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Coffeeville Reservoir

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Coffeeville Reservoir is an 8,500-acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers impoundment located on the Tombigbee River. Coffeeville Reservoir extends 97 miles from Demopolis, Alabama, to the dam, which is located approximately 3 miles from the town of Coffeeville. Boating access is available along the reservoir operated by the Corps of Engineers, Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and private operators.

Coffeeville Reservoir is located within a thirty-minute drive of hotels in Grove Hill and Jackson. The town of Coffeeville has several restaurants, service stations, and a grocery store. Demopolis and Butler provide angler access and similar amenities in the upper and middle portions of Coffeeville Reservoir. Bait and tackle are available at many of these locations. The Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge borders the lower portion of Coffeeville Lake. The Corps of Engineers maintains Service Campground, which is adjacent to the Refuge and just upstream of the dam.

Fishing for largemouth bass is popular on this reservoir. Anglers typically find the most success off the main channel where large, open creeks, such as Turkey and Okatuppa, provide protected fish structure. The best bass lures are crankbaits and plastic worms fished in slack waters.

Other species of fish that are popular with anglers include white crappie, bream, channel catfish, flathead catfish, blue catfish, hybrid striped bass, and striped bass. White crappie fishing is best in some of the large, off-channel creeks found within the lower reservoir. Good crappie fishing is found in Okatuppa, Turkey, and Tallawampa Creeks. Live minnows and plastic grubs are the favorite baits for most crappie anglers.

Bream fishing is also good in the off-channel areas listed above as well as in the tailwaters below the dam. Anglers often have success with wigglers and Catalpa worms fished deep over structure.

Fishing for channel catfish and flathead catfish is good in the tailwaters of the dam during May and June. Many anglers launch their boats at Service Campground ramp then pass through the lock at the dam to access the tailwaters below. Favorite baits include bottom-fished dough balls and cut bait or whole threadfin shad drifted through the shoals.

Link list (disclaimer):

Fishing license information may be found at: www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/license/; annual fishing licenses are good for 365 days. Instant licensing is available via the Internet (2% fee), via the telephone by calling 1-888-848-6887 ($3.95 fee), or at 900 vendors and probate offices in Alabama. All youth age 15 and younger fish for free.

Possession and creel limits for Alabama public waters are listed at: www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/regulations/

Bass fishing quality at the Coffeeville Lake is assessed from bass club tournament results at: www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/reservoirs/quality/baitcurrent/.
If you are a member of a bass club, please consider being a part of our Bass Angler Information Team. We use information from clubs to help better manage your lakes for fishing.

State fish management information and Alabama reservoir location, size and elevation are listed at: www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/reservoirs/

The Geological Survey of Alabama has interactive maps showing the locations of boat ramps at: www.gsa.state.al.us/gsa/GIS/boataccessdetails.html

Fishing, boating and camping information for Coffeeville Lake is available from the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) at www.sam.usace.army.mil/op/rec/war-tom/coffee/. Service Park is a modern campground with 32 sites. Seven COE day use only areas surround Coffeeville Lake.

For bass fishing reports search under Coffeeville Lake at www.wmi.org/bassfish/reports/alabama/.
USGS tailwater stage, pool stage and other data: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/al/hydro.html

For the upper end, local information may be found at: www.demopolischamber.com/, www.westal.net/local.htm, and www.demopolis.com. For the Demopolis Days Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Red Carpet Inn or Windwood Inn, click here. Accommodations are also found southeast of the Coffeeville dam in Jackson and Grove Hill.

Maps of Coffeeville Lake and US Corps of Engineer facilities are found at: http://bwt.sam.usace.army.mil/maps/CoffeevilleMap.pdf

It shall be unlawful to intentionally stock or release any fish, mussel, snail, crayfish or their embryos including bait fish into the public waters of Alabama under the jurisdiction of the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries as provided in Rule 220-2-.42 except those waters from which it came without the written permission of a designated employee of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources authorized by the Director of the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries to issue such permit. The provisions of this rule shall not apply to the incidental release of bait into the water during the normal process of fishing.

The Fisheries Section’s District V Supervisor can answer specific questions about Coffeeville Lake by sending email to Dave Armstrong.

Prepared by: Fisheries Section, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. This site is presented for information only the Fisheries Section cannot be responsible for the quality of information or services offered through linked sites, disclaimer. To have your site included, send your URL, email address, or telephone number to the Fisheries Web Master, Doug.Darr@dcnr.alabama.gov. The Fisheries Section reserves the right to select sites based on relevant and appropriate content, of interest to our viewers. The URL for this site is www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/reservoirs/coffeeville/ and was last updated on 07/12/2005. If you discover errors in the content or links of this page, please contact Doug Darr. Thank you.

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