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Lake Tawakoni Fishing Report

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

Lake Tawakoni: a 37,879-acre Sabine River reservoir east of Dallas, beside West Tawakoni, which the Texas Legislature named the Official Catfish Capital of Texas in 2001.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
434.95 ft -2.55 vs pool
Air / High
81 / 83 F
Wind
S 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08017400, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
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 Tawakoni lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The gauge reads 434.95 ft, 2.55 ft below pool, easing 0.35 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 5 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 83. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:01 AM-12:01 PM and 10:28 PM-12:28 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

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.

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 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 Lk Tawakoni nr Wills Point, TX.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08017400. Conservation pool is 437.5 ft.

435.40436.23437.05pool 437.5434.95 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp81 F
High / Low83 / 50 F
WindS 5-9 mph
Pressure1019.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:34 / 18:41
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 Tawakoni this week

The best day on Lake Tawakoni 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
10:01 AM-12:01 PM and 10:28 PM-12:28 AM
Minor period
4:23 AM-5:23 AM
Sun
07:34 to 18:41
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

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: 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.

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.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

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
Hybrid striped bass
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 Tawakoni 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 8 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 81 F, wind to 5 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 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. TPWD rules for Tawakoni: blue and channel catfish 25 a day combined, no more than 5 of 20 in. or longer and only 1 of those 30 in. or longer; flathead 18-in. minimum, 5 a day; striped and hybrid bass 18-in. minimum, 5 a day combined; white bass 10-in. minimum, 25; crappie 10-in. minimum, 25; largemouth 14-in. minimum.

Access

Lake Tawakoni State Park (four-lane ramp), free TPWD ramps at both ends of the Two Mile Bridge on Texas 276, at White Point Causeway and at Duck Cove, the Caddo Creek ramp and a Sabine River Authority ramp on the west side of the dam, plus private marinas (TPWD access list).

About this water

37,879 acres, 70 ft maximum depth, impounded 1960 (TPWD), Van Zandt, Rains and Hunt counties, Texas. Lake level from the USGS gauge near Wills Point.

Fishing Lake Tawakoni: the full guide

The lake

TPWD lists Lake Tawakoni at 37,879 surface acres with a maximum depth of 70 feet, impounded in 1960 in Van Zandt, Rains and Hunt counties. In 2001 the Legislature's House Concurrent Resolution 74 declared the town of West Tawakoni, not the lake, the Official Catfish Capital of Texas.

Catfish

TPWD says channel and blue catfish are abundant, with limited numbers of flathead, and that trophy blue catfish are fairly common in winter. Anglers drift, fish from the bank and run trotlines with cut bait, shrimp, liver, stink baits and worms. The TPWD lake record blue catfish weighed 87.5 pounds (February 15, 2014), and the flathead record 88 pounds (June 20, 2015).

Stripers, hybrids and white bass

Striped bass, hybrid striped bass and white bass are vital to the lake, and TPWD stocks stripers and hybrids every year. In spring and summer, surfacing schools chase shad and draw seagulls; TPWD suggests slabs, spoons, shad-bodied grubs and topwaters, or vertical jigging and trolling points when nothing shows on top. Main-lake humps attract these schools.

Bass and crappie

Habitat is limited, so any cover holds largemouth: TPWD points to piers, boathouses, vegetation and shoreline trees. Crappie concentrate near bridge pilings, submerged trees and brush piles in late spring and fall.

Common questions

Is Lake Tawakoni the Catfish Capital of Texas?

The 2001 resolution (H.C.R. 74) gave the title to the town of West Tawakoni. The lake's catfishing is real: TPWD calls channel and blue catfish abundant and trophy blues fairly common in winter.

How big is the Tawakoni lake-record blue catfish?

TPWD's lake records list a blue catfish of 87.5 pounds caught on February 15, 2014.

What is the catfish limit on Tawakoni?

25 blue and channel catfish a day combined; no more than 5 may be 20 inches or longer, and only 1 of those may be 30 inches or longer (TPWD).

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

Nearby waters

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

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 08017400 β€” Lk Tawakoni nr Wills Point, TX
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 17:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 32.8821, -95.9923 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.