Page 4 - Crappie NOW - December 2018

Story & photos by John N. Felsher
From where the Tallapoosa and Coosa
rivers merge to form the Alabama River
near Wetumpka, Alabama, the stream
flows 318 miles until it joins the Tombigbee
River near Mount Vernon, to form the
Mobile River. Between Wetumpka and
Mount Vernon, dams divide the Alabama
into three sections. The entire system can
produce excellent crappie numbers and
many big fish.
“The Alabama system is a river, but
it’s also a series of lakes with a lot of
different tributaries and backwaters,”
explained Gerald Overstreet, Jr., with
Overstreet’s Guide Service (251-589-
3225) in Gainestown, AL. “The entire
Alabama River system is full of shad and
4 Crappie NOW December 2018
Joe Dunn shows off a couple crappie
he caught while fishing on Millers Ferry
Reservoir near Millers Ferry, AL.
other bait, so crappie don’t have to go far
to eat.”
Although often overshadowed by other
famed nearby crappie waters, some of the
best action on the Alabama River occurs
in William “Bill” Dannelly Reservoir, better
known as Millers Ferry Lake. The second
and largest of the three major pools, the
Millers Ferry section runs about 105 miles
between the Millers Ferry Lock and Dam
near Camden and the Claiborne Dam in
Monroe County.