This winter, seven of Alabama’s 23 State Public Fishing Lakes will be open for winter fishing. Barbour, Bibb, Dale, DeKalb, Geneva (two lakes), and Madison county lakes will be open during portions of December and January. The remaining lakes are closed until February 1, 2014, when the lakes return to their regular schedule.
Anglers take advantage of winter fishing at Madison County Lake.
“Alabama’s public fishing lakes are managed for optimum fishing,” said Stan Cook, Chief of Fisheries for the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF). “We encourage everyone to take advantage of this unique winter fishing opportunity.”
Alabama’s State Public Fishing Lakes Open This Winter:
Barbour County Lake (334-775-1054) will be open Thursday through Sunday during December and January. From Clayton, take Alabama Highway 51 north for one mile, then right on County Road 49 for 5.5 miles to Barbour County Lake.
Bibb County Lake (205-938-2318) will be open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday during December and January. From Centreville at US Highway 82, take Alabama Highway 5 north for 7.5 miles, then left on Fishing Lake Road to lake.
Dale County Lake (334-774-0588) is locally known as Ed Lisenby Lake. It is open every day of the year except Wednesdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Dale County Lake is one mile north of Roy Parker Road (Dale County Road 36) in Ozark.
DeKalb County Lake (256-657-1300) is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday during December and January. The lake is located one mile north of Sylvania off County Road 47.
Geneva County Lake (334-360-5906) is 20 miles southwest of Enterprise off County Road 63. It will be open during daylight hours Thursday through Sunday, December 5 through December 19, 2013, and Thursday through Sunday, January 10 through January 31, 2014.
Madison County Lake (256-776-4905) is 11 miles east of Huntsville. It is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during December and January. The trout pond will receive a second stocking the week of Christmas and a third stocking in January. A $5 trout permit is required to fish in this pond. The normal $3 permit allows fishing only in the main lake. The daily limit on trout is five.
State Public Fishing Lakes are also great places to introduce children to the outdoors. Mowed areas around the lake allow bank access for fishing, and provide space for children to play and explore nature when they are not fishing.
Fishing license requirements apply at all lakes; daily permits are required of all anglers 12 and older. A complete list of state lakes can found in the freshwater fishing section of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website, www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/lakes.
