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Lay Lake Fishing Report

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

Lay Lake: a 12,000-acre Alabama Power reservoir on the Coosa River south of Birmingham, best known for spotted and largemouth bass (ADCNR).

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
78 / 79 F
Wind
S 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.

Lay Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 79. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:22 AM-11:22 AM and 9:49 PM-11:49 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.

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 76 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 / Low79 / 43 F
WindS 4-5 mph
Pressure1020.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:56 / 18:03
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 Lay Lake this week

The best day on Lay Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 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
9:22 AM-11:22 AM and 9:49 PM-11:49 PM
Minor period
3:43 AM-4:43 AM
Sun
06:56 to 18:03
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lay 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.

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.

When to come: the Lay 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
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 Lay 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 78 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

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 77 F, wind to 6 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 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 freshwater license. ADCNR 2026-2027 limits (eRegulations, updated Aug. 28, 2026): black bass 10 a day combined; crappie 9-inch minimum, 30 a day; striped and hybrid bass 15 combined, no more than 5 over 22 inches; only 1 catfish over 34 inches a day.

Access

Seven public access areas with bank and boat access (ADCNR). USGS gauge 02407526 at the Gaston Steam Plant near Wilsonville reads the lake stage.

About this water

12,000 acres (ADCNR) on the Coosa River in St. Clair, Talladega, Shelby, Coosa and Chilton counties, AL; impounded by Alabama Power in 1914.

Fishing Lay Lake: the full guide

Reservoir facts

ADCNR describes Lay Lake as a 12,000-acre reservoir about 35 minutes south of Birmingham off I-65 and 15 miles south of Columbiana, bordering St. Clair, Talladega, Shelby, Coosa and Chilton counties. Alabama Power impounded it in 1914 for hydroelectric generation, and recreation is its other main use. Seven public access areas offer bank and boat access, and the lake is popular for tournament fishing.

The bass fishery

ADCNR rates Lay as a high-quality largemouth and spotted bass fishery. Largemouth up to 18 inches are abundant, with moderate numbers of larger fish, and they fish best in creeks and shallow sloughs. Spotted bass up to 18 inches are very abundant; look for them in the riverine parts of the lake. ADCNR tracks bass quality through bass club tournament results.

Crappie, bream and the tailwater

ADCNR reports crappie of 9 to 12 inches moderately abundant around woody cover and weed beds throughout the lake, and good summer bream fishing in creeks with wood and weeds. At the upper end, the tailwater below Logan Martin Dam is excellent for hybrid striped bass and catfish, striped bass are also present, and bass are caught there when shad run along the banks. The 2002 Bassmaster Classic was won in that area.

Common questions

What is Lay Lake best known for?

ADCNR says spotted bass and largemouth bass: largemouth up to 18 inches are abundant and spotted bass up to 18 inches very abundant.

What is the crappie size limit on Lay Lake?

Alabama's 9-inch minimum applies, with 30 crappie a day.

Where were hybrids and the 2002 Classic?

In the tailwater below Logan Martin Dam at the upper end of Lay Lake, which ADCNR calls excellent for hybrid striped bass and catfish; the 2002 Bassmaster Classic was won in that area.

Is fishing good at Lay 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

Logan Martin Lake18 miCahaba River36 miLake Martin44 miNeely Henry Lake51 miTallapoosa River52 miBankhead Lake53 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 33.2412, -86.4583 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.