day one. I caught what I caught and got out of there early and thought there’d be some left, but that was not the case.”

With a tough lesson behind him, Monti is now looking ahead to the 2025 All-American, grassroots bass fishing’s biggest event.
“It’s awesome,” he said of his shot at the All-American. “I don’t really have any words for it yet. It honestly hasn’t set in. I’m so tired from fishing so hard the last couple days, and my nerves are shot from yesterday. I’m ready to be there.”

The top six boaters who qualified to fish the 2025 Phoenix BFL All-American are:

1st: Jake Monti, Mooresville, N.C., 14 bass, 38-12, $63,429 (includes $2,500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Logan Anderson, Sherrills Ford, N.C., 15 bass, 37-9, $10,929
3rd: Billy Shelton III, La Crosse, Va., 12 bass, 35-11, $5,967
4th: Tyler Campbell, Martin, Ga., 15 bass, 35-6, $2,979
5th: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., 13 bass, 34-3, $2,111
6th: Brandon Pritchett, Goode, Va., 15 bass, 34-2, $1,787

Rounding out the top 12 boaters were:

7th: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, 14 bass, 34-1, $2,589
8th: Jason Shipton, Muncy, Pa., 14 bass, 32-13, $2,390
9th:  Chuck Cunningham, Duncan, S.C., 14 bass, 32-6, $1,191
10th: Seth Fricke, Oxford, Ohio, 14 bass, 29-12, $1,092
11th: Mark Tornai, Fredericksburg, Va., 12 bass, 28-1, $993
12th: Rodney Bell, Salisbury, N.C., 10 bass, 26-11, $993

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The top four boaters from each division that earned a $1,000 bonus for placing highest in the event were:

Buckeye: Chris Martinkovic, Hamilton, Ohio, 7th Place, $1,000
Northeast: Jason Shipton, Muncy, Pa., 8th Place, $1,000
Shenandoah: Billy Shelton III, La Crosse, Va., 3rd Place, $1,000
South Carolina: Logan Anderson., 2nd Place $1,000

Monti caught a bass that weighed 7 lbs., 1 oz., and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $1,000.

Ryan Sykes of Fairfield, Ohio, won the Strike King co-angler division Saturday, after bringing a three-day total of 10 bass to the scale that weighed 22 pounds, 7 ounces. His $50,400 prize package included a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200hp Mercury or Suzuki outboard.

The top six Strike King co-anglers who now qualify for the 2025 Phoenix BFL All-American are:
1st: Ryan Sykes, Fairfield, Ohio, 10 bass, 22-7, $50,400
2nd: Riley Smallwood, Shallotte, N.C., 11 bass, 22-4, $5,471
3rd: Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., nine bass, 21-13, $3,482
4th: Shaquille Freeman, Farmville, Va., nine bass, 21-1, $1,491
5th: Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., 11 bass, 20-11, $994
6th: Scott Standafer , Felicity, Ohio, 10 bass, 20-5, $1,395

Rounding out the top 12 Strike King co-anglers are:

7th: Thomas Pennell III, Boiling Springs, S.C., nine bass, 19-8, $795
8th: Mekye Barnes, Knightdale, N.C., eight bass, 17-6, $696
9th:  Jeff Bender, Glenshaw, Pa., eight bass, 16-15, $596
10th: Kevin Walton, Norfolk, Va., seven bass, 16-8, $547
11th: Tony Toombs, Drakes Branch, Va., six bass, 16-6, $497
12th: Todd Huntley, Inman, S.C., six bass, 14-4, $497

The top four Strike King co-anglers from each division that earned a $500 bonus for placing highest in the event were:

Buckeye: Scott Standafer, Felecity, Ohio, 6th Place, $500
Northeast: Michael Bell, Ogdensburg, N.Y., 17th Place, $500
Shenandoah: Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., 3rd Place, $500
South Carolina: Riley Smallwood, Shallotte, N.C., 2nd Place $500

Richard Williams of Sutherland, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $500, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the tournament.

The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, AR, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Anglers Hit Kerr Lake Thursday For 3-Day Tournament In Hopes Of Landing $60K Grand Prize

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-information courtesy of Vance County Tourism Development Authority

Anglers are taking to Kerr Lake beginning today to take part in the final tournament of the season as the Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine sets sail for a three-day run.

Hosted by the Vance County Tourism Development Authority and presented by T-H Marine’s Buckeye, Northeast, Shenandoah and South Carolina divisions, the tournament features the top 45 boaters and co-anglers – plus tournament winners from all four divisions – who will be battling it out for a top prize of $60,000, according to information from the local tourism office.

Additional prizes include a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Strike King co-anglers will compete for a top prize of $50,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard. Winners will be determined by the heaviest three-day catch.
The top six finishers in each regional will qualify for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the 42nd annual BFL All-American. The highest finishing boater from each division will also receive a $1,000 bonus and the highest finishing co-angler from each division will receive a $500 bonus.

“This regional tournament is going to be a good one to follow, because I think MLF is hitting at just the right time,” said local pro Derik Hudson of Concord, VA who has eight top-10 finishes on Kerr Lake – including a victory in last year’s 2023 BFL Super-Tournament. “This past weekend the water temperatures was still very high – 77 to 79 degrees. But we’re at that time of the year where the fall transition is coming soon. I think in this one the fish are going to be spread out – shallow and deep – and guys are going to be able to catch them fishing their strengths.”

Hudson said that he expects forward-facing sonar to play a large role in this tournament, but he does think that an angler can compete to win strictly by fishing shallow.

“There is a ton of shad in the lake right now, and out deep those fish are going to be keyed in on the shad,” Hudson said. “The majority of fish seem to still be out offshore, but lately it seems like the bigger fish are moving shallow and being caught on transition banks, stumpy points and on rock. That’s what makes this one so interesting – they’re going to hit it right in the middle of the fall transition and it’s still really anybody’s ballgame.”

When Hudson won the BFL Super Tournament on Kerr Lake last year, he weighed in limits totaling 16- and 15- pounds and his 31-pound total won by nearly a 5-pound margin. He expects weights to be down a little bit in this regional tournament due to the fall transition.

“I feel like if you catch 13 to 14 pounds a day, you’re going to be sitting really good,” Hudson went on to say. “But, like we just saw this last weekend in the Super Tournament, if you get on that right roll offshore or on the bank, the lake has 18 or 19 right around the corner. So, I would say to shoot to stay right in the middle. If you shoot for 15 a day, that’ll be a great day for anybody. But know that 18 to 19 (pounds) is still out there somewhere.”

Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. ET each morning from the Nutbush Bridge Access at the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, located at 115 Jack Wade Farm Road, in Henderson, North Carolina. Weigh-ins will also be held at the landing and will begin at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts at MajorLeagueFishing.com

The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

The top boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour. For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5 on social media.

Follow Boating, Water Safety Rules To Keep Recreation Activities Fun, Enjoyable

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– information courtesy of the N.C. Dept. of Insurance

Ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey is urging everyone to take extra precautions during one of the most popular water recreational times of the year.

“Independence Day is a great opportunity to celebrate our freedom on the water with friends, family and neighbors,” Causey said. “Beaches, lakes and waterways will be crowded 4th of July weekend. Many of us will be either in the water or on watercraft. It’s important to remember to be safe and responsible as you head out on the boat, jet ski, kayak or as you swim during these celebrations,” he said.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has reported 37 boating incidents  across the state thus far in 2024. “We’ve had far too many water deaths and close calls this year,” Causey said, adding that those boating incidents resulted in seven deaths.

Remember these boating safety reminders if you are a boat owner and are entertaining others on board, or if you are a rider on a boat:

  1. Always wear a life jacket – no exceptions. Make sure EVERYONE on board has a life jacket that is serviceable, properly sized, correctly fastened and suitable for your activity. Adults and children should always wear a life jacket approved by the U.S. Coast Guard while on boats or jet skis, around open bodies of water or when participating in other water sports. Make sure the life jacket fits snugly. Have the child make a “touchdown” signal by raising both arms straight up; if the life jacket hits the child’s chin or ears, it may be too big, or the straps may be too loose.
  2. Don’t drink and boat. It is illegal to operate a boat while intoxicated, in North Carolina or any other state. The bulk of boating accidents each year involve alcohol consumption by both boat operators and passengers. To keep you and your loved ones safe, it is highly recommended not to drink alcoholic beverages while boating.
  3. Learn CPR. We know you have a million things to do, but learning CPR should be on the top of the list. Especially when operating watercraft. It will give you tremendous peace of mind – and the more peace of mind you have as a parent, the better. Local hospitals, fire departments and recreation departments offer CPR training.
  4. Use an engine cut-off device: An engine cut-off device is a proven safety device to stop the boat or jet ski’s engine if the operator unexpectedly falls overboard.
  5. Use caution when towing a skier.
  6. Be careful when around swimmers.
  7. Always carry the required safety equipment, such as a first aid kit, emergency flares, beacon lights, etc.

The beaches will be crowded this summer. Remember to pay attention to the warning flags at the beach that indicate the possibility of rip currents. A rip current’s force is strong enough to pull even the strongest swimmer out to sea.

  1. If caught in a rip current, stay calm, don’t fight the current and escape the current by swimming in a direction parallel to the shoreline.
  2. If at any time you are unable to reach the shore, draw attention to yourself and call for help.
  3. Most people believe a drowning person involves flailing arms or frantic calls for help, but that is not the case. Drowning happens quietly when a helpless person is unable to take a breath.

Recently, Commissioner Causey joined the Surf City Fire and Ocean Rescue Team and Surf City Mayor Teresa Batts to highlight how to stay safe on the water this summer.

View our video from Surf City.

View our boating safety video for more boating safety tips.

TownTalk: Around Old Granville: A Day At The Lake

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Kerr Lake will be the destination for many boaters and campers over the long holiday weekend, but the area surrounding – and under – the man-made lake has been attracting people for literally hundreds of years.

Stately homes sitting on impressive tracts of land belonging to families with names like Hargrove and Henderson, made way for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project. The lake, no doubt, has unrivaled recreational value today, the fertile lowlands created by Nut Bush creek as it makes its way to the Roanoke River provided farmers the perfect spot for tobacco and other crops.

One of those stately homes was Hibernia, built by the Hargrove family in 1798. The house was torn down in 1955, said local historian and N.C. Room Specialist Mark Pace. Few photographs exist of the plantation home, but remnants remain – if you know where to look.

Pace and WIZS’s Bill Harris recently accepted an invitation from Parks Superintendent Bill Stanley to come explore some of the less-traveled parts of the lake, which has nine state-maintained parks along its North Carolina shoreline.

“We went looking for the remains of Hibernia,” Pace said on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk. “It was one of the more impressive old houses” in the area, he noted. And the two intrepid explorers are pretty certain they found the exact spot where it once stood.

Back then, family homes usually had a family cemetery nearby and so when the Corps was planning to build the lake, the cemeteries’ contents had to be moved. The family plots were moved to a new family cemetery and those of the enslaved people were moved to a couple of different churches nearby.

The earliest gravestone is from 1843, but the enslaved people’s graves were marked only with fieldstone.

In addition to the original house location, they also found the well, the kitchen foundation and a large, brick-lined pit that most likely was the ice house.

Moving over to Satterwhite Point, the duo explored a spring that had been discovered in the 1970’s at the J.C. Cooper campground. It likely was used for nearby Ashland, which was built by the Henderson family in 1740.

“What amazed me is how clear…and cool the water was,” Pace said. “It could have been

the reason why the Hendersons built the house where they did.” There’s a tulip poplar tree still there that possibly predates the house, Pace said.

 

Do you have memories of the area around Kerr Lake before there was a lake? Call Pace at 919.693.1121.

 

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The Local Skinny! Gavin’s Groupies 5K Run To Benefit CFF

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If you’re looking for a new spot to get your Saturday run in this weekend, Tanya Darrow invites you to come out to Henderson Point for a 5K Fun Run fundraiser. In addition to getting some exercise yourself, you’ll be helping a group called Gavin’s Groupies – Loping For Lungs at the same time.

Gavin is Darrow’s 13-year-old son, himself a cross country runner, who also lives with a chronic condition called cystic fibrosis.

This is the first time Darrow has organized a major event like a 5K Fun Run, and she said she’s excited to host it at such a pretty location. “It’s a really nice course, it’s paved – right along the lake,” she said on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

Runners can sign up online at passion.cff.org, and she said she plans to be able to have same-day registration as well – cash and Venmo for sure, and payment by card, depending on internet reception. The run begins at 9 a.m., but participants should plan to arrive between 8 a.m. and 8:30, she said.

Darrow said she has a memory of doing a fun run with Gavin when he was younger than 5 years old. “He ran a lot of it, but I ended up carrying him on my shoulders the last mile or so.”

“Running is very important for maintaining lung function,” she added. With CF, a genetic mutation causes a malfunction of sodium and chloride levels, causing mucus to be thick and sticky instead of a smooth, lubricating fluid.

The fun run is a way for Darrow to help raise money for research to find treatments and one day, a cure for CF.

The CF Foundation supports research into the disease, and helps families with a wide range of programs and services, from scholarships and housing programs to helping to defray the costs of expensive medications.

Sign up for the run at

https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Henderson/GavinsGroupies5k?fbclid=IwAR1iOp8GZq66m1hvkLBGrx2z71KgtuDJMb3wWBOQlA4zpYqZgbijarbM3K0.

Learn more about other programs and fundraisers at passion.cff.org and follow Darrow’s efforts with Gavin’s Groupies on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/933724317677068/?ref=newsfeed

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The Local Skinny! Camping, Hiking And More At Kerr Lake

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Bill Stanley says if you just want to throw a line in the water at Kerr Lake, Satterwhite Point and Nutbush are pretty good spots to head to. Now, if you’re headed out in a boat for a day of fishing, there are really too many good spots to count.

Stanley, superintendent of the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, said that no matter what you choose to do lakeside – camping, fishing, hiking – there are plenty of opportunities awaiting. He spoke with Bill Harris on The Local Skinny!

The COVID-19 pandemic created a ripple effect among camping enthusiasts, which has resulted in a higher volume of campground reservations.

“It seemed like everybody got a camper and wanted to be outside” during the pandemic. As a result, “the campgrounds are staying a little fuller…it’s harder and harder to get a campsite during the week” and especially on weekends.

Reservations are made online through ReserveAmerica Inc.at

https://www.reserveamerica.com/

J.C. Cooper and Hibernia are probably the two most popular for campers. Cooper is located near Satterwhite Point, but Hibernia has more sandy beaches and upgraded campsites, he said.

Stanley said he expects there will be more building projects and upgrades begun in the near future – better campsites and renovated bath houses – that will give Kerr Lake campgrounds “a little facelift in the next few years.”

Maintenance crews manage the “to-do” list – from facilities upkeep to building new trails in different areas. The overall feel of the lake is a little slower pace than other lakes that either have more developed shorelines or are closer to big cities.

There’s a half-mile or so of new ADA-accessible paved trail, as well as hiking trails at Hibernia and J.C. Cooper that campers and locals alike enjoy

“It’s not as busy as Falls or Jordan or any of the other lakes closer to Raleigh,” Stanley said. “Things are not right on top of you (here)…we’re still a little bit of a hidden gem.”

He credits the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the quieter atmosphere. “The Corps has done a good job of protecting the shoreline as best they can,” he said. Fewer homes lakeside makes for quieter surroundings.

Things ramp up, however, when there’s a fishing tournament on the lake. Stanley said there already have been four so far this year, and summer will bring more fishers in search of striped bass and catfish, not to mention prize money and bragging rights.

However you enjoy fishing – whether from shore or in a boat, Stanley reminds everyone they need to make sure they pack one essential item in their tackle box: a current fishing license.

 

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TownTalk: Stanley Takes On New Role At Kerr Lake

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In his previous role as Superintendent 1 at the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, Bill Stanley said his main focus was on the rangers and their development and making sure the other staff also was properly trained to do the wide assortment of jobs that take place across the various campgrounds, public access points and shelters with the park.

In his new role as lead superintendent, Stanley chuckled when he said there’s a lot more paperwork involved.

But the ultimate mission remains the same: “making sure Kerr Lake is moving forward in a direction for the future,” Stanley told John C. Rose on Monday’s TownTalk.
He’s got his sights set on three broad areas: conservation, education and safe recreation.

Those umbrella categories cover a wide range of projects, from prescribed fires to making sure all visitors can have an enjoyable lake experience.

“Prescribed fires are a big thing in NC state parks,” Stanley said. “It’s a good thing for the environment and a really good things for visitors also.” Prescribed fires help reduce leaf litter and help clear out the understory of wooded areas, which helps campers have a better lake view and reduces the chance of a campfire getting out of control.

But there’s the little detail of when to conduct a prescribed fire. “When there’s tons and tons of campers here, you can’t smoke ‘em out,” Stanley said.

There are 13 rangers that serve the entire recreation area, he said. They are law enforcement officers in addition to all the other duties that go along with the job. Some will be joining other local law enforcement officers in the “Shop with a Cop” event happening this week, he said. And they also do programs at schools and at Perry Memorial Library.

In addition to the ranger staff, Stanley said there’s the 15-member maintenance team stays busy with various improvement projects throughout the recreation area. Add 60 or so seasonal employees to keep grass mowed and bathrooms cleaned during the peak season and suddenly the staff becomes a small army.

Maintenance recently completed a renovation of 13 campsites at Hibernia. By doing the job themselves, the team was able to make the money go further, he noted.

He said visitors who use the campsites love the fact that they’re so close to the water. “They say they love our campsites,” Stanley said, adding that many have been camping at Kerr Lake for many years.

Whether you just want to enjoy the natural beauty of the lake or whether you’d prefer to be in a bass boat on the water, Stanley said Kerr Lake is the perfect spot.

“Kerr Lake is a great fishing lake,” he said and 2023 is shaping up to be another good year for fishing competitions here.

 

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Bill Stanley Moves Into Lead Superintendent Role At Kerr Lake State Recreation Area

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Bill Stanley has been named lead superintendent at Kerr Lake State Recreation Area in Vance and Warren counties, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. He has served as a superintendent I at Kerr Lake since 2018.

A state park superintendent manages the operations and administration of a park and has responsibilities that include staffing, planning, environmental education, natural resources management, law enforcement and visitor services.

Originally from Ramseur, N.C., Stanley has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Stanley’s years at Kerr Lake have inspired a number of goals for his first year as superintendent.

“I want to improve community engagement and complete projects that improve visitor experiences at the park,” he said. “I want Kerr Lake to embody our mission of conservation, recreation and education.”

Stanley began his career in state parks in 2010 as a seasonal employee at Raven Rock in Harnett County and then worked as an AmeriCorps educator at Carvers Creek in Cumberland County. He took a park ranger position at Dismal Swamp State Park in Camden County before moving to Kerr Lake State Recreation Area.

North District Superintendent Kristen Woodruff said she looks forward to Stanley’s leadership to direct the park through growth and change.

“Bill’s familiarity with both the challenges and opportunities at Kerr Lake provide a foundation for excellent leadership as the park continues to grow and change. He is setting a new standard for the visitor experience at Kerr Lake,” she said.

Kerr Lake State Recreation Area is a collective of eight access areas around the shoreline of the 50,000-acre reservoir built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Seven campgrounds with hundreds of campsites allow visitors lakeside camping, and numerous shelters and community buildings provide popular venues for local gatherings.

All eight recreation accesses provide boat access to one of the best fishing lakes in the eastern United States.
North Carolina State Parks manages more than 258,000 acres of iconic landscape within North Carolina’s state parks, state recreation areas and state natural areas. It administers the N.C Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, including its local grants program, as well as a state trails program, North Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers and more, all with a mission dedicated to conservation, recreation and education. The state parks system welcomes more than 22.7 million visitors annually.

The Local Skinny! Timberlake Keeps An Eye On The Lake

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For more than 10 years now, Frank Timberlake has been keeping an eye on Kerr Lake parks and camping areas. And he says there are some spots that haven’t changed since he was a kid.

For some, that may seem like good news. But Timberlake said he and others in Kerr Lake Park Watch don’t see it that way.

Timberlake and others formed Kerr Lake Park Watch in 2010 as a way to monitor and support improvements in the park facilities on Kerr Lake. Their online presence includes a webpage and a Facebook page where campers and other park users can read reviews or reactions to what’s happening – or not happening – at the various campsites around the lake.

From the online booking surcharges that campers pay when they reserve a campsite to the physical layout of the sites, Timberlake and the group have opinions.

He spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! segment and acknowledged that some would consider him a “feather ruffler” when it comes to the lake’s camping areas.

“We want to protect, promote and improve the parks,” Timberlake said. Although there are still some tent campers who visit, more visitors bring their RVs. Those vehicles require a relatively flat surface for parking, so when you have campsites, with as much as a 20-degree slant, it’s a challenge for RVers.

When COVID-19 was in full swing, all the trashcans were removed from the camp areas, which Timberlake said created significant cost savings. But none of that came back to the campgrounds, he said.

And there are several openings for rangers across the system of camp areas, which Timberlake said makes it difficult for campers to get information they need when they’re out at the lake.

“We need to get staffed up here,” Timberlake said of the ranger positions. “Rangers should be sitting at that entrance station, focused on customer service. They need to be there in the parks, not riding the roads.

He said he’s personally shown first-time visitors to their campsite because there was no one else around to help.

Help is all he and his group want to do, he said. Help others enjoy the lake and its recreational opportunities, while “improving a place that is wonderful…to protect it and improve it.”

Visit http://kerrlakeparkwatch.org/home/ or find the group on Facebook.

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TownTalk: History of Kerr Lake, Part 2

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(Photo courtesy R.F. Timberlake – Kerr Lake Park Watch on Facebook and Shutter Art Gallery)

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Kerr Lake covers about 50,000 acres when it’s at normal elevation, but if the lake level were to reach its maximum elevation of 320 feet above sea level, the lake would more than double in size. In short, Kerr Lake is a BIG topic. So big, in fact, that Kerr Lake, Part 2, was the subject of Thursday’s tri-weekly history program on Town Talk.

Bill Harris and Mark Pace talked about what’s around – and under – the lake, which has 850 miles of shoreline and touches six counties in North Carolina and Virginia.

A plane that crashed into the lake in Clarksville was eventually removed, but there’s still a train submerged in Nutbush Creek, Pace said.

The plane crashed in 1962 and it took almost a month to find the right equipment to extricate it. The lake is between 90 feet and 100 feet deep in the deepest channels, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t cut down all the trees in the area that soon would be submerged. The plane, as it turned out, had gotten tangled up in that submerged forest. A barge equipped with a crane had to be transported from the coast to retrieve the wreckage.

As for the train, Pace said a forest fire scorched a wooden bridge over Nutbush Creek in the early 1900’s. A group of Townsville residents went together to start up a short railroad line that ran from Manson to Townsville. “It was a barebones affair,” Pace said, with two engines, a coal car and a couple of passenger cars.

When the train pulled into Townsville, there was nowhere for it to turn around, he said, so it had to go backwards on the return trip to Manson. The bridge was about 70 or 75 feet above the water, and it held up for the passenger cars and the coal car to cross. But the engine was too heavy, and the train plunged into the water “and basically impaled itself into the mud of Nutbush Creek,” Pace said. The engineer and the fireman were killed.

There are stories of picnics and church gathering being held near the wreck site years later and whoever could swim down to the wreckage and ring the train’s bell would get a prize.

The lake has a long history of providing recreational activities like picnics and church gatherings, as well as boating and camping, but there remain residual bad feeling toward the Corps, Pace said. “Most of what they bought was farmland, and not particularly good farmland,” he said. But it was still family land and the average price was only about $75 per acre. That amount would only be between $400 and $500 an acre today.

“Now there’s a strip of land that you’re not allowed to develop around Kerr Lake,” Pace said, to adhere to Corps restrictions. Fifty years ago, however, the shoreline would not have looked at all like it does today because it had been farmland and would have taken some years to become wooded.