The Walker County Lake is set to reopen after being closed for nine months.
The reopening date is Wednesday, March 1. The lake has a new manager, former Jasper Mayor Sonny Posey, who has been preparing for the reopening for a couple of months now.
“I’m excited to see everyone on Wednesday,” Posey said. “While we’ve been up here working, if the gate has been left open, we’ve had so many people come and ask when the lake will be opened again. It’s that time, and I expect a lot of people to be coming through. Looks like the weather is going to be perfect for fishing.”
Posey replaces Charlie Skalnick, the longtime lake manager who died in June 2022.
“Charlie did such a good job. I’ve got big shoes to fill,” Posey said. “Things at Walker County Lake will pretty much be the same as they’ve always been.”
Posey said managing Walker County Lake has been something that has interested him for years. He said state officials told him approximately 150 people applied for the job several months ago when the opening was listed.
“I’ve always loved fishing, and Walker County Lake has always been one of my favorite places to fish,” said Posey, who happens to own the record for the largest bass (more than 13 pounds) ever caught at WCL. “Whenever there had been an opening in the past, I wasn’t available to even attempt to be the manager. It all just worked out.”
The 163-acre public lake, located just off Industrial Boulevard in Jasper, is overseen by the The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Walker County Lake will be open Tuesday through Sunday, from sunrise to sunset.
The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division manages 23 Public Fishing Lakes (PFLs) in 20 counties throughout the state. These lakes range in size from 13 to 184 acres for a total of 1,912 surface acres. Posey said Walker County Lake is the second largest of those 23 PFLs, only behind Madison County Lake.
Rules for fishing at WCL include requiring an Alabama fishing license for anyone 16 to 64. Alabama residents 65 and older are exempt from buying a fishing license. A daily permit to fish at the lake is required for anyone 12 and older. The cost is $3. Boats are available to rent for $5 a day. To launch a boat at the lake costs $3.
Anyone operating a boat must have an Alabama driver’s license and be certified to operate a boat.
Daily creel limits will still be in place. Those include 20 bream, 6 catfish, 30 crappie and 6 hybrid striped bass. There is no limit to the number of bass that can be caught, as long as they are less than 14 inches long.
All fish that will be kept by anglers must be weighed in at the lake’s office, Posey added.
“We will be ready for Wednesday,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work to get done before opening, but we will have it ready so our residents can enjoy Walker County Lake again.”
