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Cedar Creek Reservoir Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Cedar Creek Reservoir: a 4,200-acre TVA flood-control lake west of Russellville, run for recreation by the Bear Creek Development Authority.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
76 / 77 F
Wind
NE 5 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Cedar Creek Reservoir offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 5 mph, falling pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 77. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:28 AM-11:28 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassExcellent

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieGood

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 77 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Alabama requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $17.00 for residents. What a Alabama licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with ADCNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Alabama, read off the agency, are on the Alabama seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp76 F
High / Low77 / 43 F
WindNE 5-6 mph
Pressure1020.0 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:04 / 18:07
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Cedar Creek Reservoir this week

Today is the pick of the week on Cedar Creek Reservoir, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:28 AM-11:28 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM
Minor period
3:49 AM-4:49 AM
Sun
07:04 to 18:07
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Cedar Creek Reservoir: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

When to come: the Cedar Creek Reservoir calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Cedar Creek Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 79 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 78 F, wind to 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 77 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Alabama requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Alabama fishing license plus a BCDA permit. Black bass 10 a day combined; crappie 30 a day, 9-inch minimum (ADCNR statewide limits).

Access

Public access areas at Cedar Creek Dam, Hellums Mill, Slickrock, Britton Bridge and Lost Creek (ADCNR); BCDA campground with boat ramp and fishing pier at Slickrock.

About this water

4,200 acres at full pool, impounded 1979, TVA reservoir operated by BCDA, Franklin County, AL.

Fishing Cedar Creek Reservoir: the full guide

The reservoir

ADCNR says Cedar Creek Reservoir was impounded in 1979 for flood control and holds 4,200 acres at full pool about 10 miles west of Russellville in Franklin County. It is one of four TVA reservoirs operated by the Bear Creek Development Authority (BCDA), with Upper Bear Creek, Little Bear and Big Bear, and its main uses are flood control and recreation.

Fish

ADCNR describes the lake as best known for largemouth and spotted bass and crappie, with good catfish and bream fishing. Largemouth are more common in the middle and upper lake, where the water is more fertile, while spotted bass become more common in the clearer, deeper water near the dam. Florida-strain largemouth were stocked at 10 per acre (41,190 fish) in 1979 and sporadically through 1993; ADCNR's sampling on that page dates from 2007.

Rules

ADCNR's statewide limits apply: 10 black bass a day in any combination, with no length limit on Cedar Creek, and 30 crappie a day with a 9-inch minimum. Cedar Creek is not one of the waters exempted from the 9-inch crappie rule; Big Bear is.

Permits and access

Anglers need a BCDA permit in addition to an Alabama fishing license; BCDA sells one-day, three-day, annual (Oct. 1-Sept. 30) and lifetime permits online, at its campgrounds and through local vendors. ADCNR lists five public access areas: Cedar Creek Dam, Hellums Mill, Slickrock, Britton Bridge and Lost Creek. BCDA's Slickrock Campground has 53 sites with water and 30-amp hookups, a boat ramp, a fishing pier and a camp store that sells live bait.

Common questions

Do I need a special permit to fish Cedar Creek Reservoir?

Yes: a BCDA permit on top of the Alabama fishing license; the BCDA annual permit runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

Where are the spotted bass on Cedar Creek?

ADCNR finds them more often in the deeper, clearer water near the dam and says most are under 14 inches; largemouth dominate the middle and upper lake.

What other lakes does BCDA manage?

Upper Bear Creek, Little Bear and Big Bear reservoirs; a BCDA permit covers fishing, camping and boating areas on all of them.

Is fishing good at Cedar Creek Reservoir right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Bay Springs Lake22 miPickwick Lake27 miWilson Lake28 miWheeler Lake51 miLewis Smith Lake56 miColumbus Lake77 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 34.5268, -87.9271 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.