Dale Hollow January 2-5, 2015
I've also posted this report on smalljaw so my apologies to those of you who read both forums...
Good to get back to Dale Hollow after a year hiatus due to a move last winter. I drove down on Friday and was on the water by 6AM for the first cast of 2015. Some 3 casts later, I had on my first fish of 2015. I managed 5 more on the day, largest was right at 5 lbs, and all fish were caught on the fnf. I fished mid-lake grass and chunk-rock banks with a 13 ft leader.
I had a lot of promise for Day 2 since I managed 5 in about 4 hours of fishing/spot-scouting on Day 1. Day 2 saw unseasonably warm temps for January- low 60s and spotty rain. I caught 6 by noon, I was tired and hungry, so I headed in to eat and rest up for Sunday.
Day 3 saw temps drop drastically from 54-55 in the am to 40 by late afternoon. And, it was windy with some hefty gusts coming through. Wind can sure make the fnf a difficult if not futile technique and having a tiller-handle trolling motor does not make it any easier. I persevered, however, and landed 12 quality fish. I also caught a nice largemouth on a Hammer swim bait. It was the first time I had used this bait, and I caught a fish on my first cast. Hooked, literally. But, I love the fnf so I have a hard time putting it down for another technique. 95% of all fishing is confidence in your bait and presentation, and I have confidence in the fnf having learned a thing or three from a guy who fishes it extremely well and is incredibly knowledgeable about the technique and the lake (shout out E.L.- missed you out there buddy!) The Hammer fish was luck in my case. So it was immediately back to the fnf. I caught 6 out of the 12 fish in one spot. The money spot was about the size of a bathtub and I could get 1 or 2 shots at it before being blown 20 miles away, motoring back in, setting up, casting, rod wiggle, reel slack, tiller handle, wiggle, reel, tiller handle, tiller handle, tiller handle, reel, wiggle, set the hook, play the fish, get the net, avoid slamming into the shore (sometimes unsuccessfully), net the fish, take a picture, release, do it all again. Wears me out even writing about it. But, worth it? Hell yeah! I saw water temps everywhere from 45-46.
Day 4 was extremely cold compared to the heat wave two days prior. It was breezy, if not windy, and sunny which lowered that above-mentioned confidence level to around 70%. I did catch a really nice largemouth on my first cast right as the sun came up. First cast. Confidence level spiked as it tends to do when you catch a fish on your first cast of the day. I did, admittedly however, have one of those days we’ve all had where it just seems that nothing goes right. Frozen rod eyelets, frozen line, hard to thread line through what seems like a microscopic hook eye, wind-knots, rat’s nests, blowing around like an idiot. Telling myself by 7:30am with only that first-cast fish so far, ‘well, at least the 3 previous days were good, maybe I should just call it a trip.’ And, just when you’ve told yourself this’ll be the last cast of the day, bobber down. Things turned around, I found some nice spots out of the direct sun and relentless breeze where I caught 6 more fish for a total of 8 by 1PM.
I’m not much of a forum poster and usually just hang around here getting my lurk on. In saying that, I want to express my appreciation for those that do regularly post reports, advice, etc. Each year, by about November, I start to creep the posts seeing what’s what and how things are progressing as my annual January trip approaches.
Finally, a big shout out to Elwood. I haven’t seen him post in quite some time and having texted with him recently, I know he has been unable to get down to Dale the past few years. Everything I know and do while on that lake is attributed in someway to him. Several years ago we had an All-World 2 days on Dale and it stands as the best fishing trip I’ve ever been on in terms of quality fish, quality friendship, and great teachings. I wish him all the best in 2015 and look forward to getting our boys down to Dale in 2016.
Thanks for reading and good luck out there.
Vaun Cummins
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