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Neely Henry Lake Fishing Report

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

An 11,235-acre Alabama Power reservoir on the Coosa between Weiss Dam and Gadsden, where ADCNR rates the spotted bass among the state's best.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
19 cfs
Air / High
77 / 78 F
Wind
SSW 3 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02400496, 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.

Neely Henry Lake offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The gauge reads 21.37 ft, easing 0.20 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 3 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 9:20 AM-11:20 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.

Rainbow troutExcellent

The top of this band is already stressful. In rivers fish mornings and evenings; in lakes WDFW notes rainbows turn sluggish and go deeper, so troll or suspend bait near the bottom.

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.

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 from COOSA RIVER AT GADSDEN STEAM PLANT NR GADSDEN, AL.

Gauge height, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02400496.

20.8921.1921.4821.37 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp77 F
High / Low78 / 43 F
WindSSW 3-4 mph
Pressure1020.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:55 / 18:00
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 Neely Henry Lake this week

The best day on Neely Henry Lake this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 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
9:20 AM-11:20 AM and 9:47 PM-11:47 PM
Minor period
3:41 AM-4:41 AM
Sun
06:55 to 18:00
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 Neely Henry 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.

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.

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.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. The top of this band is already stressful. In rivers fish mornings and evenings; in lakes WDFW notes rainbows turn sluggish and go deeper, so troll or suspend bait near the bottom.

When to come: the Neely Henry 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
Striped bass
Crappie
Rainbow trout
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 Neely Henry 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 79 F, wind to 9 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 78 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 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 fishing license. Statewide limits apply (ADCNR, updated Aug 28, 2026): black bass 10 combined, no more than 5 smallmouth; crappie 30, 9-inch minimum; striped bass and hybrids 15, no more than 5 over 22 inches.

Access

Tillison's Bend Boat Ramp, Ten Islands Historic Park, Neely Henry tailrace fishing piers east and west (Alabama Power); Canoe Creek Boat Landing (ADCNR).

About this water

An 11,235-acre Alabama Power reservoir on the Coosa River, 77.6 miles from Neely Henry Dam up to Weiss Dam, near Gadsden and Ohatchee, Alabama.

Fishing Neely Henry Lake: the full guide

The reservoir

ADCNR says Neely Henry Reservoir covers 11,235 acres and extends 77.6 miles from the dam up to Weiss Dam, near Gadsden and Ohatchee. It is generally a river-run lake that fans out toward the dam. Alabama Power built H. Neely Henry Dam as the first dam of its late-1950s and 1960s Coosa River program, which also produced Weiss, Logan Martin and Bouldin dams.

Bass

ADCNR names largemouth and spotted bass as the most targeted fish. Growth is average for both, but plumpness is close to the top in the state; most largemouth run 12 to 15 inches, and the numbers of spots from 14 to 20 inches remain among the best in Alabama. Neely Henry ranked third statewide in the percentage of successful anglers per trip. Alabama regulations now call the Mobile-drainage spotted bass the Alabama bass.

Crappie and striped bass

ADCNR says white crappie fishing can be good, though most harvestable fish in fall trap netting were 9 to 11 inches, with early spring and fall the best times. Striped bass fishing is best at the headwaters below Weiss Dam during spring runs and into summer during power generation; spring-fed creeks such as Ohatchee and Cane creeks hold many stripers in summer, and fish over seven pounds are caught.

Public access

Alabama Power lists Tillison's Bend Boat Ramp, Ten Islands Historic Park, a day-use park near the dam with a ramp, swimming, bank fishing and a nature trail, and two tailrace fishing piers below Neely Henry Dam. ADCNR opened the Canoe Creek Boat Landing in St. Clair County, off Byrd Lane near Rainbow City, large enough for most local and regional tournaments.

Common questions

How good is the spotted bass fishing?

ADCNR says the numbers of spotted bass from 14 to 20 inches continue to be among the best in the state, and both bass species are among the plumpest in Alabama.

Where are the striped bass?

ADCNR points to the headwaters below Weiss Dam in spring and during summer generation, and to spring-fed creeks such as Ohatchee and Cane creeks in summer.

What is the crappie size limit?

Nine inches, with a daily limit of 30, under Alabama's statewide rule.

Is fishing good at Neely Henry 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

Weiss Lake30 miLogan Martin Lake34 miLake Guntersville41 miLay Lake51 miTallapoosa River61 miLewis Smith Lake63 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 02400496 β€” COOSA RIVER AT GADSDEN STEAM PLANT NR GADSDEN, AL
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 20:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 33.9000, -86.0500 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 5, 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 5, 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.