March and April offer excellent spawning action in the backs of various creek arms, especially Harvey Creek and Buck Bay. Look for them on flats in 8 to 12 feet of water as they transition toward spawning sites. Like a lot of big bass lakes in Texas, your best shot at a trophy on Sam Rayburn comes early in the year. There can be a good night bite here, and topwaters excel around sundown. In summer, bass mostly retreat to deeper waters, and can be found on main lake points and ledges using jigs and Carolina rigs. Working the edges of hydrilla beds with plastic worms, crankbaits and topwaters is a great tactic in spring and fall. The lower end of the reservoir, which is the end closest to Houston, tends to have relatively clear water and a greater abundance of vegetation than the upper reaches. The 16.8-pound lake record is one of the top 10 biggest bass ever caught in Texas. Weeds, rocky shores, boat docks, standing timber, creek channels, coves, points… this place has it all.
It has just about everything a bass fisherman-or a bass, for that matter-could want. Sam Rayburn Reservoir is fed primarily by the Angelina River, and it’s a vast, sprawling reservoir of 114,500 acres. It’s over a 2-hour drive from Houston, but worth every minute. Photo courtesy of Bent Rods Guide ServiceĪnother classic bass lake that needs no introduction, Sam Rayburn Reservoir is a legendary bass factory in the East Texas Piney Woods. More: Complete Guide to Fishing at Lake Conroe Sam Rayburn Reservoir The upper end of the lake extends into Sam Houston National Forest, and Cagle Recreation Area provides launch facilities, shore fishing and camping.
#LAKE SOMERVILLE STATE PARK FOR FREE#
The FM-830 Boat Ramp is a great place to launch for free on the lower lake. The lower end of Lake Conroe is mostly developed along the shoreline. The creek arms are good year-round, but by summer, you’ll mostly catch smaller bass here as the big ones move deeper. Rip-rap tends to be particularly good after a couple of sunny days.Įarly in spring, the creek arms are a magnet for pre-spawn bass, and you can get some of the biggest largemouths of the year on shad-imitating cranks in February and March. Try fishing a worm or crankbait along the rocks in spring and fall. The lake has extensive stretches of rip-rap along the dam, around the Lake Conroe Lighthouse, beneath the 1097 bridge, and around numerous smaller bridges that cross the creek arms. Lake Conroe is also the next-best thing to heaven for anyone who enjoys fishing rip-rap.
Docks that extend into deep water along the sides of the main lake points are especially productive. Those who like to fish standing timber will find it lining the creek channel in the upper reaches of Lake Conroe.ĭock fishermen can explore endless bulkheads and boat houses where they can practice their pitchin’ and flippin’ in the lower reservoir. A lot of different styles of bass fishing can be effective here.Ī good amount of torpedo grass and water willow is available for anglers who like to fish vegetation. The Texas ShareLunker program, which recognizes bass greater than 8 pounds, had 23 entries from Lake Conroe in 2021, and bass in the 5-pound class are caught and released as a matter or routine.Ī 21,000-acre reservoir about an hour north of Houston, Lake Conroe is a very large body of water with a diverse assortment of structure and habitat. But Conroe has always been on the map.įew lakes in Texas turn out big bass as regularly as Lake Conroe. The Bassmaster Classic was held here in 2017, and for a lot of lakes, an event like that would be what put them on the map. Look at any list of the best bass lakes in Texas, and you’re sure to see Lake Conroe on it. Photo courtesy of Bradley’s Guide Service Whether you want to hit the water and slay modest-sized fish all day long, or set your sights on the single trophy bass of a lifetime, you can do it at one of these great bass lakes near Houston. Florida-strain largemouths have been stocked in most Houston lakes. Houston is located near the intersection of several distinct ecosystems-the Central Texas Prairies and Lakes region, the Piney Woods of East Texas, the lowlands along the Gulf Coast-and lakes in this area provide the perfect conditions for largemouth bass to grow fat and happy.Īlthough some Houston area bass lakes also have populations of spotted bass, largemouths are far and away the most common species of black bass, and also the most prized by anglers. Others, like Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn reservoirs, are among the best and most famous bass lakes in America. Some Houston-area lakes, like Fayette County Reservoir and Lake Somerville, are well-kept secrets that are little known outside the region. It must be nice to live in Houston, and find yourself just an hour or two from some of the best bass fishing lakes in Texas.
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