MidTNKayakAngler
Well-Known Member
Fishing with Dale Hollow Dave Clark http://trolldhl.com/
A few weeks ago Dave Clark contacted me and asked if we would like to do a guided Mothership trip on Dale Hollow. I've been following Dave on Facebook, Fishing TN, and other social media outlets for several years now, and have been amazed at the catches from Dale Hollow. I grew up in Indiana and Dale Hollow was one of those lakes your family talks about and you have no clue what they are talking about until you see the beauty for yourself. The first time I saw the lake was 4-5 years ago after I had already moved to Tennessee for a year or two. The first trip solo was great, and then after that my success had dropped to zero the next 3-4 times. I was intimidated by the size, depth, and clarity of the water. So when Dave contacted me I was ecstatic.
We were able to plan a trip easily without any runaround. It was straight to the point and see if he could easily do a mothership with multiple kayaks.
We met up and got acquainted he brought Clark Wormsley with him to help us out also. Nobody knew what we were going to encounter as this was the first for Sarah and I to do a mothership, and it was a first for Dave also. I seem to get a little high strung when things aren't going seamlessly, or my way. Everyone was easy going and calm, Dave had a plan and it was executed in a timely manner, and all our gear "I pack way to much" and we all fit comfortably.
We headed to our first stop a few miles "4.5 approx" away, too far to comfortably paddle in a timely manner. We arrived before sunset and Dave went over the game plan of what we were going to be doing. We found some bait and Dave dropped the lights while we started getting our kayaks in the water and gear on the kayaks. We rigged in the boat which was nice to have the room, and Dave explained what he was looking for and what I should look for in my own waters. After everything was rigged and bait was caught we hopped on the kayaks and Dave handed us our bait. A few fish were missed early, then a largemouth was caught, then Sarah hooked up big time. After a 3-5 minute battle and rod doubled up and ½ ways in the water her largest Walleye of 28"was landed and almost 7lb. Several more Walleye were caught in the 20-24" range, but nothing as spectacular or exciting as Sarah's catch. When on the kayaks we could catch our own bait around the lights and Dave showed us how to do this also if you don't have a cast net. Just on the outskirts on the glowing green light you could see predatory fish lurking in the shadows sometimes.
Almost the entire night we watched lightening off in the distance north of us, and around 3 or 4 am it was getting closer , but I thought we were ok. Good thing we listened to Dave because just after we got back to the marina it started pouring. We tried to wait it out in the security of the house boat, but after an hour or two we decided to call it good when there was a break in the rain and loaded up.
Fishing with Dave was like fishing with a high school buddy you hadn't seen in 15-20 years. The conversations flowed freely, jokes and banter was passed around, and I learned more on the water Thursday night than I ever had learned in one night.
We're looking forward to our next trip with Dave kayaks, or no kayaks.
A few weeks ago Dave Clark contacted me and asked if we would like to do a guided Mothership trip on Dale Hollow. I've been following Dave on Facebook, Fishing TN, and other social media outlets for several years now, and have been amazed at the catches from Dale Hollow. I grew up in Indiana and Dale Hollow was one of those lakes your family talks about and you have no clue what they are talking about until you see the beauty for yourself. The first time I saw the lake was 4-5 years ago after I had already moved to Tennessee for a year or two. The first trip solo was great, and then after that my success had dropped to zero the next 3-4 times. I was intimidated by the size, depth, and clarity of the water. So when Dave contacted me I was ecstatic.
We were able to plan a trip easily without any runaround. It was straight to the point and see if he could easily do a mothership with multiple kayaks.
We met up and got acquainted he brought Clark Wormsley with him to help us out also. Nobody knew what we were going to encounter as this was the first for Sarah and I to do a mothership, and it was a first for Dave also. I seem to get a little high strung when things aren't going seamlessly, or my way. Everyone was easy going and calm, Dave had a plan and it was executed in a timely manner, and all our gear "I pack way to much" and we all fit comfortably.
We headed to our first stop a few miles "4.5 approx" away, too far to comfortably paddle in a timely manner. We arrived before sunset and Dave went over the game plan of what we were going to be doing. We found some bait and Dave dropped the lights while we started getting our kayaks in the water and gear on the kayaks. We rigged in the boat which was nice to have the room, and Dave explained what he was looking for and what I should look for in my own waters. After everything was rigged and bait was caught we hopped on the kayaks and Dave handed us our bait. A few fish were missed early, then a largemouth was caught, then Sarah hooked up big time. After a 3-5 minute battle and rod doubled up and ½ ways in the water her largest Walleye of 28"was landed and almost 7lb. Several more Walleye were caught in the 20-24" range, but nothing as spectacular or exciting as Sarah's catch. When on the kayaks we could catch our own bait around the lights and Dave showed us how to do this also if you don't have a cast net. Just on the outskirts on the glowing green light you could see predatory fish lurking in the shadows sometimes.
Almost the entire night we watched lightening off in the distance north of us, and around 3 or 4 am it was getting closer , but I thought we were ok. Good thing we listened to Dave because just after we got back to the marina it started pouring. We tried to wait it out in the security of the house boat, but after an hour or two we decided to call it good when there was a break in the rain and loaded up.
Fishing with Dave was like fishing with a high school buddy you hadn't seen in 15-20 years. The conversations flowed freely, jokes and banter was passed around, and I learned more on the water Thursday night than I ever had learned in one night.
We're looking forward to our next trip with Dave kayaks, or no kayaks.
