Dale Hollow at it's best

[caryridgeranger]

I have been asked that many times by people who don't fish deep for smallies and right now if I release a trout 100% die but the smallies are totally different.Dale is roughly 90 degrees on the surface and the trout can't handle that.Now smallies on the other hand are not delicate.Generally they bite my thumb and splash water up my arm into my face on their way back to the depths.If they don't take off right away I hold them by the tail til they're ready and they don't like that to much,either way they take off like they were shot out of a cannon back to the deep.I filmed a couple of episodes of the show Fishin' Country and they filmed the release several times.I have never had to "needle"one to date though I do keep one on the boat.I have lost smallies like on saturday we had released 6 smallies back to the depths of which 4 were over 21 inches(keepers) and our seventh was a 19 1/2 and it was gill hooked bad,bleedin like a stuck pig.Needless to say it didn't make it and I wish I could have taken it to the table.So it's not a 100% survival rate but I have never experienced the "bends" with
a deep smallie.I'm filming an episode of Fishing Affliction(Strike King Lures) Tuesday so I'll try to post when it airs so y'all can see what I'm talking about.

the next time one bleeds that open a can of sprite and pour it down its throat it will stop the bleeding almost every time and the fish will survive!!

[Dave Clark]

the next time one bleeds that open a can of sprite and pour it down its throat it will stop the bleeding almost every time and the fish will survive!!

I will definitely give this a try ,thanks