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Lake Martin Fishing Report

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

Alabama's clear-water playground: 44,000 acres of pine-and-granite islands where spotted bass school deep and stripers run the lights.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
78 / 78 F
Wind
E 4 mph

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

Satellite view
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.

Lake Martin lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 78. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:19 AM-11:19 AM and 9:47 PM-11:47 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

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.

Tomorrow: Similar at 74 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 temp78 F
High / Low78 / 46 F
WindE 4-6 mph
Pressure1020.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:54 / 18:01
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 Lake Martin this week

The best day on Lake Martin this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:19 AM-11:19 AM and 9:47 PM-11:47 PM
Minor period
3:41 AM-4:41 AM
Sun
06:54 to 18:01
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Martin: 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.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

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.

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.

When to come: the Lake Martin 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
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
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 Lake Martin 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 79 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

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 76 F, wind to 7 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 license. Striper 2/day over 22 inches; spots liberal: check ADCNR.

Access

Wind Creek SP, Kowaliga, Blue Creek, Madwind ramps around the lake.

About this water

44,000 acres on the Tallapoosa, Tallapoosa/Elmore/Coosa counties, AL. The clear-water flagship.

Fishing Lake Martin: the full guide

The Tallapoosa jewel

Martin spreads 44,000 clear acres through east Alabama's pine hills: the state's recreation flagship and its premier spotted-bass water. Granite islands, bluff walls and herring schools set a fishery that fishes more like Georgia's blueback lakes than the stained Coosa: electronics, finesse and topwater mornings over open water.

Spots on the herring clock

The lake's spotted bass ride the blueback economy: wolfpacks over 20-40 ft brush and rock (drop shots at marks, spoons under the schools), dawn schooling flurries wherever bait pushes up (keep the walking bait tied on), and winter's damiki season on the channel bluffs. Four-pound spots are the daily currency: sixes show every season.

Striper nights

Martin's stripers built the night culture: summer's lighted docks pull herring and the linesides follow: freelined live bait in the glow from Kowaliga to Blue Creek. Winter gulls mark the daytime schools: umbrella rigs between shows. The 30-pound class swims here: Alabama's quiet trophy fishery.

Big-lake practicalities

Wind Creek State Park (the country's largest state campground) anchors access: ramps ring all arms. Summer weekends roar: the sailing and wake fleets own midday: fish dawn or the winter drawdown's calm (Martin drops 7-10 winter feet: scout the exposed structure). Kowaliga's bridge and the church steeple mark the signature water every local names first.

Common questions

What is Lake Martin best known for among anglers?

Spotted bass on herring patterns: deep marks, schooling mornings: and the summer night-dock striper game. It is Alabama's answer to Lanier, with granite scenery.

When is the night striper bite on Martin?

May-September under the dock lights: freelined herring in the glow after midnight. Winter flips to daytime gulls and umbrella rigs on the schools.

Is fishing good at Lake Martin 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

Tallapoosa River29 miWest Point Lake42 miLay Lake44 miLake Harding47 miLogan Martin Lake49 miCahaba River70 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 32.8000, -85.9000 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.
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 guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be 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.