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Choke Canyon Reservoir Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Choke Canyon Reservoir: a 25,670-acre Frio River lake west of Three Rivers, rated excellent by TPWD for largemouth, catfish and alligator gar, and far below full pool in fall 2026.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
190.60 ft -29.90 vs pool
Air / High
85 / 85 F
Wind
SE 10 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08206900, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Choke Canyon Reservoir lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The gauge reads 190.60 ft, 29.90 ft below pool, easing 0.19 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 10 mph, steady pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 85. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:37 PM-12:37 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassFair

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Similar at 83 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Texas requires a fishing licence from age 17, from $30.00 for residents. What a Texas licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with TPWD before you keep anything. The season dates for Texas, read off the agency, are on the Texas seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Choke Canyon Res nr Three Rivers, TX.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08206900. Conservation pool is 220.5 ft.

195.83205.55215.27pool 220.5190.60 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp85 F
High / Low85 / 59 F
WindSE 10-12 mph
Pressure1016.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:39 / 18:55
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Choke Canyon Reservoir this week

The best day on Choke Canyon Reservoir this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:37 PM-12:37 AM
Minor period
4:32 AM-5:32 AM
Sun
07:39 to 18:55
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 12 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

When to come: the Choke Canyon Reservoir 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
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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 Choke Canyon Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 88 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 87 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 86 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

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

Regulations

Texas fishing license. TPWD rules for Choke Canyon (valid Sept. 1, 2026-Aug. 31, 2027): blue and channel catfish 14-inch minimum, 15 a day combined; flathead catfish 18-inch minimum, 5 a day; largemouth bass 14-inch minimum, 5 black bass a day; crappie 10-inch minimum, 25 a day; white bass 10-inch minimum, 25 a day; alligator gar 1 a day, and every harvested alligator gar must be reported to TPWD within 24 hours.

Access

TPWD runs Choke Canyon State Park (Calliham and South Shore units, six-lane lighted ramps, park entry fee) and the Highway 99, Mason Point and San Miguel ramps. A park notice dated July 26, 2026 lists the Calliham, South Shore, Mason Point and Highway 99 ramps open, warns of low-water hazards at Highway 99 and Mason Point, and allows launching below the concrete when safe. South Shore closes to non-hunters from 5 p.m. Nov. 30 to 10 p.m. Dec. 3, and Calliham from 5 p.m. Jan. 4 to 10 p.m. Jan. 8.

About this water

25,670 acres on the Frio River, Live Oak and McMullen counties, Texas; impounded 1982; City of Corpus Christi. Lake level on this page comes from USGS gauge 08206900, Choke Canyon Reservoir near Three Rivers.

Fishing Choke Canyon Reservoir: the full guide

Lake facts

TPWD lists Choke Canyon at 25,670 acres in the Frio River watershed in Live Oak and McMullen counties, 4 miles west of Three Rivers, with a maximum depth of 95.5 feet. It was impounded in 1982 and is controlled by the City of Corpus Christi. Conservation pool is 220.5 feet, and TPWD calls the fluctuation high and frequent, 10 to 20 feet. On Oct. 8, 2026 the lake gauge read 190.96 feet, about 29.5 feet below pool.

Bass

TPWD rates largemouth bass excellent and reports frequent double-digit fish. Spring, fall and winter fish best. Popular spring baits are spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, lipless crankbaits, crankbaits and weightless soft plastics; in summer, fish topwaters early and late near weedbeds or go deep with crankbaits, Texas- and Carolina-rigged plastics or jigging spoons on brushy points, rocky shorelines, roadbeds and flooded brush near drop-offs. TPWD recommends line of at least 20-pound test in the dead huisache and mesquite.

Catfish, white bass and alligator gar

Blue catfish are the most abundant catfish, with flathead and channel catfish also rated excellent. White bass gather in the Frio River channel from December through February before running upstream to spawn, then school in deeper water near the northern shoreline. TPWD rates alligator gar excellent and says catches of trophy fish over 6 feet are frequent; the lake record on TPWD's list is a 216-pound alligator gar (Aug. 15, 2017).

Common questions

What is the catfish limit at Choke Canyon?

Blue and channel catfish must be at least 14 inches, with 15 a day combined; flatheads need 18 inches, 5 a day.

Are the boat ramps open at low water?

Choke Canyon State Park's July 26, 2026 notice listed Calliham, South Shore, Mason Point and Highway 99 open, with caution at Highway 99 and Mason Point and launching below the concrete only when safe.

Does Choke Canyon have alligator gar?

Yes. TPWD rates the alligator gar fishing excellent, reports frequent trophy fish over 6 feet, and lists a 216-pound lake record.

Is fishing good at Choke Canyon Reservoir right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Braunig Lake53 miCalaveras Lake55 miRockport82 miMedina Lake83 miPort Aransas87 miCorpus Christi91 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 08206900 β€” Choke Canyon Res nr Three Rivers, TX
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 28.4871, -98.2971 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.