So which fisheries should anglers target this spring? "That's easy," Nichols said. "The tailrace fisheries on the Coosa are always good, especially below the Neely Henry and Logan Martin dams. Below the Bankhead Dam on Holt is traditionally a good tailrace fishery for hybrids, as well as below the Warrior Dam, which is at the upper end of Demopolis Reservoir. Also, the Alabama below Jones Bluff and Millers Ferry have good fishing."

Nichols added that the best fishing occurs in the current when the power turbines are generating electricity.

Veteran angler Barry Brasher of Pell City agrees with Nichols. "When they turn those turbines on, it creates a feeding spree," he said. "It might last a couple of hours, and it might last all day long."

Brasher's biggest hybrid weighed 14 pounds; his best day produced 53 fish in four hours of fishing. He said to expect to catch 10-pounders when the turbines are operating. His favorite place to fish for hybrids and stripers is the stretch below the Neely Henry Dam, although he sometimes fishes below the Logan Martin Dam.

Depending on turbine operation, Brasher uses three different approaches below Neely Henry, plus a separate technique for Logan Martin. One of these techniques will probably produce below a dam near you.

In waters offering both hybrids and stripers, Brasher stated, no one targets hybrids. "Fishing techniques are not specific to hybrids," he noted. "When you drift in the tailrace, you are either going to catch a hybrid or a salt.

"At Neely Henry when the turbines are running, it's safe to run up to the dam and drift back. If they are running turbines No. 1 and No. 3, for example, run up between them using your big motor, which you never turn off. When you get within 15 to 20 feet of the dam, lower your line to the bottom, shift into neutral and start drifting. You can drift for 100 yards."

If you haven't fished the tailrace before, watch how the boats approach the dam and their drift. Also observe the flow of the boat traffic: In April, it's not unusual to see 20 to 30 boats taking their turns at drifting the tailrace. At times, it's like watching airplanes in a holding pattern to land.

"We don't try to control the speed of our drift with the trolling motor," Brasher explained. "It would make a mess for everyone else. We just go with the flow."

Brasher's terminal tackle is a bottom-bumping rig made with a three-way swivel. To one eye he adds a 5-inch leader tied to a 1- or 2-ounce bell sinker, its size determined by current speed. The other eye also sports a short leader, but has a 3/0 hook and a 3-inch or larger gizzard shad. His main line and leaders are 20-pound-test monofilament.