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Dale Hollow Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Dale Hollow: a 27,700-acre Corps reservoir on the Obey River where TWRA records the 11-lb 15-oz smallmouth of 1955 as the state and world record.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
74 / 74 F
Wind
NE 6 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Dale Hollow Lake offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 6 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 74. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:17 AM-11:17 AM and 9:45 PM-11:45 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

MuskellungeExcellent

Main open-water season: cast or troll large bucktails, spoons and plugs along weed edges and other cover where muskies wait in ambush.

Rainbow troutExcellent

The top of this band is already stressful. In rivers fish mornings and evenings; in lakes WDFW notes rainbows turn sluggish and go deeper, so troll or suspend bait near the bottom.

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Smallmouth bassGood

Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

WalleyeGood

Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 76 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Tennessee requires a fishing licence from age 13, from $33.00 for residents. What a Tennessee licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with TWRA before you keep anything. The season dates for Tennessee, read off the agency, are on the Tennessee seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp74 F
High / Low74 / 42 F
WindNE 6-7 mph
Pressure1021.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:56 / 17:54
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Dale Hollow Lake this week

The best day on Dale Hollow Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:17 AM-11:17 AM and 9:45 PM-11:45 PM
Minor period
3:39 AM-4:39 AM
Sun
06:56 to 17:54
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Dale Hollow Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

Muskellunge illustration

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. Main open-water season: cast or troll large bucktails, spoons and plugs along weed edges and other cover where muskies wait in ambush.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. The top of this band is already stressful. In rivers fish mornings and evenings; in lakes WDFW notes rainbows turn sluggish and go deeper, so troll or suspend bait near the bottom.

When to come: the Dale Hollow Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
Muskellunge
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Dale Hollow Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Tennessee requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Tennessee fishing license on the Tennessee side. TWRA Dale Hollow rules (2026-27): black bass 5 a day, only 2 smallmouth; smallmouth 16-21 in. protected length limit, one fish may be under 16 in. and one over 21 in.; largemouth 15-in. minimum; walleye 16-in. minimum, 5 a day; crappie 10-in. minimum, 15 a day; trout 7 a day; no more than 4 rods per angler. Kentucky rules apply on the Kentucky side.

Access

Corps of Engineers reservoir; TWRA names Celina, Byrdstown and Cookeville as nearby towns.

About this water

27,700 acres, 620 miles of shoreline, completed 1943 (TWRA), Tennessee-Kentucky line. USGS publishes no live lake level for Dale Hollow, so this page shows no gauge.

Fishing Dale Hollow Lake: the full guide

The reservoir

TWRA says Dale Hollow Reservoir was created in 1943 when the Corps of Engineers finished Dale Hollow Dam on the Obey River near Celina. It covers 27,700 surface acres with 620 miles of shoreline across Clay, Pickett, Overton and Fentress counties in Tennessee and Clinton and Cumberland counties in Kentucky.

The record and the smallmouth today

TWRA credits Dale Hollow with the state and world record smallmouth bass, 11 lb 15 oz, caught in 1955 by D. L. Hayes. The agency's roving creel surveys put smallmouth catch rates above average with an average weight around 3 pounds, and it says smallmouth spawn when the water reaches about 59-60 degrees. TWRA's 2026-27 guide reports that 295 of the nearly 1,500 trophy smallmouth submitted to its angler recognition program came from Dale Hollow.

Walleye, crappie and trout

TWRA stocks walleye fingerlings every year, and walleye also spawn in the lake and up the East Fork of the Obey, with the run starting in late February and early March. Black crappie, including black-nose crappie, are stocked annually because spawning is inconsistent, and rainbow trout are stocked in winter and trolled near the dam from May. The agency also reports a small, naturally reproducing musky population.

Common questions

What is the world-record smallmouth from Dale Hollow?

TWRA lists an 11 lb 15 oz smallmouth caught at Dale Hollow in 1955 by D. L. Hayes as the state and world record.

What is the smallmouth limit on Dale Hollow?

Two a day with a 16-21-inch protected length limit: one fish may be under 16 inches and one may be over 21 inches (TWRA).

Is a Kentucky license valid on Dale Hollow?

TWRA's reciprocal-agreement page names the Wolf River arm, including the Illwill Creek embayment, as reciprocal water, and says boat anglers follow the rules of the state that licensed them while bank anglers follow the rules of the state they stand in. Check both agencies before relying on it.

Is fishing good at Dale Hollow Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Caney Fork River37 miCenter Hill Lake45 miLake Cumberland47 miBarren River Lake49 miGreen River Lake51 miWatts Bar Lake65 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.5114, -85.3743 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 12, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 12, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.