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Lake Waco Fishing Report

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

The city lake rebuilt: raised pool, flooded timber and a bass fishery that came back swinging.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Lake level
459.73 ft -2.27 vs pool
Air / High
96 / 96 F
Wind
SSE 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08095550, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
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.

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

Lake Waco stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. The gauge reads 459.73 ft, 2.27 ft below pool, easing 0.30 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 96. 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)Good

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

Largemouth bassFair

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 bassFair

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 98 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 Waco Lk nr Waco, TX.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08095550. Conservation pool is 462 ft.

460.13460.87461.60pool 462459.73 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp96 F
High / Low96 / 77 F
WindSSE 9-11 mph
Pressure1011.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain13% cloud, 19%
Sunrise / Sunset07:06 / 19:49
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 · Overcast, 96/77 F, wind 10 mph, rain 19%

Fair or better. A 10 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Waco: 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 Waco 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 Waco 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 89 F, wind to 15 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 103 F, wind to 11 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 100 F, wind to 11 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

Standard Texas limits; crappie 10-inch/25. Confirm with TPWD.

Access

Corps parks: Airport, Midway, Speegleville, Twin Bridges; bank fishing at the dam outlet on the Brazos.

About this water

8,190 acres on the Bosque River, McLennan County. Corps of Engineers; pool raised 7 ft in 2003.

Fishing Lake Waco: the full guide

Waco's second act

When the Corps raised Lake Waco seven feet in 2003, it flooded a new ring of timber and brush: the largemouth responded, and the lake now fishes far better than its city-limits address suggests. Crappie use the standing timber, whites run the Bosque forks, and spring is prime everywhere.

The 2003 reset

Raising the pool seven feet rewrote the lake: flooded willows and buckbrush became bass nurseries, and the fishery still rides that habitat wave. Flipping the inundated tree lines on rising spring water is the signature bite; main-lake riprap and bridges carry the rest of the year.

Baylor's backyard

Being minutes from downtown Waco makes it a pressure lake with urban perks: excellent ramps, lighted fishing areas, and a Corps bank-access network. The North Bosque arm stains first and warms first: springtime starts there weeks before the clear south end.

The urban flats game

Waco's shallow fertile flats fish like a private club for locals who accept the stain: crappie stack the Corps-planted brush and bridge pilings (the Highway 6 twin bridges are structure central), white bass run the North Bosque every March, and blue cats patrol the flats year-round for anyone drifting punch bait. Ten minutes from downtown, rarely crowded: the definition of an underrated water.

Common questions

Did the pool raise really improve fishing?

Measurably: TPWD surveys after 2003 tracked bass numbers climbing with the new cover. Twenty years on, the flooded timber remains the lake's productive edge.

What did the Lake Waco dam raise change?

The 7-ft pool raise (2000s) flooded new terrestrial cover and expanded the fishery: the flooded timber belts from that rise still hold the lake's best crappie and bass structure today.

Is fishing good at Lake Waco 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 Whitney24 miLake Aquilla24 miBelton Lake34 miStillhouse Hollow Lake43 miLake Limestone55 miBrazos River58 mi
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