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Medina Lake Fishing Report

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

Medina Lake: a deep Hill Country reservoir whose level rises and falls with drought, and whose ramps and fishing follow it.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Lake level
1019.80 ft
Air / High
84 / 84 F
Wind
SE 11 mph

Sources: Texas Water Development Board (Medina Lake), 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.

Medina Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. The gauge reads 1019.80 ft, easing 0.63 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 84. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:13 AM-12:13 PM and 10:40 PM-12:40 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.

Smallmouth bassGood

Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

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: Cooler at 79 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 (Medina Lake); live weather.

Water level, last 30 days

Texas Water Development Board daily estimate, 27.9% of conservation capacity on 2026-10-23.

1019.971020.341020.701019.80 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp84 F
High / Low84 / 57 F
WindSE 11-13 mph
Pressure1016.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:42 / 18:56
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 Medina Lake this week

The best day on Medina Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
10:13 AM-12:13 PM and 10:40 PM-12:40 AM
Minor period
4:35 AM-5:35 AM
Sun
07:42 to 18:56
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 11 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Medina Lake: 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.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

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.

When to come: the Medina Lake 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
Smallmouth bass
Hybrid 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 Medina Lake 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 85 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 83 F, wind to 7 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 82 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. TPWD manages Medina Lake under statewide bag and length limits: see the current Texas Outdoor Annual.

Access

Red Cove Camp (private, fee) in Mico and the Bandera County ramp at the end of Park Road 37 (fee); usability depends on the lake level.

About this water

A 5,426-acre reservoir on the Medina River, Bandera and Medina counties, Texas, impounded in 1913 (TPWD). The flow gauge on this page, USGS 08178980, is on the Medina River above the lake near Pipe Creek.

Fishing Medina Lake: the full guide

The lake

Medina Lake sits on the Medina River in Bandera and Medina counties, northwest of San Antonio. TPWD lists 5,426 surface acres, a maximum depth of 152 feet and impoundment in 1913; it is controlled by the Bexar-Medina-Atascosa Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 and the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District. Its level swings widely: TPWD's 2020 survey report noted a drop of about 36 feet after the lake refilled in late 2018.

What TPWD rates

TPWD rates catfish and hybrid striped bass as good, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and white bass as fair, and crappie as poor. In its 2019-2021 surveys, hybrid striped bass abundance in 2021 was the highest recorded for the lake and white bass were up on earlier years, while largemouth bass grew slowly and few reached legal length. The management plan calls for stocking hybrids when the lake is within 25 feet of conservation pool.

Where the fish hold

TPWD's tips: largemouth on deep drop-offs with jigs and shad-type lures, smallmouth around rocky outcrops with crawfish-colored crankbaits, hybrids on open-water points with trolled spoons, and catfish in deep coves with feeder creeks on chicken liver or blood bait. Most of the shoreline is rock bluff, rock or gravel, and at survey time flooded land vegetation was the main cover.

Ramps and zebra mussels

TPWD lists two ramps. Red Cove Camp in Mico, off FM 1283, is a private two-lane ramp usable when the lake level is 30 feet or above; the Bandera County ramp at the end of Park Road 37 in Plum Creek Cove is usable at most levels. Both charge fees, and at both, boats can launch from the gravel bank when the water is below the ramp. Zebra mussels are established, so clean, drain and dry your boat before leaving.

Common questions

How much does the level change?

Enough to strand ramps: TPWD's 2020 report recorded a drop of about 36 feet after the 2018 refill, and the Red Cove ramp needs the lake at 30 feet or above.

Which fish does TPWD rate highest?

Catfish and hybrid striped bass, both rated good; hybrids are stocked when the lake is within 25 feet of conservation pool.

Are there special limits on Medina?

No: statewide limits apply. The rule specific to this lake is the zebra mussel requirement to clean, drain and dry.

Is fishing good at Medina Lake 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

Braunig Lake39 miCalaveras Lake41 miCanyon Lake47 miGuadalupe River50 miLake LBJ77 miLake Travis80 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Reservoir level
Texas Water Development Board β€” Medina Lake
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.
River and reservoir readings
USGS 08178980 β€” Medina River near Pipe Creek (inflow)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 12:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 29.5500, -98.9300 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 5, 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 5, 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.