Polecat Springs in Macon County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Polecat Springs sits in Macon County, out in Alabama. The surroundings are pine and hardwood. It is pond-in-a-field scale, with the far bank a short lob away. It is a small entry by Macon County standards. Tallassee lies 9.7 miles from the water. Emerald Mountain is 12 miles away, with Tuskegee at 12 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Polecat Springs

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Biodiversity records within roughly six miles include bluegill, blackbanded darter, longear sunfish and black crappie. Take it as evidence of what swims here, not a promise for one session. Read Polecat Springs for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 81°F and January near 46°F on the long-run figures. Cooler months are the productive ones on most of this water. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to be out. June to September is hot work, so the first and last hours are what count. The season on Polecat Springs rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. A carry of half a mile from the nearest parking is the price of fishing here. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. If the gate is shut, Lacey Lake Number 2 at 1.9 miles is the nearest alternative. None of that is settled for Polecat Springs in what we hold.