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Lake Bridgeport Fishing Report

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

Lake Bridgeport: an 11,954-acre West Fork Trinity reservoir with largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, and white bass, hybrids and crappie that TPWD rates excellent.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
836.18 ft 0.18 vs pool
Air / High
66 / 83 F
Wind
SE 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08043000, 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.

Lake Bridgeport sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. The gauge reads 826.74 ft, 9.26 ft below pool, easing 0.16 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 5 mph, steady pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 83. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:36 PM-12:36 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.

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.

Hybrid striped bassFair

Look for shad on flats with timber near creek channels and on windblown points; cast jigs and swimbaits where fish break the surface.

Tomorrow: Similar at 80 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 Bridgeport Res abv Bridgeport, TX.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08043000. Conservation pool is 836 ft.

828.36831.37834.38pool 836826.74 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp66 F
High / Low83 / 51 F
WindSE 5-14 mph
Pressure1019.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:42 / 18:48
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 Lake Bridgeport this week

The best day on Lake Bridgeport this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:36 PM-12:36 AM
Minor period
4:31 AM-5:31 AM
Sun
07:42 to 18:48
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 11 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Bridgeport: 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.

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.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: the spring shad spawn and fall; summer at dawn and dusk

A hatchery cross of striped bass and white bass, also called wiper or palmetto bass, stocked by state agencies into reservoirs and rivers as a sport fish that also eats gizzard shad. Schools roam open water after shad. Look for shad on flats with timber near creek channels and on windblown points; cast jigs and swimbaits where fish break the surface.

When to come: the Lake Bridgeport 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
Smallmouth bass
Hybrid striped 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 Bridgeport 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 82 F, wind to 6 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 80 F, wind to 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

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 79 F, wind to 8 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. Statewide TPWD limits apply (valid Sept. 1, 2026-Aug. 31, 2027): largemouth and smallmouth bass 14-inch minimum, no minimum on spotted bass, 5 black bass a day combined; white bass 10-inch minimum, 25 a day; hybrid striped bass 18-inch minimum, 5 a day; crappie 10-inch minimum, 25 a day; blue and channel catfish 25 a day combined, only 10 of them 20 inches or longer. Zebra mussels are present.

Access

TPWD lists the US 380 bridge ramp at Runaway Bay (single lane, no fee, run by TRWD, not usable at high water), Lakeside Marina (may be out of water when the lake is low), the dam site, Wise County Park and Northside Marina.

About this water

11,954 acres on the West Fork Trinity River, Wise and Jack counties, Texas; impounded 1932, new spillway 1972; Tarrant Regional Water District. Lake level on this page comes from USGS gauge 08043000, Bridgeport Reservoir above Bridgeport.

Fishing Lake Bridgeport: the full guide

Lake facts

TPWD lists Bridgeport at 11,954 acres on the West Fork Trinity River in Jack and Wise counties, off US 380, with a maximum depth of 85 feet. It was impounded in 1932 and renovated with a new spillway in 1972. The Tarrant Regional Water District controls it; conservation pool is 836 feet and the level moves an average of 12 feet a year. On Oct. 8, 2026 the lake gauge read about 827 feet, roughly 9 feet below pool.

Rock, gravel and bass

TPWD calls most of the 170-mile shoreline good bass habitat, with 7 miles of riprap, 90 miles of boulders and many coves and points. Submerged gravel piles left by the free-flowing West Fork lie near the Lakeview Lodge on the Sid Richardson Scout Ranch, Windy Point, Captain Kidd Point and Steele Island, and hold white bass and black bass. Largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass bite almost year-round; spring and fall are best, and February and March are the time for a trophy.

White bass, hybrids and crappie

White bass fishing peaks during the spring spawning run up the tributaries and off main-lake points; in summer they turn up in front of the dam, near Rattlesnake Island and over the gravel piles. Hybrids use the same places and baits and in winter feed on shad under flocks of gulls. Crappie school on deep structure in winter and move shallow to spawn in spring, when Bean Creek and Big Creek are two of the best spots. Channel catfish are best in spring when the tributaries run and in summer on the flats.

Stocking and records

TPWD released 113,594 sunshine (hybrid striped) bass fingerlings in 2026 and has stocked them every year since 2021. Lake records include a 12.73-pound largemouth bass (2020), an 11.88-pound hybrid striped bass (2013) and a 3.35-pound white crappie (2014).

Common questions

Does Lake Bridgeport have spotted and smallmouth bass?

Yes. TPWD lists largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass among the predominant species and rates the black bass fishing good.

Where are the submerged gravel piles?

TPWD names the areas near the Lakeview Lodge on the Sid Richardson Scout Ranch, Windy Point, Captain Kidd Point and Steele Island.

Can I launch at the US 380 bridge when the lake is high?

No. TPWD says the single-lane US 380 ramp at Runaway Bay is not usable at high water; Lakeside Marina's ramp, by contrast, can be out of the water when the lake is low.

Is fishing good at Lake Bridgeport 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

Eagle Mountain Lake30 miLake Worth35 miPossum Kingdom Lake42 miBenbrook Lake44 miLake Granbury47 miGrapevine Lake48 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 08043000 β€” Bridgeport Res abv Bridgeport, TX
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 14:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 33.1600, -97.8676 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.