Austin Neary
3/27/2025
Is Alabama the bass fishing capitol of the United States? Arguably, as it is the birthplace of B.A.S.S., has hosted more professional Major League Fishing/ Bassmaster Elite Series/ Bassmaster Classic tournaments than other states, and has millions of bass anglers fishing its lakes each year in search of big largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass.
Alabama is one of the most consistent big bass producers over 4lbs in the entire United States. A long growing season, plentiful forage, abundant habitat, and an almost endless supply of fertile water makes Alabama uniquely special among top places to fish in the world. Alabama might be one of the most diverse states as well from the flat shallow swamps in the south to the rolling foothills and mountains in the northern region of the state. However you like to fish, you can do it in Alabama. Many anglers far and wide, tournament anglers and recreational anglers flock to Alabama year after year for making memories and catching big bass. Let’s take a look at our five best places to fish in Alabama to catch big bass in BAMA! (These lakes are in no particular order)
- Pickwick Lake Fishing: This monstrous reservoir is NO JOKE when it comes to big bass. Locals would argue this Tennessee River impoundment may be the #1 big bass producer in the state. It is loaded with 6lb+ smallmouth bass, 6lb+ spotted bass and thousands of 7lb+ largemouth bass with most tournaments having to have at least an 8 pounder to win “big fish”. The best Pickwick Lake fishing spots are shell beds, current breaks, vegetation, boulders, ledges, and a ton of other productive structures to keep you guessing. Forage in Pickwick consists of threadfin shad, gizzard shad, crawfish, and your common panfish species. From up lake to down lake this place can produce both numbers of fish and some giants. Each spring multiple 10lb bass are weighed in and caught from one end to the other. Time of the year is almost irrelevant to hook a true Alabama SLAMMA! If you’ve never fished Pickwick, I promise you should add it to your fisheries bucket list and try this fishing spot soon!
- Lake Eufaula Fishing: Can you say vegetation, vegetation and uhhh vegetation… Just driving by Eufaula will make any fisherman drool. There is so much shallow grass, lily pads, reed lines, and grass mats that it can be a tad bit overwhelming. But what if I told you locals year after year drop THOUSANDS of brush piles off shore to make a premium habitat for big bass and crappie. There are also thousands of shell beds to fish offshore that hold tons of fish month after month. As the self proclaimed “bass capitol” of the United States it does produce tons of big stringers. Largemouth dominate the landscape of sought after species in this lake and for good reason! Eufaula pumps out GIANTS every year through the winter and deep into the early summer! Enjoy the beautiful weather and the big bass ripping drag at a NO DOUBT top 5 lake in Alabama!
- Wilson Lake Fishing: Lets head back up to north Alabama on the Tennessee River. Wilson Lake has gott’em! In a recent study done by Alabama Fisheries Biologists, Wilson Lake had more 5lb+ fish per acre than any other fishery in Alabama. It’s often overlooked because it’s only 16 miles from dam to dam but what it lacks in size of lake it makes up for in size of fish. Every year there are dozens of 7lb+ smallmouth caught in Wilson and there is always STATE RECORD potential on the Tennessee River. These big bass forage on the ridiculous amount of gizzard shad located below the dams. Because of the short distance from dam to dam, there is always a lot of current that keeps the fish feeding and set up to hunt. It also concentrates big largemouth in back water rivers and creeks where they target bluegill, crappie and crawdads. Wilson is a must fish lake in the early spring!
- Wheeler Lake Fishing: Well… We’ve planted our flag in north Alabama on the Tennessee River. Wheeler is between Lake Guntersville and Wilson Lake and is known for “the flats”. With minimal water level fluctuation and ever present current the fish love getting on hard spots/ shell beds on the flats. This lake has plentiful 3lb+ largemouth and thousands upon thousands of sizable smallmouth bass. Every once in a while though it can pop off for some “mega bags” of bass! The schools of 5lb+ largemouth tend to congregate together and when you find them… you find them… ALL OF THEM! This body of water has trash fish galore, sport fish galore, bait fish galore mostly because its just a healthy fishery filled with so much nutrients. You may have to weed through some undesired fish like drum and catfish but any cast here could surprise you with what's on the other side of your line!
- Lake Guntersville Fishing: This list would not be complete without the king of all Alabama lakes, Lake Guntersville. In a recent tournament 50 boats (about 1/3rd of the field) had over 20lbs in their best 5 fish… That’s a 4lb average fish for a third of the field. There were three 5 fish limits weighing just under 30lbs and there were 4 fish weighed in that were over 8lbs… If that doesn’t blow your mind, it happens almost every weekend like that. Guntersville has the 2nd best bass population in the entire country, second to only Clear Lake in California. Like all the other Tennessee River impoundments it has everything, aquatic grass, ledges, cliffs, bridges, docks, flats, shell beds, I could keep going. The lake record is a 14.5lber and legitimately every cast you make on this lake can result in some freak zilla giants! If you have never fished Guntersville, you’re missing out!
We’ll give a consolation prize to Smith Lake! Known for big spotted bass this lake is a sleeper when it comes to HUGE largemouth. Deep, clear, green water filled with blueback herring makes it a top producer for pelagic species like spotted bass and striper but when you head into the back waters you better be buckled in tight, there are some BIG Ole Billy bass waiting to eat!
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