If your idea of a grand outdoor adventure is catching fish after fish and then having a fish fry, April, May and June are your months in Alabama.

Madison County Lake is probably the best of the lakes for catching bigger shellcrackers, Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

The warming waters this time of year trigger the panfish spawn. First redears or shellcrackers bed in April followed by bluegills in May. Both spawns can continue into June. Shellcrackers and bluegills — collectively known as bream — are plentiful, easy to catch and will just plain put a smile on your face.

Biologists from the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries say shellcrackers begin spawning when the surface water temperature reaches about 75 degrees. That usually happens in April, perhaps a little earlier if it has been a warm spring. Bluegills like it a little warmer still, when the surface temperature hits about 80 degrees sometime in May. Bluegills are said to spawn all summer long, but the first spawn in May offers the best fishing since the beds are right on the bank, in shallow water that is easily accessible.

Finding them can be as simple as easing down the bank casting to fishy-looking spots and then anchoring once you start catching fish.

Bluegill fishing can be good all day long, but the late afternoon hours are often the best, an advantage for anglers who prefer not to get up during pre-dawn hours.

Shellcrackers tend to get a little larger than bluegills and are preferred by many anglers. They’re generally not as abundant. It’s not uncommon to catch both redears and bluegills on the same bream outing.

There are plenty of places to fish for bream throughout the Cotton State. In North Alabama, the Tennessee River — particularly Guntersville Lake — has been well documented as an outstanding bluegill and shellcracker fishery.

But some much smaller waters are open to the public that are also real gems when it comes to panfishing. They’re the state public fishing lakes scattered across North Alabama.

The state fishing lakes are intensely managed by the Alabama DWFF for optimal fishing opportunity. Most are set in highly scenic locations and have amenities such as bait shops, fishing access piers and picnic areas right on-site.

They’re wonderful places to spend an afternoon fishing with the family. And since they are managed for fishing opportunity, your chances of having a great outing with lots of fish may actually be better than they are on the big reservoirs.

These are not catch-and-release lakes. The DWFF Fisheries Section wants you to keep what you catch and take it home with you. It helps their overall management plan.

Here are six lakes in North Alabama you may want to consider checking out this spring for shellcrackers and bluegills.

MADISON COUNTY LAKE
Madison County Lake covers 105 acres near Gurley, 11 miles east of Huntsville. The lake is typically open six days a week, closed on Wednesday, during the spring fishing season.

“Madison County is a good lake for bream,” said Phil Ekema, a state fisheries biologist who works in northwest Alabama.

“We see some especially large shellcrackers coming out of this lake. We see numbers of bluegills, and sizes when it comes to shellcrackers.”