Dale Hollow Lake

Description

The Dale Hollow Reservoir is a reservoir situated on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The lake is formed by the damming of the Obey River, 7.3 miles (11.7 km) above its juncture with the Cumberland River at river mile 380. Portions of the lake also cover the Wolf River. Dale Hollow is one of four major flood control reservoirs for the Cumberland; the others being Percy Priest Lake, Lake Cumberland, and Center Hill Lake. It is also the site of Dale Hollow Lake State Park on the north (Kentucky) side. Electricity from the 200 foot (61 m) dam is marketed by the Southeastern Power Administration. The lake is also used recreationally. Water sports are moderately popular, especially water skiing. Wakeboarding and tubing are two more water sports that can be seen regularly. The main recreational use is fishing. Dale Hollow is well known as a prime location for smallmouth bass fishing, currently holding the world record for the largest such fish ever taken (11 lb., 15 oz). It is the lake that is linked with the name Billy Westmoreland, famed smallmouth angler of Celina, Tennessee. The lake and surrounding rivers, the Cumberland River and the Obey River also contain other species such as largemouth bass, crappie, muskellunge, walleye, catfish, gar, and trout. In addition to these species, Dale Hallow is a favoured lake amongst carp fishermen in the USA. It is known to contain many large carp, primarily being fully scaled mirror carp.