Dale Hollow on Friday-Report

Did not get on the water til 11:30 due to buying and installing a critical motor part on the way to the lake. Day was awesomely beautiful with some wind but I loved the fact that I had to shed almost all the heavier clothing I brought along. At one point in the day I caught 6 fish on 6 consecutive casts! I was also picking up others about every third cast. Unfortunately the largest of these was about 2 inches long and the smallest about half that size! Caught 'em all on a Silver Buddy and they were shad. I got in a cove that had a west wind blowing straight into it and the afternoon sun on it. Water was 52 in the back of this cove while the main lake was about 48. Half way back in the cove I began marking lots of larger fish and I threw every thing at them including "the fly". That's when I went to the buddy and slayed them. They were so thick in the back you could not help but snag one.

I had no other bites all day but I do have some info from two others I talked to late in the day. One guy and his buddy had one bite between the two of them for the day-a 5.5 smallmouth he caught on a bluff wall. He caught it on a spinnerbait. He thought it was a freak loner.
I wish I had had a freak!

As I was getting out for the day I talked to two guys from Cinn. who had three largemouth; a 5.5 he said got off right at the boat, a 4, and a 2. What was really interesting was how and where he caught them. He caught all of them at the very backs of a creek arm in 1.5-2ft. of water. He said he fish a Lucky Craft bait called a Harry 90 or 80 or something like that. I have almost no knowledge of this brand other than the fact that they exist, due to the 17.00 price tag. This one looked long and skinny with a big bill. He said it was made to run at 15ft. but he was bouncing it off the bottom in that shallow water. One of his fish was on a jig by the way. They fished 2 hours.

Thanks again to Elwood for the call and tips. It's not your fault I didn't have any Lucky Craft baits! Hope this helps someone........Now where can I squeeze the ole family budget to buy some 17.00 cranks? Does Justin really need to spend all that money to go to collage?

Thanks for the update. With all the bait fish in that cove you sure would think some smallies would have been in there feeding. Maybe they aren't in a pre spawn feeding pattern yet but will be soon. I bet they are in a transition from the FNF to chasing fast baits. Will you be hitting again anytime soon?

Not for awhile. It's a bit of a drive for me and there are good places closer to home. Hope to go when the water is warmed some more.

thanks Elk!

I fished Friday and tried everything and went to live bait and caught two, one 5 and a 3. Went out with Ky Tropy on Sat. and only caught 4, but my 70 year old dad caught one that was 5lb 12 ou. That was worth the trip. We had 12 or so other bites where they would take off with bait and then let it go. Very unusual day to say the least. We had a good time and enjoyed the weather. Next time I'll remember sunscreen though. The face is a little red.

Water temps...clarity.....area you fished?

Fished the area around Hendricks Creek and Holly Creek. Water temp was 48 to 50 on main lake and clear water. The backs of creeks got up to 52 to 53 and had some color in the them. We didn't get hardly any rain while I was down there on Fri. and Sat. Hope this helps.

Every little bit...big thanks bro!

Not much rain? I hate to hear that, I was hoping all this rain that has been hitting us here in the Cincinnati/Dayton area would have filled that lake up. It would have helped with the water temps too I would think. Did they get any storms at all this weekend?

Thanks for the replies.

We drove through some heavy rain on the way down Thursday night and that was pretty much it. It looks to be about 6 or 7 feet below summer pool right now. I'm not sure if they got any rain on Sunday or not.

How much water do you want? Dale doesn't drop much Summer vs. Winter. We've been catching some really nice fish and numbers on the FNF and if it warms too much they'll start moving. Stop wishing for that dude 8^)

Sorry don't want to ruin your fishing. I haven't used FNF and like to use jerks and spinners. Always seem to do better in late March when the water is in the upper 50's with the water getting into those bushes in the water. I know I need to get down there earlier sometime and learn the FNF. Good luck!!!