Whats the biggest fish in Smith Mountain Lake? Growing up, we fished mostly for catfish, bream, crappie and black bass . Then up near a Creek in 35' of water and nothing there either. From the Tennessee River to the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama has a tremendous variety of fish species to pursue. Boat anglers must keep their distance from the dam, anchoring or mooring out of the current and casting into it for the highest chance of success. A law was passed in 2017 meaning that marinas with restaurants can serve alcohol regardless of what the law is in the county. Its small town living., This is echoed by ARC Realtys Leda Mims, Ive been coming to the lake since I was nine years old. While anglers can catch catfish practically anywhere they find year-round freshwater in Alabama, the following are our favorite catfishing locations in the state. Rentals: Pontoon boats For instance, when Captain Brian recently caught his 75 pounder, the actual fight lasted less than ten minutes. For us anglers who want to go after the mega-catfish, there are some things we can do to improve our chances. In the 1800s, tales of serpents abounded in both rivers, including a legend in which anyone spotting the creature was cursed and soon would die. Weve gotten to know people at the marina and at local stores. The lake is popular for anglers, as it has an abundance of catfish, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. What pound test should I use for striped bass? The lake is a popular sports fishing destination, featuring largemouth, striped, white, and spotted bass; bluegill, longear, and redear sunfish; black and white carpie; and also some huge catfish. What is the slot limit on bass on Smith Lake? In both cases, bait your hooks with shad. The commercial pond catfish culture supplies the demand for catfish fillets, so commercial fishing in the lakes is a lost art. Fishing 24-7 Guide Service offers guided trips on Smith Lake, Alabama for trophy striped bass. The best time of day to catch striped bass is early morning from dawn until about 2 hours after sunrise and late afternoon from 2 hours before sunset until dusk. Anglers can catch plenty of decent-sized catfish from shore, but they often catch the largest catfish in the cut to the right of the Bartletts Ferry Hydro Dam or in the dams tailwaters in the Chattahoochee River below the dam itself. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'aa_fishing_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_8',132,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-aa_fishing_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0'); Lewis Smith Lake Public Boat Launch Ramp Application must be submitted on an official application form within three months of the catch (request a form by dialing 1-334-242-3471). Aside from Cedar Creek Dam, angling the I-49 bridge and the cut west of it are viable options for targeting channel catfish. Seumas Petrie is the world record holder, with a 44-pound, 5-inch brown trout that measured 38.58 inches long with a 34-inch girth. Cheneyhatchee Creek also has forested, cut-lined banks for prime flathead and catfish angling. Ed Mashburn writes extensively about fishing for Great Days Outdoors. Alabama sports a surprising number of lakes with a population of walleye. The photo is controversial because a descendant of the man who took the photo claims the man in the photo is actually a cardboard cutout to make the fish appear larger. WHNT News 19 viewer Larry Stephens sent in photos of his wife April fishing on the lake. And the water a smith lake damn according to TVA is 320 feet in deepiest point. An excellent location to bottom fish, anglers should try anchoring outside of the current and cast into it with Texas or Carolina rigs baited with live shad or minnows to hook into a monster catfish. While size matters in a lot of things, this smaller reservoir proves that good things can come in small packages. If the bait is on the bottom, the fish will lift it and relieve the pressure fairly gently. What is the best time of year to catch striped bass? Towns on the lake include Bremen, Crane Hill and Dodge City in Cullman County; Curry and Jasper in Walker County; and Addison, Arley, Houston, and Double Springs in Winston County. Images by Vic Dunaway. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. The trick to locking into catfish is selecting the areas that each species is most likely to inhabit. Know before you go Cullman and Winston County are dry (no alcohol is available) while Walker County allows alcohol sales with the limitation that no alcohol may be purchased on a Sunday. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". No remains have ever been found to support existence of river serpents. Also referred to as R.E. Restaurant: YES. Trophy potential exists in backwater areas. Like Cutoff, anglers will find some large flatheads hiding among the submerged structure out of the current. The decision to stay in the hunt earned the family team the first place check of $10,000 from King Kat USA. The lake is a popular sports fishing destination, featuring largemouth, striped, white, and spotted bass; bluegill, longear, and redear sunfish; black and white carpie; and also some huge catfish. 205-435-4009. Also known as Walter F George Lake, is a bass angler's dream with almost 600 miles of shoreline to fish. Before heading out in search of your trophy Alabama catfish, make sure to purchase a fishing license and check all state and local regulations. We need to gear up right if were going trophy catfish hunting. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo, Outdoor Hub, LLC (d/b/a Carbon Media Group), 30800 Telegraph Rd, Suite 1921, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 USA. Live bait such as herring, menhaden, mackerel, eels, squid, clams, anchovies, bloodworms, shad, nightcrawlers and sandworms all make great bait for striped bass fishing. However, certain times of the year can provide the opportunity for exciting top water action with artificial lures. Yes, the state does stock trout on the lower side of the damn ,and the water is always cold on that side, I"m talking about the upper side, Very deep water alote of current and alote of shad. Guntersville Reservoir, Jeremy S. White, Alexander CityJack Grant, Altoona, Richard Johnson, Bay Minette The bridges funnel the water through with a current just south of Chewalla Creek. Hidden Cove Boat Launch Ramp Cappy's Boats Full of minnows and gizzard shad, this bait-rich reservoir is lined with cuts and offshoots, perfect for ambush predators like flathead. Also referred to as the Middle Pond, Yates Lake (a.k.a. Another great location is the Lower Cutoff south of Jackson. Folks, however, swear cats have . Longtime sustainability and recycling champion. Fish must be caught in Alabama waters by legal means. I slide a one to two-ounce egg sinker up on the line, and then I place a bead between the sinker and a barrel swivel. For big blue cats and channel catfish, working the top of the dams overflow with a bottom rig or the dams tailwaters are both great opportunities for anglers to break out the beloved bottom rigs and use stink bait, cut bait, or liver to set the hook on a monster. We rode over the area several times and located a few fish there. Anglers should note that in recent years, chemical drain-off has affected the edibility of fish in over 200 waterways, so check with your local Fish and Game office before consuming any fish from Alabama waterways. Catching three to five-pound cats is fun, and there's no better main ingredient for a fish fry than fillets from this size fish. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Having angled this lake twice, I think you can get away with catching flatheads in the trees with a good bass rod, but I would switch to strong saltwater-level gear for pulling in monster blues. Lake Mitchell has several feeder creeks whose mouths are excellent catfish holes, including Chestnut Creek, Weoka Creek, and Shoal Creek. When asked how the big ones strike, Captain Brian laughs and says, The really big ones are either going to hit it so hard youll think the rod holder will come off the boat, or the line will simply go slack as the fish takes the pressure out of the line and swims upward., The usual mega-catfish battle is very intense but fairly short.. A deep cork is just what the doctor ordered for this fishing hole, and anglers can rip into some huge flathead catfish at the stump field. The different types of bass stripers that exist require different size hooks to catch. Fish Species & State Records in Alabama Bass Largemouth bass World record: 22 lbs 4 oz State Record: 16 lbs 8 oz Smallmouth bass World record: 11 lbs 15 oz State Record: 10 lbs 8 oz Spotted bass World record: 9 lbs 8 oz What fishing license do I need for Smith Lake Alabama? Michael Houseknecht/Mobile, Chris S. Fuller, AthensBobby Lee Davis, Bessemer, Paddlefish Is The Flathead Catfish An Invasive Species In Pa? With the big catfish, theres no peck-peck-peck like we get with smaller fish, Captain Brian says. "At end of the day, there certainly is some truth to these stories but people also enjoy telling stories. to catch striped bass. Click here for a Alabama Fishing License. It was the creature. The bones found in the 1830s in Clark, Choctaw and Washington counties were named the state fossil in 1984. Sherril Harris, Sylacauga, Lake Martin, Tallapoosa Co. Largemouths | Lake Eufaula. Leda told me how she commutes from Smith Lake to Birmingham. Captain Brian adds, I use a Hi-Tek rod holder, and then I wait for the fish to bite. Anyone interested in fishing Lewis Smith Lake or waters within the wider area around Jasper should consult with local resources before heading out to fish. Smith Lake is a huge reservoir located on the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River, about 20 miles north-west of Birmingham. Lewis Smith Lake has the following amenities based off of . On Smith Lake you can find species such as large mouth bass, small mouth bass,spotted bass, large striped bass, crappie and much more. Also referred to as Converse Reservoir, this 3,600-acre impoundment in Mobile County is filled with channel catfish, bass, and sunfish. You might not know that Smith Lake is BIG! You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Most specially regulated trout waters are closed to taking fishbait and baitfish at all times. March 06, 2019 By Eileen Ann Davis. Basically, it comes down to this: if the bait is suspended two or three feet up off the bottom, the big catfish will crunch it. Zeb Hogan of the show Monster Fish on Nat Geo WILD lowers an electric shock boom into the Tennessee River during a recent search for giant catfish. Additionally, hit the dams tailwaters with a bottom rig using cut bait, liver, or small sunfish. Leda Mims of ARC Realty told me I love it all! Recently, he went mega-catfishing himself. Here is a preview of the July 5 episode of "Monster Fish" on Nat Geo WILD. Using a live minnow, shad, or crawfish, anglers should target submerged structures such as fallen trees or undercut banks to rip into massive flathead. First on the list is the ubiquitous nightcrawler, favored food for all fish species. Even the very large75 pounds and overcatfish dont fight for an extremely long time. Are you dreaming about the perfect weekend pad at Smith Lake? What is the largest catfish ever caught in the United States? By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Residents need to have a recreational license to fish in Alabama. From fried catfish to the most excellent pulled BBQ pork found anywhere in the US, Alabama is unrivaled when it comes to throwing down in the kitchen. Whats the biggest largemouth bass ever caught? Be assured that a 75-pound catfish qualifies as a trophy anywhere. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Especially when the sun goes down, catfish will school just beneath the tailwaters of the structure, and its a nightly feeding frenzy that anglers shouldnt miss. Existence of River serpents Lower Cutoff south of Jackson certain times of July. Category as yet bait your hooks with shad the mega-catfish, there certainly is biggest catfish in smith lake alabama truth these... Classified into a category as yet, with a 34-inch girth mostly catfish... 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