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| Dale Hollow Lake Fishing Report 3-18-09 |
| Wed, 18 Mar 2009 7:03 AM |
 Take a look outside and what do you see? I see greener grass and more importantly...the sun! I think it's safe to say that Spring is finally here which means that not only is the weather getting warmer, but the fishing is too. Some of you may know Benny MacBride - he's fished some tournaments around here and helped out with this year's Billy Westmoreland tournament held at Horse Creek. Well, ask Benny if fishing has picked up any and he'll tell you that this past Sunday he boated his limit of Largemouth - 10 fish - all on a Punisher Spinnerbait , with a total weight of over 40lbs. (pictured right, taken withe a cell phone)! If you have any questions about catching largemouth like these here on the upper end, Benny says give him a call at (931) 397-4094 and tell him we sent ya!Ask David Duvall of All-Pro Rods if the fishing has picked up any and he'll tell you that he too stuck 10 good fish, all on his favorite jig - the Yellow Hoss Fly - in 10 to 15 feet of water. With the water temperature on the rise the spawn is right around the corner, and some experts believe the biggest fish are already staging to find the choice spawning areas. Two key things to look for this time of year - water temperature and moon phase. Mid 50's and a full/new moon are ideal condtions, especially the days leading up to the first full moon in April. The new moon in April lands on the weeknd of our tournament which should make for some exciting weigh ins! Don't forget our tournament is getting closer - April 25th & 26th - details can be found by clicking here. Click here to print the registration form! Quote of the Week: Fish is the only food that is considered spoiled once it smells like what it is. Lake Stats Waterlevel: 650.8 MSL - 0.2' below full pool of 651'. Water Temp: 48 degrees at surface, 48 degrees 10' deep. Clarity: Clear on the lower end & main body. Upper end is reported to be stained in most spots but some clearer water has been found. Smallmouth If you've been following our reports you'll remember hearing that Smallmouth will eat everything in sight leading up to the spawn. A lot of you have seen them spitting out a ridiculous amount of shad while bringing them to the boat. Well, it's that time of year again, and you crankbait & jerkbait guys have been waiting for this all winter. On windy days they'll move up shallower and slam crankbaits & jerkbaits, and on calm days they'll move toward bottom around a stump or rock making them succeptable to slow rolling a spinnerbait (click on the link for a video on working a willow leaf spinnerbait - "ticking the grass" is the same as slow rolling) or a bouncing jig. What's Working Get out the crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, & jigs and have some fun. Light colored grubs/twisty tail grubs are also a pre-spawn favorite. Be aware of the water clarity where you're fishing - in clear water you want light colors while in stained water you want darker earth tones. Spinnerbait fishing is hot on the upper end of the lake. Try slow rolling a large willow leaf spinnerbait in the grass and hold on! Even though the water is warming up, it's still cold so keep that in mind during your presentation. When you're catching fish it's natural to get excited which causes a lot of anglers speed up their retreive to get to the next cast. Stay calm and aware of the conditions around you and you'll have a successful outing on the Holler. Live Bait - work your shiners the same as in our last few reports: grab some shiners (minnows) from your local baitshop. Put a split shot 12" to 18" up your line and either drift the minnow behind your boat or cast the banks. The key is to keep an eye on the wind & your boat speed and use the proper size split shot. If you're moving too fast and you have a lighter split shot, you're minnow won't get deep enough. If your split shot is too heavy you'll get hung on bottom a lot. Slow it down in this cold water - baitfish don't move fast in cold water, so if you're minnow is screaming through the water it looks pretty funny to the Smallies and they'll pass it by. Jigs - Football head jigs , Smalljaw Shaky Jigs , and the Yellow Hoss Fly are still what's catching fish - 20' to 30' of water, and work it slow. When you're shaking that shaky jig, shake it slow. When you're lifting that football head, slow it down. If any of you are having success with another type of bait or technique, please let us know in a comment below and help our readers for their upcoming trips! Hot Spots Like always, we give you a little headstart in our reports to two spots that should produce. FYI: Geo-Coordinates are used in Geocoding - the process of using digital values to tag locations, common in online services or media. GPS Cooridanates are your standard values used on maps. Kemper Flatts - deep water that moves into the flats creates an ideal location for pre-spawn activity. Geo-Coordinates: Lat.: 36.583656 Long.: -85.36746
GPS Cooridinates - Lat: N36 35' 1.161" Long: W85 22' 2.8554" Trooper Island (south end) - just like Kemper Flatts, an ideal location for pre-spawn fishing. Geo-Coordinates- Lat.: 36.622995 Long.: -85.284977
GPS Cooridinates - Lat: N36 37' 31.479" Long: W85 17' 4.3728" Click Here For This Map.... Trout The trout fishing slowed after all the rain. The lake had risen 3 feet in a few days. The trout always seem to pull a disappearing act when the water rises so quickly. The water temp in the lower end was 44 degrees but the creeks have already risen to 48 degrees. After a warm forecast for this week the water in the creeks should be into the 50's which means the trout will move to the backs of the creeks for the first comfortable feeding in months. It will be the best time of year to get them on the fly. Once the temp rises into the 50's on the main body they will spread out making it tough to get them on the fly. Avoid creeks with marinas to land trophies beause of the stocking program. You might find large numbers of 6 to 9 incher around the boat ramps but for the real big ones target the creek shallows without marinas. Remember that until april 1st the trout must be 22 inches and only two in any combination may be kept. Fish on....Dave Courtesy of Dave Clark (FishFinderGeneral ) and soon to be guide on Dale Hollow! Largemouth Largemouth fishing has really started picking up steam and is hot on the upper end in the backs of creeks where you'll find water already in the 50's. Spinnerbaits have been killing 'em, just like we told you earlier about Benny MacBride - crankbaits and jerkbaits should be a lot of fun as well. If you go out after the 'ol slickheads stop back and let us know how you're doing! Crappie Crappie fishing is picking up a little and some are being found in grass in the creeks. It won't be long though until they start moving back to the brush about 20 feet deep and then it's a free-for-all! Live bait is always the sure bet with Crappie. Bluegill & Shellcracker Being caught with the Crappie, but not many have been reported. Our goal at DaleHollowFishing.com is to keep you updated on fishing Dale Hollow Lake, not just on the famous Smallmouth Bass, but the rest of the species as well. We are assembling a team of area experts and will post reports for all species found in Dale Hollow Lake very soon. If you are interested in writing for us, please contact us... Contribute to our fishing report! Take a minute and leave a comment below about what's been working for you, what types of locations have been holding fish, and what time of the day you've had the best success. You can help us make our fishing report the most informative report on Dale Hollow Lake!
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