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VALLEY — After having been closed for several years, Chambers County Lake is open to the public once again and the fishing has been great. The new lake manager, Alan Franks, talked about what’s going out out there at Monday’s meeting of the Valley Lions Club, held in the community room at Sylvia Word Manor.

The lake was drained in 2020 to make some needed improvements to the dam and spillway gate and to improve the fish habitat.

“The lake was refilled in 2021 and restocked with bass and bluegill bream,” Franks told members of the club. “Northern bass and Florida bass were put in with the hope of producing Tiger bass.”

A Tiger bass is a hybrid freshwater fish, a cross between a Northern largemouth bass and a Florida largemouth bass. This hybrid was developed to create a fish with desirable traits like fast growth, strong bite and a tendency to be aggressive. They are known for their distinct appearance, often featuring a tiger-like pattern of spots or markings on their scales.

An estimated 400,000 bluegill bream were put in when the lake was refilled. The bass feed on them, but a very healthy bluegill population remains in the lake.

“Some of them that have been caught weight close to a pound,” Franks said.

The current goal is for Chambers County Lake to become a very popular bass-fishing lake. To do this, the big bass are being kept with the hope they will get even bigger. Bass that are at least 12 inches in length are released. Those shorter than 12 inches can be kept.

“We don’t have catfish or crappie right now,” Franks said. “We’ll be putting in catfish at the end of the year. People want to fish for crappie. The wildlife people tell us they will get here naturally. This happens with birds brining in fish eggs.”

The lake is open from sunup till sundown on Thursdays through Sunday. It will be open this coming Monday.

“Since it’s Memorial Day we thought we’d see how it goes on a holiday,” Franks said.

Anyone with an Alabama fishing license can fish there providing they pay a $5 daily fee. Ou-of-state licenses are valid as well. Those fishing the lake can keep a total of  10 bluegills and bass. Two people fishing together can keep up to 20 fish.

“That’s a nice mess of fish,” Franks said.

It has been a work in progress to get it the way state wildlife officials want it to be.

“We’ve fertilized the lake to get the color right,” Franks said. “It needs a green tint. We want it to be a better lake for fishermen and to get more people here.”

Chambers County Lake is one of 23 public lakes operated by the Alabama Wildlife and Fisheries Division. At 183 acres in size it’s the second largest public fishing lake in Alabama. A lake in Escambia County is 184 acres, making it slightly larger.

“The bass fishermen are loving it,” Franks said of the rebuilt, restocked lake.  “It’s going to be really popular when the Tiger bass get some size on them.”

Tiger bass are popular among pond and lake owners and anglers seeking to improve the fishing experience. The hybrid is known for its faster growth rate, often exceeding two pounds per year in well-managed lakes. Chambers County Lake now has a healthy population of Tiger bass, many in the four to eight-pound range.

Alan and wife Karen stay busy at the lake. On days the lake is open, Alan spends most of his time around the lake. Karen runs the lake store.

“There are five different spots on the lake where I put in fertilizer,” Franks said. “It speeds up the process of getting algae to bloom. I also check on water clarity. This lets me know is the algae is blooming the way it’s supposed to.”

The store is well stocked with with hot dogs, sandwiches, snacks and drinks. There’s also a bait and tackle business. Live bait such as worms, crickets and minnows are available.

Franks is a Valley guy. He grew up in Shawmut and is the nephew of the late James McDowell, who was a long-time member of the Valley City Council. Franks retired from Letica (or Berry Global) after driving a truck for them for 30 years. Before becoming a lake manager he was in the restaurant business on Lake Harding for a few years.

“I noticed on Facebook that they were looking for a manager for Chambers County Lake,” Franks said. “I applied for the position not expecting anything but I got a call for an interview. I talked to them, thought about it a lot, and when they offered me the job I accepted it.”

Franks said he’s glad to have this opportunity, especially with it being close to home.

“The lake used to be open six days a week,”” he said. “We may get back to that at some point but for now we are open on Thursdays through Sundays.”

The lake store had to be rewired and restocked before the lake could reopen. The Franks were moved in in February.

“It’s pretty neat being out there,” he said. “We run the lake as a business. The county helps us by cutting the grass. Our sources of income is what we make on permits, boat rentals and what we make at the store.”

Franks said he expected lots of fish to be in the lake, and that’s true, but there’s one critter there he was not expecting – an 11-foot-long alligator.

“They tell me he’d been there for a long time and that he might have a mate,” he said. “The state would like to have him moved, but I have no idea how they will do that.”

Franks said he appreciates the job being done by the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office of patrolling the lake.

“There doing an awesome job,” he said.

“We are looking at getting some things going for the kids. There’s a really nice playground out there, and we are thinking about having a fishing rodeo. We want to get the public to Chambers County Lake. It’s been good so far. There have been some weekends when we counted up to 40 vehicles in the parking lot.”

Thus far this year, more than 1,800 $5 permits have been sold. There are six rental boats at the lake. They are $10 each with the trolling motor costing a little extra.

Anyone 12 years of age and up will need a daily permit to fish the lake. Everyone needs an ID.

“We sell Alabama resident and nonresident licenses,” Franks said.