New park haven for anglers, boaters, vacationers on Neely Henry
Story by Paul South
Photos by Carol Pappas
Though decades have sped by since Jeff Brown’s boyhood growing up near Neely Henry Lake, his memories are as fresh as a newly-baked biscuit, or freshly-caught crappie squirming on a line.
“It’s been a marina forever,” Brown said. “When I was a kid, I remember running home from school, jumping in the boat and trying to catch some fish,” Brown, now a St. Clair County commissioner, said. But fishing for crappie and striped bass were only part of what hooked Brown on Neely Henry.
His voice cracked with emotion as he recalled camping with family near the lake. “I still remember my Mama making gravy and biscuits when we would be in our camper out there,” Brown said. “I’ve got a lot of great memories there.”
After investing more than $1 million to build the new Canoe Creek Boat Launch on Neely Henry, St. Clair County hopes to create a new batch of precious memories for current and future generations.
For many years, the launch was owned by Tom Willard, who eventually sold the facility to the county. For years, the county maintained the facility, until it learned of some grant funding available from the Alabama Department of Fish and Wildlife. In 2008-09, the county was awarded a $750,000 grant. The county came up with the additional funds.
“That got the ball rolling,” Brown said. The refurbished launch was unveiled last year.
“It’s a great facility,” Brown said. “We’ve got about 80 parking places for truck and trailer, 85 boat slips, four handicapped accessible slips, a floating dock you can put boats under in inclement weather, two fantastic docks, three lanes wide, to launch a boat from… In 2019, they are going to lower the water some, and the state is going to come in and add another 30 feet to the existing ramps. You’ll be able to launch in any kind of water then, whether it’s up or down. It’s been a great project.
“There’s also room for fishing off the banks of the lake. You can carry the kids down there and sit on the rocks and fish. It’s a very productive place to fish,” Brown said.
That productivity – waters teeming with bass and crappie – won’t only lure beginning anglers, but the county hopes some of the best fishermen in the world will come to Neely Henry for competitive fishing tournaments. In fact, tournaments may be a part of life at the new launch as early as this summer.
“It’s one of the targets I’d like to see it reach,” Brown said. “I’ve had people contact me already about holding bass tournaments and crappie-thons. I think it’s coming together quickly.”
Public and private efforts on the waters of St. Clair County like the new launch, kayaking, camping and cycling areas, picnic areas and new lakefront residential development, are helping transform the county into a hotspot for environmental tourism, from Logan Martin to Neely Henry, from Canoe Creek to Chandler Mountain.
Gene Phifer, president of the Neely Henry Lake Association, said the new launch has created a positive buzz.
“We have been down there and kept track of the progress. As far as being a functional, nice boat launch, it’s fully functional. There is a lot of excitement about it. It’s a beautiful facility.”
Brown agrees. “It’s a tremendous draw. Pleasure boating is a big thing on our lake,” Brown said. “You can’t just put a pontoon in any water. You have to have a good ramp and good water.”
The Canoe Creek Boat Launch project is close to Brown’s heart. He hopes the place will become special to visitors and locals alike. His own family camped at Evans Marina, only three miles from the new launch.
“I’m teared-up now,” Brown said. “Good times are hard to beat. I have a lot of good memories. I remember waking up to my Mama’s breakfast cooking. And we had fried crappie for supper a lot of times.”
As for the future of the launch and Neely Henry Lake, Brown is optimistic.
“I just see it continuing to grow. Growth is great as long as it’s done right, and that’s been the case with the private sector and with the county commission and the store owners,” Brown said. “It’s got to help Etowah County and Ragland, too. That’s what I love about the launch. It’s reaching out to a lot of different areas.”
Kelley Taft, engineer on the project, couldn’t agree more. She noted that the design “highlights the quiet lake community as a fishing asset. The marina is ADA compliant and creates inclusive access for people with a range of abilities. County Engineer Dan Dahlke and his staff did an amazing job implementing the design with skilled county construction crews.”
Brown is as clear as the lake water when he talks about the growth on Neely Henry. It’s about being a good neighbor to locals and tourists alike.
“I want to grow in a way that the neighbors are proud of it. I don’t want to be the new kid on the block that runs the neighbors off. I want the neighbors to say, ‘Wow, look at what we’ve got.’”
