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Demopolis Lake Fishing Report

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

A Corps of Engineers lake where the Black Warrior meets the Tombigbee near Demopolis, best known to ADCNR for largemouth bass, with crappie and hybrid striped bass behind.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
1,750 cfs
Air / High
80 / 80 F
Wind
ENE 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02467000, 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Demopolis Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The nearest gauge is running 1,750 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 80. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:27 AM-11:27 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

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)Good

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.

CrappieFair

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

Hybrid striped bassFair

Look for shad on flats with timber near creek channels and on windblown points; cast jigs and swimbaits where fish break the surface.

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 →

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 →

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 from Tombigbee River at Demopolis Lock and Dam.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02467000.

1,4642,1402,8161,750 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 98 years of October 23

At 1,750 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 02467000 (Tombigbee River at Demopolis Lock and Dam) is at the 27th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 98 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 2,645 cfs; the highest was 95,500 cfs and the lowest 695 cfs.

p10 1,236median 2,645p90 14,220

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 02467000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp80 F
High / Low80 / 44 F
WindENE 4-6 mph
Pressure1019.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:01 / 18:09
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 Demopolis Lake this week

The best day on Demopolis Lake this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:27 AM-11:27 AM and 9:55 PM-11:55 PM
Minor period
3:49 AM-4:49 AM
Sun
07:01 to 18:09
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 5 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Demopolis Lake: 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.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: the spring shad spawn and fall; summer at dawn and dusk

A hatchery cross of striped bass and white bass, also called wiper or palmetto bass, stocked by state agencies into reservoirs and rivers as a sport fish that also eats gizzard shad. Schools roam open water after shad. Look for shad on flats with timber near creek channels and on windblown points; cast jigs and swimbaits where fish break the surface.

When to come: the Demopolis Lake 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)
Hybrid striped bass
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 Demopolis Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 80 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 80 F, wind to 4 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 5 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 freshwater fishing license. Demopolis has no reservoir-specific rule in ADCNR's 2025-2026 creel and size limits, so statewide limits apply: black bass 10 combined (no more than 5 smallmouth); crappie 30, 9-inch minimum; white bass 15; striped bass and hybrids 15 combined, no more than 5 over 22 inches; catfish over 34 inches 1 a day; bream 50.

Access

Corps campgrounds at Foscue Creek (54 full-hookup sites, boat ramp, day-use fee for the ramp) and Forkland, plus primitive camping and day-use areas; the Corps also notes a full-service marina at Demopolis. ADCNR lists public access with bank and boat fishing at the tailwaters.

About this water

A 10,000-acre Corps of Engineers lake at the confluence of the Black Warrior and Tombigbee rivers, Marengo County, Alabama; impounded in the early 1950s (ADCNR).

Fishing Demopolis Lake: the full guide

Where two rivers meet

Demopolis Lake lies at the confluence of the Black Warrior and Tombigbee rivers near Demopolis, in Marengo County. The Corps of Engineers and ADCNR both give it 10,000 acres, extending 48 miles up the Black Warrior and 53 miles up the Tombigbee. It is one of six lakes on the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway, a commercial navigation route of about 457 miles. The Corps calls Demopolis the largest lake in that system, while ADCNR's page calls it the second largest. The lake was impounded by the Corps in the early 1950s, according to ADCNR.

What ADCNR says about the fishing

ADCNR describes Demopolis as best known for largemouth bass, with crappie another major fishery and hybrid striped bass and bream also good; bream fish well in summer in creeks with woody cover and around weed beds. The department rates the tailwater below Warrior Dam, on the Black Warrior arm, as excellent for hybrid striped bass and catfish, used mostly by boat anglers. Below Gainesville Dam on the Tombigbee, bank and boat anglers from Alabama and Mississippi fish for catfish, drum and hybrids, with access to both banks.

Gauge and navigation

The USGS gauge on this page, 02467000 Tombigbee River at Demopolis Lock and Dam near Coatopa, reports discharge and gage height at the dam. The lake carries commercial tows bound for the waterway's six high-lift locks, which the Corps says can take up to eight standard barges.

Common questions

What is Demopolis Lake known for?

ADCNR says it is best known for largemouth bass, with crappie, hybrid striped bass and bream also good.

Where are the tailwater fisheries?

ADCNR points to the tailwater below Warrior Dam on the Black Warrior arm (hybrids and catfish, mostly by boat) and below Gainesville Dam on the Tombigbee (catfish, drum and hybrids, from both banks).

What is the crappie limit on Demopolis?

Alabama's statewide rule applies: 30 a day, and crappie under 9 inches may not be kept.

Is fishing good at Demopolis Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Okatibbee Lake55 miCahaba River61 miBankhead Lake72 miColumbus Lake78 miLay Lake95 miLogan Martin Lake112 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 02467000 — Tombigbee River at Demopolis Lock and Dam
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 32.5200, -87.8500 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 6, 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 6, 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.