Dave Does It! – Trophy Fishing

From operating heavy equipment to ballroom dancing to feeding penguins, Dave Shuffett will give it a shot. Here’s just one of the 16 “Dave Does It!” segments from Kentucky Life that have aired since 2009.

Trophy Fishing: What does it take to land a trophy fish?

Dave has been fishing his whole life, and in this segment he travels to Dale Hollow Lake in Cumberland County.

Dave’s guide is Bobby Gentry, who teaches Dave a casting technique called “the Float-n-Fly.” The Float-N-Fly technique takes advantage of smallmouth bass when they are in their semi-dormant state in winter.

Several record-size fish have been caught here. The lake is the site of the world record smallmouth bass catch —11 pounds, 15 ounces!— by D.L. Hayes of Leitchfield, back in the 1950s.

What does it take to land a trophy fish? Dave’s guide is Bobby Gentry, who has a passion for this lake and its stock of smallmouth bass. He says Dale Hollow has the largest average size fish of any lake he’s fished, including Lake Erie.