One river on this list is nearly impossible to fish from the bank, and the reason has nothing to do with the heat. Instead, there is a legal reason most anglers never see coming. See the bank fishing restrictions →Texas summers might seem like the worst time to fish, but one factor actually makes certain spots more productive now than in any other season. Explore summer fishing advantages →One spot on this list doubles as the southernmost fishery of its kind in the entire United States, a place that most Texans have no idea even exists. Discover the southernmost trout fishery →At one popular river destination, the biggest threat to your catch has nothing to do with the fish. It’s the other people on the water. Learn about crowd challenges →
Summer fishing in Texas requires adapting to intense heat, making early mornings, late evenings, or nighttime trips the most productive. On inland reservoirs and lakes, anglers typically target deep water drop-offs, where game fish are abundant during the heat of the day. Texas’ river systems offer cooler flowing currents with excellent opportunities to snag native bass and catfish. Along the Lone Star State’s expansive saltwater coastline, anglers can surf fish shallow bays or hire a boat for deep-sea excursions. Continue reading to learn about some of the best fishing spots in Texas.
Grapevine Lake
Summer fishing on Grapevine Lake, a 6,684-acre reservoir northwest of Dallas/Fort Worth, offers active early-morning and late-evening angling for blue and channel catfish, largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass, white bass, and white crappie around rocky structures, drop-offs, and shaded cover.
Dawn and dusk are great times to fish for bass on Grapevine Lake.
©iStock.com/loki1982
Boat fishing offers a distinct advantage during the summer by allowing access to cooler, deeper water where schooling white bass and blue catfish seek refuge from the heat. However, shore fishing remains highly productive on Grapevine Lake’s rocky banks during the cooler dawn, dusk, or nighttime hours when predatory fish move to the shallows to feed.
Lake Travis
Summer fishing on Lake Travis, an 18,622-acre Colorado River reservoir northwest of Austin, is most productive in the deeper water during early mornings or at night as high temperatures push species like largemouth bass, Guadalupe bass, white bass, striped bass, and catfish toward cooler, deeper water.
Lake Travis is a bass angler’s dream.
©Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock.com
Boat fishing is recommended in the summer on Lake Travis because it provides access to deep drop-offs where fish hide during the heat of the day. Bank fishing is limited to crowded public parks with steep, sun-exposed shorelines that do not offer access to productive waters.
Lake Conroe
Lake Conroe is a 20,118-acre reservoir located about an hour north of Houston. During the hot summer months, fishing shifts toward deeper waters and early-morning or nighttime outings. The reservoir is filled with channel and blue catfish, largemouth bass, hybrid (sterile) striped bass, and crappie.
Lake Conroe is a popular spot for fishing and boating.
©PianoMark/Shutterstock.com
Boat fishing on Lake Conroe offers a significant advantage, as it allows access to deep structures, submerged humps, and open-water drop-offs where largemouth bass, crappie, and hybrid stripers congregate to stay cool. Bank fishing is more limited due to extensive private shoreline development, but it remains highly productive for species like channel and blue catfish, especially near public parks or fishing piers during the cooler nighttime and early morning hours when fish move into shallow water to feed.
Toledo Bend Reservoir
Spanning 181,600 acres along the Sabine River on the Texas-Louisiana border, Toledo Bend Reservoir is a popular summer fishing destination. During the summer, early morning, late evening, or nighttime are the most productive times to snag largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, striped bass, and bluegill.
Fishing is better from a boat at Toledo Bend Reservoir.
©madame.furie / Flickr – Original / License
Boat fishing is significantly more productive than shore fishing during the summer because the intense heat drives major sportfish into deep waters and offshore structures that are completely out of reach from the bank. Shore anglers are limited to shallow waters where fish only venture during brief twilight hours.
Devils River
Summer fishing on the 94-mile spring-fed Devils River in Southwest Texas offers crystal-clear turquoise waters winding through rugged limestone canyons between Sonora and Del Rio. The river is home to largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, Guadalupe bass, catfish, and large common carp.
The Devils River is in the heart of Texas.
©iStock.com/wirestock
Boat fishing on the Devils River provides a significant advantage over bank fishing due to the river’s land-access restrictions. Because nearly all surrounding land is privately owned, bank anglers are limited to casting within a few designated public boundaries such as the Devils River State Natural Area, leaving vast stretches of the pristine, spring-fed pools completely unreachable from shore. Boaters, primarily kayakers, can travel the entire 94-mile river corridor. However, boating presents significant physical challenges, requiring anglers to safely navigate rapids and paddle through long, slow stretches.
Guadalupe River
Approximately 240 miles long, the Guadalupe River flows southeastward from its headwaters in the Texas Hill Country to its mouth at San Antonio Bay on the Gulf Coast. The Guadalupe River below Canyon Lake is the southernmost trout fishery in the U.S. for rainbow and brown trout, with annual stocking by Texas Parks and Wildlife. Anglers can also cast a line for native Guadalupe bass, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass.
The Guadalupe River is a popular recreational river.
©JaDipity/Shutterstock.com
Boat fishing offers access to deeper water and an escape from the crowded riverbanks. The banks of the Guadalupe River, particularly the 25-mile stretch below Canyon Lake, are crowded with summer tourists who come to the river to go tubing. Anglers can completely bypass the tubing chaos by hitting the water at sunrise.
Caddo Lake
Caddo Lake spans about 26,800 acres across Northeast Texas and Northwest Louisiana, centered mostly in Marion and Harrison counties near Marshall, Texas. Famed for its vast bayous, Spanish moss-draped cypress trees, and a 10-foot maximum depth, the lake is a top-notch Texas fishery offering exceptional angling for largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, and sunfish.
Bald cypress trees are a prominent feature of Caddo Lake.
©Victoria Ditkovsky/Shutterstock.com
Boating or paddling is the best way to fish on Caddo Lake, as the vast majority of the lake’s prime structures, such as hidden sloughs, dense lily pads, and the iconic bald cypress trees, are unreachable from land.
South Padre Island
South Padre Island is a barrier island located off the Southern coast of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico. It is renowned as a top-notch fishing destination, offering exceptional deep-sea fishing for marlin, tuna, and red snapper in the Gulf, as well as outstanding inshore angling for redfish, trout, and flounder in the shallow waters of Laguna Madre. South Padre Island offers a variety of professional charter services catering to every type of angler.
A walkway over the dunes takes you right to the beach on South Padre Island.
©ruthannburke/iStock via Getty Images
Matagorda Bay
Matagorda Bay is an estuary on the Texas Gulf Coast. The waters are protected by the Matagorda Peninsula, making it an exceptional destination for inshore and surf fishing, offering productive shallow-water wade fishing, kayaking, and charter boat excursions for coastal game fish like redfish, speckled trout, and southern flounder.
Summer is arguably the most dynamic season at Matagorda Bay.
©vagabond54/Shutterstock.com
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Thank you for your feedback!
We appreciate your help in improving our content.
Our editorial team will review your suggestions and make any necessary updates.
There was an error submitting your feedback. Please try again.