"The reputation of Dale Hollow, as a result of the record fish harvest in days of old, was much better than the actual fishery," says Bill Reeves, fisheries chief for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).

Still, the lake continued to yield quality --- if not trophy --- bronzebacks well into the 1980s.

"If you caught five bass at night, chances were pretty good that two or three of them would weigh 5 pounds," remembers Danny Stone, who has been a TWRA creel checker since 1980.

Then began the steep decline, which Stone attributes mostly to meat fishermen and the use of alewives as bait. "Ten years later, few fish of even that size (5 pounds) were being caught," he says.

Anders Myhr, TWRA's biologist on Dale Hollow, knew the fishery could be improved with stricter regulations, so he proposed an 18-inch minimum for smallmouth bass.

TWRA encountered stiff opposition to the proposal as guides, tournament anglers and resort owners alike forecasted the demise of Dale Hollow as an attractive angling destination.

On the other side, Reeves and his biologists envisioned the same outcome if the regulation was not implemented. Eventually, they believed, visitors to Dale Hollow would realize that the lake was in serious decline and stop coming. They persisted, and won.

The new restriction did increase numbers of bass below 18 inches, but larger fish remained scarce, providing ammunition for those who opposed implementation.

With support from Reeves, Myhr recommended the current 16- to 21- inch protected slot, with a creel limit of two, one below and one above the slot.

The regulation has been in effect since 2000, and results have been nothing short of spectacular, according to guides Bobby Gentry and Stephen Headrick, owner of Punisher Lures.

"An 18-incher now is just a little feller," says Gentry. "We used to get the net on a 3-pounder. Now, we just play with him and hope that he jumps off."

Headrick, also known as the "Smallmouth Guru" adds, "On most lakes, a smallmouth can take nine to 10 years to reach 18 inches. Here it's seven years. That's because we have alewives, grass and crawfish. "Right now, you'd better be ready for a big fish anytime you go fishing on Dale Hollow."

And as good as Dale Hollow now is and likely will be for years to come, another lake, just a few miles to the west, could be even better for trophy smallmouth, according to Reeves.

That's because Lake Pickwick is more fertile, with abundant forage, a riverine portion at the upper end for spawning and excellent habitat at the lower end for adult fish.

At the lower end, however, Tennessee shares management with Alabama (10 fish creel, no minimum size). Wildlife agencies in those two states see no need for more strict regulations because they see nothing wrong with the fishery as it now exists.

"And, in truth, there is nothing wrong with it," Reeves admits. "It is an excellent fishery by anyone's standards. We just wanted to take it to the next level."

Reeves is quick to add that he is not so naive as to believe that a 16- or 18-inch minimum, followed later by a protective slot, would be popular on Pickwick.

But if you have experienced the fishing quality that Dale Hollow currently produces and consider that Pickwick could produce three to four times the number of same size fish present at Dale Hollow, the potential is tremendous.

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