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Lake LBJ Fishing Report

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

Lake LBJ: the constant-level Highland Lake on the Colorado River at Marble Falls and Kingsland, where TPWD calls the white crappie the best in the chain.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Lake level
824.81 ft -0.19 vs pool
Air / High
84 / 84 F
Wind
SE 10 mph

Sources: Texas Water Development Board (Lake Lyndon B. Johnson), 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 LBJ offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The gauge reads 824.81 ft, 0.19 ft below pool, up 0.10 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 10 mph, rising pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 84. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:38 PM-12:38 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 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

Daily lake level from the Texas Water Development Board (Lake Lyndon B. Johnson); live weather.

Water level, last 30 days

Texas Water Development Board daily estimate, 98.9% of conservation capacity on 2026-10-23. Conservation pool is 825 ft.

824.27824.58824.89pool 825824.81 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp84 F
High / Low84 / 55 F
WindSE 10-13 mph
Pressure1017.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:41 / 18:53
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 LBJ this week

The best day on Lake LBJ this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 5 out of 5, against 2 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€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:38 PM-12:38 AM
Minor period
4:33 AM-5:33 AM
Sun
07:41 to 18:53
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 10 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake LBJ: 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 Lake LBJ 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 Lake LBJ 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 83 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 83 F, wind to 8 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 81 F, wind to 6 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 on LBJ (valid Sept. 1, 2026-Aug. 31, 2027): largemouth bass 14-inch minimum and no minimum on Guadalupe bass, 5 black bass a day combined; white bass 10-inch minimum, 25 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; flathead catfish 18-inch minimum, 5 a day. LCRA enforces special bowfishing rules. Zebra mussels are present.

Access

TPWD lists two main public ramps: Wirtz Dam/Cottonwood ramp on the south shore near the dam (one lane, launch fee, operated by the Lake LBJ Yacht Club and Marina) and Kingsland Lions Park on the Llano River arm (one lane, day use, fee requested). Several small public ramps are in Granite Shoals.

About this water

6,449 acres on the Colorado River, Burnet and Llano counties, Texas; impounded 1951; LCRA; constant level. The level shown here is a daily figure from the Texas Water Development Board.

Fishing Lake LBJ: the full guide

A constant-level lake

TPWD lists Lake LBJ at 6,449 acres on the Colorado River near Marble Falls, Kingsland and Granite Shoals, maximum depth 90 feet, impounded in 1951 and controlled by the LCRA. The level is held constant at a conservation pool of 825 feet; the water is clear to slightly stained, rocky and clear near the dam and sandier and more stained up the lake.

Bass among the docks

TPWD describes a moderate-density largemouth and Guadalupe bass population. Largemouth tend to stay shallow all year: flip worms and jigs in the scattered water willow, or pitch to the thousands of docks, especially in the Colorado River arm near deeper water. In the clear lower lake topwaters, willowleaf spinnerbaits and shallow to mid-depth crankbaits work along rocky banks, and the canals warm early and draw prespawn bass in February and March.

White bass, crappie and the warm-water outlet

White bass run up the Llano and Colorado River arms from February to May; TPWD notes the Lions Club ramp in Kingsland gives close access to the Llano above the lake during the run. TPWD calls LBJ's white crappie population the best of any Highland Lake, especially around docks and brush piles. A small power plant in the Horseshoe Bay area discharges warm water in winter, which concentrates forage and game fish.

Stocking and records

TPWD has stocked Lone Star bass every year since 2022, 152,005 fingerlings in 2026. Lake records include a 13.70-pound largemouth bass (2010) and a 71.40-pound blue catfish (2016).

Common questions

Does Lake LBJ's level change?

Very little: TPWD lists the lake as constant level at 825 feet; the chart on this page shows the daily level.

When do white bass run on Lake LBJ?

From February into May, up the Llano and Colorado River arms; the Kingsland Lions Park ramp is the closest launch for the Llano run.

Where is the crappie fishing on LBJ?

Around docks and man-made brush piles, according to TPWD, which rates the lake's white crappie the best of the Highland Lakes.

Is fishing good at Lake LBJ 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 Marble Falls5 miInks Lake12 miLake Buchanan18 miLake Travis20 miLake Austin37 miLady Bird Lake43 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Reservoir level
Texas Water Development Board β€” Lake Lyndon B. Johnson
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 30.5563, -98.3637 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.