Head south on Highway 431 from Hollis Crossroads, and drive till you find the big water. This big water is Harris Reservoir, locally known as Lake Wedowee. According to Heflin resident and veteran angler, Gene Daugherty, this is where you find the truly, big fish.With some of the cleanest water in the state, you can confidently eat what you catch. Crappie, bream, catfish, and bass make their home in the submerged tree trunks, points, and coves of this lake that contains 10,660 acres and stretches for 24 miles. Located on the upper Tallapoosa River in Randolph and Clay counties near Wedowee, this reservoir was completed in 1983 making it the youngest hydropower lake in the state.
Daugherty has fished just about every bend in this lake. The time of year has a big influence on the lure he selects. “During July and August when the water is hot, the bass will usually be suspended in about 20 feet of water off points and around submerged logs,” says Daugherty. “My favorite lure for this time of year is the Carolina-rig in deep water off these points.”
The Carolina-rig makes use of a plastic lure such as a worm, lizard, or crawfish. A hook on the end of a two to three foot leader is run through the artificial bait. On top of the leader is a bullet weight and one or two beads connected to the leader with a swivel. When the lure is slowly retrieved, the bullet weight and beads drag along on the lake bottom clacking together while the bait follows from a two or three foot distance suspended. This lifelike action of the lure has brought in many trophy bass for Daugherty.
Daugherty’s love for fishing is reknown in Cleburne County, and he always makes time to get others involved in the sport. Each year in the spring, he takes high school students from the Haralson Outdoor Writing Lab (HOWL Magazine) on a fishing trip and relates the finer points of angling and fishing habitat to these eager youngsters. On a recent trip to Lake Wedowee, Daugherty told high school senior, Chad Cox, that he only needed to understand three words, “Get the net!”
Daugherty also uses a Texas-rig for plastics. “I’ll fish a Texas-rig with a 10 to 12 inch worm in the same way as a Carolina-rig,” says Daugherty. The Texas-rig simply consists of a bullet weight on top of the fish hook that is run through the worm. So the bullet weight won’t slide up and down the line on the Texas-rig, Daugherty will break off a toothpick in the eyehole of the bullet weight. “The toothpick won’t damage the line, and it keeps the weight sitting on top of the worm looking more natural,” says Daugherty .
Daugherty has also had success using spinnerbaits and crank baits on Wedowee. A spinner bait is basically a shiny piece of metal and skirt attached to a hook. When the lure is retrieved, the piece of metal spins attracting attention and creating vibration in the water.
“During the hot months, slowly retrieving a spinnerbait can be productive,” says Daugherty. “I’ll throw the spinner bait and count down the seconds to determine how deep the lure is before I start retrieving.” If the depth finder says fish are holding at about 10-12 feet of water, he will slowly crank the lure at that depth that is in the strike zone of the bass. “I reel in the spinner bait at a speed where I can barely see the rod tip vibrating from the motion of the blades.”
Crank baits are lures that look like bait fish that bass eat. This can be a deep diving minnow or a shallow running broken back minnow. “The crank baits should run eight to 12 feet deep,” says Daugherty. “If the bass are suspended at a shallow depth, you might want to go with a shallow running crankbait.” Daugherty says a moderate, steady retrieve gets the bait running at the deepest level.
When Daugherty uses a jig, he lets it sink to the bottom, and he’ll retrieve it with a sweeping action or let it bounce along the bottom. “Most of the big bass I”ve caught this summer have been holding around 18 to 25 feet deep,” says Daugherty . “At the upper end of Lake Wedowee where the river is running cooler, I’ve caught some nice bass recently.”
Daugherty also manages the Saturday Night Wild Cat Fishing Tournament each week on Wedowee. “You just show up at the Highway 48 boat ramp, pay your $40.00 entry fee, and you fish from 6:00 at night until the weigh in at 1:00 a.m. back at the ramp,” says Daugherty. “On a good Saturday night, we’ll have 25 boats show up.” Daugherty says all anglers must be in the water by 5:30 p.m.
At the same location on Tuesday nights, there is a Big Fish tournament held each week where participants pay an entry fee and have a judge weigh the biggest fish that each person caught. “People fire up their grills, fish, and have good fellowship,” says Daugherty. “We’ve been doing the tournaments for 10-12 years, and it’s a great way to fish and meet some really nice people.”
All youth age 15 and younger can fish without a license. Also, if you are 65 and older, you can fish without a license as long as you have identification or a driver’s license. Annual freshwater fishing license for Alabama is $9.50. To get your license online, visit www.outdooralabama.com.
