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Lake Whitney Fishing Report

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

The striper lake of the Brazos: granite bluffs, clear water and a two-state-quality fishery an hour from the Metroplex.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Lake level
531.57 ft -1.43 vs pool
Air / High
97 / 99 F
Wind
SSE 10 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08092500, 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.

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

Lake Whitney locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. The gauge reads 531.57 ft, 1.43 ft below pool, easing 0.34 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 10 mph, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 99. 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

Striped bassFair

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

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.

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 99 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 Whitney Lk nr Whitney, TX.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08092500. Conservation pool is 533 ft.

531.82532.29532.75pool 533531.57 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp97 F
High / Low99 / 78 F
WindSSE 10-12 mph
Pressure1011.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain24% cloud, 23%
Sunrise / Sunset07:07 / 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 · Showers, 99/78 F, wind 11 mph, rain 23%

Fair or better. A 11 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Whitney: 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.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

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.

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.

When to come: the Lake Whitney 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
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
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 Whitney 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. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 95 F, wind to 19 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 106 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 101 F, wind to 13 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

Striped bass: 18-inch minimum, 5 per day. Smallmouth: 14-inch minimum. Confirm with TPWD.

Access

Lofers Bend, McCown Valley and Lake Whitney State Park ramps; bank access at the dam and state park.

About this water

23,560 acres on the Brazos River, Hill/Bosque counties, TX. Corps of Engineers, impounded 1951.

Fishing Lake Whitney: the full guide

Brazos River striper water

Whitney pools the Brazos behind a 1951 dam into 23,000 acres of limestone bluffs and clear water, and stripers rule it: the lake holds one of the oldest striper programs in Texas, with fish pushing 30-plus pounds along the river channel and below the dam. Live shad on downlines around Bee Bluffs and the dam basin is the standard play; winter birds give the schools away.

Beyond the linesides

Smallmouth were stocked into the rocky habitat and still show around riprap and bluff ends; largemouth work the creek pockets when water is up; and the white bass run up the Brazos and Nolan River each spring. Watch the level: Whitney swings hard between flood storage and drawdown, and the bite moves with it.

Striper depth discipline

Whitney's stripers school by the calendar: spring surface melees off the islands, summer thermocline camps at 25-40 ft (live shad on downlines over the channel), fall bird-chasing across the flats. The lake's limestone clarity makes long fluorocarbon leaders non-negotiable. Between striper shifts, the bluff walls' smallmouth program quietly produces four-pounders on jerkbaits: Texas' most underrated brown-fish water.

Common questions

Are there really smallmouth in Lake Whitney?

Yes: the rocky, clear habitat suits them, and the lake held Texas smallmouth records in the past. Bluff ends and riprap are where they show.

Where do Whitney stripers go in summer?

Deep over the old river channel between the dam and Bee Bluffs: downlined shad at 25-45 ft at first light is the guide standard.

Is fishing good at Lake Whitney 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 Aquilla10 miLake Waco24 miBrazos River35 miSquaw Creek Reservoir38 miLake Granbury49 miBelton Lake50 mi
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