Shelby County · Alabama Vol. 1

This Week's Bite

Shelby County Fishing Almanac

Best Times to Fish & Hunt

★★★☆ Good

Major Periods

~2-hour windows centered on moon overhead and underfoot. Strongest feeding times.

  • 10:48 PM – 12:48 AM Moon overhead
  • 11:14 AM – 1:14 PM Moon underfoot

Minor Periods

~1-hour windows centered on moonrise and moonset. Secondary activity peaks.

  • 4:20 AM – 5:20 AM Moonset aligned with dawn/dusk

If you fish or hunt one window today — try 4:20 AM – 5:20 AM (it aligns with dawn or dusk).

Live Conditions · Bite Modifier

Today's bite is excellent

5 / 5

Live conditions support the solunar windows — this is a day to go.

  • Pre-front feeding window Pressure 29.97 inHg with a cold front in the next 24 hours — classic bass and crappie frenzy.
  • Walleye chop 7 mph wind makes the lake surface "walk" — bass crank, panfish feed shallow.

From the last NWS observation at . See the full live conditions bulletin for the data behind these calls.

Live Conditions · Movement Modifier

Today's deer movement looks excellent

5 / 5

Conditions favor deer movement — if you have time today, go.

  • Pre-front pressure drop Pressure 29.97 inHg falling toward a cold front — deer feed hard before the weather hits.
  • Cold front incoming Big temperature drop in the next 24 hours — primary feeding window opens before the front.
  • Steady working wind 7 mph — predictable scent stream, deer can't hear your footfall against it.

From the last NWS observation at . See the full live conditions bulletin for the data behind these calls.

Estimated Water Temperature

74°F on the Conecuh and the warmwater lakes

Anchored to: Lay Lake read 73.2°F on Oct 22, 2025 · 7 months ago · air-temperature drift +9.0°F since

Anchored 10% on the most recent verified sample (Lay Lake, 73.2°F on 2025-10-22) and 90% on the 5-day air-temperature proxy. The sample is 220 days old, so the proxy carries most of the weight; the verified reading still constrains the answer.

Species Active range Today
Largemouth bass 60–82°F Peak
Crappie 50–70°F Hot
Bream / bluegill 70–85°F Peak
Channel catfish 70–85°F Peak
Striped bass 55–75°F Good

Recent verified water-temperature samples

From the EPA Water Quality Portal — ADEM Project 21AWIC and Alabama Water Watch citizen monitors. Sampling cadence varies by water body.

Water body Latest reading Sampled Sampling cadence
Lay Lake 73.2°F Oct 22, 2025(7 months ago) 550 samples in 24 mo · avg 84°F
Buck Creek 67.5°F Oct 12, 2023(2+ years ago) discontinued
Shoal Creek 70.7°F Oct 5, 2023(2+ years ago) discontinued
Cahaba Valley Creek 70.5°F Jun 12, 2023(3+ years ago) discontinued
Cahaba River no recent sample discontinued

Conecuh River temperature monitoring was discontinued in the early 2000s. Yellow River (YERC-3) is the most actively sampled water in the county and provides the best anchor for estimating current conditions on similar warmwater bodies nearby. EPA WQP →

Live Weather Radar

What the Sky Is Doing

NWS Birmingham (KBMX) Doppler in Calera — 12 miles south of Pelham, inside the county. Refreshes every 10 minutes; reload for the latest frames.

National Weather Service KBMX radar loop showing precipitation across central Alabama

Source: NWS Birmingham Radar (KBMX) · Pelham sits ~12 miles N of the radar — close enough that surface showers, cells, and frontal precip all show cleanly.

The Next Two Weeks

Every day's major and minor periods, moon phase, and overall rating. Look for the ★★★★ days — they're the ones with periods that fall close to dawn or dusk.

Sat May 30
★★★☆ Good
  • 10:48 PM – 12:48 AM major · overhead
  • 11:14 AM – 1:14 PM major · underfoot
  • 4:20 AM – 5:20 AM minor · moonset
↑ 5:40 AM · ↓ 7:51 PM
Sun May 31
★★★☆ Good
  • 11:37 PM – 1:37 AM major · overhead
  • 12:04 PM – 2:04 PM major · underfoot
  • 7:13 PM – 8:13 PM minor · moonrise
  • 5:00 AM – 6:00 AM minor · moonset
↑ 5:40 AM · ↓ 7:52 PM
Mon Jun 1
★★★☆ Good
  • 12:28 AM – 2:28 AM major · overhead
  • 12:54 PM – 2:54 PM major · underfoot
  • 8:09 PM – 9:09 PM minor · moonrise
  • 5:47 AM – 6:47 AM minor · moonset
↑ 5:40 AM · ↓ 7:52 PM
Tue Jun 2
★★☆☆ Average
  • 1:21 AM – 3:21 AM major · overhead
  • 1:45 PM – 3:45 PM major · underfoot
  • 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM minor · moonrise
  • 6:40 AM – 7:40 AM minor · moonset
↑ 5:40 AM · ↓ 7:53 PM
Wed Jun 3
★★☆☆ Average
  • 2:12 AM – 4:12 AM major · overhead
  • 2:35 PM – 4:35 PM major · underfoot
  • 9:45 PM – 10:45 PM minor · moonrise
  • 7:38 AM – 8:38 AM minor · moonset
↑ 5:39 AM · ↓ 7:53 PM
Thu Jun 4
★★☆☆ Average
  • 3:02 AM – 5:02 AM major · overhead
  • 3:23 PM – 5:23 PM major · underfoot
  • 10:26 PM – 11:26 PM minor · moonrise
  • 8:37 AM – 9:37 AM minor · moonset
↑ 5:39 AM · ↓ 7:54 PM
Fri Jun 5
★★★☆ Good
  • 3:50 AM – 5:50 AM major · overhead
  • 4:09 PM – 6:09 PM major · underfoot
  • 11:02 PM – 12:02 AM minor · moonrise
  • 9:38 AM – 10:38 AM minor · moonset
↑ 5:39 AM · ↓ 7:54 PM
Sat Jun 6
★★☆☆ Average
  • 4:36 AM – 6:36 AM major · overhead
  • 4:54 PM – 6:54 PM major · underfoot
  • 11:32 PM – 12:32 AM minor · moonrise
  • 10:39 AM – 11:39 AM minor · moonset
↑ 5:39 AM · ↓ 7:55 PM
Sun Jun 7
★★☆☆ Average
  • 5:21 AM – 7:21 AM major · overhead
  • 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM major · underfoot
  • 12:02 AM – 1:02 AM minor · moonrise
  • 11:41 AM – 12:41 PM minor · moonset
↑ 5:39 AM · ↓ 7:55 PM
Mon Jun 8
★★☆☆ Average
  • 6:06 AM – 8:06 AM major · overhead
  • 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM major · underfoot
  • 12:29 AM – 1:29 AM minor · moonrise
  • 12:43 PM – 1:43 PM minor · moonset
↑ 5:38 AM · ↓ 7:56 PM
Tue Jun 9
★★☆☆ Average
  • 6:51 AM – 8:51 AM major · overhead
  • 6:22 PM – 8:22 PM major · underfoot
  • 12:58 AM – 1:58 AM minor · moonrise
  • 1:47 PM – 2:47 PM minor · moonset
↑ 5:38 AM · ↓ 7:56 PM
Wed Jun 10
★★☆☆ Average
  • 7:38 AM – 9:38 AM major · overhead
  • 7:08 PM – 9:08 PM major · underfoot
  • 1:26 AM – 2:26 AM minor · moonrise
  • 2:53 PM – 3:53 PM minor · moonset
↑ 5:38 AM · ↓ 7:57 PM
Thu Jun 11
★★☆☆ Average
  • 8:28 AM – 10:28 AM major · overhead
  • 7:57 PM – 9:57 PM major · underfoot
  • 1:59 AM – 2:59 AM minor · moonrise
  • 4:03 PM – 5:03 PM minor · moonset
↑ 5:38 AM · ↓ 7:57 PM
Fri Jun 12
★★☆☆ Average
  • 9:22 AM – 11:22 AM major · overhead
  • 8:50 PM – 10:50 PM major · underfoot
  • 2:36 AM – 3:36 AM minor · moonrise
  • 5:15 PM – 6:15 PM minor · moonset
↑ 5:38 AM · ↓ 7:58 PM
What's Biting Now

May Fishing Patterns

Warmwater patterns for the lakes and rivers around Andalusia. Spring and fall are the easy seasons; the trick is matching your technique to the month.

Largemouth

post spawn

Pattern: Recovering on the first ledge off the spawning bank.

Technique: Topwater at dawn, then crankbait on the points.

Bream

spawn

Pattern: Bedding on the full moon — colony beds in 3-6 ft.

Technique: Crickets on a hook with a bobber. Drop on the bed.

Catfish

pre spawn

Pattern: Moving up to spawn in flooded brush and rock piles.

Technique: Cut shad on the bottom; trotlines for blues.

Where to Go

Local Waters & Public Land

Six places within forty-five minutes of Pelham. Three host Bassmaster and college fishing tournaments most weekends in the warm months. The rest are where the locals go when they want quiet water.

Lay Lake

Coosa Reservoir

~20 mi SE of Pelham · Coosa River impoundment

Best for: trophy largemouth, spotted bass, striped bass, crappie

Twelve thousand acres of Alabama Power lake. Has hosted Bassmaster Classics. Spotted bass are the bread and butter; largemouth go bigger but spots fish year-round. Striped bass in the deep channels follow shad schools.

Local tip: launch from Beeswax Creek Park (Shelby County's official ramp) or Paradise Point Marina. Beeswax is free for residents.

Cahaba River

River

Runs through Pelham, Helena, Cahaba Heights

Best for: spotted bass, redeye bass, bream, light-tackle wade fishing

Longest free-flowing river in Alabama. Bedrock pools and shoal runs, gin-clear in the upper reaches, more tannic below Heights. The Cahaba lily blooms in May–June downstream. Redeye bass are the prize — endemic, willing, but rarely over a pound.

Local tip: Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge has free public access at Piper Trailhead and Bibb County put-ins. Wade-fish the shoals.

Oak Mountain State Park

State Park · 9,940 ac

3 mi SW of Pelham · Hwy 119 exit off I-65

Best for: bass & bream on small lakes, archery deer, hiking

Alabama's largest state park. Three lakes — Beaver, Double Oak, and Tranquility — are stocked and managed for family fishing. The 9,940-acre tract supports a healthy whitetail herd; archery-only inside the park boundary, controlled firearm hunts in the surrounding management units.

Local tip: day-use fee covers fishing. Annual pass is the move if you go more than four times. Beaver Lake holds the bigger bass; Tranquility is the quietest.

Buck Creek

Creek · in Pelham

Runs through downtown Pelham & Helena

Best for: bream, spotted bass, occasional redeye, urban quick-cast

The neighborhood creek. Wadable in most spots from Pelham city park through Helena's downtown stretch. Bream on crickets, occasional bass in the deeper holes below the riffles. Best after recent rain — the Buck cleans up quickly and the fish turn on.

Local tip: the boardwalk at Helena Amphitheater gives kids easy creek access. Park-and-cast.

Lake Mitchell

Coosa Reservoir

~35 mi S of Pelham · Coosa River impoundment

Best for: largemouth, spotted bass, striped bass, catfish

Smaller than Lay but holds bigger bass on average — more stained water, more cover, less pressure than Lay's tournament traffic. The middle of Mitchell is full of bluffs and rock points that hold spotted bass all summer. Striper run the upper end early.

Local tip: trailer in to Mitchell Dam from Higgins Ferry. Lower lake is faster water and bigger fish; upper end is technical.

Yellowleaf Creek

Tributary

~18 mi E of Pelham · feeds Lay Lake

Best for: spawn-run crappie, pre-spawn bass, light-tackle wade

When the Coosa warms in late March, crappie run hard up Yellowleaf to spawn. Park anywhere along Westover Road and walk the creek. The USGS gage here has a live water-temperature sensor (shown on the live water-temperature panel above) — that reading is your best signal for whether the run has started.

Local tip: 58–65°F at the gage = crappie on the move. Above 70°F = post-spawn, fish back down in the lake.

What's Behind These Numbers

A note on what's on this page

In 1926, a Pennsylvania outdoor writer named John Alden Knight was fishing in Florida when his guide pointed out a pattern: the best feeding times track the moon, not the sun. Knight spent ten years documenting it and in 1936 published Moon Up — Moon Down. Every outdoor almanac since traces back to that book.

There are four feeding windows each day. Two major (about two hours) when the moon is overhead and when it's underfoot. Two minor (about an hour) at moonrise and moonset. Windows that overlap dawn or dusk fish best. Full and new moons get a boost. That math gives you the headline stars.

The live conditions modifier is the second layer. A textbook moon-overhead at noon means nothing if the barometer is rising, the sky is bright, and the wind is dead. A slow solunar day can turn into a frenzy with a cold front rolling in. The modifier reads what's actually happening over the county right now and posts a separate score for fishing and one for deer movement.

The water-temperature panel anchors on verified local samples and projects forward. Stage-trend tags on the river gages tell you whether the water is rising, falling, or holding. Numbers come from public-domain federal monitoring sources and refresh through the day.

Hunting & Fishing Calendar

A general guide for Covington County. Seasons rotate each year — these reflect the most recent ADCNR framework. Always verify with the Alabama Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources before you go.

Deer

Archery
mid-Oct – early Feb
Gun (with dogs)
late Nov – mid-Jan
Gun (still hunt)
late Nov – early Feb
Bag limit (Zone B)
3 antlered, 1 antlerless / day

Covington County sits in Zone B. Doe days vary by tract — check the regulations book.

Turkey (Spring)

Season
late Mar – early May
Youth weekend
weekend before opener
Bag limit
1 bearded turkey / day, 4 / season
Shooting hours
30 min before sunrise – sunset

Conecuh National Forest is a popular public-land destination. Scout in late February.

Small Game

Squirrel
mid-Sep – early Mar
Rabbit
Oct 1 – early Mar
Quail
Nov 1 – Feb 28
Raccoon, opossum
year-round (night, with dogs)

Conecuh NF has good quail habitat in the longleaf-pine savannas.

Waterfowl & Dove

Dove (split seasons)
Sep, Oct, mid-Dec – late Jan
Duck (regular)
late Nov – late Jan (split)
Teal (early)
mid Sep (9 days)
Youth waterfowl
Feb weekend after season

The Conecuh River and small private ponds across the county hold wood ducks.

Freshwater Fishing

Bass, bream, catfish
open year-round
Crappie
open year-round; best Mar–May
Striped bass
open year-round; size limits apply
License
required age 16–64

Point A Lake, Gantt Lake, and the Conecuh River are the main spots. No closed seasons on warmwater species.

Hog (Wild)

Private land
year-round, no bag limit
WMAs & public land
during open hunts only
Night hunting
permit required on private land
Trapping
encouraged year-round

Feral hogs are an invasive species; Alabama actively encourages removal.

Source: Alabama Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources, Game & Fish Division. Dates listed are general windows; specific opening and closing days, bag limits, and zone boundaries change yearly. Current regulations →