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January 26, 2004
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Paul Riggs, Jr. State Record Drum
NC WRC Photo |
Although some envious anglers may say he’s lucky, Paul Riggs, Jr.,
knows that finding a fishing hot spot is a lot like buying prime
real estate – it’s all about location, location, location.
Kerr Lake, last month, yielded two new freshwater drum state records
in less than a week to the Vance County angler, who attests that
finding the right spot – and the right lure – is the best way to
reel in a wall-mounted whopper. Riggs caught his first record
breaker, a 16-pounder, on Dec. 21, using a white, Crippled Shad
jigging spoon as bait. A week later, jigging a white, half-ounce
Hopkins, Riggs broke his own state record when he reeled in a 17.8
pound monster measuring 31 ½ inches in length and 24 1/8 inches in
girth.
Whether it was luck, lure or location, interested anglers, eager to
get in on some hot fishing action themselves, want to know where to
find this honey hole on Kerr Lake.
According to Riggs, Kerr Lake is the honey hole.
“The first big drum came from the end of Mill Creek, way on down
near the North Carolina and Virginia state line. The second one I
caught up around Henderson Point,” Riggs said. “It seems like Kerr
is really doing good, and for the last three or four years, the
fishing’s been getting better and better.”
Freshwater drum aren’t the only big fish to fall prey to Riggs’
wicked jigging spoons this winter.
“Since October, we’ve been catching a lot of fish up here at Kerr
Lake – more than we ever have actually,” Riggs said. “We’ve caught
stripers, largemouth, walleye, crappie, perch, white bass and some
big catfish. Every one of them came off jigs. Jigging is really the
way to catch fish.”
“It’s just been unbelievable,” he exclaimed.
While Kerr Lake boasts a diverse and well-populated fishery ready to
get jiggy, Riggs has discovered some fishing spots are hotter than
others.
“Every time I caught a big drum, there’s been real deep water close
by,” Riggs said. “These drums are coming off points that have got 40
to 50 feet of water within 15 to 20 yards. From what I’ve seen,
these drums love deep water.”
Both fish were weighed on certified scales at Bobcat’s Lake Country
Tackle Unlimited in Clarksville, Va., and were verified by
biologists with the Commission’s Division of Inland Fisheries.
To qualify for a state record, anglers must have caught their fish
on a hook and line, must have their fish weighed on a certified
scale witnessed by one observer, have the fish positively identified
by a qualified expert from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission and submit an application with a full, side-view photo of
the fish.
Check out the other
North Carolina
Fishing Records |
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