Aliceville Lake Fishing: Tom Bevill Pool on the Tombigbee
USACE Mobile District 8,300-acre Tombigbee River impoundment upstream of Gainesville Lake — completed 1979 on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, quiet big-catfish and cypress-cover largemouth water.
Aliceville Lake Alabama fishing covers 8,300 Tombigbee River acres in Pickens and Sumter counties — USACE Tom Bevill Lock & Dam pool (formerly Aliceville L&D), built 1979, worked for largemouth bass, crappie, and big blue catfish on the Ten-Tom Waterway.
1979 (USACE Mobile District — Tom Bevill Lock & Dam, formerly Aliceville L&D)
River System
Tombigbee River
Access
Public
01 · Overview
The Water
Aliceville Lake sits on the Tombigbee River immediately upstream of the Tom Bevill Lock & Dam — originally named Aliceville Lock & Dam, renamed for U.S. Congressman Tom Bevill. The Army Corps of Engineers began construction in March 1974 and completed the pool in December 1979 as a core link in the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. At 8,300 acres, Aliceville is the largest of the three Tombigbee Central-Alabama pools (Aliceville, Gainesville, Demopolis), and it runs primarily through Pickens County on the east bank and Sumter County on the west. Cypress cover, old river oxbows, and tributary creek arms off the main navigation channel define the fishery. Largemouth bass, crappie, blue and flathead catfish all hold here; Pickensville town and the USACE Tom Bevill Visitor Center sit at the downstream end of the pool, making Pickensville the angler basecamp. Aliceville Lake sees much less tournament pressure than the Tennessee River chain and is popular with Pickens County locals who know the oxbows.
“Aliceville Lake holds fish in patterns you can set your watch to. The bite isn't a secret — it's what most fishermen don't know about where the grass thins onto a hard ledge.”
Alabama Fishing Atlas Editorial
Fishing Aliceville Lake on video
Alabama's State Public Fishing Lakes Now Open — ADCNR
ADCNR
02 · Bite Windows
Solunar Forecast
Major and minor solunar windows shift daily with the moon’s transit. Fish the windows above, or check the Seasonal Playbook below for Aliceville Lake’s current pattern.
03 · The Calendar
Seasonal Playbook
March through May is the prime window on Aliceville Lake. Water climbs from the upper 50s into the 70s, pre-spawn largemouth stage on oxbow mouths and cypress-edge points along the Pickens County east side, and a jerkbait on ten-second pauses covers the staging fish. Crappie stack on cypress stumps and brush in 6-12 feet in the Sipsey River confluence and in Sumter County creek arms — minnows and 1/16-ounce jigs catch fish on every brush pile. Late April into May, largemouth spawn in quiet backwater bayous on the Sumter County side. When USACE runs water through Tom Bevill Dam at the lower end, the dam forebay stacks blue catfish and an occasional hybrid striper — cut shad on the bottom and swimbait on current seams produce the best winter-transition fish. Bluegill move onto shallow flats for May full-moon spawning; cricket and red worm on 3-to-6-foot flats catch stringers.
June through August Aliceville sets up on cypress shade and the quiet Ten-Tom calm. Largemouth hang tight to cypress trunks and shaded laydowns in the oxbow channels — a green-pumpkin tube flipped to cypress, a wacky Senko on cypress stumps, a frog on the lily pad mats in Sumter County bayous. Blue catfish on cut shad on the main Tombigbee channel oxbows hold through the hottest months — the 15-to-30-foot channel bends produce the biggest cats of the year. Night fishing under the Tom Bevill Bridge lights pulls big flatheads when the day-time bite collapses. First-light topwater on oxbow mouths is the bass answer before the heat builds, and late-evening bluegill action on crickets stays strong through August. Barge traffic dictates the pace — stay off the navigation cut midday when traffic is heaviest.
September through November shad migrate out of the main Tombigbee into the oxbows and tributary arms, and every species follows the bait. Largemouth chase shad on cypress-edge points, laydowns, and secondary creek-mouth structure — a lipless crankbait ripped through sparse grass, a ChatterBait in shad color, a walking bait on calm mornings over oxbow mouths. Crappie reload on brush and timber in 8-14 feet in the Sipsey confluence and Sumter bayous; long-line small jigs to find the school then fish vertical once marked. Blue cats continue on cut shad along the main channel. By mid-November the grass thins, the cooler water pushes baitfish deeper, and a slow-rolled spinnerbait becomes the late-fall largemouth answer on main-channel oxbow cypress edges. The Tom Bevill Dam forebay stacks catfish on the first real cold fronts, and the Pickensville shoreline cypress edges hold shad-chasing bass right through Thanksgiving weekend.
December through February Aliceville empties out and the locals who know it work the deep water. Largemouth group on the Tom Bevill dam forebay and the deepest main-channel oxbow cypress — a suspending jerkbait on long pauses on sunny afternoons above 48°F, a hair jig vertical on the dam rock, an Alabama rig on the main-channel ledges when surface drops into the 40s. Crappie stack on deep brush in 15-22 feet in the tributary arms. Blue and flathead catfish on cut shad along the main Tombigbee channel oxbows stay reliable all winter — drift-rig the 20-to-40-foot channel bends for the biggest cats of the year. Current matters more than calendar dates on Aliceville — when the Tom Bevill Dam below releases water, the bite turns on, and when water is slack the fish scatter.
12-month calendar
Tap any month to expand pattern notes. Legend: B = Bass · C = Crappie · S = Striper · Cf = Catfish.
Tournament pros have been decoding Aliceville Lake for five decades. Every tip on this card is cited to the original weigh-in recap or angler interview — no paraphrased fluff, no invented quotes.
2025 · summer
USACE Mobile District — Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway record
Tom Bevill Lock & Dam fact sheet
The Tom Bevill Lock and Dam, formerly known as Aliceville Lock and Dam, was constructed between March 1974 and December 1979, and it impounds Aliceville Lake, which covers approximately 8,300 acres.
The pattern: Aliceville is the largest of the three Central-Alabama Tombigbee pools at 8,300 acres. Fish the pre-navigation river oxbows, not the barge cut. Pickensville at the lower end is the default base — USACE ramp, campground, and Tom Bevill Visitor Center all within a quarter-mile of each other.
2023 · summer
Reed Montgomery — Reeds Guide Service
Tombigbee chain summer ledge pattern
The July pattern on Demopolis, Aliceville and Gainesville is the same: find an old river ledge where erosion has created a 6-to-8-foot hump and where stumps still hold in the firm bottom.
The pattern: Mid-summer Aliceville is the stump-and-hump game. Crank the old Tombigbee ledges with a Rapala DT-6 or DT-10, Carolina-rig a 10-inch worm on a 4-foot leader, or throw a Lucky Craft Sammy walk-the-dog at first light over the stump field. Reed Montgomery confirms the same pattern works on all three Tombigbee Central-Alabama pools.
2024 · fall
ADCNR Outdoor Alabama — Aliceville Reservoir
Aliceville Reservoir fishery profile
Aliceville Reservoir offers bass, crappie, catfish, and hybrid striped bass fishing on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway's 8,300-acre pool at the Tom Bevill Lock & Dam.
The pattern: Fall shad migration is the single best Aliceville window. Bass school on oxbow mouths; crappie reload on tributary brush; catfish stack in the dam forebay. An October trip to Pickensville can produce a mixed-bag stringer that would take a full week on a more-pressured lake.
05 · Hire Local
Fishing Guides
On video
Fishing Aliceville Lake on video
On the water
Alabama's State Public Fishing Lakes Now Open — ADCNR
Source: YouTube, ADCNR
06 · Planning the Trip
Stay & Eat
Where to Stay on Aliceville Lake
Lodging near the ramps. Some links below are affiliate partnerships (Booking.com, VRBO) — they cost you nothing extra and help keep the Atlas free. Full disclosure →
Voyager Inn Motel
hotel
150 Mobile Rd NW, Aliceville, AL 35442
Independent motel in Aliceville — closest lodging to the Aliceville Lake ramps and the Sipsey River confluence. Budget traveler option.
Primary USACE campground on the Ten-Tom pool at Pickensville — RV hookups, tent sites, boat ramp, adjacent Tom Bevill Visitor Center. Default Aliceville Lake camping base.
USACE Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway visitor center — antebellum-style building, U.S. Snagboat Montgomery paddlewheel on display, free admission. Essential Aliceville-area family stop.
Small-town museum with a nationally-significant WWII German POW camp exhibit — Camp Aliceville operated 1942-1945, one of the largest POW camps in the US.
10 black bass daily aggregate (Alabama statewide) · 12-inch minimum on largemouth and smallmouth (Alabama statewide)
Crappie
30 per day · 9-inch minimum (Alabama statewide)
Striped/White Bass
Statewide temperate-bass limits apply
Aliceville Lake is a USACE Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway navigation pool. Follow posted no-wake zones near Tom Bevill Lock & Dam. Barge traffic has right-of-way — stay off the navigation channel centerline when tow boats are running.
Alabama fishing license required for all anglers 16 and older (residents and non-residents). Always verify current rules before your trip.
Aliceville Lake is on the Tombigbee River in west-central Alabama, spanning Pickens County (east bank) and Sumter County (west bank). It is the USACE pool impounded by Tom Bevill Lock & Dam, upstream of Gainesville Lake and part of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The lake covers 8,300 acres and is the largest of the three Tombigbee Central-Alabama pools.
Aliceville Lake holds largemouth bass, crappie, blue and flathead catfish, hybrid striped bass, bluegill, and redear sunfish. Old Tombigbee River oxbows and cypress-lined tributary arms hold bass and crappie; the main navigation channel and Tom Bevill Dam forebay produce the biggest catfish.
The Army Corps of Engineers began construction of Aliceville Lock & Dam (now Tom Bevill) in March 1974 and completed the pool in December 1979. The dam was renamed for Congressman Tom Bevill, longtime champion of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
Pickensville USACE Boat Ramp is the primary launch — adjacent to the Tom Bevill Visitor Center and Pickensville Campground. The City of Aliceville Public Access also provides upper-pool access to the Sipsey River confluence area.
Yes — all anglers 16 and older need an Alabama fishing license regardless of residency. Purchase online at ADCNR's Outdoor Alabama portal or at local tackle shops.
Fishing regulations, water conditions, and seasonal patterns change. Alabama Fishing Atlas provides informational content only. Verify all regulations with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources before fishing, keeping any fish, or launching watercraft. We are not liable for decisions made based on information published here. Full disclaimer →
Citation
Data sources
—USACE Mobile District — Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (https://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Recreation/Tennessee-Tombigbee-Waterway-Tenn-Tom/)
—Wikipedia — Tom Bevill Lock and Dam (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Bevill_Lock_and_Dam): formerly Aliceville L&D, 8,300-acre pool, built 1974-1979
—Hickory Ridge Studio — Stories of the South: Tom Bevill Lock and Dam (http://hickoryridgestudio49.blogspot.com/2015/01/stories-of-south-tom-bevill-lock-and-dam.html)
—USACE — Tom Bevill Visitor Center Pickensville (https://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Recreation/Tennessee-Tombigbee-Waterway-Tenn-Tom/Tom-Bevill-Visitor-Center/)
—Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) — Outdoor Alabama (https://www.outdooralabama.com/)
