Why Montgomery, Alabama Belongs on the Fly Fishing Map

Ask most fly anglers to name their bucket-list destinations and Alabama probably isn't the first place that comes to mind.

Montana? Sure. Colorado? Absolutely. Maybe the Smokies if you're looking for something closer to home.

Montgomery, Alabama? Probably not.

I think that's a mistake.

Alabama doesn't need to compete with the West as a trout destination. What it offers is something completely different: diverse warmwater fisheries, unique native species and rivers that can challenge what you think fly fishing is supposed to look like.

Just north of Montgomery, the Coosa River is a great place to start.

The Coosa Isn't What You Expect

Below Jordan Dam, the Coosa River runs roughly seven and a half miles before reaching Wetumpka. Along the way, it winds through rocky shoals, islands, deep runs and sections of Class II and III whitewater.

Cypress trees and Spanish moss line parts of the river. Great blue herons, egrets, ospreys and bald eagles are regular sights. Water levels change with power generation, sometimes transforming the river dramatically over the course of a day.

And underneath that water is an equally diverse fishery.

Alabama bass, freshwater drum, longnose gar, striped bass and hybrid striped bass are all legitimate targets with a fly rod.

Not simply fish you might happen to catch; fish you can intentionally pursue.

Pick a Fish

One of the things I enjoy most about fly fishing the Coosa is that multispecies fishing doesn't have to mean throwing a fly and waiting to see what eats it.

Most of the time, we start with a target.

If we're after Alabama bass, we fish the water and presentations that make sense for bass. Targeting freshwater drum requires a different approach. Gar often mean working flies deep through pools and using feel to connect with fish you may never see until they're hooked. At certain times of year, conditions can also create opportunities to sight fish for them. Stripers and hybrids can change where we fish, how we fish and the equipment we use.

Incidental catches happen, but they're exactly that: incidental.

That intentional approach creates several different fly-fishing experiences on the same river. An angler can spend one day throwing streamers or topwater flies for Alabama bass, then come back and approach the river completely differently while targeting another species.

It also highlights something that gets lost when fly fishing becomes synonymous with trout.

The fly rod is simply a tool.

There are a lot of fish worth chasing with it.

Central Alabama Is More Accessible Than You Think

The Coosa tailwater is about half an hour from downtown Montgomery, making it possible to stay in the city and reach productive water without spending half the day driving.

But Montgomery isn't the only access point.

Birmingham is a little over an hour away, putting the Coosa within easy reach of Alabama's largest metropolitan area. For anglers traveling from elsewhere, central Alabama can also serve as a base for exploring other fisheries throughout the region.

The Tallapoosa River offers another completely different experience, including opportunities to target native redeye bass. Alabama even has a Redeye Bass Slam built around pursuing these unique native fish across different river systems.

That's a story worth telling on its own.

The important point is that the Coosa isn't an isolated opportunity. It's one piece of a much larger fly-fishing landscape.

Alabama Fly Fishing Is Different. That's the Point.

If your idea of a great fly-fishing trip requires trout, mountains and cold water, Alabama probably isn't going to replace your favorite destination.

It isn't trying to.

Fly fishing in Alabama is about discovering what else you can do with a fly rod.

It can mean working a topwater fly through a Coosa River current seam for Alabama bass. Working a fly deep through a pool for a big longnose gar. Searching deeper water for freshwater drum. Finding stripers moving through the river. Or exploring smaller streams in search of native redeye bass.

The species change. The water changes. The approach changes.

That's what makes it interesting.

There are still places where you can explore, experiment and encounter fish that many fly anglers have never considered pursuing.

Central Alabama is one of them.

So, if Montgomery has never been on your fly-fishing map, maybe it should be.

Fly-Fishing is Bigger Than You Think.