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Lake Tawakoni Fishing Report

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

The official Catfish Capital of Texas, with a bird-chasing striper bonus all winter.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Lake level
436.02 ft -1.48 vs pool
Air / High
96 / 98 F
Wind
S 7 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08017400, 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.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Lake Tawakoni locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. The gauge reads 436.02 ft, 1.48 ft below pool, easing 0.10 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 7 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 98. 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

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

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

Largemouth bassSlow

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.

White bassSlow

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

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 97 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 Lk Tawakoni nr Wills Point, TX.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08017400. Conservation pool is 437.5 ft.

436.19436.71437.22pool 437.5436.02 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp96 F
High / Low98 / 75 F
WindS 7-11 mph
Pressure1011.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset07:00 / 19:45
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, 98/75 F, wind 12 mph, rain 4%

Fair or better. A 12 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Tawakoni: 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.

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.

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.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Lake Tawakoni 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 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 Tawakoni 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. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 86 F, wind to 17 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 17 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 101 F, wind to 12 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

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

Regulations

Blue and channel catfish: 25 combined per day, only one blue over 30 inches. Striped bass: 18-inch minimum, 5 per day. Confirm with TPWD.

Access

Lake Tawakoni State Park, Duck Cove, Anchor Inn and Wind Point Park cover the lake. Several marinas rig for catfish drifting.

About this water

37,879 acres on the Sabine River, Rains/Van Zandt/Hunt counties. Sabine River Authority, impounded 1960. Official Catfish Capital of Texas.

Fishing Lake Tawakoni: the full guide

Catfish central

The Texas legislature named Tawakoni the Catfish Capital of Texas, and the lake earns it: 37,000 fertile, shad-packed acres on the Sabine River that grow blues from eater-size to 80-plus pounds. Winter is the trophy window: drifting big fresh gizzard shad over the flats north of the dam produces the giants, while summer juglines and baited holes fill coolers with channels and eater blues.

The winter bird show

From November through March, Tawakoni runs one of the best gull-chasing games in Texas: stripers, hybrids and sand bass push shad to the surface and the birds mark every school. Keep a slab rod rigged, run to the birds, and it is instant action. The lake also steadily produces real numbers of 30-inch-plus stripers for those fishing live shad on the channel edges.

Bass, if you want them

Largemouth fishing is better than the lake's catfish fame suggests: docks and riprap on the west side, hydrilla edges when grass is up. But make no mistake: you come to Tawakoni for whiskers and birds.

Common questions

How big do the blue catfish get in Tawakoni?

The lake record tops 87 lb, and fish over 50 are caught every winter. The formula: big, fresh gizzard shad drifted slowly across baitfish flats in cold water.

When do the birds start working?

First strong cold fronts, usually November, and it holds until early March. Any calm-ish winter day with birds diving is a guaranteed bent rod.

Is Tawakoni good for a family fishing trip?

One of the best: eater catfish bite year-round on simple rigs, the state park has bank access and camping, and winter bird-chasing is nonstop action kids remember.

Is fishing good at Lake Tawakoni right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Lake Fork27 miLake Ray Hubbard30 miLake Lavon31 miCedar Creek Lake41 miLake Athens48 miLake Cypress Springs50 mi
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