tailwater · trout

Sipsey Fork (below Smith Lake Dam)

Live conditions for Sipsey Fork (below Smith Lake Dam): the gauge, the water temperature, the trend, and what the water is doing today — read the way a guide reads it.

Right now

8cfs→ lowcaution

No wade or float band on file yet.

Water temp79.2°F

Stage2.65 ft

Engine callOFF no band

Gauge read 1:00 AM CDT · USGS 02450250. Readings refresh every few minutes.

The water

Sipsey Fork (below Smith Lake Dam) is a tailwater below Lewis Smith Dam in Alabama, fished for trout — rainbow. On dam-controlled water the generation schedule is the whole story: the wade window is the no-generation block, and rising water at the gauge means the pulse is arriving.

troutrainbow trout

Wade and float bands in cfs, the safety notes and the 14-day trend are on the signed-in river page.

Access

Smith Lake Dam Tailrace / APC Fishing Platformwalk in
Rock Ramp / Fish-Attractor Access (upstream of BWWPS)walk in
Birmingham Water Works Pumping Station (BWWPS) Accesswalk in
Cullman County Road 95 Pull-offswalk in
AL Highway 69 Bridgebridge
Riverside Fly Shop Canoe/Kayak Launchcarry
County Road 22 Public Boat Ramp (Sipsey, AL)ramp
Bates Landingramp

Directions to the put-in or wade access ride on every briefing.

The briefing

Know before you drive to Sipsey Fork.

Every morning OUTFISH reads this gauge, the dam schedule, the water temperature, the sky and the tips library, and writes one plain-language call for the waters you track: go or stay home, wade or float, when to be on the water, where to put in, what to tie on — with directions.

Start free — 7 days of Guide

Signed in: the wade and float bands, the full hatch calendar, safety notes, the 14-day trend, shop reports and today's briefing for this water.

This month

Active in September:

012345678

The full calendar by month, with notes, is on the signed-in river page.

Verify it yourself

The same sources the engine reads, straight from the agency:

USGS gauge ↗

More water in Alabama

Cahaba River (Centreville)