Sipsey Fork is State's Only Year-Round Trout Stream

By Dale Short

If you build it, they will fish.Hydroelectric plants and wild trout are not generally

on the best of terms, but a unique series of events has created a one-of-a-kind anglers' paradise on the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River just off Highway 69.

The 12.5 mile stretch of stream, between the Birming-ham Water Works Pump Station and the Mulberry Fork, an-nually draws fishermen from as far away as Australia and Europe.

The Lewis Smith Dam, built in 1961, draws water from Smith Lake to power its two turbines, but the water it discharges afterward is, ironically, much colder than before--usually between 50-55 degrees year-round.

Which is right down the alley of a rainbow trout. "Trout are a very fragile fish, created for special environ-ments," says Brandon Jackson, a fishing guide who operates

the nearby Riverside Fly Shop. "They don't have any scales to protect them, and they don't do well in streams with silt."

Since 1974, the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division brings some 3,000-3,500 rainbow trout to the Fork each month, most of them between eight and 14 inches long.

"The stocking process is really interesting to watch," according to Jackson. "The truck brings out a big insulated fiberglass box with dividers, full of fish. What was surprising to me is how small the box is, because there's relatively little water involved. At first, all you can see is foam on the top because of all the pure oxygen being pumped in.

'Like An Amusement Park Slide'

"They back up the truck to a PVC pipe just below the dam, connect a flexible hose from the truck to that pipe, and when they lift the container a wall of fish goes down it. It's kind of like an amusement park slide."

The power plant helps out by running their turbines to raise the level of the water during stocking, he says, so the fish don't have as far to fall and their new home is a more oxygen-rich environment.

"You can catch some fish the first weekend, but it takes about a week before they settle in and start to feed nat-urally. They're raised in an environment where they're fed 'trout chow,' so once they enter a natural stream it takes them a little while to figure out what the bugs are for."

To make the trout population even more at home, Al-abama Power Company and Trout Unlimited began in 2011 enhancing the stream by adding rock points, boulders, and a series of what are called "fish attraction devices," or FADs for short.

They're basically vertical wooden stakes, encased in a concrete base, that smaller fish can congregate among to avoid predator fish. Eventually the wood decomposes under-water and is added back to the natural environment. The ulti-mate result is larger groups of trout-sized fish in the vicinity of the FADs.

While the hydroelectric plant may not be visible from the pristine stretch of river, it definitely makes its presence known. When the powerhouse starts producing electricity, warning sirens sound and the water level downstream rises rapidly as much as 12 to 15 vertical feet. After such a release, it takes hours for the stream to become safe again for fishing. The plant posts a schedule of planned releases online, but the times are tentative and subject to change.

Bridge and Below, Boat Accessible Only

Below the Highway 69 bridge, the waterway is only accessi-ble by boat. Unmotorized boats and kayaks can launch for a fee from the Riverside Fly Shop's private ramp.

Overall, Jackson says, the Sipsey Fork's popularity comes from having the three main ingredients necessary for a successful fishing experience:

"One is access--spots where people can comfortably get to the river, and the metal staircases help with that. The second is reliability, and the fact that they've ensured a mini-mum flow of water when the discharge is off, makes it easier to cast. And the third ingredient is the quantity and quality of the fish. Of course is the fishing is good enough, access takes a back seat." He laughs. "People will cut their own trail.

"But the goal of these improvements has been to make the experience of fishing here safe, easy, and reliable. And that's what makes it a place where people not only learn to fish but keep coming back to. Why travel to Georgia or Ten-nessee or Arkansas and pay their license fees, when a facility this good is right here at home?"

Q & A: Brandon Jackson, River-side Fly Shop

Eight years ago, Brandon Jackson and his wife Mary Carole bought a small grocery store on the edge of the Sipsey Fork, remodeled it, and turned it into the Riverside Fly Shop. Here, Jackson offers his perspective on the human-to-trout experi-ence.

Q: When's the best time to catch a trout?

Jackson: Trout feed fairly constantly, so it's mainly a matter of finding out where and how they're feeding.

Q: What are the most popular times for fishing on the Sipsey Fork?

Jackson: Spring break is usually a busy time. Also, once school is out for the year. The river's a cool environment, with the water temperature typically between 50 and 55 de-grees, so it's pleasant here even when the temperature out-side's a hundred degrees.

Q: What proportion of your customers are experienced fish-ermen, as opposed to beginners wanting to learn?

Jackson: I'd say between 30 and 40 percent are experienced, come here knowing what they want to do. Many of these are people who fish all over the world, and come here to fish while they're at home. The other 60-plus percent come here to pick up the skills, see if they enjoy it. We have a lot of customers who started that way...bought their first rod here, their first flies here, and now they're traveling all over. We have a client who's in Florida this week, catching redfish and speckled trout. It's a sport you can grow with, and it can take you all over. But even those guys still come here to the Sipsey to fish, and make it a point to visit throughout the year.

Q: What's your basic recommendation, for absolute begin-ners?

Jackson: I suggest they do a half-day guided trip with us, one-on-one instruction, and get introduced to the river. And if you buy a rod and reel from us, we offer casting lessons for free. Our guided trips are not about getting a picture of you holding a big fish, they're about learning the sport. Fishing is like other activities: you can pick it up on your own, but, like playing an instrument, it's more enjoyable if you have a teacher.

Q: Rules and regulations, in a nutshell?

Jackson: Just a regular Alabama fishing license. No special stamps. There's a five-fish limit, and also a no-culling regula-tion. Trout aren't like bass, in that regard. If a trout is kept in captivity, then it's going to die. You can catch and release as many fish as you want, but once you've put one in your boat, it counts as one of your five. I'm a catch-and-release guy, myself. I grew up fishing in a small farm pond, catching six-inch bream. So for me, fishing has never been about cleaning or cooking fish. It's all about the thrill of seeing what's under the water.