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Dale Hollow Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The smallmouth Mecca: home of the 11-lb 15-oz world record that has stood since 1955.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Gauge
16.69 ft
Air / High
100 / 100 F
Wind
NNW 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03417500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Dale Hollow Lake serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. Today brings clear skies, wind NNW around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 100. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassSlow

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassSlow

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 101 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from CUMBERLAND RIVER AT CELINA, TN.

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.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp100 F
High / Low100 / 76 F
WindNNW 5-5 mph
Pressure1013.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset06:15 / 19:05
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 100/76 F, wind 12 mph, rain 6%

Slow. 100 F: be on the water at dawn and off by mid-morning, or fish after dark.

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: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

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
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 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, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 101 F, wind to 4 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 97 F, wind to 5 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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

Smallmouth: 18-inch minimum, 2 per day (trophy rules). Confirm with TWRA; Kentucky rules on that side.

Access

Dale Hollow State Park, Willow Grove, Sunset Marina and Wolf River ramps.

About this water

27,700 acres on the Obey River, Clay/Pickett counties, TN / Clinton County, KY. Corps of Engineers, 1943.

Fishing Dale Hollow Lake: the full guide

Where the record lives

Dale Hollow, on the Tennessee-Kentucky line, produced the world-record smallmouth (11 lb 15 oz, 1955) and remains the spiritual home of giant brown fish: 27,000 acres of gin-clear water, gravel banks, and winter fish that feed all season on alewives. It is also home to walleye, muskie in the river arms, and crappie fill the calendar.

The float-and-fly winter

Dale Hollow's signature is the float-and-fly: a tiny hair jig under a bobber, fished achingly slow on 45-55 F winter water for suspended smallmouth. Summer moves fish deep on main-lake points (drop shots at 20-35 ft) and night fishing takes over. Every point, every transition bank can hold the fish of a lifetime here.

Winter's slow-motion giants

Dale Hollow built its legend in the cold: the float-n-fly was invented for its suspended winter smallmouth, and December-March remains the trophy window when six-pound fish eat a tiny hair jig hanging motionless under a bobber. The world-record 11-15 came from these hills in 1955: the genetics remain, protected by a slot that keeps the big-fish math working. Patience is the entire technique: count to thirty, twitch, repeat.

Common questions

Why has the smallmouth record stood since 1955?

A perfect storm: post-impoundment boom years, alewife forage and cold clear habitat. Dale Hollow still grows 8-pluses, and most regulars believe the next record swims here or in a handful of similar highland lakes.

What is Dale Hollow's smallmouth slot?

Protective slot on smallmouth (check TWRA current numbers): the design protects prime spawners. Trophy hunters release everything regardless: the lake's culture treats big brown fish as capital.

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: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

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