YOUR PICKWICK LAKE FISHING GUIDE

Pickwick Lake is an Alabama fishing heaven for those who love Largemouth Bass and Crappie. Pickwick lake is often underrated for its ability to produce healthy populations of Striped Bass, Spotted Bass, and White Bass, even though its located near the largest city in Colbert County.

Your fishing guide will know the laws of the land, but it's always best to stay up to date with local rules and regulations. Rules and regulations are the bare requirements for being an ethical hunter and angler, so please consider ethical practices outside of the base rules and regulations.

• Regulations can also help you prepare for what gear to bring. When fishing Pickwick Lake without a guide, you will need to bring a ruler to measure the lengths of your catch.
• Black Bass must be released to swim another day if they are 15 inches and under. The crappie fish are safe from being placed in a live well or stringer if they are 9 inches and under, so you must release them after a quick photo.
• The big catfish over 34 inches are vital to the environmental health of the lake, so you can only keep one of them, and you must take your new best whisker friend picture, then let those whiskers swim freely back into the lake.
• A freshwater fishing license is required to cast a line for any angler 16 years or older. If the fisherman 65 years old or older, then they are exempt from needing a freshwater license.

Check out more information about when you need an Alabama Fishing License and how much they cost.

The kind of fishing you will do will much depend on the season and what kind of fish species you're casting for.

• Largemouth Bass are the easiest to catch when you find yourself with a fishing pole during the months of early Spring. After the spawn, they will leave the areas by the creek channels and head to the deeper water, so cast next to some swift currents.
• Smallmouth bass love to come together around the Colbert Fossil Plant, which is just west of Sheffield, Alabama. This warm water from the plant is enjoyed by the fish in the colder months.
• Crappie Fishing for white crappie or black crappie will usually result in crappie in the one-pound range in your boat. During the summer months, you will have to let your jig fall to the 15 to 25-foot range, right on top of some brush piles or structure. In the pre-span months, you can fish for them in the shallower water.
• Channel Catfish and Blue Catfish re the most underrated species on this beautiful body of water. This lake has regular catches of catfish in the 10 to 15-pound range. That doesn't mean a good trophy catch of a 50 plus pounder can’t happen. During the early spring fish, the drop-offs for some excellent eating.

Make no mistake about it... this is a Largemouth Bass fishing lake, and between the end of March to the end of April you can find the pre-spawning bass. Pre-spawning means they are moving up to their beds to lay their eggs.

Jigs are an excellent method if you are looking for some big bass. With the right fishing guide, who knows the Pickwick Lake fishing hot spots, you can expect to real in some 5-8-pound bass on a reasonably consistent basis.

If you're not at the bass fisherman, then crappie is another fantastic option for any angler. Much like bass, crappies can be caught easiest in the shallows during the springtime, and then as the weather heats up, you will want to head into deeper waters.