David K Nelson WMA

Me and my brother have been talking about making a trip to Dempolis for a while, and I wanted reach out to Aldeer before we went. We are in a club that is mostly pines and green fields so we are looking for a change of scenery. I have heard the swamp area is good, and some areas can only be reached by boat. I do have a flat bottom with trolling motor. I was hoping some of you could give me some tips or advice. We are thinking of going to the last gun hunt or the ML hunt in February. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You really need a boat with a big motor to hunt this effectively. I've never been to the Damsite area which is the only one you can reach by land. I think you might be able to get on the Backbone area by land, but I'm not 100% sure about that.

I've hunted there for years. Recently got a new aluminum rig to hunt and fish down there. I love it.

I got lost down there once.. no hills and all the palmetto threw us for a loop

Might want to check into the Corps land also. Quite a bit of it along both the Tombigbee and Warrior, but you would definitely need a boat. I would not advise going in a boat that only had a trolling motor.

Backbone is a short paddle across the creek to the WMA, which is your only access except the river, unless you're in an adjacent club. Sometimes there's a beaver dam upstream of the landing that folks walk across if the waters not up. I haven't been there this year and don't
know the status of the dam. Lots of deer in there. Lots of folks too, depending on weather and water level. Study an aerial view and you can see the roads, fields, etc. You can't get lost but you can get real wet. Don't know anything about other parts of that WMA.

Decided to try it last year and saw 4 different flashlights bobbing through the woods from different directions before daylight. Lots of people loaded up on fairly small tracts of land.

We was planning on camping at the Belmont camp ground and trolling over to the swamp. Just wasn't sure how the current was crossing the river. I may need to invest in a big motor for my boat. Thanks to all that has responded so far.

Ive tried it a few times and saw a lot more people sign than deer sign but I have some friends that have had quite a bit of luck down there. I would not go with out a big motor.

Used to be my favorite place to hunt. I havent been down there deer hunting in two yesrs. The hunting sucks

I went last January and hunted backbone by boat for 3 days. The four of us saw a total of 6 deer. I was very dissapointed. The previous year I didn't go and my buddies said they saw a pile of deer but we certainly didn't have that luck. I would go back but I would have much different expectations.

Well that's just not true. I've hunted down there for 20 years and "sucks" is not an adjective I've ever heard used about that area. It has a bunch of deer on it.


We lost a couple of guys down there before. It's easy to get turned around on the river. We found one of them quick. The other guy didn't show up again until the next day. He wasn't too bright.....

I hunted it for about 10 years and the deer sightings have went down considerably. I dont even see deer on the drive in anymore

The area in general is good, but you need to have good social skills on the wma. You'll get to wave your hat and blink your light at plenty of people.
The hunting is not nearly as good on the wma as it once was.

True story:


We took a guy bow hunting for his first time about 10 years ago. We put him in a little hardwood neck between two cut overs that really funneled the deer. We set him up in a climber and left him.

We picked him up that afternoon and he hadn't killed anything. He did see deer. A lot of deer! The dude was such a bad shot that he had emptied his quiver in the first couple of hours, climbed down, picked up his arrows, and proceeded to miss five more times! He saw (30) deer easy and missed (10). All in one afternoon.

I tell people all the time. If there's one place in Alabama where you want to go bow hunting and be successful, it's Demopolis WMA.

I'm fortunate to have a couple of places to stay right there near the Lock 5 park. I've often considered getting a lake place there. While the hunting and fishing are excellent, the recreational aspects of it aren't so great. I'm not sure I could talk the wife into it.


Edit: There is also cops land on Lock 5 and around Moundville too. The corp land on the Tombigbee is excellent as well, but you have to contend with the yachts and their wakes.

Haven't hunted it in many years. When I did, I duck hunted in the morning and bow hunted the afternoon. Also hunted some muzzleloader days and a few gun days.

Success was directly correlated to the amount of effort spend getting away from the crowds. The easy to get to areas are hunted hard. It is the only place I have hunted where deer routinely look up into the trees. With a flat bottom and a trolling motor you will be limited to backbone or walking.

The closest corp land is around selden lock and dam

I wish there was some on Holt. Saw plenty of deer over there this week while fishing. I hunted Mulberry some. Bunch of deer there too, but its really hard to hunt.

That's where we got lost

If you hunt there take a map and a compass and know how to use both. Can't count the number of lost people I have carried out of that place.

Two stories were good. Had a guy walk under my stand next to the Tombigbee river. He was lost. Asked him where his boat was tied up. On the Black Warrior 200 yards from where the 2 rivers meet. He was not pleased to find he had walked 2 miles up the wrong river.

Another time I was bow hunting and it started raining. Was well prepared with rain suit and umbrella over my stand. So I sat and drank coffee and enjoyed snacks. Stayed way into the morning. It became apparent that the rain wouldn't stop and I was going to have to leave my dry area and pack it up. As I approached the boat i heard a "help" from across the slough. There stood a very wet hunter carrying a bow, stand on his back and an FRS radio. He was very glad to see me and said he had been waiting on me for 2 hours. NO compass, he was using the FRS to talk to his buddies as they passed in a boat and then walked toward the engine noise. He had wandered all through the swamp and would have been sitting in my boat except the slough was too deep. He had no answer when I pointed out that he was already soaked. All ended well as I gave him a ride back to Belmont and his buddies.

It is a good place to get lost and there are lots of bodies of water that will detour your journey.

I have too but youd newd rock climbing gear to get to them

Guys I come up with a big motor to go on my boat so we gonna try the ML hunt in February, and I will be sure to carry my compass. Thanks for all the info

My buddy that lives there had a pretty good week with the last gun hunt. When I buy a place on the lake, it's gonna be there. If the wife wins, it'll be Mitchell or Yates. All have huntable water access.