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Lake Information for R L Harris Reservoir - Lake Wedowee
Harris Reservoir, locally known as Lake Wedowee, is located in east-northeast Alabama on the upper Tallapoosa River in Randolph and Clay Counties near Wedowee. The reservoir is 24 miles long and covers 10,660 acres. Completed in 1983, Harris Lake is the youngest hydropower lake in the state.
The lake was created by the flooding of the plains behind the Lake Weedowa Dam, which began construction on November 1, 1974. The last part of construction of the dam ended on April 20, 1983.. There are two generating units that produce up to 67 megawatts of power for each unit.
Location Randolph County, Alabama
Coordinates Latitude :33.2834 Longitude:-89.4916
Lake type reservoir
Primary inflows Tallapoosa River
Primary outflows Tallapoosa River
Basin countries United States
Max. length 24 Miles
Surface area 10,660 acres (4,310 ha)
Average depth 135 ft
Max. depth 135 ft
Residence time (of lake water) April 20, 1983
Shore length1 270 mi (430 km)
Surface elevation 793 ft (242 m)
There are many recreational attractions on Lake Wedowee such as: boating, swimming, fishing and camping. Fishing brings the most attraction to the lake. It is known to be one of the finest lakes in the Southeast because the quality of the water and it’s sizeable bass population. There are many different species of fish in the lake that include crappie, largemouth bass, spotted bass, striped bass, hybrid striper, channel catfish, and flathead catfish.
Flat Rock Park-Harris Reservoir (Swimming, Picnicking, Hiking, Fishing) hours 9:00 a.m. til 8:00 p.m., seasonal. From Lineville, take Blakesferry Road, south approximately 7 miles; (256) 396-2338 or (256) 396-5093.
A regulation change allowing all sizes of spotted bass to be harvested became effective 1 April 2006. Largemouth bass are still under the 13 to 16 inch slot limit. (This means that only largemouth shorter than 13 inches or longer than 16 inches can be harvested from the lake. Largemouth bass between 13 and 16 inches must be released).
Spring electrofishing samples in 2007 indicated that the largemouth population size structure was such that numbers of fish from 12 to 25 inches approached or exceeded the statewide 75th percentile for each respective size range. Growth rates for largemouth ages 1-4 were average compared to other reservoirs throughout the state.
The 2007 sample also revealed a build up of quality size spotted bass (11 to 14 inches) unprecedented since sampling began on Harris Reservoir. Hopefully, this will translate into more preferred size (14 to 17 inches) spotted bass for the 2008 fishing season. Spotted bass growth, measured as mean length at age, in Harris Reservoir is slow. In fact, it was below the statewide 25th percentile for ages 1, 2 and 4 spotted bass in 2007. Age 3 growth was below average compared to the statewide average.
Condition (plumpness) of both largemouth and spotted bass remains poor. This is a reflection of the infertility of the lake coupled with a dense bass population that does not experience much harvest. District II fisheries personnel believe that spotted bass harvest in the 13 to 16 inch size range, in conjunction with a concerted effort to remove as many largemouth and spotted bass below 13 inches as possible, should result in increased numbers of desirable sized bass as well as improved growth and condition (plumpness) for largemouth and spotted bass in all size groups. Unfortunately, harvest effects on the black bass population are not evident to date
Bass club tournament data for Harris Lake can be found at: www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/where/reservoirs/quality/.
Crappie were not sampled during spring 2007 electrofishing. However, the 2005 sample yielded many large crappie. All crappie sampled were in the quality to trophy size range. Eighty-six percent of crappie sampled exceeded the 9 inch minimum length limit, with 71% longer than 10 inches.
Alabama Power Company has improved fishing by providing habitat in this lake. Coordinates of these habitat improvements are available as an Excel spreadsheet or a GPS download from www.alabamapower.com/lakes/fishdata.asp
The Fisheries Section's District II Supervisor can answer specific questions about Lake Wedowee by sending mail to: [email protected].
Businesses Located Nearby
Bait & Tackle
- North-27 Bait & Tackle
- 947 N Park St - Carrollton, GA
- (770) 834-1839
- B & B Bait & Tackle
- 631 Alabama Ave - Bremen, GA
- (678) 821-3092
- Mike's Bait & Tackle
- 1089 Highway 280 - Alexander City, AL
- (256) 212-9850
Boat Rental
- D & S
- 10965 Highway 48 - Wedowee, AL
- (256) 357-4879
- Garys Backyard Boat
- 843 Tyus-Carrollton Rd - Carrollton, GA
- (770) 832-3947
- Billy's Boat Repair
- 6401 Highway 77 - Gadsden, AL
- (256) 442-9849
Vacation Rental
- Lake Martin Corporate Vacation Rental Property
- 183 Larkwood Ln - Dadeville, AL
- (256) 825-7317
- Lake Martin Vacation Rentals
- 5610 Highway 49 S - Dadeville, AL
- (256) 825-2225
- Lake Martin Vacation Rental Incorporated
- 8336 County Road 34 - Dadeville, AL
- (256) 825-2225
Bar and Restaurant
- Chucks Bar-B-Que
- 622 Shug Jordan Pky - Auburn, AL
- (334) 826-2400
- Old Smokehouse Bar-B-Q
- 631 S Quintard Ave - Anniston, AL
- (256) 237-5200
- Jess' Bar-B-Q
- 1210 W 15th St - Anniston, AL
- (256) 236-1821