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Which lake in Ky do you consider the best lake for smallmouth numbers and size. I never hear of anyone going to Dale Hollow or Cumberland and killing them like they do at Oneida or Erie (50-100 per day). You mainly hear of someone that's went to Dale landing 3-5 fish per day but they are usually good ones.
Numbers and size in Kentucky are...
1. Dale Hollow
2. Kentucky Lake
3. Cumberland
4. Green River
In that order to if you want my feeble opinion.
Also to comment on your Erie and Onieda comparison. Kentucky lakes are PALE BIGTIME in comparison to some of the northern waters on size and numbers. Erie blows anything we've got totally away for smallmouth and lot's of'em.
[QUOTE=00SKEETER;379952]Which lake in Ky do you consider the best lake for smallmouth numbers and size. I never hear of anyone going to Dale Hollow or Cumberland and killing them like they do at Oneida or Erie (50-100 per day). You mainly hear of someone that's went to Dale landing 3-5 fish per day but they are usually good ones.[/QUOTE]
i have fished them all and erie is the best for numbers and numbers of fish in the 3 to 5 lb range. go to dale for a better chance at something 6 and over. cumberland is ok but dale blows it away, i live down by kentucky and the smallmouth fishin is good in the winter but nothing like dale or erie.
My partener and I go to Dale Hollow in the winter. We'll take 3-5lbs of large shiners a drift/troll them off the bottom with splitshot and light line. We'll catch15-20 a day apiece 3-5 lbs and most of the time a couple in the 6 lb range.
How would you guys rate the fishing on Dale mid- November?
Of course the quality and quantity of smallmouth in northern lakes is better -- those lakes are prime habitat for smallmouth. If you look at distribution graphs for smallmouth, you will see that northern lakes are plentiful of smallmouth.
The same is true for largemouth -- the further south or west in the United States, the better the largemouth fishing. Warmer weather makes the growing season longer for largemouth).
Not to say there isn't good largemouth or smallmouth fishing in our area, but we lack certain resources. We don't have the extended growing season like California, Texas, Florida, etc. Regarding smallmouth, it is definitely a species that thrives in colder environments -- just look at when the smallmouth bite is on in KY: when the water is at a cooler temperature (late Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, etc.)
However, I love Dale Hollow and Lake Cumberland. Cumberland is full of smallmouth, but Dale Hollow definitely takes the cake for better quality in our area. Just my opinion, hope I didn't insult anyone!:)
i would fish for those **** things, but im too ate up with largemouth,and dont have a clue on fishing for em
[QUOTE=Dakota Kid;380018]My partener and I go to Dale Hollow in the winter. We'll take 3-5lbs of large shiners a drift/troll them off the bottom with splitshot and light line. We'll catch15-20 a day apiece 3-5 lbs and most of the time a couple in the 6 lb range.[/QUOTE]
I've done this in the past and have had pretty good luck. However we weren't catching 15-20 per day. What type areas are you fishing? We were catching around 5-7 per day but good quality.
[QUOTE=00SKEETER;379952]Which lake in Ky do you consider the best lake for smallmouth numbers and size. I never hear of anyone going to Dale Hollow or Cumberland and killing them like they do at Oneida or Erie (50-100 per day). You mainly hear of someone that's went to Dale landing 3-5 fish per day but they are usually good ones.[/QUOTE]
I would have to go with dale hollow hands down.... when that water temp drops below 55 degrees..... them shad start shivvering and get lethargic adn them big ole brownfish get a rumblin in their belly and its is on..... the nastier the day the better..... overcast single digits snowing sleeting everything but high winds and u can get out of that too...... Aint the water kinda hard up north in the winter???? but if u wanna catch a big smallmouth dale and someone said we dont have the growing season for them brown fish but ours should be better than up north cause of the longer summers and stuff... plus our waters dont get as hot as they do on further south... plus our reserviors are deep too..... oh and the world record smallie came out of dale hollow...
I knew someone would take it the wrong way. I was talking about largemouth in the sense that other areas have an extended growing season. I wasn't talking about smallmouth.
Since I have only been on Dale Hollow twice ill stick with what I know. Cumberland for quality and numbers, Laurel for extra quality, Green for numbers and there are none in Herrington to speak of.
I caught several smallies on Barren in June including a 5 1/2...