Lake Weiss
By: John R. Pulliam

Located within the mountainous area of Northeastern Alabama and Northwestern Georgia, Lake Weiss is a majestic lake that abounds with opportunities for anglers.
To begin with, Lake Weiss is a lake that is shared by both Georgia and Alabama, but with 90% of it lying in Alabama. Georgia plays hosts to 10% of the lake, which is called Brushy Branch. Brushy Branch is located off of GA Hwy. 100. From Hwy. 100, make a right onto Black's Bluff Rd. and go approximately 6 miles. Make another right onto Montgomery Landing Rd., which is tricky to locate.
Brushy Branch is a small 6 acre park, which contains a small area for picnics, a boat ramp, and a courtesy dock. This area of Lake Weiss is, on average, around 5 ft. deep, but can become much more shallow, so caution is advised. Also, the main river channel is only a few hundred feet away, so finding deep water for navigation is easy. The only problems that you will come across is debris that comes downstream after huge amounts of rainfall. Due to excess runoff, debris can make Lake Weiss, on both sides of the state line, very dangerous.
Now, if you travel back out to Hwy. 100, make a left on GA Hwy. 20, and head west, you will go into Alabama. Alabama holds the majority of Lake Weiss. You have several locations in which you can put your water-craft into the lake, and you can also fish at several of the same locations.
The quickest way to get to Alabama from Georgia, as you are heading towards Lake Weiss is to take GA Hwy. 27 south to Ga Hwy. 114. Hwy. 114 turns into AL Hwy. 68. You will come across a 4-way stop where AL Hwy. 68 and 35 cross. Keep this in mind, as if you were to fish at Brushy Branch, you cold turn onto Hwy. 35, which is a right, and then head to Hwy. 68, and make a left.
The first stop that we will make on the Alabama side of Lake Weiss is at JR's Marina. To get to JR's Marina, you will need to be on Hwy. 68, heading toward Centre, Alabama. From Hwy. 68, turn right on Hwy. 44. Continue on Hwy. 44, which will make a left about 3 miles down. Continue on Hwy. 44 until you come to a 4-way stop. Make a right on Hwy. 102 and continue for 300 yds. You will see the marina off to your left.
JR's Marina plays hosts to several fishing guides, which you can hire on prior notice, to take you around and put on you fish. They also have a very nice hotel, a restaurant inside the marina, and an engine repair shop, just in case something goes wrong while on the water. If you plan on putting your boat on Lake Weiss for any extended period of time, you can also rent a boat slip, covered or uncovered, from JR's, at very competitive rates.
JR has 3 boat ramps, 2 of which are fairly smooth, and one of which you may want to use caution, especially in shallow water situations. They have several docks that you can tie up to, once on the water, in the event that you need something. They also come equipped with a gas dock, in case you need to fuel up on the water.
For more information on JR's Marina, rates, hotel room availability, boat rentals, and guide service quotes, refer to their website by navigating to www.jrsmarina.com or call them at (256) 779-6461.
Just a quick note on the fishing around the docks... it's wonderful. The docks play host to slab crappies, bass from 1-5 lbs., and catfish that have tipped the scales at over 60 lbs. We will discuss further the seasonal patterns and locations in which you can catch all the fish species that Weiss has to offer.
The next stop that we will make will be at Lake Weiss Landing. To get to the landing, you need to get back on Hwy. 68 and make a right from Hwy. 44 (coming from JR's). Once back on Hwy. 68, continue straight, past the red light in downtown Cedar Bluff. Stay in the left hand lane, and once you pass the light, you will see Lake Weiss Landing in front of you.
The landing has one giant boat ramp that can launch two water craft with ease, and 3 if you want to be cramped. You also have 3 docks that you can tie up to, but be careful, as on one of them, you will have to climb over railing to get onto the dock.
The landing has a tackle store inside, that carries a wide selection of lures for whatever species of fish you will be pursuing. It is also a convievent store, so, it will carry most of the things that you will need, if you plan to stay inside their small motel.
If you take a right out of the landing, you will be heading back to Georgia. This highway will lead you back to GA Hwy. 20.
While there are other places that you can visit on Lake Weiss, these are the two that I recommend most often, because they are usually within 30 minutes, by boat, of the fishing action that takes place on Weiss. Some of the other places that you can visit include the Lake Weiss Dam, and Riverside Marina and Resort.
Lake Weiss is part of the Coosa River system, and is a man-made reservior. It contains a lot of great wood cover, including stumps, docks, and laydown trees. Generally, it is considered a very shallow lake, which makes it dangerous for people who have not navigated it before. Most of the lake is between 5-10 feet deep, but in the main channel, the waters reach between 20-35 feet deep. For newcomers to Lake Weiss, definetly stick with the channels, and if you venture off the channels, pay close attention to your electronics. Weiss does not have a great amount of weeds, but if you look shallow, you will find weeds that grow off the bank. Another defining cover that Lake Weiss contains is rock. From the rip-rap that can be found along the shorelines to the sunken rocks, there is no lack of rock to fish. Finally, Lake Weiss has an improvement society which has placed several artificial reefs at various locations throughout the lake.
Lake Weiss is home to several different fish species. It is best known for crappies, as it is called, "The Crappie Capital of the World." You can catch slab crappies up to 4 lbs. from Weiss. On the Georgia side, there is no length limit on the crappies, but on the Alabama side, the crappies must measure 10 inches or longer in order to keep them. This is the sole reason why the fishing for the crappies is so great on Weiss. Populations of both black and white crappie abound.
The populations of largemouth and spotted bass are great. Lake Weiss has great populations of each, and it is not uncommon to catch both species at the same locations, on the same lure. The spotted bass average around 2 lbs., but there have been some great catches close to 5 lbs. The largemouth average around 3 lbs., but there have been several catches that are over 6 lbs., with a few that are over 8 lbs.
The catfish populations on Weiss abound. All three species, blues, channels, and flatheads can be caught, and can be caught on the same day, in the same general area. The channel catfish can weigh up to 30 lbs., but most average around 10 lbs., or less. The blues can weigh up to 60 lbs., with a few that have gone slightly bigger, but the ones that are caught most often are between 10-30 lbs. The flatheads that have been caught have weighed over 80 lbs., but the majority only weigh around 20-30 lbs.
Weiss has a decent population of sunfish, but they are overlooked. The bluegills and shellcrackers will not be over one lb., but if you are looking for some good fish to fry whole, Weiss is your lake. The biggest are around 8 inches, and can weigh up to 1 lb.
Lake Weiss also has a great population of striped bass, white bass, and hybrids. Several catches of stripers that go over 25 lbs. have been documented. However, most are between 2-10 lbs. The white bass and the hybrids average around 2 lbs., and they seem to school according to the year sizes. Some of the larger ones weigh 3-5 lbs., but they are rarely caught that large.
Lake Weiss is a lake that revolves around the seasons. There are some lakes that will vary with the seasons, and there are others that depend on the seasons to tell the fish what to do. Lake Weiss falls in the later catergory.
To start off with, if you fish each species in each season, it is very possible to catch all species during each season. However, for the sake of arguement, we will focus on the bass fishing during the seasons, and we will disucss what patterns produce for each season.
During the spring, once the waters warm into the mid 50s, you will find the bass staging in deep water, waiting for the waters to warm a few more degrees to spawn. Look for shallow spawning flats that have deep water adjacent to them. Once a likely flat has been found, fish the deepest water first, and fish it slowly. Although the fish may be in a very active mood, wanting to get prepared for the spawn, fishing slower during this transistion will yield bigger bass. Fishing a large Texas rigged lizard or a jig/pig will produce. Once the deepest water has been fished, move to the actual transition area, and fish spinnerbaits and suspending jerkbaits. The fish will either be active or unactive, and using both of these lures will cover the range of moods. More times than not, you will find active fish, but they will become inactive after catching a few. Switching up to the suspending jerkbait will give them a lure that just sits in their face, which is something that they can not resist. Once the transistion area has been fished, it is time to look up to the flat for fish on their beds. Do not be suprised if you might have caught large females in deeper water, but you do not see them shallow. They are still spawning, but they are going to be deeper, due to pressure from anglers. During the spawn, I fish spinnerbaits, flukes, and small lizards and tubes. You want something that is going to make the fish react once it moves up on the bed, and if the fish has been on the bed for a while, you will want something that is not going to cause a stir, but that will still make the fish react to an intruder in its nest.
After the spawn has occured, which starts in lake February and may last until the first parts of May, the bass will transition again, looking forward to the summer pattern. There will be a 2-4 week period where the fishing will be as easy as dropping a lure overboard and hanging on, and no, that is no exaggeration. Weiss has the potential of yielding a 30 lbs. bag of fish, during the transition from the spawn to the summer pattern. The fish are gorging themselves after their ritual, and will attack a miriad of lures. Starting off, in the mornings, throwing topwaters will produce a lot of good fish. After the morning bite has tapered off, look toward fishing flukes, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, hard jerkbaits, and Texas-rigged soft plastics.
Once the end of May comes around, the fish will pull off to the deep channel ledges, and will suspend. Fishing large Texas-rigged worms, large Carolina-rigged soft plastics, and large, deep-diving crankbaits. Also, flipping and pitching soft plastics to docks will produce, and also, a new technique has been discovered that the bass can not resist: wacky-rigged Senkos. You have to fish them in dead heart of the dock, but you will catch the bass that suspend up under them. Several 3-5 lbs. fish have been caught using this. Also, the fish will start to school and will destroy baitfish. Fishing the crankbaits, once you find a school, and switching it between a jerkbait and a spinnerbait, will produce fish all day long. A huge key in finding the schooling bass is to look for the birds working over the water. Often times, you will find the white bass, hybrids, stripers, and black bass attacking shad at the same location. Fish below the other fish, and you will often find the black bass.
Once the water starts to cool down, the fish start to move back up into the shallows, and the topwater bite is great, and during a few weeks, you can throw topwaters all day long. Also, fishing suspending jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and Texas-rigged plastics will produce.
Finally, once the water starts to go cold, the bass will move back to deep water to stay warm. Fishing large, slow moving crankbaits might produce, but fishing the slower, soft plastics will produce more times than not. Yes, bass can be caught on Weiss in winter. Look around the deep seated structures, and fish slow. I can not emphasize how slowly you need to fish.
Lake Weiss is a great lake to fish, and it can be great to those who fish it correctly. Fishing it correctly is not hard, but more anglers seem to overfish Weiss, and will become very frustrated. It is one of the few lakes that I know of where you can pull up to almost any area, and catch at least one fish, and more times than not, catch several fish.

As always, stay safe on the water and tight lines.


John R. Pulliam