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Lake Texoma Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The striper capital of the world: one of the few inland lakes where stripers spawn naturally.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
56 cfs
Air / High
98 / 99 F
Wind
SSE 10 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07331600, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Texoma serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The river is running 56 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSE around 10 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 99. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 100 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Red Rv at Denison Dam nr Denison, TX.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07331600.

2,5837,27811,97256 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp98 F
High / Low99 / 76 F
WindSSE 10-12 mph
Pressure1010.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain33% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:02 / 19:48
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 99/76 F, wind 10 mph, rain 1%

Fair or better. A 10 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Texoma: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Lake Texoma calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Texoma today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 89 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 99 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 101 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Oklahoma requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Striped bass: 10 per day, only 2 over 20 inches. A dedicated Lake Texoma license ($12) covers both Texas and Oklahoma waters.

Access

Highport, Grandpappy Point, Eisenhower State Park (TX) and Catfish Bay, Alberta Creek (OK) are major launches. Bank access at Denison Dam and the state parks.

About this water

89,000 acres on the Red and Washita rivers, Texas/Oklahoma border. Corps of Engineers, impounded 1944. One of the few self-sustaining inland striper fisheries on Earth.

Fishing Lake Texoma: the full guide

A border lake with an ocean fish

Lake Texoma spreads 89,000 acres across the Texas-Oklahoma line, impounded in 1944 where the Red and Washita rivers meet at Denison Dam. Its claim to fame is unique: the water is salty enough (natural salts from the Red River) that striped bass, an ocean species stocked in the 1960s, reproduce naturally here. No hatchery needed: the lake sustains millions of stripers on its own, which is why guides run year-round and limits are common.

Finding the stripers

Winter and early spring, the schools stack deep on the river channels and points; live shad on downlines is the standard. In April-May the fish run up the Red and Washita to spawn. Summer brings the show: massive surface blitzes at dawn, birds diving, and topwater or slabs catching fish every cast until the sun gets high. Deadsticking big flats in winter fog is a Texoma tradition.

Beyond the stripers

Texoma holds an underrated smallmouth population on its rocky south-shore bluffs, excellent blue catfish (the lake produced a former world record over 121 lb), and spring white bass runs. A special Lake Texoma license covers both states' waters: one stamp, the whole lake.

Common questions

Why do stripers reproduce in Lake Texoma?

The Red River carries natural salts that keep the water slightly brackish, and the long river arms give stripers the current-swept spawning runs they need. Eggs stay suspended long enough to hatch: something almost no other inland lake provides.

Do I need two licenses for Texoma?

No. The Lake Texoma license covers the whole lake, both states. If you fish only one state's portion, that state's regular license also works.

When is the topwater striper bite?

Roughly June through September at first light: look for birds working over schools pushing shad to the surface. It can be a fish every cast until the sun climbs.

Is fishing good at Lake Texoma right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Lake Murray25 miBlue River29 miBois d'Arc Lake39 miLake Ray Roberts42 miLake Lavon57 miLake Lewisville58 mi
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