He added that during the summer the weeds become even more important. The massive and heavy weedbeds on this lake hold oxygen and baitfish. That makes for a wonderful warm summer walleye sanctuary. In many lakes, they’re essentially trapped between warm water and low oxygen. Not so at the Hollow. In this lake, they can drop deep, find cool water and food, and still have plenty of available oxygen.

The other important factor in Dale Hollow’s success is forage and management. Some years ago, alewives were introduced in the lake as a forage base for smallmouth bass. Of course, the walleyes liked them, too. But fisheries biologists soon discovered that there was an enzyme in alewives that caused walleyes to become sterile.

After some research, the managers of Tennessee’s fisheries decided that the alewives were so important to the food chain that they had to remain. The solution was heavy annual walleye stocking.

The walleye population and growth took off like a rocket. No one’s really sure at this point if the existing walleye population is in fact sterile, but one thing is known for sure -- there are tons of good walleyes in the lake. Even better, they’re underfished by all save a few savvy locals.

Professional guide Bobby Gentry (www.bobbygentry.com) suggests using spinners and jerkbaits from February through the walleyes’ migration out into deep water in May and June. “Small in-line spinners tipped with a tiny piece of night crawler are very effective. Color doesn’t seem to matter much as long as it’s there. I use bright-colored beads on my rigs and they seem to work real well. I get a lot of mine at the local craft store,” he said.

During the heat of summer, deep-diving crankbaits and in-line spinners, trolled along weedlines in 20 to 35 feet of water are popular for both day and night fishing. Another favorite technique is to vertically jig spoons over humps surrounded by heavy weeds.

“You can catch them a lot of ways as long as you don’t fish too far from weeds. Spring, summer, fall and winter, that’s where they’ll be,” he said with a certainty that only comes from years of experience.

CENTER HILL LAKE
Center Hill Lake, located in the middle-eastern part of the state on the Caney Fork River, is another little-known walleye and sauger hotspot. With limited weed growth, and shallower water, it fishes much different than Dale Hollow, however.

Center Hill is best described as a long, winding river channel. This reservoir has had its difficulties over the years when it comes to walleye fishing. In 2000 and 2001, it was a true hotspot, but beginning in 2006, the fishing slowed down.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the spawn recruitment over the past three or four years has been pretty good. There was a good hatch and the survival rate appears to be excellent. Those baby fish should be reaching harvest size by late 2007 and early 2008.

With little or no weed growth to hold fish, local walleye anglers almost always target the channel breaks and inflows. The spring migration into the creek shallows for the spawn begins sometime around the middle of March, assuming a normal weather pattern. As the fish move, they typically follow the main river channel and when it swings near a creek or other type of inflow, they’ll follow that up into the shallows until they find a suitable place to spawn.