Written by Atlas Editorial · Last updated
Walker County Public Fishing Lake is a 163-acre ADCNR State Public Fishing Lake three miles southeast of Jasper off U.S. 78, stocked with bass, bream, catfish, crappie, hybrid striped bass, and winter rainbow trout.
Walker County Public Fishing Lake sits three miles southeast of Jasper off U.S. Highway 78 down Industrial Parkway — 4227 Walker County Lake Road, 163 surface acres of ADCNR water in the Mulberry Fork / Black Warrior drainage. It is one of 20 Public Fishing Lakes the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division operates under Alabama Code 220-2-.36, and one of the larger in the network. What sets Walker apart is the species mix: on top of largemouth, bluegill, redear, channel catfish, and crappie, Walker stocks hybrid striped bass — the wiper — and runs a put-and-take winter rainbow trout program. Amenities are stronger than the average PFL too: a boat ramp, two ADA-compliant fishing piers, an ADA-compliant pavilion, restrooms, and concessions. Lake managers David Price and Tiffany Terradas: (205) 522-7739. Smith Lake sits twenty-five miles north as the flagship bass destination, and Bankhead National Forest opens up the same direction — Walker PFL is the quiet Jasper-side stop that pairs with the bigger water.
“Walker County Public Fishing 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
Major and minor solunar windows shift daily with the moon’s transit. Fish the windows above, or check the Seasonal Playbook below for Walker County Public Fishing Lake’s current pattern.
February through June is the open window on Walker County PFL — ADCNR runs the lake seven days a week from February 1 through June 30. Bluegill bed on shallow gravel from late April through May and take a cricket or red wiggler under a bobber off the two ADA piers. Redear hit red wigglers a little deeper. Largemouth stage into the upper end in March and spawn through April; work a wacky-rigged Senko, a square-bill, and a small spinnerbait on timber edges. Crappie move into brush and submerged timber in early March; long-line a 1/16-ounce jig, vertical on marked schools. Hybrid striped bass — Walker's signature species — chase shad up the tributary inflow during the spring shad run; a white or chartreuse bucktail or a small swimbait on the creek-channel seam will pick off a fish. Channel catfish turn on past 65°F — chicken liver or nightcrawler on a slip-sinker rig off the pier in late afternoon.
July through August the 163-acre pool warms into the 80s, the ADCNR schedule shifts to Thursday-through-Sunday only on July 1, and the hybrid striper bite becomes the story. Wipers school on shad in the main pool at dawn and dusk — live shiners on a Carolina rig, a topwater popper when fish push bait to the surface, or a white bucktail cast to surface action. Bluegill stay stacked on pier pilings and shoreline brush all summer — a cricket under a small bobber or a black-and-chartreuse beetle spin keeps a rod bent. Largemouth work shade and shoreline wood at first light, then pull off into the deeper main pool through midday; a Texas-rigged worm to shade and a drop-shot on deeper edges cover the pattern. Channel catfish are at their best — nightcrawlers, chicken liver, or cut shad on the bottom off the piers as the sun drops. The ADA pavilion makes this one of the most family-friendly PFLs in the network on a hot afternoon.
September through November the lake stays on the Thursday-through-Sunday schedule and the transition bite turns on. Water drops through the 70s into the 60s by late October, bass push back into the shallows to feed up, and the shad bite runs hard. A lipless crankbait and a ChatterBait along the shoreline and a white spinnerbait on timber edges catch bass feeding ahead of winter. Hybrid stripers chase bait on the surface all through fall — schoolers break on shad in the main pool and a fast-cast bucktail or a Rooster Tail at the splash rarely misses. Crappie stack on brush piles and timber in 8-15 feet — vertical jig with a minnow on a 1/16-ounce hair jig. Bluegill and redear hold on deeper brush and pier pilings into October. Channel catfish keep biting while water stays above 60°F. Late November is the transition most wait for: ADCNR drops the first truckload of rainbow trout near the end of November and the put-and-take trout fishery opens.
December into early January is trout season. ADCNR stocks rainbow trout ranging from one to two pounds each, the daily creel is four trout per angler, and every trout angler needs a Daily Trout Permit on top of the $5 Fishing Permit and Alabama fishing license. PowerBait under a bobber, corn on a small hook, a 1/8-ounce inline spinner slow-rolled through the main pool, or a tiny spoon vertical-jigged when trout group up — standard put-and-take rainbow techniques all work. Bass, bream, crappie, catfish, and hybrid striper fishing stays open during trout season, but water is cold and the bite slows. The lake is closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and all of January. Contact the lake managers at (205) 522-7739 for specific trout-season opening dates each year. For current operating status and weather-related closures, call the office before driving out.
Primary ADCNR-stocked bass species — Walker County PFL is explicitly stocked with largemouth per ADCNR's Outdoor Alabama page. Intensively managed 163-acre impoundment — one of the larger lakes in the 20-lake PFL network.
ADCNR-stocked bream species at Walker — two ADA-compliant covered fishing piers are the headline bank-fishing asset, with bluegill bed fishing in spring and pier action all summer on crickets, red wigglers, and small poppers.
ADCNR stocks channel catfish at Walker — standard PFL put-and-grow program. Nightcrawlers, chicken liver, and cut bait off the two fishing piers produce eating-size catfish through the warm months.
ADCNR's Walker County PFL page explicitly lists crappie among the stocked species. Early-spring timber and brush-pile bite is the window; long-line 1/16-ounce jigs and vertical-drop minnows on marked schools.
scenic
Alabama Power Company reservoir on the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River — 21,200 surface acres, the deepest lake in Alabama, and the state's flagship spotted-bass and striped-bass destination. Public ramps, marinas, guide services, and the dam-tailrace rainbow trout fishery. Roughly 25 miles north of Walker County PFL via U.S. 78 and State Route 69.
wildlife refuge
181,230-acre U.S. Forest Service National Forest in Winston, Lawrence, and Franklin Counties — 'land of a thousand waterfalls,' home to the Sipsey Wilderness and Alabama's only National Wild and Scenic River (the Sipsey Fork). Hiking, horseback riding, fishing, canoeing, and petroglyph sites. Roughly an hour northwest of Walker County PFL — the canyon-and-wilderness counterweight to a small-lake PFL morning.
recreation
ADCNR-managed year-round rainbow trout tailwater below Lewis Smith Dam — one of the southernmost year-round trout fisheries in the country, stocked by ADCNR with rainbows released from the cold-water discharge. Wade, bank, and float access. Roughly an hour north of Walker County PFL via U.S. 78 and State Route 69.
museum
120 East Street, Dora, AL 35062
Local-history museum in Dora, Walker County — coal-mining artifacts, equipment, photographs, and the mining heritage of Walker County and the Warrior coal basin. Roughly 15-20 minutes from Walker County PFL. Rainy-day or off-water family stop.
historic
300 7th Street West, Jasper, AL 35501
Historic family home of the Bankhead political dynasty — U.S. Speaker of the House William B. Bankhead, Senator John H. Bankhead II, and actress Tallulah Bankhead. Walker County history museum and cultural center in downtown Jasper. About 10 minutes from Walker County PFL.
Walker County Public Fishing Lake sits just south of Jasper in coal-country Alabama, and the real draw on a family weekend is what sits north and west. Smith Lake — Lewis Smith Lake, Alabama's flagship spotted-bass and striper destination — is about twenty-five miles north via U.S. 78 and State Route 69, with public ramps, guide services, and the deepest, clearest water in the state. Bankhead National Forest opens up the same direction: 181,230 acres across Winston, Lawrence, and Franklin Counties, home to the Sipsey Wilderness and Alabama's only National Wild and Scenic River, the Sipsey Fork. The Sipsey Fork tailwater below Lewis Smith Dam is one of the southernmost year-round rainbow trout fisheries in the country and sits roughly an hour from Walker PFL. Jasper itself is the Walker County seat, home of the Alabama Mining Museum at Dora and the Bankhead House and Heritage Center downtown — the historic family home of the political Bankhead dynasty and actress Tallulah Bankhead. For families pairing a PFL day with a weekend trip, the move is a morning on Walker's ADA piers, afternoon at Smith Lake or the Sipsey tailwater, evening back in Jasper.
Jasper
ADCNR-built concrete boat ramp at 4227 Walker County Lake Road, Jasper AL 35501 — the only ramp on the 163-acre lake. Personal boats require a fishing permit plus a launch permit, and the angler must be purposely fishing. ADCNR prohibits gasoline outboards except at slow trolling / no-wake speed, and rental jon boats are available through the concessions building for a $10 Boat Rental Permit. Contact lake managers David Price and Tiffany Terradas at (205) 522-7739 for current rental availability and any operational changes.
Directions4227 Walker County Lake Road, Jasper, AL 35501
Walker County Public Fishing Lake is one of 20 State-Owned Public Fishing Lakes operated by the ADCNR Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division under Alabama Code 220-2-.36. Only hook and line with natural or artificial bait is permitted — no trotlines, set hooks, jugs, snagging, or snatching. Live bait minnows are restricted to goldfish minnows, golden shiners, and fathead minnows (no releasing minnows into the lake). Gasoline outboards are allowed only at slow trolling / no-wake speed where posted. No swimming, no wading, no camping, no alcohol, and no hunting on PFL land (designated wildlife sanctuaries). Fishing is sunrise to sunset on posted operating days. Published ADCNR operating schedule: February 1 through June 30 open seven days a week; July 1 through December 31 open Thursday-Sunday; closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day; closed all of January. All creel, possession, and size limits — including the hybrid striped bass limit — are posted at the lake per Alabama Code 220-2-.36 section 4; verify before keeping fish. A $10 Boat Rental Permit is required to rent a jon boat and renters must be 16 or older. Confirm current rules and schedule changes with lake managers David Price and Tiffany Terradas at (205) 522-7739.
Alabama fishing license required for anglers 16 through 64 (residents and non-residents), plus a $5 ADCNR Fishing Permit required for anglers 12 and older. During trout season, a Daily Trout Permit is required in addition to the Fishing Permit. Licenses and permits available at the concessions building on site, online via alabamainteractive.org/dcnr_license, by phone at (888) 848-6887, or through the Outdoor AL mobile app.. Always verify current rules before your trip.
Full Alabama fishing regulations ›67,100 acres
Bass · Crappie
River
Stripers · Bass
10,370 acres
Bass · Crappie
15,930 acres
Bass · Catfish
More on Walker County Public Fishing Lake:
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 →
Data last reviewed: 2026-04-19
