Pickwick Lake is the reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 created by Pickwick Landing Dam

Pickwick Landing Dam

Pickwick Landing Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Hardin County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The dam is one of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1930s as part of a New Deal-era initiative to create a...

 as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority

Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...

. The lake stretches from Pickwick Landing Dam to Wilson Dam

Wilson Dam (Alabama)

Wilson Dam is a dam spanning the Tennessee River between Lauderdale County and Colbert County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It impounds Wilson Lake. It is one of nine Tennessee Valley Authority dams on the Tennessee River...

.

Pickwick Lake has excellent sportfishing areas, including the Wilson Dam tailwater at the upper end of the reservoir, noted for record-size smallmouth bass

Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...

 and catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

. Another favorite spot is the discharge basin at Colbert Fossil Plant west of Sheffield, Alabama

Sheffield, Alabama

Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in The Shoals MSA. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 9,652. Sheffield is the birthplace of notable attorney, actor, former senator and presidential contender Fred Thompson...

, where the warm water discharged from the power plant attracts fish during cold weather.

Pickwick Lake is the north end of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway is a 234-mile man-made, artificial waterway that extends from the Tennessee River to the junction of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River system near Demopolis, Alabama, United States. The Tenneessee-Tombigbee Waterway links commercial navigation from the nation’s...

, which provides a water transportation route to the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

.

See also

• Dams and reservoirs of the Tennessee River
  Dams and reservoirs of the Tennessee River
  The Tennessee Valley Authority operates the Tennessee River system to provide a wide range of public benefits: year-round navigation, flood damage reduction, affordable electricity, improved water quality and water supply, recreation, and economic growth....
  
  

Yellow Creek Cove is home to the Yellow Creek waterfall and is a popular destination for boaters. A rope swing off the top of the waterfall has been present for many years.

External links

• Tennessee Valley Authority: Pickwick Reservoir
• Fishing Pickwick Lake Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Crappie, and Sauger