Cumberland or Dale Hollow ?

[mustangiiman01]

Last weekend I took a little trip down to Lake Cumberland to take a look at it and do a little riding around as I am thinking about doing a little spring bass fishing there. I was around the state park and dam area. It has been about 15 years ago that I fished it a couple times. From all the areas we stopped at and looked out onto the lake ,everything looks kind of the same . I am wondering if the bass fishing is still good there or would I be better off going on down to Dale Hollow, since it takes me 2 hours to get to Cumberland. Thanks for everyones input.

[rickhise]

Last weekend I took a little trip down to Lake Cumberland to take a look at it and do a little riding around as I am thinking about doing a little spring bass fishing there. I was around the state park and dam area. It has been about 15 years ago that I fished it a couple times. From all the areas we stopped at and looked out onto the lake ,everything looks kind of the same . I am wondering if the bass fishing is still good there or would I be better off going on down to Dale Hollow, since it takes me 2 hours to get to Cumberland. Thanks for everyones input.

if you follow this site www.smalljaw.com for a few weeks b4 u go it should give u an insight about Dale, Cumberland is getting some post as well

[mhall]

I fish Cumberland alot during a years time and have for many years. The lake has suffered some since it was drawn down to work on the dam. Bad year spawn classes and lack of cover has depleted numbers in the lake without question.
Now with all that said I still drive right at three hours to fish it and will continue to do so. There are plenty of fish there and if you hit it right and get on a good bite you can still catch some real dandies there.
Dale is a better lake for numbers and quality without question in my opinion. The slot limit and stable water environment and some really good spawns have made it a first class fishery.

This is my opinion, take from it what you will. I would drive to Dale more but its 4 hours for me, my old truck and pocket book doesn't like when I go that far, lol...Plus I have a place to stay alot of times when I'm on Cumberland.

[know1]

I feel like it's a toss up right now.

I think Dale is on a bit of a down swing right now (although I did have my best trip there for numbers in December) and I think Cumberland is rebounding a bit.

I fished Float N Fly on them this winter within 2 weeks of each other and I caught fish just as fast on Cumberland...and the average size was bigger.

[mhall]

I feel like it's a toss up right now.

I think Dale is on a bit of a down swing right now (although I did have my best trip there for numbers in December) and I think Cumberland is rebounding a bit.

I fished Float N Fly on them this winter within 2 weeks of each other and I caught fish just as fast on Cumberland...and the average size was bigger.

Michael I'm glad to hear this. In fact we had some real bonanza days last year that encouraged me quite a bit. Also getting some postive reports from some of my people I stay in touch with down there. Maybe the tide is turning a bit. There are still the real tough, ''you better have a plan a,b and c'' days down there on the big C with more frequency than I would like, but....

Another thing I noted last year was the return of some nice Largemouth. I had 7 keepers in one day in the Spring with a few shorties and mixed with Smallmouth and Spots. 7 keeper largeheads in one day on Cumberland caught my eye, especially since I was on the West end of the lake.

[Les Young]

I've always had better average size on Cumberland than I ever did on Dale Hollow. I admit it is nice to get on numbers of Smallies every now & then on Dale Hollow, but would rather catch the bigger average fish on Cumberland. One can be just as good or bad as the other on any given day in my opinion. I usually end up on Cumberland because it's 1: closer & 2: I know it a lot better, but I also think when it comes to floatnfly fishing that Dale hollow is usually the better of the two.