Dale Hollow 01-05 Jan Also on SmallJaw

Great to be back on Dale Hollow for the first casts of 2016! This is my annual trip down to Dale and it was awesome again. I absolutely love fishing Dale this time of the year. As well all know, temps have been whacky this fall and winter which made fishing much different that it would normally be during the first days of January. Where last year water temps were 40s this year they were 50s and the lake has yet to turnover and stabilize. I'm sure the fish are just as confused!

Much to the chagrin of my wife, I fell asleep on New Years Eve around 2300 and woke on New Year's Day at 0330 to head out at 0400. I was on the water at my first spot by 0645. I had a fish on by 0700. This first spot is a midlake grass bed so I had high hopes for these types of areas. It was the only fish I caught in 5 days that came out of the grass. Typically, I like to cast into the grass, and draw the jig ever so slowly through it until the bobber rights itself. 90% of the time this should to lead to a pull down if you're on a grass bed that has bait and fish. These are nutrient-rich zones. Havens for bait and buffets for bass. Now, of all of the other fish I caught in the 5 days, sure there was probably grass around at varying depths, but I wasn't hooking into much of it with a 13-14 ft leader so my technique mentioned above was not necessarily used. I caught 7 more fish by noon in a variety of spots with only two of those fish coming from the same 'spot'. The second to last fish of the day was a 21 inch beauty. Totaled 8 for the day then decided to head to the cabin for lunch and a nap.

Jan 2nd really fell apart and I only managed one fish from about 0600 till 1300. I probably should have stuck it out until dusk, but I had more days to fish and again decided to call it a day and head to Celina for a One Stop Pizza and some beers.

Jan 3rd things turned back on and conditions were just what I had hoped for. Spitting snow and overcast with a slight wind. Tried some new spots that I thought looked good, or at the least looked similar to places where I had been catching fish. Transition areas and chunk rock banks. Only two of these 'new spots' produced fish, one each, so after many more attempts at each, I headed back to areas I had fished in the past and had produced fish in the past. Again, I fished all over mid lake from Holly Creek to State Park, Hendricks, etc. Got 9 on the day. All fish up to this point had been really quality-sized fish. I hadn't caught anything 'small', nothing under 3 lbs. Healthy fish to say the least.

Jan 4 was pretty much a repeat of Day 3 and I managed 9 fish. 13-14 ft leader, duck, chart, purple. Transition areas right where the chunk rock turns to gravel, or chunk rock to bluff. Wind-blown banks and points also produced.

I fished Jan 5th from 0600 to 1000 then pulled the boat out and headed back home. I caught 8 fish with a bruiser fish that weighed over 5 lbs according to the bogagrip (a generally unforgiving scale- **** things keep a fisherman real honest!).

All in all another fantastic trip to Dale. And, I must admit, I was pretty nervous about water conditions before I went. I rarely post here, but voyeur all posts from about Thanksgiving until the day I leave in January trying to figure out what it is that everyone else is seeing and doing. I truly appreciate the info that you folks share, your insight, and your expertise. It totally helps when you're not going out onto that lake blindly. This year was not like any other year that I've fished Dale in January. The high water temps and the fact that the lake had not yet turned over was strange. Three of the days saw high bluebird skies and downright comfortable air temps in the afternoon. I know there are many that would disagree but I did not catch one fish on any bank that had sun shining on it. As a fish biologist, I'm of the school of thought that smallmouth in particular tend to prey from the shadows. As ambush predators it really doesn't help much to be in the spotlight. Playing the wind and sun sometimes proved difficult but I think it helps to stay out of both. The wind is good on a shaded bank however.

Thanks again, good luck out there, and stay safe on the water.

Regards,

Vaun Cummins

Pics:

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Mainly a voyeur myself so I understand. Thanks for the good report. Long-time DH fan but have migrated more to C-Land the last couple years (a little closer for me and upper size (not average size) has been a bit better for me.

[QUOTE=ON3 3Y3D WILLI3;552188]Great to be back on Dale Hollow for the first casts of 2016! This is my annual trip down to Dale and it was awesome again. I absolutely love fishing Dale this time of the year. As well all know, temps have been whacky this fall and winter which made fishing much different that it would normally be during the first days of January. Where last year water temps were 40s this year they were 50s and the lake has yet to turnover and stabilize. I'm sure the fish are just as confused!

Much to the chagrin of my wife, I fell asleep on New Years Eve around 2300 and woke on New Year's Day at 0330 to head out at 0400. I was on the water at my first spot by 0645. I had a fish on by 0700. This first spot is a midlake grass bed so I had high hopes for these types of areas. It was the only fish I caught in 5 days that came out of the grass. Typically, I like to cast into the grass, and draw the jig ever so slowly through it until the bobber rights itself. 90% of the time this should to lead to a pull down if you're on a grass bed that has bait and fish. These are nutrient-rich zones. Havens for bait and buffets for bass. Now, of all of the other fish I caught in the 5 days, sure there was probably grass around at varying depths, but I wasn't hooking into much of it with a 13-14 ft leader so my technique mentioned above was not necessarily used. I caught 7 more fish by noon in a variety of spots with only two of those fish coming from the same 'spot'. The second to last fish of the day was a 21 inch beauty. Totaled 8 for the day then decided to head to the cabin for lunch and a nap.

Jan 2nd really fell apart and I only managed one fish from about 0600 till 1300. I probably should have stuck it out until dusk, but I had more days to fish and again decided to call it a day and head to Celina for a One Stop Pizza and some beers.

Jan 3rd things turned back on and conditions were just what I had hoped for. Spitting snow and overcast with a slight wind. Tried some new spots that I thought looked good, or at the least looked similar to places where I had been catching fish. Transition areas and chunk rock banks. Only two of these 'new spots' produced fish, one each, so after many more attempts at each, I headed back to areas I had fished in the past and had produced fish in the past. Again, I fished all over mid lake from Holly Creek to State Park, Hendricks, etc. Got 9 on the day. All fish up to this point had been really quality-sized fish. I hadn't caught anything 'small', nothing under 3 lbs. Healthy fish to say the least.

Jan 4 was pretty much a repeat of Day 3 and I managed 9 fish. 13-14 ft leader, duck, chart, purple. Transition areas right where the chunk rock turns to gravel, or chunk rock to bluff. Wind-blown banks and points also produced.

I fished Jan 5th from 0600 to 1000 then pulled the boat out and headed back home. I caught 8 fish with a bruiser fish that weighed over 5 lbs according to the bogagrip (a generally unforgiving scale- **** things keep a fisherman real honest!).

All in all another fantastic trip to Dale. And, I must admit, I was pretty nervous about water conditions before I went. I rarely post here, but voyeur all posts from about Thanksgiving until the day I leave in January trying to figure out what it is that everyone else is seeing and doing. I truly appreciate the info that you folks share, your insight, and your expertise. It totally helps when you're not going out onto that lake blindly. This year was not like any other year that I've fished Dale in January. The high water temps and the fact that the lake had not yet turned over was strange. Three of the days saw high bluebird skies and downright comfortable air temps in the afternoon. I know there are many that would disagree but I did not catch one fish on any bank that had sun shining on it. As a fish biologist, I'm of the school of thought that smallmouth in particular tend to prey from the shadows. As ambush predators it really doesn't help much to be in the spotlight. Playing the wind and sun sometimes proved difficult but I think it helps to stay out of both. The wind is good on a shaded bank however.

Thanks again, good luck out there, and stay safe on the water.

Regards,

Vaun Cummins

Pics:

[URL]http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/v4un/G0020877_zpshfjy262u.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/v4un/G0030894_zpsbbxemrtw.jpg[/URL]
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[URL]http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/v4un/G0040913_zpsejzjg76j.jpg[/URL]
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[URL]http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/v4un/G0050941_zpsqp9qnclc.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/v4un/G0101008_zpsx6udbtup.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/v4un/G0091002_zpsehsxej33.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/v4un/G0060953_zpsbktqprxh.jpg[/URL]
[URL]http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/v4un/G0101026_zps1ph1k4o3.jpg[/URL]
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[URL]http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah120/v4un/G0101034_zpsgwrpvd6d.jpg[/URL][/QUOTE]


Excellent report..........

Man, I need to get back there :) ...

Thanks Geo, I need one of those extended stays like you made a few weeks back. Hoping to head back down when the water temps decrease and the lake turns over.

[QUOTE=ON3 3Y3D WILLI3;552231]Thanks Geo, I need one of those extended stays like you made a few weeks back. Hoping to head back down when the water temps decrease and the lake turns over.[/QUOTE]

Wow it's hard to believe it's the second week of January and a lake in KY/TN hasn't turned over yet. It has to be later than normal, correct?

Water temps were still in the 50's and the lake had yet to turn. The air temps were 20's during the night mid to upper 40's during the day while I was there. According to the locals this was the first real cold snap they've had down there this winter. Going to need many more freezing nights to bring water temps down and turn the lake over. I go on this trip every year at the exact same time and I've never seen water temps this high in January. Fish were a little confused I think and they certainly were not in their typical winter areas.

only thing you left out was a trip to Ollies. If you haven't eaten there yet, do yourself a favor and give it a try. Best place to eat in Celina in my opinion. We have a trip scheduled for the last weekend of January. Had to get a new axle on my trailer so I haven't been back since before Christmas.

Oh yeah, I've eaten at Ollies. My wife stocked me up pretty good with food this time so I spent most of the nights eating in the cabin, drinking beers and flipping through the three channels on John's TV. I did get a One Stop Pizza one night as I needed to run there to replenish my arsenal of flies. Ollie's is good and I highly recommend it!

Hey one eyed willie, i will be fishing this MLK day and wanted to know wether you think it would be better to go to Dale or C-land for smallies.

[QUOTE=slamson71;552338]Hey one eyed willie, i will be fishing this MLK day and wanted to know wether you think it would be better to go to Dale or C-land for smallies.[/QUOTE]

I'm really partial to Dale Hollow over Cland for quality and quantity. This, of course, is just my two cents as Dale has always fished better for me and during wintertime I only fish FnF