Lake Wedowee

Lake Wedowee Info

Harris Dam and the R. L. Harris Reservoir, better known as "Lake Wedowee," is the newest of the fourteen Alabama Power Company hydroelectric developments. Built at one of the last major hydro sites in Alabama, the site was named in honor of Rother L. "Judge" Harris, an Alabama Power director and vice president of electric operations who retired from the company in 1968 after 45 years of service.

Lake Harris Dam

Construction started on the site November 1st, 1974, and the hydro plant went into operation on April 20th, 1983. The two generating units provide up to 67.5 megawatts of power each.

The 10,660 acre lake with approximately 270 miles of shoreline is located in east-northeast Alabama on the upper Tallapoosa River in Randolph and Clay Counties, near the great southern Town of Wedowee.

Recreational attractions include boating, skiing, swimming and camping with public boat launches easily accessible. Campsites for RV's, trailers and tent campers are also available, with more "popping up" every year, as the word of this piece of paradise continues to spread. Local information is available on the Lake Wedowee Web. For specific questions regarding your recreational needs or a possible future visit, drop an email to Mike Browning.

Billy Higgins and 9 1/2 lb Largemouth Bass

When it comes to fishin', Lake Wedowee is recognized as one of the finest lakes in the Southeast, both in quality of water and its sizeable bass population. A local favorite for crappie, largemouth bass, and spotted bass, other species include white bass, striped bass, hybrid striper, channel catfish, and flathead catfish.

With some of the catches in the past few years weighing near the state record, your next trip to Lake Wedowee could possibly put you in the record books for the Alabama record for largemouth bass.

A 13- to 16-inch slot limit was placed on black bass (including largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass) on October 1, 1993. This slot limit means that only fish shorter than 13-inches and longer than 16-inches can be harvested from the lake. Bass that are between 13- and 16-inches must be released. The objectives of the slot limit are to restructure the bass population by protecting fish in the slot that are deficient in numbers, reduce the numbers of smaller fish (8- to 13-inches), and increase the numbers of larger fish (longer than 16-inches).

Largemouth Bass - Upper jaw extends well beyond back of eye with deep notch between spiny and soft, dorsal fins (on top)

Spotted Bass - Red eye, horizontal lines of dark spots on lower sides, upper jaw does not extend beyond back of eye

Smallmouth Bass - Upper jaw does not extend beyond back of eye

According to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, since the implementation of the slot limit, numbers of smaller bass are declining and numbers of fish longer than 14-inches are increasing. Growth rates are improving, as is the plumpness of bass. These improvements are a direct result of educating anglers on the importance of removing (harvesting) bass smaller than 13-inches. Continued harvest of small bass is necessary to ensure sustained improvements in the fishery.

A 9-inch minimum size limit on crappie in Lake Wedowee, as is the case in most of the Alabama public waters (10-inches in Weiss Lake), was instituted in October 1993. The crappie size limit, as with any fish limit, is as much an age limit as a size limit. In almost all Alabama waters, crappie reach nine inches by the time they are three years old. However, in most waters, 10-inch crappie are four years old. Because crappie are not very long lived fish, it was deemed appropriate to allow their legal harvest at age three since any benefits of protecting them to age four would be offset by natural mortality.

Beautiful Lake Wedowee

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