Bankhead Lake
Bankhead Lake fishing covers 9,200 Black Warrior River acres 20 miles west of Birmingham — USACE impoundment built for largemouth, river-run spotted bass, hybrid stripers, and world-record inland stripers out of the Smith Lake tailrace.

Bankhead Lock & Dam Area (Lower Lake)
USACE lock and dam with deep tailrace water, rip-rap, and Alabama Power hydro discharge seams on the Black Warrior River below Kellerman · Heavy jig on chunk rock along the dam; live shad near the hydro discharge; drop-shot on the bluff walls · Summer + Winter

Davis Creek Arm
Major tributary creek on the Tuscaloosa/Jefferson side with laydowns, timber, and a channel swing into the main river · Spinnerbait on the laydowns; shaky head on the channel swing; square-bill crankbait on the creek mouth · Spring + Fall

Lost Creek Arm
Walker County tributary arm north of the main river with timber, stumps, and a secondary-channel drop · Flip a jig to laydowns; pitch a Texas-rigged worm to timber; topwater in the back pockets at first light · Spring + Summer

Mulberry / Locust Fork Confluence (Upper Bankhead)
Upper pool in southern Walker County where the Mulberry Fork and Locust Fork confluence sits submerged within Bankhead — river current, timber edges, mudline potential after rain · Crankbait on the mudline when runoff meets clear water; ChatterBait on timber edges; jerkbait on staging fish · Spring

U.S. 78 / Argo-Oakman Bridge Pylons
Mid-lake highway bridge crossing with concrete pylons, rip-rap at the approaches, and a current break on the Black Warrior River · Shaky head on the pylons; swimbait on the current edge; live bait off the pylon for blue catfish · Year-round

Main River Bluff Banks (Below Mulberry Confluence)
Steep rock bluff walls on the main Black Warrior channel — classic Warrior-system winter and deep-water structure · Vertical jig on the wall; drop-shot in the deeper ledges; suspending jerkbait on sunny afternoons above 48°F · Winter

Smith Lake Tailrace (Bankhead Headwaters, Upper Pool)
Smith Dam tailwater at the extreme upper end of Bankhead — cold tailrace water, rip-rap, swift current on generation, rainbow trout stocking run-off · Swimbait on slack water for 3-8 lb hybrid stripers; in-line spinner or Power Bait for stocked rainbow trout; jerkbait on cool-water pockets · Spring + Fall (hybrid stripers) / Year-round (trout)

Bankhead Lake — Lake Center