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Lake Ray Roberts Fishing Report

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

DFW's timber trophy lake: standing forests, big-bass genetics and ShareLunker pedigree.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Lake level
631.28 ft -1.22 vs pool
Air / High
97 / 98 F
Wind
S 11 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08051100, 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 Ray Roberts locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. The gauge reads 631.28 ft, 1.22 ft below pool, easing 0.22 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 98. 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)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.

White bassSlow

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 Ray Roberts Lk nr Pilot Point, TX.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08051100. Conservation pool is 632.5 ft.

631.48631.89632.30pool 632.5631.28 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp97 F
High / Low98 / 78 F
WindS 11-12 mph
Pressure1010.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain10% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset07:04 / 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 · Partly cloudy, 98/78 F, wind 12 mph, rain 2%

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 Lake Ray Roberts: 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 Ray Roberts 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 Ray Roberts 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 91 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 100 F, wind to 13 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 99 F, wind to 12 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

Bass 14-inch/5. Crappie 10-inch/25: check TPWD.

Access

Isle du Bois and Johnson Branch state-park ramps, Sanger Marina.

About this water

25,600 acres on the Elm Fork Trinity, Denton/Cooke/Grayson counties, TX. Corps, impounded 1987.

Fishing Lake Ray Roberts: the full guide

The metroplex's wild lake

Ray Roberts kept its flooded timber and its wildness: 25,000 acres north of Dallas where ShareLunker-class largemouth live in the standing forests, crappie load the treetops, and white bass run the Elm Fork each spring. It fishes big and snaggy: heavy line, precise flipping, and respect for stumps at speed.

Timber field tactics

Ray Roberts kept its flooded forest: thousands of acres of standing timber on the Isle du Bois side hold the bass program: flip the trees on channel edges, throw frogs across the pads inside them. The lake gave up ShareLunker giants including a state-record challenger: the genetics are premium.

Open-side patterns

The Buck Creek side fishes cleaner: sand points, hydrilla when it thrives, ledge cranking in summer. White bass run Timber Creek each spring and school the mid-lake humps in summer: gull-watching pays from September until Christmas.

Common questions

Is the standing timber safe to run?

Marked lanes are: straying is prop roulette. Idle inside the tree fields, run the buoyed channels, and treat low-water weeks with extra respect.

Big-fish protocols

Ray Bob's trophy reputation comes with process: the lake produced a 15-plus ShareLunker and the DNA runs deep, so February-April demands big-fish discipline: 6-inch swimbaits over staging points, slow-rolled magnums along the timber edges, and sight-fishing patience in the clear pockets. Handle giants fast, photograph in the water, and call ShareLunker for 13-pluses: the program's genetics loop starts here.

When was Ray Roberts' giant caught?

The 15.18-lb ShareLunker legend came in 2021, validating decades of quiet trophy potential. Late February through March remains the statistical big-fish core.

Is fishing good at Lake Ray Roberts 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 Lewisville17 miGrapevine Lake25 miLake Lavon36 miEagle Mountain Lake39 miLake Texoma42 miLake Worth43 mi
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