Sports Editor

The Pike County Lake will reopen to the public on Monday, July 22, according to Alabama State Lake Supervisor Jack Turner.

Turner said the search for a prospective manager for the lake, following the resignation of former caretaker Diana Sullivan, took "a bit longer then expected."

The Pike County Lake has been closed to the public since early June.

Heidi Hendrickson will be the new manager when the lake opens for business on Monday at 5:30 a.m. Her responsibilities will include: opening and closing the lake for business, selling fishing permits and running the lake’s bait shop.

"Generally, she’ll be there to look over the day-to-day operations," said Turner.

Turner said the Alabama Department of Fisheries hasn’t received too many complaints from Pike County citizens concerning the lake’s closing.

"We thought we’d get a little more interest then we did," he said. "But usually what we see is that we have a lot of interest in fishing during the months of April and May and then it starts to decrease in early June. That’s when the weather starts getting too hot and people would rather stay inside."

However, for at least the first few weeks of the lake’s reopening, Turner said he thinks business will pick up.

"We expect to see a lot of fishing early," he said.

Turner said Pike County Lake is one of the smaller state lakes that his department oversees. The State of Alabama features 23 public lakes throughout 20 counties, all of which are managed by the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. The lakes range in size from 13 to 184 acres. Pike County Lake covers 45 acres.

The lake’s store features everything the outdoor angler could need, including ice, drinks, snacks, bait, tackle and fishing poles.

15-foot fishing boats can be rented and there is a launch on site for boat owners. Fishing costs $2.50 per day for ages 12 and up. Children 12 and under can fish for free.

Large mouth bass, blue gill, shellcracker, catfish and crappie are among the species of fish that call Pike County Lake home.

Turner said people could reach the Pike County Lake at (334)-484-9610 for more information. He also said they could contact the statewide program at (334)-242-3471.