Weiss Lake

Weiss Lake is a lake in northeastern Alabama that is owned and operated by the Alabama Power Company. The lake consists of 30,200 acres (122 km²), all coming from the Coosa River, Chattooga River (Alabama–Georgia), and Little River, offering over 447 miles (719 km) of shoreline and shallow flats, large coves, under-water drop offs and deep channels. Lake Weiss also has privately owned hotels, marinas, campground and bait and tackle stores.

Map of Weiss Lake, United States

Weiss Dam, creating the reservoir, was begun as the first of seven hydroelectric projects on the Coosa in 1958, and finished three years later. It is a concrete and earthen gravity dam, 126 feet (38 m) high, named after Fernand C. Weiss, a former chief engineer of Alabama Power.

Weiss Lake contains crappie, largemouth bass, and striped bass. In 2009 the population of bass consists of 15–18 inch preferred size bass as well as abundant numbers of young growing bass. The striped bass population primarily consist of 3–7 pound fish, but fish over 25 pounds have been caught as well. The best seasons for fishing crappie are March through May, yet September through November months are good as well. The best bass months are February through May, and in October and November.

The Rome Sailing Club began at Garden Lakes in 1955, but moved to Lake Weiss in 1980. Lake Weiss has 11 bridges crossing it. At full summer pool, Weiss Lake sits 564 feet (172 m) above sea level. A book by local newspaper editor Douglas Scott Wright, titled A History of Weiss Lake, describes the decades-long battle to build a series of dams along the upper Coosa River, the farmers who tried to stop construction of Weiss Dam, the man the lake was named after, and the ups and downs the community have experienced since it was completed in June 1961.