Sometimes called "The Crappie Capital of the World," Weiss is obviously better known for its crappie population, which indeed serves up very good fishing. Many anglers don't even know that Weiss Lake has stripers in it, yet it actually offers very good fishing for the species. Some local anglers know a lot about the striper fishery, and the lake has gotten increasingly popular with area fishermen from Alabama and Georgia alike over the past few years.

Unlike Smith Lake, Weiss does not produce a lot of trophy fish. Stripers in the 3- to 7-pound range dominate the population, according to Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (DWFF) data. Quality fish of 15 to 20 pounds do show up from time to time, but real giants are almost unheard of.

The most distinctive thing about the Weiss Lake striper fishery is that it is self-sustaining. While the DWFF and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have stocked stripers in the lake at various times over the years, it has not gotten any regular releases for more than 10 years. All the stripers that are in the lake now were naturally spawned, which makes Weiss one of only a handful of inland waterways in the entire country where significant striped bass reproduction takes place.

Anglers began speculating that stripers were reproducing in Weiss Lake several years ago simply because they caught too many small fish, even in years when no saltwater stripes had been stocked. The DWFF also suspected that some natural reproduction might have been occurring, but they also knew that stripers could have escaped from upstream lakes in Georgia. Genetic testing eventually showed some young fish to be Gulf-strain stripers, and only Atlantic-strain fish were ever stocked in Carters and Allatoona lakes, upstream in Georgia.

Over the past year or two, striper fishing has not been as easy on Weiss as it had been for several years, which most likely is attributable to a couple of major factors. Top on that list is probably fishing pressure. While the lake's reputation as a striper fishery still hasn't traveled terribly far, it definitely has not been a secret among locals.

A decade ago, uneducated fish schooled like mad all over the lake and would attack any kind of lure. Today's Weiss Lake stripers are more low-key, and anglers pretty much have to fish with live shad to enjoy consistent success. A lot of fishermen also have learned about key fishing areas, and with the ever-increasing popularity of jet-powered boats, some anglers can follow the stripers way up the rivers and creeks to areas that used to provide refuges.

A second factor probably has been the return of water to the area over the past year. High waters all last year, after a few years of drought conditions, have forced stripers and striper fishermen alike to make major adjustments.

Of course, the adult striper population on Weiss Lake is likely to vary more from year to year than that on many other reservoirs simply because of annual differences in the quality of spawning conditions. String a couple of poor spawns together, and the population seems like it is in a major downturn a few years later. Most striper lakes produce a certain level of fishing fairly consistently over the years because they get stocked with the same number of fish at the same time annually.

The Georgia Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) monitors the striper population that runs up the Coosa River out of the lake each spring and even collects some brood fish from the Coosa. No reductions in the numbers of quality fish that have made the run were apparent last year, according to Kevin Dalmier, a Georgia WRD fisheries biologist.

By May, Weiss stripers have finished their spawning run and returned to the lake, but they won't yet have been forced into summer haunts. Instead, they can show up virtually anywhere in the impoundment and could be anywhere from the surface down to the bottom. Most anglers use live shad and fish in the lower ends of creek and river arms, keying on points. Down lines and flat lines both come into play, but flat lines generally produce the most fish.

While schooling action is not as spectacular as it was several years ago, you are wise to keep a topwater plug nearby and be ready to throw it if any fish come up. A white or chartreuse bucktail is also a good lure to have on hand for any fish that give away their location. In fact, even when stripers are busting baitfish all over the surface, a bucktail often produces more and larger fish than a surface plug.

Because conditions are good all over the lake during May, the stripers wander a lot, based on movements of baitfish schools. You are wise to ask questions in bait shops before heading out and to take note of areas that a lot of other boats are using. Once in a general area, pay close attention to your electronics and adjust presentations until you locate the fish.

During the summer, quality habitat becomes much less widespread, and fish concentrate much more. Prime dog days areas are close to the dam and well back up in cooler tributaries like Little River, where the fish find pockets of thermal refuge.

Because Weiss Lake's striper population is self-sustaining and has only been noted in recent years, no one really knows how much it will fluctuate or how the fish will fare under various conditions and increased fishing pressure. For now, there appear to be plenty of stripers left in the lake.

On Weiss Lake, anglers may keep up to 30 white bass, yellow bass, stripers or hybrids in any combination, with no size restrictions. No reciprocal agreement between Georgia and Alabama covers Weiss Lake. Anglers must either be licensed by both states or stay on the proper side of the border.

For more information on the fishing, contact JR's Marina at (256) 779-6461. For details on lodging and other fishermen's services, call the North Alabama Tourism Association at (800) 648-5381 or log onto www.northalabama.org.