AlabamaFishing Atlas
Yates Dam on the Tallapoosa River, Alabama, as seen from Thurlow Dam, 1996

Yates Dam Generation Schedule & Yates Lake Water Level

Yates Lake was at 342.72 ft as of Nov 13, 8:00 AM CST. Yates Dam: ○ not generating.

Photo: Mike Cline · Public Domain
Yates Lake and the other Tallapoosa River lakes
4 lakes. Tap a pin to open the lake.
Lake locations: Atlas lake records. Map tiles © OpenFreeMap / OpenStreetMap contributors.
Pool level
342.72 ft
Read Nov 13, 8:00 AM CST
Vs. this date last year
Same as last year (within 0.05 ft)
Last year: 342.74 ft (Nov 13, 8:00 AM CST, 2025)
Running water now?
Not generating
Read Nov 13, 8:00 AM CST
Total release below dam
0 cfs
Read Nov 13, 8:00 AM CST
Tailwater
286.97 ft
Read Nov 13, 8:00 AM CST

When does Yates Dam usually run?

Over the last 7 days the powerhouse was turning in 112 of 164 hourly readings, peaking at 5,808 cfs. It ran most often 1 AM–2 AM, 5 AM–7 AM, 10 AM–11 PM Central (on at least 4 of 7 days).

  • ● Powerhouse generating (cfs)
  • Empty gap = ○ not generating
05k10kSat Nov 7Sun Nov 8Mon Nov 9Tue Nov 10Wed Nov 11Thu Nov 12cfs
One bar per hourly reading, Central time. Dashed lines mark midnight. Peak in this window: 5,808 cfs.

That’s last week’s pattern, not a promise. Alabama Power posts tentative generation schedules on its lake pages at apcshorelines.com, and those can change with rain and power demand.

Last 30 days: this year vs. last year

Over the last 30 days the pool ranged from 341.69 to 343.67 ft. The Corps feed carries no guide-curve series for this lake, so there is no target line.

  • This year (solid)
  • Same dates last year (dashed)
341342343344345Oct 16Oct 23Oct 30Nov 6Nov 13ft
Pool elevation in feet above mean sea level, last 30 days. Last year’s line is the same calendar dates one year earlier.

Reading the water on Yates Lake

If you fish below Yates Dam or up the Tallapoosa River arms, the powerhousenumber is the one to watch. Moving water pulls bait and sets fish up on current breaks; slack water can make a tailrace go quiet. The pool level tells you the rest — how much water is over the shallow cover, and whether that ramp you like still has enough at the end of it.

Full lake guide: Yates Lake fishing, structure and seasons. Launching? Find a boat ramp. Every lake on one board: Alabama lake levels.

Other Tallapoosa River lakes: Lake Wedowee (R.L. Harris) · Lake Martin · Thurlow Lake

Data source

Pool, guide-curve, powerhouse, spillway, release and tailwater numbers come straight from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District CWMS feed, where Alabama Power reports hourly readings.This page re-checks the feed every 15 minutes; readings usually land an hour or two after they are taken. A reading older than 3 hours is marked stale. Elevations are feet above mean sea level; flows are cubic feet per second (cfs). Page checked Nov 13, 9:43 AM CST.