Lake Martin is 44,000 acres of clear, deep Tallapoosa River water — the South's oldest commercial hydroelectric reservoir (1926) and a spotted bass factory that runs from Alexander City down to the Kowaliga bridges.
Alabama Power closed the Tallapoosa River with Martin Dam in January 1926, and for 40 years the reservoir was one of the quietest fishing lakes in the South. That changed when tournament trails discovered the clear-water spotted bass bite in the 1980s. Today Lake Martin is the state's premier spotted bass fishery — 44,000 acres of deep, clean water with rocky bluff walls, submerged humps, and stained creek arms that push into the Dadeville and Kowaliga ends. Largemouth hold in the shallower creeks. Spotted bass stack on main-lake structure in 15-35 feet year-round. Striped bass get stocked by ADCNR and show up open-water on shad schools. The Russell Lands development and Children's Harbor have made the south end a resort destination, but the upper lake above Martin Dam Road stays working-fisherman quiet. Water clarity runs 8-15 feet on the main lake — bring fluorocarbon and a jerkbait.
“Lake Martin 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 Lake Martin on video
Highlights: Day 2 of Bassmaster ELITE at Lake Martin
Bassmaster
Lake Martin Boat Ramp
Tony Goss
02 · Live
Today's Bite
—
Bite Score
Unavailable
Based on water temp, barometric pressure, moon phase & solunar window.
Major and minor solunar windows shift daily with the moon’s transit. Fish the windows above, or check the Seasonal Playbook below for Lake Martin’s current pattern.
USGS pool level: Gauge 02417500 — current readings direct from USGS.
03 · The Calendar
Seasonal Playbook
March through May on Martin is the shallowest window of the year — and the only time clear-water fish get aggressive in the dirty water up the creeks. Water climbs from the mid-50s into the 70s. Pre-spawn: jerkbaits on secondary points in 8-12 feet, walking baits at dawn on rocky banks, suspending baits on bluff walls when the wind lays down. Spawn: beds show at the Parker Creek and Blue Creek pockets in late March through mid-April — drop-shot, Ned rig, or wacky worm on sight-fished fish. Post-spawn: the Kowaliga and Sandy Creek arms fill with largemouth chasing shad and bream, and a bone-colored popper in the shallow stained water outfishes anything else. Spotted bass move to outside breaks of 10-15 feet after the spawn and eat swimbaits and underspins all day — a 3-inch swimbait on a 1/4-ounce head is the Martin spring staple.
June through August Martin does what clear-water reservoirs do — the fish go deep and suspend. Spotted bass concentrate on main-lake humps, long points, and bluff walls in 18-35 feet. Shaky heads, underspins, and the drop-shot are the working presentations. Pull a finesse worm on a jig head slowly down a stair-step bluff and you'll get bit. Largemouth hold tighter to cover in the creeks, especially bucket-marker wood and boathouses — skip a wacky worm in the shade and cover water. Night fishing peaks in July and August. Run a Jitterbug or a dark single-Colorado spinnerbait along the bluff walls from 10 PM to 2 AM and the big largemouth show up. Striped bass school on shad all over the main lake — bird activity is your guide. The water is low-wake enforced after 6 PM on summer weekends.
September into November the main-lake shad migration sets Martin alive. Water drops through the 70s into the 60s, shad push from deep main-lake water into creek arms, and spotted bass run with them. Creek mouths at Parker, Blue, Hillabee, and Sandy Creek produce all day. Swimbaits, underspins, and topwater walking baits work calm mornings. The fall schooling bite is the year's best topwater window — keep a Super Spook or Fluke on deck and watch for fish busting on the surface near main-lake humps. Largemouth go to the flooded grass and willow banks in Elkahatchee and Kowaliga as those creeks warm slightly ahead of the main body. By mid-October the clear water stains up in the creeks and a medium-diving crankbait in shad or chartreuse catches three-pounders on shallow grass transitions. Tournament trails thin out after October and weekends go back to the locals.
December through February Martin is the clearest-water winter fishery in Alabama. The main lake holds 8-12 foot visibility and spotted bass pile up on the deep rocky structure — 25-45 feet on bluff walls, channel swings, and the Kowaliga bridges. Drop-shot with a small morning-dawn or shad-colored worm is the winter bread-and-butter. A jerkbait on an extra-long pause will produce on the bluff walls — count it down, move it twice, wait. Largemouth concentrate on the few wind-driven rocky banks in the main creeks and eat jig-and-pig worked slowly. Stripers run the main channel below Cherokee Ridge on shad — blade baits and spoons in 30-50 feet catch them. The Martin Dam tailrace holds scattered stripers and catfish in the deeper holes. This is the slowest-paced season but clear winter water means sight-fished bites are possible on bright afternoons.
12-month calendar
Tap any month to expand pattern notes. Legend: B = Bass · C = Crappie · S = Striper · Cf = Catfish.
Tournament pros have been decoding Lake Martin 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.
2024 · fall
Bobby Bakewell
St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Martin
I started running it and I started getting bit, so it worked out. I'm not a buzzbait guy. It was fun, though. I threw a Whopper Plopper and I just didn't get many bites, and the buzzbait, I got more bites with it. So, I just ran with it. Ninety eight percent of the bass I caught bit within three cranks of the reel handle.
The pattern: Bakewell's 35-15 comeback win at Lake Martin came on a ½-oz Greenfish Tackle Toad Toter buzzbait reeled along shallow seawalls in three feet of water or less, on rocky bottom, with the shade line becoming the key as the sun rose. Ninety-eight percent of his bites came inside three cranks of the handle — a textbook reaction-strike pattern on clear-water Martin.
2024 · fall
Dakota Ebare
St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Martin
Points seemed to be key, no matter what you were doing. Whether you were fishing out deep or in 6 inches of water, points were key. Some had wood mixed in, others had brush and rockpiles. The bass were definitely concentrating on those points.
The pattern: Ebare's third-place Open bag reinforces the Martin point pattern — fish stack on points in six inches or sixty feet, shallow or deep, and the wood/brush/rockpile overlay is what filters the better fish. Best two Day-3 bass came off a rockpile on a glidebait and a jig paired with a Strike King Scounbug.
2026 · winter
Fisher Anaya
Lippert Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin
Staying my distance away from them was important. I tried to hit them from 50 to 70 feet away to give them time to see the bait and not the boat.
The pattern: Anaya's rookie-win 54-6 came on the south end in the cleanest water, slow-rolling a Rapala CrushCity Freeloader on a 1/4-oz jighead across pre-spawn rock piles in less than 10 feet. His spacing rule — 50 to 70 feet off the fish — is the single most copyable detail of the pattern on clear-water Martin.
2026 · winter
Kyle Patrick (pre-tournament read)
Lippert Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin
What stands out about this place is the randomness of it all, and by that, I mean someone is going to win and be lucky. Somebody is going to key on spotted bass, go shallow, and catch a 5-pound largemouth, randomly and out of nowhere. That one 5-pound largemouth could take them all the way, given the universal low weight average of the spotted bass.
The pattern: Patrick's pre-event call on Martin held up — Anaya's winning bag leaned on spotted bass but a kicker largemouth on any day can swing an entire tournament here. The read explains why Martin rewards mixed-bag anglers over pure spotted-bass specialists.
2018 · winter
Takahiro Omori
Bassmaster Elite Series — Lake Martin Opener
I thought I might find some big spots because the current was so strong. I was thinking it might be like Lay Lake or the Alabama River… I made a couple casts on that one point and caught fish on both of them. They were both like 2-pounders. I never caught anything like that on the first day of practice.
The pattern: Omori's 59-8 wire-to-wire Elite win on Martin came on a Lucky Craft 1.5 square-bill in T.O. craw fished on a single two-boat-length creek mouth way up the Tallapoosa — water 2-5 feet deep, current-formed eddy on the point. He won by 7 pounds by conserving the spot on Days 1-3, cranking under an hour each morning and running downriver to flip up a couple extras.
Highlights: Day 2 of Bassmaster ELITE at Lake Martin
Source: YouTube, Bassmaster
Around the lake
Lake Martin Boat Ramp
Source: YouTube, Tony Goss
06 · Planning the Trip
Stay & Eat
Where to Stay on Lake Martin
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 →
Wind Creek State Park Lodge & Cabins
state park-lodge · Alexander City
4325 Alabama Highway 128, Alexander City, AL 35010. On-park cabins, 586-site campground, large fishing pier, beach, and store. Largest state-park camping footprint in Alabama. Six-lane boat ramp on site.
Russell Cabins at Kowaliga — upscale south-end rentals inside the Russell Lands development, walking distance to SpringHouse dining and Catherine's Market.
4325 Alabama Highway 128, Alexander City, AL 35010. Phone (256) 329-0845. 1,444-acre park — the largest state-park camping footprint in Alabama. Books 11 months out for holiday weekends. Park hours 7 AM to dark; reservation office Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM.
Historic south-end spot open since the 1940s — Hank Williams wrote the song here. Walk-ins only, no reservations. Wed-Thu 11AM-9PM, Fri-Sat 11AM-9PM, Sun 11AM-8PM.
Cecil's Public House
243 Green Street, Alexander City, AL 35010 · American, pub
Downtown Alexander City post-tournament pub — listed among 100 Places to Eat in Alabama Before You Die. Historic former doctor's office near First United Methodist Church.
1,444-acre lakeside state park — 586-site campground (the largest state-park campground in Alabama), 7 camping cabins, swimming beach, marina with boat rentals, fishing pier, 6-lane boat ramp, zipline canopy tours, putt-putt golf, horseback riding, hiking trails, and Creem@The Creek dining. Park hours 7 AM to dark.
Lake Martin campus retreat facility in Alexander City — serves seriously ill children and their families. Annual charity events and auctions on the lake support the organization. Willow Point Golf & Country Club hosts the annual Friends of Children's Harbor Auction.
Creek War battlefield on the Tallapoosa River — thirty minutes from Alexander City. Site of the 1814 Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the decisive engagement of the Creek War. Free admission.
South-end Russell Lands village with SpringHouse fine dining, Catherine's Market deli/grab-and-go, the Stable, and trailheads. Public parking and open to day visitors.
Championship golf course inside the Russell Lands on Lake Martin development — primary off-water amenity for fishing trips where the non-angler wants 18 holes.
James Beard-nominated chef Rob McDaniel's flagship Southern restaurant at Russell Crossroads — standing reservation target for weigh-in night dinners on Martin.
Russell Crossroads deli and market — grab-and-go biscuits, sandwiches, and coffee for dawn launches on the south end.
Around Lake Martin
Fuel closest to Wind Creek State Park is the Shell on Highway 63 — 24-hour pump. Coffee at 5:30 AM: Kowaliga Restaurant opens early on the south end; Cecil's Public House in Alexander City serves biscuits from six. Chuck's Marina at 237 Marina Rd in Dadeville (256-825-7733) holds tackle, live bait, on-water gasoline, and a full-service ramp; Chuckwalla's Pizzeria and WineStoppers wine bar share the dock April through September. Nearest ER is Russell Medical Center in Alexander City; closest trauma care is Baptist South in Montgomery, fifty minutes south. Dinner after weigh-in: SpringHouse at Russell Crossroads from James Beard-nominated chef Rob McDaniel; Kowaliga Restaurant is the historic lakefront play (open since the 1940s — Hank Williams wrote the song here); Niffer's Place at 7500 Highway 49 S (256-825-5950) works for casual burgers. Catherine's Market in Alexander City packs grab-and-go biscuits for dawn launches. Rain-day backup: Horseshoe Bend National Military Park thirty minutes away, or Wind Creek State Park trails.
07 · Launch Day
On the Water
Boat ramps
concrete rampOpen
Wind Creek State Park Ramp
Alexander City
Parking
300 spots
Fee
$4
Largest ramp on Martin. Six launch lanes, six docks, 300 trailer parking spaces, paved parking, restrooms, handicap accessible, security lights, courtesy docks. Phone (256) 329-0845.
Spotted bass and clear water. Martin is Alabama's most pressured spotted-bass tournament lake and one of the deepest impoundments in the state. Water clarity averages 8-15 feet on the main lake year-round.
March through early May for pre-spawn and spawning largemouth in the creeks, plus October for the main-lake shad migration and topwater schooling bite. Summer is deep-structure spotted bass, and winter is jerkbait and drop-shot on bluff walls for anglers who like slow clear-water fishing.
Wind Creek State Park is the largest and most amenity-rich — restrooms, parking, camping on-site. Kowaliga Bridge and Madwind Creek serve the south and east; Chuck's Marina is the downtown Alexander City option. All main ramps are public.
Yes. ADCNR creel surveys show the majority of bass weighed from Martin are Coosa-strain spotted bass, with the rest largemouth and a rare smallmouth from the tailrace. Tournament bags skew heavily spotted.
Yes — idle-speed hours are enforced from sunset to sunrise across the main lake, with additional low-wake zones around Children's Harbor, Russell Lands, and marinas. Alabama Power publishes zone maps annually.
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 →
—Alabama Power Company — Tallapoosa River Reservoir Information
—USGS Water Data — Lake Martin Reservoir (Tallapoosa River) Near Eclectic, AL, gauge 02417500 (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/02417500/)
—Auburn University Fisheries Research — spotted bass studies
—Bassmaster Open and Alabama Bass Trail tournament archive
—Russell Lands on Lake Martin — Russell Crossroads recreation and dining
—Wind Creek State Park (Alabama State Parks) — campground and boat ramp facility data
