If you motor all the way up to beneath Lay Lake Dam, there arent many hot bass fishing locations though anglers can try Chestnut Creek or Proctor Creek, which can produce decent largemouth bass. Just 30 minutes south of Birmingham, this 12,000-acre reservoir has seven public-access areas that offer easy bank and boat access to the lake. But spotted bass and largemouth bass will! Weiss is better known as a crappie fishing hotspot, and anglers too often overlook its bass fishing. Including, its an impoundment that can be known for providing anglers with sheer numbers of bass on any outing. Anglers can work the series of coves and cuts that line the shore running all the way behind Henry County 97 and hook into some nice bass. There are lures all three of these bass species willhit during the fall season. Lay Lake is an excellent year-round fishery. Weed less and not-so-weed less lures. Honestly, it went really bad. Thespotted basscan usually be found in the upper reservoir and up into the narrower river toward Weiss Dam, where the current is stronger. Heres just a few suggestions of the basic lures an angler will need while fishing Lay lakes shallow, weedy waters, and wood and rock cover, this spring season. Guiding on Lay Lake and all of Alabamas Lakes for over 50 years! Strike King Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Strike King Bassmaster College Series Wild Card presented by Bass Pro Shops, Wilburn and Hill seal the deal at Lay Lake, Nominations now open for 2023 class of Bassmaster High School All-Americans, Branch and Beach blast big bag to win at Harris Chain, Applications open for B.A.S.S. You might also find out why this lake also is highly rated for catfish fishing. 12 oz. LURES FOR FOOLING LAY LAKES BIG, LARGEMOUTH BASS. . !#. With plenty of coves and rock shore lining leading up the diversion canal, the waters are thick with spotted bass, and the stripers arent far behind. Lay Lake covers 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) and has a shoreline about 289 miles (465 km) long. But these spotted basscan be found in any feeder creek, along most deep main river ledges or along deep drop-offs and spotted bass are right at home along rock bluffs like seenon the lower end of Alabamas Lay lake. full, and starve to death! 150 Lake Shore Dr Only one good three to four pounder that separated his winnings from a first place finish, tremendously. had three good days of fishing with 15 bass weighing 53 pounds. So keep that figure in mind this summer season, you may not get many bites and every fish counts, meaning you have to boat them as well! Like Sougahatchee Creek and Coon Creek below it, anglers will follow the main creek into a series of offshoots rich with structure and full of black bass. Anglers will find small sandbars, an island, and a handful of coves lined with docks, making it a prime location to angle from just a short boat ride from the docks at Bozo Fishing Camp. Or visit their website www.airportmarine.comCloseout models now available with the new 2013 Ranger Bass Boats arriving soon! Spotted and largemouth bass are favorite targets here on this 12,000-acre lake, located 30 miles south of Birmingham. Farther south, White Oak Creek and Sandy Creek both yield a solid crop of largemouth and stripers. With 289 miles of shoreline, during the spring season, a bass could be discovered bedding about anywhere on Lay lake. Details: Spotted Bass with a VMC Stand Up Shaky Head Jigs, Largemouth Bass with a Watermelon Red Flake Frog topwater, Largemouth Bass with a Black and chrome pop R, 6 oz. The northern end of the reservoir yields a solid crop of largemouth and striped bass, while the southern portion is a favorite for the spotted bass. The miles of forested shoreline and undercut banks in this arm of the lake provide excellent cover for largemouth bass. A favorite destination of boating enthusiasts and fishermen alike, Lay Lake is a popular lake for bass tournaments. During the spring spawning season some anglers those that are not familiar with the lay of Lay lake may struggle in really figuring out how to achieve this big bass bite. But in addition, many Bassmaster big bass were caught out of deeper water as bright, sunny conditions forced many anglers to fish deeper and fish much slower around brush piles, drop-offs and ledges. On the other side, the larger Hatchet Creek area provides a maze of channels, coves, and cuts that twist their way into the Coosa Wildlife Management Area. Bass Species: Largemouth, striped, spotted. You can do everything." 800-458-8085 . That is almost 22 pounds a day for three days! Trolling here is your best bet by boat, but anglers can shore fish for magnificent stripers with bottom rigs baited with live shad. Lay lake is a rather long lake, at about 50 nautical miles from dam to dam in length. Conveniently located 35 minutes south of Birmingham off of I-65, Lay Lake has played host to countless major bass tournaments. "Tournaments can be won off five spots or five largemouth," Davis said. Located mid lake, west side, off County Road 406, this is a two-lane, concrete ramp with a dock and gravel parking. Anglers will find that Lake Harding is unlike most other lakes on our list because it is devoid of submerged grass beds and lilies common to this part of the U.S. During practice leading up to the event teams reported a post spawn pattern that was causing the lake to fish a little tough. The winner qualifies for a no-entry-fee championship with a grand prize of a 2015 fully rigged Phoenix 619 Pro bass boat. When daytime air temperatures can still hover in the low-to-mid nineties! And they can be found in abundance lake wideall throughout the spring spawning month of April! Striped bass Like the smaller spotted bass (but only in their habits), striped bass can be found inLay lakes headwaters during the fall season. Its dense bass population is partly due to the aquatic vegetation, including hydrilla weed beds and milfoil, and its sprawling series of offshoots and creek systems. Fishing Alabama's Lakes for Big, Early Spring Season Pre spawn Bass. See my website www.fishingalabama.com for more info and my e-mail contact. The latter creek runs under old and new US Hwy 231. Over the last two or three years, it has taken over 20 pounds to win every [one-day] tournament at Lay Lake, McCaig said. FLW Outdoors Lake Eufaula It took an average weight of almost 20 pounds a day to make the top tenand it was won with a three day total of 64 pounds and 15 ounces by Josh Stracner from Vandiver, Al. Further down, right in the city of Eufaula, Chewalla Creek keeps the bass out of the current and provides plenty of cover with grassy banks, tree-lined points, and several docks notorious for holding largemouths. Below these, Otho Branch and Thomas Mill Creek offer some excellent largemouth fishing around docks out of the main river channel. Best Fishing Times: 12:00AM to 12:00AM, and 12:00AM to 12:00AM Alternate Fishing Times: 12:00AM to 12:00AM Fishing Lay Lake, AL on 2/6/2023 will be best from 12:00AM through 12:00AM, and from 12:00AM to 12:00AM. Mink Creek is another excellent location riddled with small islands and grass beds, but anglers in the know will forgo this location in favor of the secluded Fish Pond. Now you have an excellent idea of where to catch bass in Alabama, and some pretty strong ideas of how to do it, its time to up your game another notch with our complete guide to bass fishing techniques and tips. But we also recognize thats a lot of information. Even when fishing with small, finesse-type plastics, coupled with light line and light tackle outfits, some anglers successfully fool and land some big, bass on Lay lake. Reeds Guide Service (205) 663-1504. But striped bass do not dwell in the weeds. 9 oz. Located mid lake, west side, off Lake Shore Drive, this is a two-lane, concrete ramp with a dock and paved parking. Still, with the stiff current from the dam just upriver, the black bass fishing is better farther downstream. "Over the last two or three years, it has taken over 20 pounds to win every [one-day] tournament at Lay Lake," McCaig said. While fishing and competing against some of Alabamas best bass anglers in major bass tournaments. All just having fun this summer or fishing for fish species such as white bass, bream, catfish, crappie and striped bass. Bass anglers, almost on a daily basis, have shown these weed-dweeling largemouth bass a variety of lures fished in and around the lakes weeds, from top to bottom. Power-generating dams break each section of the river into individual impoundments, each with its distinct fishing flavor. Smith Lake Dam 202303/0 03/04/2023 . With plenty of sandbars, grass beds, and a handful of fallen trees in the mix, the lakes structure makes for dozens of fishing holes despite the small footprint. Since being impounded in 1914 by the Alabama Power Company, Lay Lake is best known for its spotted and largemouth bass fishing. Instead of targeting specific fishing holes like other locations along the Coosa River, its best if anglers pick a shoreline and troll it, fishing into the many small cuts and creeks that dot both shores. Featuring a variety of channels, small islands, and cuts that make it a bass paradise, anglers have a variety of fishing locations to target at Wheeler Lake. This shallow but fertile lake in northeastern Alabama headwaters in Georgia and works its way down to just above Neely Lake. I havent seen bass like that in any Coosa River lake in 10 or 15 years.. Most anglers are very satisfied with the bass fishing on Lake Jordan because it has remained very consistent during the last 20 years. On the upper reservoir, just above the town of Eufaula, Wylaunee Creek boasts a solid crop of sizeable largemouth bass. As anglers catch their fish, they lay them on authorized measuring boards with the head facing left. This website also has information about nine Alabama reservoirs and one other major river system. Jig combos are popular lure choices for this technique. The back of the central fork boasts a large grass bed perfect for topwater frogs and weedless soft plastics. The southern portions of the lake include stump fields, gravel banks, and creek mouths that serve up some great largemouth action. This winding creek system has a few docks on the front end, but the deeper you go, the better the bass fishing gets. The kind that may hang up if fished right in the cover. * Fishing Bass Tournaments? Anglers catch bass throughout Alabama in various bodies of water, including streams, ponds, lakes, rivers, and marshes. Yes, (like weedy, Lake Eufaula on the Al. Subscribe to Email Updates for the Latest 2023 Lay Lake Fishing Reports. The next lake down stream (below Weiss Lake dam discharge), is Neely Henry Lake, located near Gadsden, Al. So when you see either of these bass tournaments on T V apply their lures and deep water fishing techniques this summer season, you can too! This clarity means anglers should both downsize tackle and select life-like baits to avoid spooking the fish. Clanton's Gore Wins Two-Day . These offshoot coves provide bush- and tree-lined banks and a handful of sand bars where bass retreat from the main lake in search of bait fish and other prey. Lodging: YES that lead the four day Bassmasters tournament with 15 bass weighing 60 pounds on day three! 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