Dale Hollow Lake Fishing Report 5-12-09

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Dale Hollow Lake Fishing Report 5-12-09

Tue, 12 May 2009 4:05 PM

As each day passes, and with Spring approaching the rearview mirror, the fishing is getting better later and later in the day. Some of our friends over at Smalljaw have said that the night bite for them is on, with some catching 5 slots in just a few hours fishing. Bobby Gentry (Bobby Gentry Guide Service who's new website is launching shortly) took a father and son team out this week for their first ever guided trip, and their first time on the Holler. Read the review they left for Bobby in our directory and you'll see how much they enjoyed their trip - and by the way, Chuck Sr.'s 6lb. 1oz. smallie (pictured right) is a sure bet that they'll be back.

Flatts, grass, grassy flatts - you get the picture. Smallmouth fry hatch around the grass where they have cover from predators - this is where you'll find 'em. The weather has been pretty wet lately too, so keep in mind what we've said in other reports - the rain washes a lot of debris into the creeks and causes baitfish to feed up. People are having good days on shiners and flukes near primary and secondary points, and on a windy day grab your favorite spinnerbait (ours right now happens to be the new Punisher Guntersville Royal Shad) and hold on.

For the first time in over 20 years (some have said 20, 26, 30, 34 - bottom line, it's been a while) the Corp has opened the flood gates on the dam due to extremely high water levels. We waited to publish our report so we could include some pictures for everyone not lucky enough to see this historic event in living color. You can see a bunch of pics at the end of this report and can read the full story by the Dale Hollow Horizon by clicking here...

Quote of the Week:

"Man can learn a lot from fishing -- when the fish are biting no problem in the world is big enough to be remembered."
-Orlando A. Battista

Lake Stats

Waterlevel: 655.95 MSL - 4.95' above full pool of 651'.
Water Temp: 67 at the surface & 65 10' below
Clarity: Semi-clear on the lower end, stained on the upper end.

Smallmouth

What's Working
If you're not into live bait, pick up some Berkley swim shads in Firetiger or TN Shad and use a Punisher lead head instead of the hook that comes in the package. They're still nailing fish and are a great alternative to live bait.

Smallies are up shallow in the flats around grass so try slow-rolling a spinnerbait and you should have some fun.

300 series Bandits in a red crawfish or brown crawfish color are still producing, as well as Hot Lips in the same colors.

Live Bait - 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 solid and you need to check out the new Punisher Hog Sticker Shaky Jig - we don't have pictures yet and there not up on the Punisher website right now, but if you have the opportunity stop into the Dale Hollow 1 Stop or give them a call to order - they're made with a long shank Mustad Ultra Point and come in bigger sizes for fishing deep, clear water (like Dale Hollow).

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.

Sulphur Creek - there's a hump on the left as you get to the TN/KY line that will be on fire this week.

Geo-Coordinates: Lat.: 36.624603 Long.: -85.329738
GPS Cooridinates - Lat: N36 37' 28.5708" Long: W85 19' 47.0568"

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Willow Grove Swimming Area - good flatt with lots of grass.

Geo-Coordinates- Lat.: 36.58744 Long.: -85.347311
GPS Cooridinates - Lat: N36 35' 14.784" Long: W85 19' 50.3196"
Click Here For This Map....

Trout
It's on - the trout are on fire. Troll rapalas or spoons on down riggers from 10ft to 35ft deep on the lower end. Start trolling in the backs of creeks in the morning toward the main channel with the migrating shad that move into the creek shallows at night. In the afternoon troll opposite direction. In the middle of the day troll the creek mouths and adjacent areas. The trout are eating shad up to 5 inches long so don't be afraid to go large with your spoons and hold on. Courtesy of Dave Clark, multi-species guide on Dale Hollow.

We'd like to give our (soon to be this week) new sponsor Steven Gardner, Trout on the Cumberland Guide Service, a little plug too. Even though he's not a Dale Hollow Guide, Steven can show you a great time fly fishing (he'll guide with spinning tackle too) for trout on the Cumberland or Obey River tail waters in his 16' Clackacraft Drift Boat.

Steve Gardner, of Trout on the Cumberland Guide Service, reports that - "the high rainfall recently has made fishing in the Cumberland R. tailwaters and the Obey R. below Dale Hollow Dam virtually impossible. Lake Cumberland is about 17 ft. high so the Corps of Engineers is discharging water at a huge rate of over 30,000 cu.ft. per second!!! This means that the river is over 23 ft. higher than "wading level". Dale Hollow is also over pool so the discharge is big below the dam there too! At a time when we're thinking caddis hatches, mayflies, and midges, all we've got is swollen, unfishable water! In time, things will return to normal, and we'll be back after those beautiful rainbows and browns we love to catch! But it's unclear how long that will take, so hang in there! In the meantime, does anybody know a "no rain" dance!?!?! Tight Lines! Steve"

Walleye
Like everything else, the Walleye are starting to get hot too - some guys have had slow nights, others have limited out like the Guru last night (the pic to the right are some of his rewards). He says catch 'em on jerk baits on the bluffs and the little pockets on the bluffs.

Largemouth
Largemouth are in the back of the creeks - you can catch a few flippin in the bushes and with lizards.

They're still biting spinnerbaits half-way to 3/4 back in the creeks too. White, watermelon, and firetiger colors seem to be producing the most action, like the Punisher Firetiger. Find any old wood and hold on! Don't forget about flippin' or pitchin' jigs directly on top of brush and on the banks.

Crappie
Crappie are warming up, but with high water it's a lot harder to get at 'em. When fishing for them use little jigs in the 1/32 oz. size or live minnows - back in the creeks around the willows will be the hotspots.

Bluegill & Shellcracker
Shellcracker and Bluegill are being caught in 4 to 6 feet of water around overhanging brush. Use crickets with a small split shot and you should be able to scrape up a mess of them.

With all the fishing starting to pick up there will be more of you showing up to tackle the Holler. Make your life a little easier and stop by the Dale Hollow 1 Stop so that the Guru can mark some spots on your map and pick up some last minute supplies while you're there. More people means more boat traffic too, so please be courtious to others on the water and have a safe & awesome trip to Dale Hollow Lake.

Here's some a little piece of history - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did taking the pictures (click to enlarge):

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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