Fishing

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Black Warrior Riverkeeper encourages citizens to go outdoors and enjoy fishing. Not only is fishing a great sport and hobby, it gets folks out on streams, rivers, and lakes they will want to help protect. Alabama’s 132,000 miles of rivers & streams boast 332 species of freshwater fishes.  Because of this abundance, there are many fishing opportunities across this great sate.  The Black Warrior River watershed is home to 127 freshwater fish species (Geological Survey of Alabama).  There are some waterbodies, however, where the Alabama Department of Public Health advises that fish be consumed on a limited basis, or not at all.

Alabama Fish Consumption Advisories are available online. For the latest (2022) advisory, click here. Since not all fishermen in Alabama know about fish consumption advisories and this website, Coosa Riverkeeper developed FISH GUIDE, a user-friendly program to make advisories accessible to all who fish in Alabama:

 

View an interactive map of fish consumption advisories in Alabama here:

Spanish translation of Alabama fish consumption information: blackwarriorriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Fish-Guide-FAQ-Reducing-Exposure-FINAL.pdf

With thousands of spotted bass per river mile, the Black Warrior River’s free-flowing Locust Fork is the best all-around fly-fishing river among the Black Warrior’s three major forks (Sipsey, Mulberry and Locust), surpassing its very scenic & biodiverse counterparts in both quality and quantity of fishing.  For fly-fishing gear and info, contact our partners at Deep South Outfitters in Vestavia (205-969-3868), Orvis in Birmingham (205-970-5176), or Riverside Fly Shop in Bremen (256-287-9582).  Black Warrior Riverkeeper is an official Conservation Partner of Orvis.

Comprehensive information about where to fish in Alabama: outdooralabama.com/freshwater-fishing/where-fish-alabama

Dora man catches [world] record striped bass on the Black Warrior River (March 2013 article)

Alabama’s Blue Catfish State Record Shattered (April 2012 article)

For more information about other forms of recreation in the Black Warrior River watershed, visit: blackwarriorriver.org/recreation

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The late Kyle Mabrey with a haul of spotted bass from Holt Lake, was a professional angler and Riverkeeper Advisory Council member. Photo courtesy www.lurenet.com

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Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, with a striped bass from Clear Creek. Photo by Rev. Mark Johnston.

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James Bramlett, who caught the World Record freshwater land-locked striped bass on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River in 2013, seen here during a during a patrol on the Mulberry.    Photo by Nelson Brooke

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