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| Dale Hollow Lake Fishing Report 3-31-09 |
| Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:03 AM |
 Fishing has definitely picked up in the backs of the creeks. Why you ask? Warm water, especially on the upper end of the lake where it's anywhere from 3-6 degrees warmer in some spots. It's only natural for shallower water and northern banks to warm first We also had those storms come through which brought warmer rains - and man did it rain. When it rains like that is also washes a whole bunch of plant life (plankton) down the hollers and into the creeks causing the baitfish to feed more, and we all know where there's prey...there's predators.Smallies have been a little hit or miss though - some guys were calling in with 12 in a day and others were getting blanked or might have boated two - but so it goes on "The Holler". It's a big reason why everyone wants to fish here - let's face it, fishermen have big egos. It's a known fact, proven scientifically. If a lake humbles you then by God you're gonna keep going back for more punishment until you figure her out - and when you finally do you're gonna take lots of pictures and tell all of your buddies about your great conquest and they'll call the mayor to organize a big parade and people in the streets will be calling your name - wait, maybe that was my dream last night. Anyway, if you can believe that there was a point to that, it's that we know you're not going to give up after a rough day so just stay persistent, fill yourself full of knowledge from articles, forums, & guides, and your day will come - and when it does we can't wait to see the pictures  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! Also, we're helping to organize a benefit tournament for the family of Kevin Watson on Saturday, April 11th.- details can be found here. Quote of the Week: "There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home." Lake Stats Waterlevel: 652 MSL - 1' above full pool of 651'. Water Temp: 48-50 degrees on the lower end, 50-53 on the upper end. Clarity: Clear for the most part, stained a little in spots. Smallmouth 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. 300 series Bandits in a red crawfish or brown crawfish color are producing, as well as Hot Lips in the same colors, and Husky jerkbaits (deep divers) in clown and silver blue. Live Bait - work your shiners the same as in our other 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. 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. Illwill Creek - the northern bank right before you get to Wisdom Dock is a great Spring time bank. Geo-Coordinates: Lat.: 36.661773 Long.: -85.253134
GPS Cooridinates - Lat: N36 39' 42.3822" Long: W85 15' 11.2824" Trooper Island (south end) - just like Kemper Flatts, an ideal location for pre-spawn fishing. Geo-Coordinates- Lat.: 36.532964 Long.: -85.443764
GPS Cooridinates - Lat: N36 32' 0.0306" Long: W85 26' 37.5864" Click Here For This Map.... Trout Trout fishing has been touch and go with the heavy rains. When the lake rises 2 to 3 feet in a day or two everything in the lake pulls a disapearing act but a day or so later they feed actively up until the next front passes. The water in the lower end is warming and the creeks are up to 50 so cast or troll spoons or shallow diving crank bates in the creeks. They are spooky so long cast or long leads trolling over 100 ft. Night time fishing should be good in the creeks under lights jigging spoons or using live bait like night crawlers, shad, or corn. Fish on....Dave Courtesy of Dave Clark (FishFinderGeneral ) and soon to be guide on Dale Hollow! Walleye Walleyes are spawning now and unlike smallmouth will not generally feed on bed. They are spawning on flats and points next to creek or river channels. Slow troll (1.5 mph or less) deep diving crank bates 20 to 30 ft deep adjacent to these flats for late comers or early leavers. Both will be hungry. Largemouth  Largemouth fishing is heating up. You all saw the stringer that Benny MacBride had last week, well look at this pig caught by Dave Lowe (another DHF Member - click to enlarge). Dave and his wife Kellee won a trip with Bobby Gentry by collecting points right here on DHF.Largemouth are biting spinnerbaits half-way to 3/4 back in the creeks. White, watermelon, and firetiger colors seem to be producing the most action, like the Punisher Firetiger. Find any old wood (our first hotspot is a good spot for this) and hold on! Crappie Crappie are moving up in the creeks and staging around structure close to spawning flats or back in the creeks. Most guys are catching those crappie on tuffy minnows in about 5 to 10 feet of water. Bluegill & Shellcracker Being caught with the Crappie, but they're still not up good yet. It won't be long though until the rodeo is on! 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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