Share your catch
US

Lake Amistad Fishing Report

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

Amistad Reservoir: 64,900 acres of rocky border water near Del Rio, where largemouth bass are the most popular fish.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Lake level
1062.71 ft -54.29 vs pool
Air / High
82 / 84 F
Wind
SE 17 mph

Sources: Texas Water Development Board (Amistad Reservoir), 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.

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

Lake Amistad lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The gauge reads 1062.71 ft, 54.29 ft below pool, up 2.25 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SE around 17 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 84. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:23 AM-12:23 PM and 10:50 PM-12:50 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.

Smallmouth bassGood

Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

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 82 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

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 →

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

Daily lake level from the Texas Water Development Board (Amistad Reservoir); live weather.

Water level, last 30 days

Texas Water Development Board daily estimate, 46.5% of conservation capacity on 2026-10-23. Conservation pool is 1117 ft.

1066.961086.671106.39pool 11171062.71 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp82 F
High / Low84 / 66 F
WindSE 17-20 mph
Pressure1014.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain26% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset07:52 / 19:06
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 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Lake Amistad this week

The best day on Lake Amistad this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
10:23 AM-12:23 PM and 10:50 PM-12:50 AM
Minor period
4:45 AM-5:45 AM
Sun
07:52 to 19:06
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 17 mph
Rain chance
4%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Amistad: 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.

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.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

When to come: the Lake Amistad 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
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
Smallmouth 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 Lake Amistad today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 13 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 84 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 81 F, wind to 15 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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 license and statewide Texas rules on the U.S. side. The border follows buoys RG1 to RG28 along the Rio Grande channel; in Mexican waters you need a Mexican fishing license and follow Mexico’s limits. An Amistad Lake Use Pass is required for all motorized boats and non-motorized boats 14 feet or longer. Zebra and quagga mussels are present: clean, drain and dry.

Access

NPS ramps include Diablo East, Rough Canyon, Spur 406, Spur 454, Box Canyon, Pecos River, 277 North and South, Black Brush Point and Southwinds; which are open depends on the lake level. Shore fishing is allowed outside harbors and swim areas.

About this water

64,900 acres on the Rio Grande, Val Verde County, Texas, and Coahuila, Mexico; impounded 1969; controlled by the IBWC; Amistad National Recreation Area (NPS).

Fishing Lake Amistad: the full guide

A border reservoir

Texas Parks and Wildlife lists Amistad at 64,900 acres on the Rio Grande, 12 miles northwest of Del Rio, with a maximum depth of 217 feet. It was impounded in 1969, the International Boundary and Water Commission controls it, and the National Park Service runs Amistad National Recreation Area on the U.S. side.

Bass on rock

TPWD calls largemouth bass the most popular and most abundant sportfish and rates smallmouth fair, especially in the Devils River arm. Rocky structure dominates the lake: ledges, drop-offs and points, with isolated flooded timber and fish attractors near Governor’s Landing. Largemouth fishing peaks from fall through spring on topwater, buzzbaits and crankbaits along the rock.

Other fish

Channel and blue catfish take stinkbait and cutbait, and striped and white bass are also present. White bass fishing is best during their spring spawning runs, from January through March.

Low water and ramps

Lake levels swing widely. In July 2024 the Park Service reported the reservoir at a historic low of 24 percent of capacity, with most ramps closed; low-water ramp closures are posted in the park’s alerts, so check them before towing.

Common questions

Do I need anything special to fish Amistad?

A Texas license on the U.S. side, a Mexican license in Mexican waters (the line is marked by buoys RG1 to RG28), and an Amistad Lake Use Pass for most boats with a motor.

Which ramps are open?

It depends on the lake level; the Park Service posts ramp closures in its alerts.

Where is the smallmouth fishing?

TPWD rates it fair, best in the Devils River arm.

Is fishing good at Lake Amistad 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 Nasworthy127 miMedina Lake146 miO.H. Ivie Lake161 miBraunig Lake181 miCalaveras Lake185 miCanyon Lake186 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Reservoir level
Texas Water Development Board — Amistad Reservoir
Water Data for Texas, daily average elevation estimated by the TWDB from operator data (for this lake, the Lower Colorado River Authority). A daily figure, not a live reading.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 29.7077, -101.3528 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 5, 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 5, 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.