Bankhead Lake Impounded 1916
Lake level; full pool
Water Temperatures; With warming trends (low 50's to low 60's), with severe cold
fronts (low to mid 40's). Late December - Mid 50's.
Winter Fishing Lake Bankhead
Its hard to believe Alabama's second oldest man made impoundment
(Lay lake is the oldest, impounded in 1914) will be 100 years
old, in the year 2016.
Impounded in 1916, Bankhead Lake has shown generations
of anglers some very memorable times for the past 90 plus
years. Today, Bankhead Lake is still an exceptional lake
and a lake that has proven to bass anglers of all ages...it
can still produce numbers of bass and at times some "very big bass" during
any season.
Winter to many anglers, often means it time to park the boat,
until spring arrives. Some would-be wintertime anglers just
hang up their rods and head for the nearby woods for a little
deer hunting and turkey hunting.
Occasionally they may even be coaxed to bring the boat out
of hiding, by an enticing week-long, winter warming trend.
But let the next cold front arrive and they again park the
boat, awaiting better weather conditions.
As a teenager I fished Bankhead lake for largemouth bass
and spotted bass in every season, under a variety of fishing
conditions. I still fish the entire lake in every season.
Some of my most memorable trips I made to this age-old Warrior
River impoundment when I was younger, were the ones on those
days when I suffered through a severe wintertime cold front.
Not that good to most anglers.
But often to my surprise I stumbled onto that massive school
of "bunched up" wintertime bass. At times I even found some
big schools of "big bass" often bunched up in some very
unpredictable locations.
When its real cold (like in the mid-to-upper 20's), this
9,200 acre lake (only 20 miles from the Birmingham city limits),
can get real tough, like any man made impoundment during
a severe wintertime cold front.
This is the time -- when any angler that claims to have just
a little bit of sanity -- knows from past wintertime experiences,
its best to just stay home.
You may get bites (including frost bite), but you will suffer
and earn each bite you do get. Air temperatures of 20-30
degrees for several days can suddenly lower water temperatures
to their wintertime lowest, often close to 40 degrees or
even worse, lower.
This is when Bankhead lakes bass become almost dormant. They
do not want to expend a lot of energy chasing down a meal
and it often takes dropping a lure right in their face to
get a response.
There are always a few good days to go fishing during winter
on Bankhead Lake. The anglers that can pick his / her days
can have an advantage over other weekend anglers, those that
have to hope for decent weather when they can get the time
to go fishing.
Winter rains can fool an angler into thinking he / she is
just wasting time (and getting wet without a good rain suit
and good pair of boots), especially when the main lake is
muddy and most major feeder creeks feature stained-to-muddy
water conditions.
Always keep in mind there are dozens of boat launches to
be found all throughout the 77 miles of Bankhead Lake waters.
From Smith Lake dam found far upstream, to lower Bankhead
Lake Lock & Dam, you can always find some decent water
to fish. If you apply a little research prior to your trip.
* This includes the incoming waters of the Little Warrior
River that junctions with the old original Warrior River
channel, at the famed boat launch called Howton's Camp.
Cold, muddy water conditions are the worst conditions an
angler can face during winter, especially on those days following
several consecutive days of heavy winter rains. Current will
be very evident on the main lake. Up in the lakes many feeder
creeks sudden swift incoming rain waters, can display waters
flowing up on the banks.
So as the rains occur, anglers can concentrate their efforts
in lower lake until it too gets muddy. Then they should change
directions and fish the mid-to-upper portion of the lake.This
will be the first place to show the first clearing water
conditions, other than far up in some major feeder creeks.
Unknown to many anglers (those that just never venture far
up in one of Bankhead lakes many major tributaries), there
can be loads of untapped schools of bass to be found with
a little exploring.
The far upper reaches of these incoming feeder creeks are
normally cold and feature slack water conditions during the
dead of winter. But as most wintertime warming trends come
to an end, they are often followed by warm winter rains pouring
in the lake for a day or more.
This incoming rain floods the creeks backwaters and often
makes the creeks hard to fish for a few days. The fish are
there feeding on incoming edibles washed in by the heavy
rains. They are just hard to locate with fast moving water
and muddy water conditions.
But let these small feeder creeks clear up just slightly
and the incoming current gets back to "almost" normal and
you can discover a fantastic day of fishing in a secure wintertime
location, often with little or no company.
A place, to have all to yourself for a few days, before it
gets cold again and another cold front slows the fishing
again. That's wintertime bass fishing on the Warrior
River!
Lures? You know your favorites, try em' all! Even topwaters,
spinnerbaits, suspending jerkbaits, crankbaits and jig combos
all work during the winter months on Bankhead Lake's 3,969
square miles of some great looking water!
Remember, a guided fishing trip with Reeds Guide Service
makes a great surprise gift for Birthday's, Father's Day,
or Christmas (certificates available) or any occasion, for
those loved ones that love to fish! Call 205-787-5133 for
reservations. Several boats and qualified professional guides
available year round, for multiple parties and corporate
guided fishing trips to any lake in Alabama.
*
Looking for a new or used boat? See: www.airportmarine.com and
see their bass tournament trail info found there. Alabama's
best paying tournament trails and annual events! Team
Trail
* Looking for the best bass boat in the world? Go to: www.rangerboats.com
* See my website: www.fishingalabama.com for
more Alabama lakes fishing tips, lake reports, fishing articles, fishing links
and info on Reeds Guide Service.
Practice catch and release year-round especially this Spring.
You won't regret it!
Good Fishin'...
Reed Montgomery / Reeds Guide Service
Website: www.fishingalabama.com
