I am fishing Dale Hollow this coming weekend, and have been told the fish are in 40',n the bottom. Any suggestions on how to take these fish, the locals are catching fish on live minnows, but the tournament I,m fishing is artificial bait only. Thanks for any help.
msivey
Deep Smallmouth
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brendanc
- Posts: 2720
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2001 4:00 pm
Deep Smallmouth
Mike,
Here are a few presentations that work well for deep smallies:
1) Dragging a 4" Tube rigged on a jig head with an exposed hook.
2) Drop Shotting 3"-4" soft plastics, like a Berkley drop shot worm.
3) Vertical jigging spoons. Sometimes you can't go wrong with a Hopkins Shorty.
4) Dragging a "sparse" hair jig on the bottom.
If you can, try and find out what type of forage the smallies are keying in on and it will help you select the right size, color and presentation.
I would also recommend using a fluorocarbon line if you are going to be fishing over 30'. You do not want to be using a line that has a lot of stretch. Fluorocarbon lines are nearly invisible in water and that will also give you an edge when using smaller baits.
Good Luck...
BC
Here are a few presentations that work well for deep smallies:
1) Dragging a 4" Tube rigged on a jig head with an exposed hook.
2) Drop Shotting 3"-4" soft plastics, like a Berkley drop shot worm.
3) Vertical jigging spoons. Sometimes you can't go wrong with a Hopkins Shorty.
4) Dragging a "sparse" hair jig on the bottom.
If you can, try and find out what type of forage the smallies are keying in on and it will help you select the right size, color and presentation.
I would also recommend using a fluorocarbon line if you are going to be fishing over 30'. You do not want to be using a line that has a lot of stretch. Fluorocarbon lines are nearly invisible in water and that will also give you an edge when using smaller baits.
Good Luck...
BC
Brendan C.
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cheddarski
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2004 4:00 pm
Deep Smallmouth
Mike,
If the only technique you are going to use is targeting deep water Smallies, I would probably go with a silver spoon or a drop shot. Possibly a big willow leaf bladed spinner in white or chartreuse along the bluffs.
However, I would not limit bass fishing on Dale hollow to only deep water. This lake is very similar to Table Rock Missouri. What I would do is go to the coves to see if you can find bait fish moving back for the winter months. If you find bait fish, target them with suspending rogue's with a silver/chrome belly fished very,very slowly. Another potential area for fish on the Hollow is the main lake points in the mouths of any and all coves. Fishing this way you can target the bass that are in the shallows first and then target deep water bass on the drop-offs that the locals have told you about. Hope this helps
Cheddarski
If the only technique you are going to use is targeting deep water Smallies, I would probably go with a silver spoon or a drop shot. Possibly a big willow leaf bladed spinner in white or chartreuse along the bluffs.
However, I would not limit bass fishing on Dale hollow to only deep water. This lake is very similar to Table Rock Missouri. What I would do is go to the coves to see if you can find bait fish moving back for the winter months. If you find bait fish, target them with suspending rogue's with a silver/chrome belly fished very,very slowly. Another potential area for fish on the Hollow is the main lake points in the mouths of any and all coves. Fishing this way you can target the bass that are in the shallows first and then target deep water bass on the drop-offs that the locals have told you about. Hope this helps
Cheddarski
Fish Hard, Live Long
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6.54BASS
- Posts: 166
- Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 4:00 pm
Deep Smallmouth
Mike, I would listen to Ski, he and I both have a limited experience on this lake but have fished it. In addition, if the wind is not blowing too hard, you might try a Senko type in the creeks or some of the bluffs in the creeks with a drop shotted finesse worm or Senko drop shotted. I would also not overlook a skirted grub on a football jig head. This is a great lake for nice smallies, good luck and let us know how you did.
Bryan Hinton
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johnnie crain outdoors
- Posts: 1504
- Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2002 5:00 pm
Deep Smallmouth
Mike,
All the above info is right on! The only thing I can add is possibly a little George tail spinner in the one ounce size, just skip it along the bottom. A one half ounce Road Runner fished the same way can also work wonders on deep fish, fish it slow. Good luck. Johnnie P.S. color won't matter much at that depth.
All the above info is right on! The only thing I can add is possibly a little George tail spinner in the one ounce size, just skip it along the bottom. A one half ounce Road Runner fished the same way can also work wonders on deep fish, fish it slow. Good luck. Johnnie P.S. color won't matter much at that depth.
Johnnie Crain