Anglers can target quantity or quality when it comes to October crappie. "The numbers of fish are probably going to be stacked up on brush and your quality fish are going to be out roaming.

"If I have kids in the boat and they don't care what size, they just want to catch fish, I'll put them on those brushpiles and let them catch 30 or 40 or 50 fish -- that's just heaven -- but some of the best stuff to find big fish on at Kerr is if you find a point with big stumps on it.

"I use B'n'M rods with little Pflueger micro reels with 6-pound-test; that reel has a good drag. You can put 80 to 100 yards of line on there; if he runs that much line off, you weren't going to get him anyway," McKinnon said.

McKinnon uses crappie jigs exclusively and likes a couple of different kinds. "I've started using a 3-inch Triple Ripple grub by Bass Pro Shops and I really like it. I think it is a really tremendous jig. When I first started using it, I was kind of hesitant because it is such a big jig, but I think you catch more big fish on it.

"I run a chartreuse or white 1/16-ounce Gamakatsu jighead. The Gamakatsu has a larger hook than most 1/16-ounce jigheads. I alternate that with a 1 1/2-inch Bass Pro Squirmin' Squirt tube jig on a No. 2 hook with a BB split shot squeezed on the shank, and 10 or 12 inches above that I put a No. 7 or a No. 5 split shot.

"Blue is a really good color on Kerr Lake, anything with blue in it. I catch a lot of fish on the blue and chartreuse, black and chartreuse or bubble gum on a cloudy day. In clearer water, you have to go to a watermelon or green pumpkin," McKinnon said.

Never overlook minnows as a bait choice rigged on 1/16-ounce jighead; it's a good combination to add to your spread.

Falls Lake Bass
Crappie and bass both follow shad as they make their fall migration, and Falls Lake offers many options for anglers in October. Moving from their deep-water summertime pattern, bass will stage along creek channel structure near the main body of the lake and eventually move shallow, following shad up the creeks like Horse, Upper Barton, Big Lick and New Light.

Bass are actively feeding in October, giving anglers plenty of bait options. Topwater baits, spinnerbaits and Texas rigs are all productive this month.

Kennon Brown of Hawg Hunter Guide Service (www.hawghunt.com) in Durham loves topwaters in the fall if shad are near the surface. "I'll throw a buzzbait or Pop-R early and late in the day and all day if it is cloudy," Brown said.

If casting to surface-feeding bass that refuse a topwater bait, Brown suggests switching up to a spinnerbait and run it just under the surface or down a few feet. A spinnerbait with a gold head, white skirt and gold willow-leaf blades is also effective on cover in the backs of coves, slow rolled so that the blades just turn. If the water is stained, go to one with a Colorado blade for more vibration.

Texas-rigged worms are good baits for bass staging at the mouths of creeks and secondary points along the creek. June bug and green pumpkin are mainstay colors at Falls.

Finally, never overlook using a jig on any cover.