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Possum Kingdom Lake Fishing Report

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

The Brazos canyon lake of Hell's Gate fame: clear water, deep bluffs and quality stripers.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Lake level
995.09 ft -4.91 vs pool
Air / High
91 / 91 F
Wind
SSE 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08088440, 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.

Possum Kingdom Lake stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. The gauge reads 995.09 ft, 4.91 ft below pool, easing 0.31 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 91. 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 bassGood

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

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.

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 93 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 Possum Kingdom Lk at Sandy Beach nr Graford, TX.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08088440. Conservation pool is 1000 ft.

995.95997.55999.14pool 1000995.09 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp91 F
High / Low91 / 75 F
WindSSE 9-12 mph
Pressure1009.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 5%
Sunrise / Sunset07:10 / 19:55
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, 91/75 F, wind 12 mph, rain 5%

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 Possum Kingdom Lake: 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 Possum Kingdom 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
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 Possum Kingdom Lake 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 11 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

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 94 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

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 94 F, wind to 9 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

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

Access

Public ramps at the state park (south end), D&D, and BRA ramps around the lake.

About this water

16,716 acres on the Brazos River, Palo Pinto/Young counties, TX. Brazos River Authority, impounded 1941.

Fishing Possum Kingdom Lake: the full guide

A canyon carved for fishing

Possum Kingdom drops the Brazos into a 17,000-acre canyon of blue water and 90-foot cliffs, most famously at Hell's Gate. Underneath the lake-house glamour is a serious fishery: stripers thrive in the deep clear water, largemouth work the docks and bluff pockets, and white bass run the river arm every spring.

Deep and clear tactics

Summer stripers suspend 30-60 ft over the channel: live bait or downriggers early, then follow the thermocline. Bass fishing is a dock-and-bluff game: finesse presentations in ultra-clear water, night fishing in summer when the boat traffic dies. The Costello Island area and the river bend flats hold bait year-round.

Night moves on PK

Summer's clear-water penalty becomes a night-fishing dividend: submerged lights off the bluff docks pull shad, sand bass, and stripers into casting range, and black-light worm fishing along the boulder banks produces the biggest largemouth of the hot months. Day boats grind deep; night boats fill coolers in T-shirt comfort while the canyon glows with dock lights.

Common questions

What is Hell's Gate?

The twin 90-ft cliffs framing the lake's most famous cove: party central on summer weekends, and surprisingly good striper water at dawn before the boats wake up.

When do PK's stripers school on top?

October-November mornings, when bait balls push into the main-lake pockets: watch for gulls off Hell's Gate and the D&D flats. Summer fish stay deep on downlines at 30-50 ft.

What is Hell's Gate?

The twin 90-ft cliffs framing PK's most famous cove: cliff-diving crowds own summer weekends, but spring and fall the gate's deep walls hold stripers and the odd giant blue cat.

Is fishing good at Possum Kingdom 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

Lake Bridgeport42 miLake Granbury49 miSquaw Creek Reservoir58 miEagle Mountain Lake60 miBrazos River61 miLake Worth62 mi
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