Burlington Boater Austin Woody Wins Kerr Lake Bass Fishing Tournament

Burlington angler Austin Woody brought five bass to the scales at 20 pounds, 4 ounces on March 30 to claim the season-opening Phoenix Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division tournament at Kerr Lake, earning $2,880 for the win.

Woody built his limit around a crankbait pattern on prespawn structure. His game plan was to "throw a crankbait and focus on some prespawn areas," beginning at a "starting hole" he had identified before lines went in the water. He caught three fish early on the crankbait but lost two bass to strikes that didn't stick. Rather than abandoning the pattern, Woody adjusted as wind intensified through the day and finished with the five-fish limit that topped the boater field.

The tournament was the first of five events on the Shenandoah Division schedule and was hosted by the Vance County Tourism Development Authority. The co-angler division was won by a Virginia angler, with full top-10 results published by the BFL following the event.

Kerr Lake, also known as Buggs Island Lake, ranks among the largest public fisheries in the Piedmont and is a regular host for BFL circuit events drawing participants from across North Carolina and Virginia. Late March on a reservoir like Kerr marks one of the most productive transitions of the fishing calendar, as bass move toward shallow prespawn staging areas and become aggressive feeders on reaction baits.

Woody's 20-4 bag was the top boater weight of the day, putting a Burlington name at the top of a regional leaderboard to open the 2026 season.