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  1. #1
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    Lakes to live on?

    Hi everyone,

    This may be an unusual question . . . . right now I live with my wife and family in Missouri. We are lucky enough to have a vacation home on Lake of the Ozarks. My wife's dad recently moved to a new home between Huntsville and Guntersville (Owens Cross Road). We are talking about - in a few years - selling both our houses and moving closer to her dad and buying a full time house on a lake in Alabama.

    What lakes should we look at? Preferably within 60 - 90 minutes of where her dad lives. Since this would be our full time house we would want it close to town, schools, etc. To me I just want it to have great bass fishing. :)

    Looking at a map - it seems Weiss, Wheeler, Guntersville, Neely Henry, Logan Martin - are there any others? Of these lakes which would be family friendly, in a good school district, allow fishing and water recreation opportunities (swimming, etc.)

    Thanks!

  2. Member
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    #2
    Quote Originally Posted by fishinFamily View Post
    Hi everyone,

    This may be an unusual question . . . . right now I live with my wife and family in Missouri. We are lucky enough to have a vacation home on Lake of the Ozarks. My wife's dad recently moved to a new home between Huntsville and Guntersville (Owens Cross Road). We are talking about - in a few years - selling both our houses and moving closer to her dad and buying a full time house on a lake in Alabama.

    What lakes should we look at? Preferably within 60 - 90 minutes of where her dad lives. Since this would be our full time house we would want it close to town, schools, etc. To me I just want it to have great bass fishing. :)

    Looking at a map - it seems Weiss, Wheeler, Guntersville, Neely Henry, Logan Martin - are there any others? Of these lakes which would be family friendly, in a good school district, allow fishing and water recreation opportunities (swimming, etc.)

    Thanks!
    I'd chose somewhere on pickwick probably near florence. I would avoid wheeler. Dirty water and pretty poor fishing compared to the others.
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  3. Netman extraordinaire Coosa Redeye's Avatar
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    #3
    Weiss is beautiful. Not really near any big cities. Would have to drive to Gadsden, AL or Rome, GA.
    Neely is in the heart of Gadsden. While there is plenty there, the schools are not great.
    Logan Martin is a pretty lake, and you have close access to I-20 which will take you into Birmingham.
    Guntersville is great, but swimming is an acquired taste due to all the grass.

    Personally, I would pick Weiss, just because I love that lake.
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  4. Member
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    #4
    Thanks guys!!! We’ll keep all this in mind when we start looking!!

  5. Member
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    #5
    Logan Martin and Neely Henry would be my choices if I was moving to the lake. Close enough to Birmingham and Atlanta for hospitals and such. Only problem is that the public schools in Alabama are very bad, so you will need to look into private school tuition if you have school age kids in the picture.

  6. Member
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    #6
    I live on neely henry and love it. My kids go to westbrook cristian school its a great school just something you can research and look into

  7. Member Midnight Rider's Avatar
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    #7
    The school situation depends on where you live. There are some good public schools in Alabama and there are plenty that stink. Unless you have plenty of money, it's going to be hard to find something on the lake at Guntersville. And the grass can be an issue if you have a shallow waterfront. Weiss is a nice lake, but will take some time to learn, as it is basically a shallow body of water. Crappie fishing is very good there. Logan Martin, while close (relatively) to Birmingham, is very busy in the summer months. Pickwick is a pretty place...Practically IN Florence, and close enough to Decatur and Huntsville. Lake Martin is a huge, clear lake, but is beautiful...homes are pricey though. Smith Lake is also HUGE and clear. Plenty of good boating/swimming and there are some big spotted bass in the lake. Not too far from Birmingham or Huntsville. Cullman would be the closest town of any size, depending on where you locate. Of all the lakes, Lay Lake is probably the best of all worlds. Affordable. Stable water. Good bass fishing, both spots and largemouth, and it's close enough to Birmingham if you need serious medical care. UAB Hospital is a premier medical facility, nationwide. It would be a little further from the Huntsville area though.

    Check out Smith, Lay, and Pickwick. Those would be my choices.
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  8. Member
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    #8
    Wow. Great info everyone! Thanks!!!!

  9. Dogfish_Jones
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    I'm kind of one sided here since I live on Logan Martin. But as mentioned you have access to I-20 To get from two major cities and some better places to see and do things. Plus you are in a good area to be near the other lakes on the Coosa River.
    It does get a tad crowded during the summer on the water. Fishing is good on the lake, plenty of spots, not big ones but plenty to catch.
    The cities are mainly Talladega and Pell City. You of course have the NASCAR races here if you like NASCAR.
    Schools outside the cities are okay but you do have some private schools around.
    If you like a all around type lake lifestyle Logan Martin, or Neely Henry fits that type style.

  10. Member
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    #10
    I agree Logan Martin is nice and it’s one of my favorite fishing lakes. However it will be farther from your FIL. Take a look at Smith lake near Cullman. I grew up there. Great fishing and a good recreational lake. Cullman schools are among the best. Close to Pickwick, Wheeler and Guntersville.

  11. Member
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    #11
    Hands down its Lay Lake. I'm biased because I live there but they keep the water level year round and have really good fishing. Also close to Birmingham.

  12. Member
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    #12
    My wife and I just built on Lake Wheeler, between Athens and Decatur. We are loving it so far. 15 - 20 minutes from either city. 45 - 60 minutes to Huntsville. Owens Cross Roads is just over the mountain from Huntsville. There's a waterfront home on my street for sale for $560K. On Tennessee River. Not knowledgeable of schools.

  13. Member Corkpuller's Avatar
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    #13
    560k

    reckon they'd take a check ?


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  14. Member mrlawler1's Avatar
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    #14
    Don't let them scare you away from Wheeler.. there are plenty of good schools in and around the Huntsville/Madison area... Wheeler has its moments as far as fishing goes but it's a beautiful place...
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  15. Member
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    #15
    IMO
    Any lake the corp of engineers does not control. Own cabin on Clark hill for 34 years. Their lake level management stinks in my humble opinion. Ga. Power seems to do a good job of managing their lake levels.
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  16. Member
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    #16
    Wilson is close to good schools and so is Pickwick. its also close to the shoals area. Florence, muscle shoals, Tuscumbia etc. there is also the bcda lakes close to there. pretty much within a two hour drive you can fish whatever type of water you want while living in this area. Huntsville also has good schools. Guntersville is a beautiful town also don't know about the schools.

  17. Member
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    #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Coosa Redeye View Post
    Weiss is beautiful. Not really near any big cities. Would have to drive to Gadsden, AL or Rome, GA.
    Neely is in the heart of Gadsden. While there is plenty there, the schools are not great.
    Logan Martin is a pretty lake, and you have close access to I-20 which will take you into Birmingham.
    Guntersville is great, but swimming is an acquired taste due to all the grass.

    Personally, I would pick Weiss, just because I love that lake.
    Weiss is cheap. I vacation there from Ohio. Lakefront is very reasonable. Id own a house if it was closer to home. As far a swimming, Martha's falls (little river canyon) is awesome. YouTube it. I doubt the schools are good though.

  18. Netman extraordinaire Coosa Redeye's Avatar
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    #18
    Quote Originally Posted by OH_Ranger View Post
    Weiss is cheap. I vacation there from Ohio. Lakefront is very reasonable. Id own a house if it was closer to home. As far a swimming, Martha's falls (little river canyon) is awesome. YouTube it. I doubt the schools are good though.
    Cherokee County schools are ok.
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