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| Key Feature Homepage Stories |
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| The Sipsey Fork, Alabama’s Only Tailwater Trout Experience |
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| By David Cannon |
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Originally published in the June 2009 issue of AON
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The tailrace below Lewis Smith Lake stays chilly enough for trout year-round, and with stockings of rainbow trout every other month, even a beginning fly caster can catch some fish. Of course bait or spinners are deadly on these fish, as well.
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Alabama may not be known for its trout-fishing opportunities, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have them. In fact, you can catch rainbow trout in the Sipsey Fork tailwater year-round. And, while “Rainbows” and “Alabama” aren’t generally thought of as having too much to do with one another, to Brandon Jackson, owner of the Riverside Fly Shop in Jasper and guide on the Sipsey Fork tailwater, this uncommon pairing of words means a lot.
The story goes that in the 1960s, lake trout that lived in Lewis Smith Lake in the north-central area of the state started showing up below the lake’s enormous earthen dam in the chilly tailwater section of the Sipsey Fork, a 40- to 75-foot-wide feeder river of the Black Warrior watershed. Apparently the occasional lake trout would pass through the dam and into the tailwater and, because of the ideal temperatures for trout and the cleanliness of the water, these fish hung around and started being caught by local anglers. The state took notice of this and began a rainbow trout-stocking program from the then newly opened Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery that has continued ever since.
Just as rainbow trout in Alabama are uncommon, so is this trout fishery. Generally speaking, fishing for trout conjures mental images of casting to fish in a rocky, swiftly moving river with plenty of current. On the contrary, “The water here is crystal-clear and is like a slow-moving lake,” Brandon said.
Many anglers would shudder at the thought of fishing such water for trout — a fish infamous for its keen eyesight — as the creeping current gives the fish all the time they need to thoroughly inspect any offering. Fortunately, however, the Sipsey Fork is stocked just below the dam seven times a year, which translates to naïve rainbows being introduced to these waters during the third or fourth weeks of each odd-numbered month from January to November, with an additional spring stocking in April. Based on it taking the trout about two weeks to “wise-up,” this means there are at least 14 weeks each year when “uneducated” trout swim this section.
The 3,500 to 4,000 trout that are placed here each stocking slowly separate themselves by moving downstream. Brandon likes to concentrate his fishing efforts on the first 4 to 5 miles of water below the dam, which consistently stays in the 56- to 58-degree temperature range — perfect for trout. The Sipsey’s source comes from the lake’s depths — about 90 feet below the surface of Smith Lake, in this case — so there isn’t much variance in water temperature throughout the year.
“But,” Brandon said, “trout will inhabit about 50 miles of the river from the Lewis Smith Dam all the way downstream to the Gorgas Steam Plant, a coal-burning power plant that is cooled by the river water.”
Keep in mind, though, the farther downriver you move, the lower the concentration will be of rainbows and the more difficult it will be to target them.
The warmer months of June, July, August and September bring with them an abundance of trout food known to the trout-fishing world as “terrestrials,” or insects that are born on and spend most of their lives on land. Whereas trout usually feed on aquatic insects such as mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies and midges, summertime means a change in diet to the surplus of terrestrials such as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles and, in particular, ants.
During a recent guided trip, Brandon and his client parked at the pumping station about a mile-and-a-half below the dam and hiked to a favorite spot of Brandon’s on the river. The client had never cast a fly rod before but wanted to give it a try. And, as Brandon was beginning to make a few quick demonstration casts with a Sipsey-perfect 9-foot, four-weight fly rod, his first cast resulted in a fish taking his fly. After releasing the rainbow, Brandon worked with his customer until he was comfortable enough casting the fly rod to actually begin fishing with this new tool.
It was a bit early to really focus on fishing terrestrial flies only, so Brandon rigged the rod with a nymph, a sub-surface fly, and a strike indicator, fly fishing’s version of a bobber, and spent about 20 minutes giving his client some casting instruction and a lesson on how to naturally drift a fly at the same speed as the river’s flow. On his customer’s second cast and drift on his own, he landed a 10-inch rainbow. Brandon said the typical trout here is from 10 to 13 inches, but 5-pounders are caught here each year. Not only was the angler’s first fish on a fly rod, it was also the very first trout of his life — a memorable experience to say the least.
By the end of the day, Brandon’s customer had caught and released quite a few trout and was making 30- to 35-foot casts.
“He was also expecting fish on every cast and drift that looked right,” Brandon said.
Brandon said no matter what time of year you’re fishing this section of the river, the water is almost always going to be ultra clear. Fishing when the sun is behind the tree line in the mornings and evenings is best, as a high overhead sun will make even the thinnest of monofilament lines stand out to the fish.
If you find yourself fishing the Sipsey Fork during the spring, fall or winter and want to fish with a nymph-indicator setup, try rigging one the way Brandon does.
Fishing with a 9-foot leader tapered down to size 6X (line that is about 3.5-lb. test), place the strike indicator about 2 or 3 feet above your first fly. Brandon recommends tying on a size 16 or 18 Lightning Bug nymph, Prince nymph or Pheasant Tail nymph. Tie another 8 to 10 inches of 7X tippet (approximately 2.5–lb. test) to the bend of the nymph’s hook, and attach a tiny size 18, 20 or 22 Zebra Midge to serve as a dropper fly.
Also keep in mind that, like other tailwater fisheries, the Sipsey Fork below the dam is predominantly a midge fishery. This means choosing and using very small midge imitations in sizes 18 to 22 can prove to be very effective. Different types of caddis can also be seen throughout much of the year, as well. And, stoneflies are common in the winter while in the summer — aside from terrestrials — mayflies can be seen fluttering above the surface.
The key to getting in on an aquatic insect hatch is to fish the river after a couple of days of no water releases by Alabama Power. The controlled “flooding” the river’s inhabitants experience during a water release can really throw things out of whack for the aquatic insects. But, after only a couple of days of normal water levels, the bugs get back in the swing of things and begin behaving as they would on a freestone river, and a dry-fly hatch is possible under the right conditions.
Looking forward through the summer months, though, it’s best to concentrate on the terrestrial insects, as that’s exactly what the fish will be doing.
“Since the Sipsey is a midge fishery,” Brandon said, “we’re used to using size 20s and 22s for most of the year. The great thing about the summer and fishing terrestrials is that we get to go up to flies in the 14 to 16 range, and sometimes even larger.”
Fishing big dry flies is fun, and the largest of insects you’ll be trying to imitate are the grasshoppers, which can be up to about a size 10 fly. Of course, the best way to know what size hoppers to fish is to base your fly on the natural hoppers you see near the river.
“Kick the grass a couple of times on the way to the river, and try to match whatever size hoppers you see from that,” Brandon said.
The biggest hoppers you’ll see on the river will typically be there in the middle of the summer. During late spring and early summer and again during late summer and early fall, the hoppers will be a bit smaller than the size 10 varieties available in the heat of the year.
Brandon likes tying on a few different types of hopper patterns, such as Dave’s Hopper and the Riverside Hopper.
“But I like the Foam Hopper the best because it never sinks, and it’s easy to tie a dropper nymph to it, which I usually do,” Brandon added.
Also, windy days are naturally the best days to fish with grasshopper patterns, as the wind will more frequently carry hoppers into the river.
Paying attention to the terrestrial insects attached to the limbs of trees overhanging the river is also a sure-fire way of finding success with the trout during the summer months. A beetle is another big meal for a trout that it will have a hard time refusing if a close imitation to the real thing is presented with a natural drift. A size 14 or 16 Hot-Spot Beetle or Crow’s Beetle are both proven performers for fooling Sipsey Fork rainbows.
When the terrestrial bite is on, though, the ants definitely take center-stage on most days.
Typically, Alabama Power leaves the generators off most weekday mornings throughout the summer. The wet banks left by the dropping water attracts ants that love building their mounds on soggy land. The generators are usually turned back on in the afternoons to meet the increased summer energy demand, and some of the ants are pulled off the banks and into the water. The main event usually happens around midnight when the generators are turned off. As the water continues to recede well into the morning, many more of the ants are caught in the river and become a great food source for the rainbows.
To take full advantage of the ants being pulled off the banks, pick up a local pattern designed by a then-13-year-old local girl. The ant imitation is known as Cassie’s Ant and has a reputation for being the most effective ant pattern for the Sipsey tailwater.
“It’s the best,” Brandon said, “but any good ant pattern in a size 14 through 18 works.”
Other good patterns include the Transparent Ant and Dave’s Carpenter Ant.
Drift an ant pattern downstream of any bank that shows signs of having ant beds on it. It’s important to remember that ants generally stay sunk once they have gone below the surface tension of the water, particularly since they don’t have wings to keep them afloat or to bring them back to the surface once they have gone below. So, getting your ant fly below the water’s surface is usually a good idea.
The two generators the dam contains are usually left off during summer weekends, so this scenario with the ants on the banks won’t be a possibility for the weekend warriors, unless of course you can slip away during a weekday. But, when a lot of rain has fallen, as it has recently, the normal schedule is abandoned in favor of one that can keep the lakes along the rivers at the proper levels.
If going after trout with ultra-light spinning gear is your thing, Rooster Tails, salmon eggs and PowerBait are deadly for trout in the Sipsey like they are virtually anywhere else. Brandon said a popular spot for spin fishermen is right below the pumping station. There’s a large pool there where the trout congregate.
“The deeper holes have a higher concentration of fish, and the fish know that when food comes along, either they’re going to get it or another fish will, and that will improve your chances,” Brandon said.
Remember that water releases from Smith Dam can be dangerous for wading anglers, even if only one of the two generators is running. For water release information, visit <lakes.alabamapower.com>, and select the Black Warrior River and Smith Lake in the tabs provided.
To schedule a guided trip or to visit the Riverside Fly Shop, visit <www.RiversideFlyShop.com> or call (256) 287-9582.
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