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Cahaba River is a public river in Jefferson County, Perry County, Bibb County, Shelby County, Dallas County and St. Clair County, Alabama, managed by State of Alabama (public / navigable water). You can fish it on an Alabama licence, but bank access is only at road crossings, parks, ADCNR access sites and other public land; riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches. Public access confirmed via marquee water.
The Cahaba — the longest free-flowing river in Alabama and, for its size, the most biodiverse river in North America (131 fish species). Redeye and spotted bass on the shoals, largemouth, a rainbow of sunfish (longear, redbreast, bluegill), and channel and flathead catfish. Famous for the Cahaba lily shoals in May.
It runs roughly 178 miles through the Central Alabama region. Anglers here mostly fish for redeye bass, spotted bass, largemouth bass, longear sunfish; redbreast sunfish, bluegill, channel catfish, flathead catfish are also on record. Live flow and gauge height come from the Cahaba River Near Mountain Brook Al USGS station shown below. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Pratt Creek and Bibb County Lake.
Species from ADCNR fishery-management data.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Alabama. Trotlines, limblines, jugs and slat traps are legal on most public fresh water with the right licence and gear tags. ADCNR State Public Fishing Lakes have posted hours and are closed at night; some also close one or two days a week.
Boats: The TVA, Alabama Power and Corps reservoirs have no horsepower limit; idle-speed / no-wake zones are marked near ramps, marinas, bridges and dams, and the tailrace areas below dams have restricted zones. ADCNR State Public Fishing Lakes limit boats to trolling motors or small outboards (often 10 hp or less) and rent jon boats. An Alabama boater-safety certificate is required for operators 12 and older.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at Alabama state parks (alapark.com), TVA and Corps of Engineers lakeside campgrounds on the Tennessee and Alabama rivers, and the Bankhead and Talladega national forests. WMA camping is limited to designated areas and hunt seasons. The Mobile-Tensaw Delta and the blackwater rivers have an informal sandbar-camping tradition.
Tackle: Statewide bass daily limit is 10 in aggregate (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, redeye), only 5 of which may be smallmouth and none under the lake's size limit where one applies; 30 crappie on most reservoirs; catfish have trophy-protection limits on the Alabama River and some others. Guntersville, Eufaula and several Coosa lakes have their own bass size limits — check the current ADCNR regulations for this water.
Boat ramps: 1 mapped — Boat ramp.
Camping: 1 site mapped nearby — Campsite.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Loading live flow & gauge height…
Live from USGS gauge 02423380 — Cahaba River Near Mountain Brook Al. Full gauge data →
Anyone 16-64 needs an Alabama fishing licence — resident annual freshwater is about $14, non-resident annual about $56, and non-resident 7-day (~$32) and 1-day (~$12) licences are sold. There is no trout stamp — the freshwater licence covers the Sipsey Fork, Alabama's only trout water. A Wildlife Management Area licence is needed to fish WMA lakes and streams. Alabama residents 65+ fish free with a Senior exemption. Buy from Outdoor Alabama. An Alabama fishing licence covers navigable rivers and the whole Alabama side of the Tennessee, Chattahoochee and Tombigbee. WMA river reaches also need a WMA licence.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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