Freshwater

Fishing around Auburn

Auburn sits within 45 minutes of Lake Martin, Lake Harding, the Tallapoosa tailraces and Chewacla State Park. Spring and fall are prime; summer fishing moves to first light, deep points and the dam current.

Target species

Identification, bait, hooks, rigs, seasons and eating quality for every fish you're likely to hook around Auburn.

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmoides

Good eating

Identify

Huge bucket mouth extending past the eye; dark blotchy stripe down the flank; deep notch between dorsal fins.

Where

Lake Martin, Yates and Thurlow, Chewacla State Park lake, and the Saugahatchee Creek arms — around laydowns, docks and grass edges.

Bait

Live shiners under a float
Green pumpkin Texas-rigged worm
Chatterbait or spinnerbait in stained water
Topwater frog over pads at dawn

Hooks

3/0–5/0 extra-wide-gap worm hook; 4/0 straight-shank for flipping jigs.

Rig

Texas rig with a 3/16 oz tungsten weight, or a shaky head on cleaner banks. Carolina rig for deep summer points.

Line

15–20 lb fluorocarbon on baitcaster; 40 lb braid with a fluoro leader in heavy cover.

Eating

Firm white meat, but Alabama bass anglers mostly release bigger fish. Keep 1–2 lb fish; skin the fillets and remove the red lateral meat for a cleaner flavor.

Legal size

No statewide minimum on most Auburn-area water. Local exceptions apply: Harris Reservoir protects 13–16 in fish, Lewis Smith 13–15 in, Lake Eufaula has a 14 in minimum.

Daily limit: 10 black bass per day (all species combined). Measured by total length, mouth closed, tail pinched.

Keep

12–15 in (about 1–2 lb) — the best eating and the most abundant year class.

Throw back

Anything over 4 lb. Big Alabama largemouth are almost always females carrying the next spawn, and the meat is coarse. Photo and let her swim.

Caught at these spots

Jump straight to the pin on the spot map.

Best months

Peak bite Good Slow

Prespawn March through April is the best shot at a giant; October's shad migration is the best shot at numbers.

Tide / current: No tide, but current matters: on Yates and Thurlow the bite turns on when Alabama Power starts generating and water begins pulling past points and rip-rap.
Best time of day: First light to about 9 a.m. and the last two hours before dark. In winter, the warmest part of the afternoon is actually best.

Black Crappie & White Crappie

Pomoxis nigromaculatus

Excellent table fare

Identify

Deep, flat, papery-mouthed panfish. Black crappie is randomly speckled; white crappie shows faint vertical bars.

Where

Brush piles and standing timber in Lake Martin and Lake Harding, plus bridge pilings on Chewacla — 8–18 ft in spring.

Bait

Live minnows on a slip float
1/16 oz jig with a chartreuse/black tube
Hair jigs vertical-jigged over brush

Hooks

#2 to #4 light-wire Aberdeen — it bends free when snagged instead of costing you the rig.

Rig

Slip-bobber set 1 ft above the brush, or double-jig 'crappie rig' with an 1/8 oz bell sinker at the bottom.

Line

4–6 lb monofilament, or 10 lb braid to a 6 lb fluoro leader for long-line trolling.

Eating

One of the best-eating freshwater fish in Alabama. Sweet, flaky, boneless fillets — cornmeal fry or blackened.

Legal size

9 in total length minimum in Alabama public waters (waived on impoundments under 500 acres).

Daily limit: 30 per day. Measured by total length.

Keep

10–13 in — thick enough for two clean fillets.

Throw back

Under 10 in (barely a bite once skinned) and any slab over 14 in — those are the trophy genetics worth leaving in the lake.

Caught at these spots

Jump straight to the pin on the spot map.

Chewacla State Park Lake

Best months

Peak bite Good Slow

Late February through April spawn is the marquee season; a second solid bite comes in cool October water.

Tide / current: No tide. Watch generation schedules on the Tallapoosa chain — slack water is far better than heavy pull for vertical jigging.
Best time of day: Mid-morning through afternoon in spring (warmest water); dusk and after dark under lights in summer.

Channel & Blue Catfish

Ictalurus punctatus

Excellent table fare

Identify

Forked tail, barbels ('whiskers'), scaleless skin. Channels have dark spots; blues are plain slate-gray and grow far bigger.

Where

Tailrace below Yates and Thurlow dams, deep holes in the Tallapoosa, and any Auburn city pond stocked by ADCNR.

Bait

Cut shad or skipjack for blues
Chicken liver or punch bait for channels
Nightcrawlers on farm ponds

Hooks

5/0–8/0 circle hook — let the fish load the rod, never set the hook hard.

Rig

Carolina/slip-sinker rig: 1–3 oz egg sinker, bead, barrel swivel, 18 in leader. Santee rig with a peg float keeps bait off the mud.

Line

20–30 lb mono mainline (its stretch protects against head shakes) or 50 lb braid for big blues.

Eating

Excellent fried or grilled. Fish under 10 lb taste best; trim all dark red meat. Follow ADPH river consumption advisories for large blues.

Legal size

No minimum size. Only 1 catfish 34 in or longer per day.

Daily limit: No limit under 34 in; 1 per day over 34 in. Measured by total length.

Keep

14–24 in (2–8 lb) — firm, mild, low contaminant load.

Throw back

Big blues and flatheads over about 10 lb. They're the prime spawners, the meat is oily and strong, and older fish concentrate mercury.

Caught at these spots

Jump straight to the pin on the spot map.

Best months

Peak bite Good Slow

May through August is prime, and the bite only improves after dark in the heat.

Tide / current: No tide, but current is the trigger — generation flow below Yates and Thurlow stacks catfish behind rip-rap and current seams.
Best time of day: Sunset through midnight in summer; midday in winter.

Bluegill & Shellcracker

Lepomis macrochirus

Excellent table fare

Identify

Round, hand-sized sunfish with a solid black ear flap; shellcracker (redear) has a red-orange margin on that flap.

Where

Chewacla State Park, Town Creek Park pond, and every shoreline bed on Lake Martin in May–June full moons.

Bait

Red wigglers or crickets
1/32 oz beetle-spin
Small popping bug on a fly rod

Hooks

#6 or #8 baitholder — small enough for their tiny mouths.

Rig

Simple bobber rig: split shot 6 in above the hook, float set 18–24 in deep over beds.

Line

4–6 lb monofilament on an ultralight spinning combo.

Eating

The classic Alabama fish fry. Scale and gut whole, or fillet the bigger ones. Sweet, mild, no muddy taste from clear water.

Legal size

No size limit.

Daily limit: 50 bream per day (all sunfish combined). Measured by total length.

Keep

7 in and up — hand-sized or bigger, where a fillet is actually worth the knife work.

Throw back

Anything under 6 in, plus bull bluegill over 9 in guarding beds in spring.

Caught at these spots

Jump straight to the pin on the spot map.

Best months

Peak bite Good Slow

Bream bed on the full moons of May and June — the single most reliable bite in Alabama.

Tide / current: No tide. Full-moon and new-moon periods drive the bedding cycle more than anything else.
Best time of day: All day during the spawn; otherwise early morning and the last two hours of light.

Striped & Hybrid Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis x chrysops

Good eating

Identify

Silver, torpedo-shaped, with clean horizontal black stripes. Hybrids show broken, offset stripes.

Where

Tallapoosa River tailraces below Thurlow and Yates, especially when generation current is running.

Bait

Live gizzard shad free-lined in current
Big flukes and swimbaits
Bucktail jigs bounced in the boil

Hooks

4/0–6/0 circle hook for live shad; 1/2–1 oz jighead for artificials.

Rig

Free-line live bait in current, or a three-way rig with a 2 oz drop weight to get down in the tailrace.

Line

30–50 lb braid with a 25 lb fluorocarbon leader.

Eating

Good when fresh and bled immediately; strong-flavored when big. Cut away the red bloodline before cooking.

Legal size

No statewide minimum, but on Lake Martin, Yates and Thurlow only two fish over 22 in may be kept, and on Thurlow only one of those may exceed 30 in.

Daily limit: 15 per day (striped, hybrid and white bass in aggregate). Measured by total length.

Keep

18–24 in — best flavor; trim the dark red lateral meat before cooking.

Throw back

Anything over 10 lb, and any striper caught in warm summer water that won't revive — those fish rarely survive a long fight above 80°F.

Caught at these spots

Jump straight to the pin on the spot map.

Lake Harding (Bartletts Ferry)

Best months

Peak bite Good Slow

Spring runs up the Tallapoosa and the fall shad blitz are the two windows; summer means deep, oxygenated water only.

Tide / current: Generation current is your tide. When Alabama Power pulls water at Yates or Thurlow, bait sweeps through and the schools set up right below the boils.
Best time of day: Dawn and dusk almost exclusively, plus any time generation starts.