# Dale Hollow for Smallie Spawn



## CyrusDvirus (Apr 16, 2012)

I am headed south at the end of April to visit my brother in Nashville, I plan taking my kayak down with me and hitting Dale Hollow on the way down and then again on my way back. Any of you guys have any experience fishing that lake during the spawn? It will be my first time there and any tips or advice about where to put in would be much appreciated. I plan on fishing it like like St Clair, looking for weed beds and humps but I know that Dale Hollow is real deep in spots. Thanks.


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## pawcat (Oct 24, 2011)

https://tnfishingreport.com/fishing...kes/dale-hollow-lake/twra-dale-hollow-report/
maybe this can help.


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## G.lock (Apr 1, 2014)

My experience is Dale Hollow is much harder to fish than St. Clair.
The best luck I had was fishing a shiner under a slip bobber as far from the boat as I could get it.


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## CyrusDvirus (Apr 16, 2012)

Awesome! Thanks Pawcat for the link!


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## CyrusDvirus (Apr 16, 2012)

G.Lock I appreciate your response, I agree St Clair is an easier fishery but were you in those real deep channels? I might be ignorant but I feel like I should focus on the 20' flats to get the big pigs on the spawn. I know there are some big walleye and muskie that might hit those shiners in the deep cuts.


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## G.lock (Apr 1, 2014)

We would mostly fish the ledges just off the banks where we could find them.
The water clarity forced us to stay as far from the bait as possible.


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## CyrusDvirus (Apr 16, 2012)

G Lock, did you just throw tubes and other jigs?


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## G.lock (Apr 1, 2014)

Had no luck with tubes and jigs. Locals got us on the few fish we caught.
I have done very well on St Clair with tubes and jigs but it didn't translate well to D.H.
This was my only time at D.H. and it may have been me. Was middle April ten years ago.


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## CyrusDvirus (Apr 16, 2012)

G.lock, what did you catch your fish on at DH? i would assume deep diving 12' to 18' jerk baits but were the fish suspended?


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## G.lock (Apr 1, 2014)

It was live bait, shiners(large minnows) 10-15 feet below a slip bobber.
Spent three days throwing everything in my tackle box with very few fish. Then on the advise of a local I switched to shiners and started catching. Same spots I'd fished before.
Fish as you plan but take some shiners they might save the trip.


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## polebender (Oct 29, 2011)

Google Billy Westmoreland. He was a smallmouth guru who fished and guided on Dale Hollow.


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## DAVELEE (Apr 19, 2004)

dale hollow late april is tough, if the fish are spawning it maybe hard to get a bite but if you catch it just before or after it can be amazing... for years I fished with creek chubs and live shad and the fishing was amazing when I didn't have live bait the best baits were sluggos and crawfish shaped jigs the bigger the better a lot of times the smallies would seem to hit out of protection for their nests.. one other piece of advice the weedbeds on the flats can be good but I have done real well in the heads of some of the hollars especially sandy or even clay banks not so much on the rocky banks around spawning time.


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