Texas Reservoirs Are 72% Full. Here Are the Low Lakes Fall Anglers and Boaters Should Watch
Statewide reservoir storage sits at 72.2% heading into fall, down from 74% a year ago. Central and North Texas lakes are mostly near full, but Sam Rayburn, Medina, Choke Canyon, Falcon and several West Texas lakes are far below normal.
Fall is when Texas anglers and boaters get their lakes back. The heat breaks, the crowds thin and the fish start feeding. Before you hitch up the boat, it is worth checking how much water is in the lake.
Texas water supply reservoirs held 72.2% of their conservation capacity on Tuesday, according to Water Data for Texas, the Texas Water Development Board’s reservoir tracking site. That is about where they have sat for a month, down from about 78% in late July and 74.0% a year ago.
In raw terms, the lakes held about 22.8 million acre-feet of water in their conservation pools, out of a capacity of about 31.5 million. Six months ago, in April, the statewide figure was 74.4%.
The statewide number hides big differences. Much of Central and North Texas is in good shape. Parts of East, South and West Texas are not.
Lakes near full
As of Oct. 20, these major lakes were at or above 90% of conservation capacity, according to the state data:
Lake Travis, 94.2%. Lake Buchanan, 95.8%. Canyon Lake, 97.0%. Belton Lake, 96.9%. Stillhouse Hollow, 97.0%. Lake Texoma, 95.4%. Lake Conroe, 93.1%. Lake Livingston, 92.2%. Grapevine, 91.7%. Whitney, 91.2%. Lake O’ the Pines, 90.6%.
Lewisville was at 82.4%, Lavon at 79.5%, Toledo Bend at 84.8% and Lake Corpus Christi at 80.7%.
Lakes running low
Sam Rayburn, one of the best-known bass lakes in the country, was 62.2% full, about 11 feet below its conservation pool. Boaters there should expect exposed stumps, shallow points and some ramps that may be hard to use.
Farther south and west, the numbers are worse. Medina Lake was 28.2% full and 44 feet low. Choke Canyon was 21.3% full and Falcon 20.5%. Amistad was 46.5% full and about 55 feet below its conservation pool.
In West Texas, E.V. Spence was 9.3% full, O.H. Ivie 41.1%, Hubbard Creek 35.9% and J.B. Thomas 20.5%. In the Panhandle, Lake Meredith was 44.6% full and Greenbelt 4.4%. Abilene’s Lake Abilene, a small reservoir, was at 7%.
Those lakes matter beyond fishing. Falcon and Amistad are the big reservoirs on the Rio Grande, shared with Mexico, and the river they store water for serves farms and cities along the border. When they run this low, it is a water supply story as much as a fishing one.
Some lakes carry footnotes on the state site for special conditions, so check the individual lake page before drawing conclusions.
What it means on the water
Low water changes everything. Ramps can end short of the water. Channels narrow, and stumps and rock piles that were safely under the surface in spring can tear up a lower unit. Fish concentrate in less water, which can make for good fishing, but it also means more boats in the same spots.
A few practical habits help. Check the current level before you go, not last month’s fishing report. Call the marina or the lake authority about ramp conditions. Run slower than you think you need to in unfamiliar water, and wear your life jacket.
Full lakes bring their own cautions. When a reservoir is at or near full, a big rain can bring floodgate releases downstream, so river anglers below dams should watch release schedules.
The bigger picture
Texas lakes rise and fall with the rain, and the state has always lived with that. July’s statewide high of about 78% came after a wet stretch, and storage has slipped since. Whether lakes recover this winter depends on rain no one can forecast for sure.
For anglers close to home, our Lake Conroe fishing report has the October pattern. Saltwater anglers should remember that flounder season closes Nov. 1. And for those who want new places to explore, Texas has been adding parkland at Lake Palestine and Devil’s Sinkhole.
Check the level, check the ramp, and go enjoy the best season of the year on Texas water.
