Dale Hollow Today...

[ryan_ekubass]

i went to dale today... put in at state dock adn fished pretty much from goat island too eagle cove and above wisdom... water ranged from 50 to 55.6.... fished irons creek, pusley, behind illwill, around trooper island and up in the wolf river...we caught fish everywhere we went dad caught 1 on the ole fnf i gave it up for the season i caught all mine on a jerk bait... i only had one smallie about 3.5 lbs and the rest were ky bass.. we had 10 or so on the day..... weather was great till about 1 or so then huricane hugo decided to reapear on dale hollow like some bad hat trick... i honestly can never say i have seen it whitecap behind the wisdom boat dock in illwill creek till today....... i think it was a steady gale of about 20 with gusts up to 50... i had the trolling motor on 70% and we got a 70lb thrust minnkota and it was still blowing me back at one point... we give up the ghost at about 3 or so.... when its that windy it just makes fishin not that much fun anymore.... oh yeah and that smallie was the first one i have ever caught on a jerk bait adn it was like a train wreck if i wouldnt have had a good hold on the rod i can honestly say it could have been jerked away... oh yeah i seen some fish cruising in the shallows aroudn goat island... i threw a floating worm but dad couldnt really fish so i put it up and we went other places...... over all a good day on the hollow except for the wind....

[rickhise]

I went out for a couple hours today also from state hit 2 fish on livebait one over, it was a male very poor, one big girl over 5.2 and full of roe but short........fished near obey & wolf, fish came in less than 18 ft. of water, I worked it hard just because it has the potential for a big fish....I got pic's but not sure how to post .........No concentration yet,

[Barry2780]

what jerkbait was the ticket today? how deep was they?

[Chubminnow]

Thanks for letting us know how you did Ryan...to catch a smallmouth on a jerkbait like that, you're description of it being like a train wreck sounds prety exciting. It is one thing to feel the tug of the line with a big smallmouth on the other end, but it's an entirely different story in regards to the fish attacking the bait and feeling the hit through the rod...One day that's going to happen to me

[mhall]

Wait till one over five hits that jerkbait.........

[smljaw]

Many years ago I worked at Spivey's Sporting Goods in Lexington. Remember Spivey's guys? They had a huge fish tank in the middle of the store with different fish in it, including bluegill, 2 big crappie and a 6 pound LM we named Bill. A guy came into the store one morning and had just returned from Cumberland. He brought us a 4 pound smallie to put in the tank. At first the smallie went absolutely nuts! It nearly ripped that tank apart for about 15 minutes. The water cleared up later that day. After about a week it ruled that 1500 gallons of water! When we would do our bi-weekly feedings the smallmouth was awesome to watch. It would charge the baitfish and flat tear them up! It would rush the bait like no other in the tank and was relentless when eating.

All this said, I can see how a big brown fish could rip the rod from your hands when jerkbait fishing. I'm fishing Dale next Thursday - Saturday and hope to have an experience like that... uhhhh, except for the rod getting ripped from my hands part.

[BPenrod]

I wish Spivey's was still here in Lexington. We had Spivey's in Woodhill, Ledford's on Versailles Rd., Russ Duggins at Meadowthorpe Bait and Tackle, the 2 Allied Sporting Goods Stores, those were the good old days!

[ryan_ekubass]

i was using a staysee 90 and it was the pearl with the yellow streak down the side i dunno the color.......

[ryan_ekubass]

Wait till one over five hits that jerkbait.........

i can only imagine.... i mean it was jerk jerk wham.... u ever throw a ball past a dog that is on a leash and it dont know it... thats what it felt like. it honestly startled me....... i know i am hooked on the jerkbait bite now thats for sure.,...

[UYKY]

i only throw the staysee on a med action rod for just that issue. the heavier action rod with no give literally destroys my wrist. what is worst of all is when you are just starting to twitch again and they smash it. two opposite and NOT equal forces moving in opposite directions makes for LOTS of transmitted power. got to get these work issues resolved, SOON!
btw try the same bait now on cumberland and feel what 20-30# striper can do to a jerkbait. YOUCH!!!!!!
btw the color you mention seems to be chart shad - a killer at dale when there is a light stain (oh well there goes another "secret bait")
thanks for the PM.