Fishing Pickwick Lake and the Wilson Tailwater

Located in northwest Alabama on the Tennessee River, Pickwick Reservoir runs 50 miles from Pickwick Landing Dam in Tennessee to the "Shoals" area below Wilson Dam. The total surface area at full summer pool is 47,500 acres. McFarland Park at Florence can host major tournaments. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are the most sought after species by anglers. Pickwick Reservoir's greatest reputation is its superb smallmouth bass fishing. A 14-inch minimum size restriction limits harvest of smallmouth bass in Alabama controlled waters. One of the most popular smallmouth fishing areas is the "Shoals" section directly downstream of Wilson Dam to the end of Seven-Mile Island. Generation discharge from Wilson Dam creates a strong current in this area that smallmouth bass love. The middle to lower reaches of Pickwick provide excellent habitat for both largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. Smallmouth bass habitat in Pickwick Lake is so good that several line class records have been certified by the International Game Fish Association.

Crappie are another favorite fish species sought by anglers. The majority of the crappie angling in Alabama occurs during the spring on Bear Creek and Second Creek embayments. Most of the successful anglers drift jigs and minnows along the creek channels to find concentrations of crappie. Crappie must be longer than nine inches to be harvested from Pickwick Lake. The tailwaters of Wilson Dam provide excellent opportunities to catch sauger during the winter months when they migrate upstream to spawn. Blue catfish and channel catfish are also found in high numbers during the summer. Bank access is available on the south side at Sheffield and Muscle Shoals. Florence (McFarland Park) and Waterloo provide fishing on the north side. Boat anglers can use Wilson Lock to fish Wilson Lake.

Sampling: Electrofishing during April, 2008, revealed a population of largemouth bass that were fatter than bass from ohter reservoirs in Alabama.  A high percentage of the population consisted of 8- to 12-inch bass, with average numbers of 12- to 15-inch largemouth bass.  The percentage of bass over 15 inches is currently below the Alabama reservoir average.  Annual recruitment to largers sizes appears good, and the outlook for 2009 is to expect good catches of "keeper" sized bass for tournament anglers.  Larger bass may be a little more difficult to find.

Fishing:  Anglers should fish deeper in the riverine stretches of the reservoir where larger bass reside.  Milfoil beds have become established in the lower end of the reservoir.  Anglers fishing among aquatic weed margins have been successful in catching a limit. Traditional baits remain good for catching bass on Pickwick Lake, but anglers are encouraged to throw shad colored grubs, fish-head spin rigs, shaky-head finesse rigs, and 5-inch swim baits to be more competitive. Live bait angling remains popular, and is one of the most successful methods of catching smallmouth bass. Current is the key to catching bass on Pickwick, so anglers need to be in the best locations when TVA opens the turbines to begin generating electricity.

Links (disclaimer):

Fishing license information may be found at: www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/license/. 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. The license requirement are a little odd because the lake includes three states, but a resident or non-resident Alabama license allows anglers to fish the entire lake. Possession and creel limits for Alabama public waters are listed at: www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/regulations/

Bass fishing quality at Pickwick Reservoir is assessed in the B.A.I.T report.
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/

Information from the Tennessee Valley Authority is provided at lakeinfo.tva.gov/ and at www.tva.gov/sites/pickwick.htm and navigation maps at www.lrn.usace.army.mil/opn/TNRiver/ or through TVA, http://maps.tva.com/. or email mapstore@tva.gov, call 1-800-MAPS-TVA, fax 1-423-751-6216, or write 1101 Market St., Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801. For information on your mobile device, try http://m.tva.com. Maps are available on the Internet from ESPN.

Colbert County Tourism may be contacted at www.colbertcountytourism.org/index.html ; the City of Florence has a site at www.visitflorenceal.com/

Luxury accommodations on Pickwick Lake include the new Shoals Marriott Hotel and Spa,
www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mslmc-marriott-shoals-hotel-and-spa/.

Regional information may be found at the north Alabama regional tourism site, www.alabamamountainlakes.org/ call 1-800-648-5381, or e-mail info@northalabama.org. For resorts, lodges, cabins, RV parks, marinas, and camping accommodations, look in the "Outdoor" Section. For motels and bed and breakfast inns, look in "Places to Stay."
General information may be found at: www.shoalschamber.com

Talk with anglers that fish Pickwick Lake at www.al.com/forums/fishing/.
Bass fishing reports for Pickwick Lake may be available at: www.wmi.org/bassfish/reports/alabama/ and www.louwilliams.com/

Contact the following guides:
Jerry Crook (smouthinc@aol.com), home 1-205-608-0933 or cell 1-205-243-6198
Sam Parker cell 256-335-8883 or 256-760-6422.
Barry Holt (Bassnut306@aol.com) 256-383-7481.
Chris Stephenson (ChrisStephensonOutdoors@hotmail.com) 205-919-5917 or 205-663-1190 for smallmouth bass, striped bass and hybrids (wipers)
Rick Sizemore (jrsizemore@bellsouth.net), 256-762-6661, www.outdooradventuresoftheshoals.com
Steve Hacker (smouth@hiwaay.net), 256-760-8090, www.smallmouth.com.

Eagle watching is a popular pass time at Pickwick Lake, especially during the winter.
Activities can include the river boat Pickwick Belle, www.pickwickbelle.com/.

Current water levels may be found by searching for Florence at: iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/al/hydro.html

Pickwick is home to the Alabama record silver redhorse (sucker) (fourteen pounds, fourteen ounces), sauger (five pounds and two ounces), muskellunge (nineteen pounds, eight ounces - muskies are no longer stocked), and paddlefish (fifty-two pounds, twelve ounces - currently, paddlefish must be immediately released upon capture).

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 I Supervisor can answer specific questions about Pickwick Lake at keith.floyd@dcnr.alabama.gov.