More of this Feature • Part 1: Synopsis of the fishing trip  • Part 2: Arriving at the lake • Part 3: More little fish • Part 4: First tournament day - a better start • Part 5 - Ending the  day in first • Part 6 - Second tournament day - mind games  • Part 7 - Ending up on top  Tennessee Pictures • Eatin' and meetin' • Awards • Fishing  Join the Discussion "Have you ever fished Dale Hollow lake?  What is your biggest smallmouth" Ronnie
Related Resources • Millennium Custom Rods • Steve Huber Rods • Brooklyn Bill's Tackle
Past Articles One Year Ago - 5/12/02 - Fishing and Mom Two Years Ago - 5/14/01 - Bream Bedding Memories Three Years Ago - 5/15/00 - Fishing Ledgebusters at Eufaula Four Years Ago -05/10/99 - Shoal Bass Five Years Ago - 05/11/98 - Shellcracker Fishing Six Years Ago - 05/12/97 - Catfish for Fun and Food

I spent five days fishing Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee this past April. Dale Hollow is a rather famous lake since it produced the world record smallmouth bass, and it is full of smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass as well as muskie, stripers, walleye, crappie, bluegill and maybe a few other game fish.

The reason for my trip was the 4th Annual Mid Tennessee Classic, a tournament organized through a internet newsgroup. Many of us post to the newsgroup regularly and get to know each other electronically. These spring tournaments, as well as the North Woods Classic in Wisconsin each fall, allow us to get together to fish, tell tales and get to know each other in person.

Although this tournament is mostly for bragging rights, there are some great prizes. Millennium Custom Rods in Tennessee and Steve Huber Rods in Wisconsin donate custom made rods and we have reels and other tackle donated. There is also and entry fee that is returned to the top two teams each day and a big fish pot.

After two days of practice I was disgusted. Little fish were common, but when I say little, I mean bass shorter than 10 inches! Some bigger bass were on the bed but would not hit for me and other bass were just inactive. They would not chase a spinnerbait, crankbait or even a Fluke fished just under the surface.

Dale Hollow has an interesting size limit on bass. You are allowed to keep 5 bass total each day and they can be any size spotted bass and largemouth over 15 inches long. You can keep one smallmouth shorter than 16 inches and one longer than 21 as part of your limit, but no smallmouth between 16 and 21 inches long may be kept.

Acting on a tip from fellow fishermen at the tournament I started letting my Fluke sink to the bottom and sit there. That was the key. During the first day of tournament competition I landed a 4 pound, 9 ounce largemouth, three spotted bass 12 to 14 inches long and one smallmouth about 11 inches long. Those five weighted 8-12 and put me in first place.

I also had to release two smallmouth during that day. One was 17 inches long and weighed 2-13 and the other was 16 inches long and weighed about 2-5. I hated to have to let them go. They really fought good, but I could not weigh them in.

The second day of the tournament was much tougher for me and I landed only five small spotted bass. I did have my biggest smallmouth, a 18 inch beauty that weighed 3-1. I got pictures of it and released it.

My two day weight gave me first place and I had big fish in the tournament. That was a good feeling, and I got a beautiful six foot six inch Millennium custom casting rod with Roberts Wrap guides valued at $300. It had a Shimano Scorpion reel on it that sells for $150. I also got a cash award for big fish and for first place team the first day. All in all, a pretty good trip!

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