By Judy Woodward Bates, Dora

With over 500 miles of shoreline, Lewis Smith Lake is a manmade wonder. This Alabama Power reservoir covers portions of three Alabama counties: Cullman, Walker, and Winston. And it boasts some of the most magnificent vacation and year-round residences in our state.

Smith's deep clear water is a big draw for all types of water enthusiasts. On weekends personal watercraft and ski boats are out in number, but during the week, fishermen have the lake more to themselves -- and certainly prefer it that way. The varying shorelines and bottom cover make Smith a perfect habitat for numbers of gamefish. Largemouth bass, spotted bass, crappie, bream, and catfish are plentiful and certain areas are even stocked with trout.

Yet another fish, a gollywhopper known as a striped bass, is quickly becoming the number one fishing draw for Lewis Smith Lake. These deep-water monsters grow to weights in excess of forty pounds and the popularity of fishing for these "big boys" has spawned a whole new group of fishing guides to help put fishermen onto these mammoth stripers.

But don't think stripers are the only "big boys" in Smith's waters. Carp, a gentle giant of the goldfish family, also inhabit the lake and grow every bit as large as some stripers. Though not nearly as popular as a gamefish, carp are a welcome species since these giant goldfish perform a valuable service -- when it comes to aquatic vegetation, carp are some of nature's best weedeaters, helping to keep the lake free of unwanted vegetation.

Charles and Jo Wilber started Rock Creek Marina in 1969, a row of floating boat slips and a small floating store with gas pumps. Jo loved wildlife, and during lulls in business, spent her time feeding the birds that flew around the marina. Soon she had them feeding from her hand. When she saw the enormous carp that swam around the area, she saw no reason why she couldn't make them into pets, too.

Jo began by throwing crackers into the water, which the carp soon came in droves to devour. One day she brought an old baby bottle down to the store and filled it with crackers and water. She cut an "X" in the end of the nipple so that the cracker mixture could pass through the opening. And then she did the unbelievable: she taught the carp to come up and drink from the bottle.

Thirty years later a whole new generation of carp are still bottle-feeding at Rock Creek Marina. The Wilbers sold the marina in the early '80's but the carp came with the package. The current owners, "Doc" and Carol Freeman, love "owning" the carp and running the marina.

"Everybody wants to see our carp," Carol smiles. "We've had visitors from as far away as Russia, China, and Germany. One person tells somebody who tells somebody else and so on."

One look at the gigantic fish swimming alongside the marina and you'll see why they're such an attraction. As Carol tosses in a handful of crackers, the water fairly explodes with activity as dozens of the huge carp push and shove against each other trying to snatch up a morsel. At the head of the pack, Charley, a whopper of his species, swoops in for the victory.

A covered porch surrounds the tiny store on floats and young and old love to watch the carp perform. Twenty-five cents buys you a pack of crackers and a barrel full of fun. Newcomers generally toss the food into the water and watch the fish come up and suck it in. More experienced feeders tend to hold the cracker between two fingers and let a carp take fingers and all into its rubbery soft mouth.

Jackie Jackson, an administrative assistant at the School of Pharmacy at Samford University in Birmingham and an old hat at feeding Rock Creek's friendly fish, thoroughly enjoys a chance to visit the carp. "Where else can you have crackers sucked from your toes?" she laughs. Jackie was kind enough to demonstrate her technique. By the time Jackie's foot touched the water, a two-foot carp had slurped up the proffered tidbit.

Rock Creek Marina sells gas and oil, snack foods, soft drinks, an assortment of this and that, and T-shirts featuring a sketch of their famous bottle-feeding carp. A good map of the Smith Lake area will give you directions to Rock Creek by land and water. Hours of operation are 9am-5pm Thursday through Tuesday, and Wednesdays 1pm-5pm from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The rest of the year they're open weekends only 9am-5pm.

Rock Creek Marina is located in Winston County and is operated by "Doc" and Carol Freeman. One way to get there by land: from Highway 278 take Highway 77 (Helicon Road) to County Road 22. Follow 22 across Bailey's Bridge, then bear left at the stop sign. Continue on to County Road 4006 and follow the signs on to the marina. For more information (or in case you get lost) you can call Rock Creek at (256) 747-8915. (Note: "Doc" recently suffered a stroke and has had to put the marina up for sale.)