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Lake Info: Tawakoni, Texas
Lake Tawakoni is an artificial reservoir located approximately 53 miles (85 km) east of Dallas, Texas, 25 miles southeast of Greenville, Texas, and 21 miles (34 km) northeast of Wills Point, Texas. It lies within three Texas counties, Hunt, Rains, and Van Zandt. It is used for water supply and recreation.
The reservoir was constructed in 1960. It covers 36,700 acres (149 km²) and has a mean storage capacity of 926,000 acre feet (1.14 km³. It is owned by the Sabine River Authority of Texas.
Camping, picnic areas and a four-lane boat ramp are available in Lake Tawakoni State Park. There are five other public boat ramps and numerous privately-owned access facilities near the lake. Accommodations range from motels and cabins to RV sites and tent camping. Various facilities offer bait and tackle shops, convenience stores, fishing piers, gas pumps, and restaurants.
Angling Opportunities
Striped bass, hybrid striped bass and white bass are vital to the local economy, providing excellent fisheries especially in the lake's open water areas. Striped and hybrid bass are stocked annually by TPWD to maintain the fisheries. Channel catfish are abundant, and there are also some blue and flathead catfish in the population. Largemouth bass is also a popular sportfish in this reservoir. Crappie fishing is only fair, due to limited habitat.
Fishing Cover/Structure
Flooded timber, although not abundant, is found in scattered areas throughout Lake Tawakoni. Aquatic vegetation is sparse and tends to increase following lake draw-downs. As water levels increase, emergent aquatic plants such as smartweed establish dense areas of cover. Main lake humps tend to attract schools of striped bass, hybrid striped bass, and white bass. The habitat on Lake Tawakoni is limited, so any available cover tends to attract and hold largemouth bass.
Catfishing is one of Lake Tawakoni's sure bets. Anglers use a range of baits including cut bait, shrimp, liver, stink baits and earthworms. Techniques include drift fishing, bank fishing, and trotlining. Largemouth bass anglers should concentrate their efforts around available cover such as piers, boat houses, vegetation and trees along the shoreline. Peak times for fishing include spring for spawning fish and fall for schooling fish. Spawning fish are frequently caught using spinnerbaits, plastic worms, and jigs. Schooling fish can be caught using crankbaits, spinnerbaits and topwater lures.
In spring and summer, surfacing schools of striped bass, hybrid stripers and white bass can be caught using slabs, spoons, shad-bodied grubs, and topwater baits. Seagulls are attracted when schooling fish chase bait fish to the surface. Early morning, dusk, and overcast days are good times to find these schooling fish. When there is no surface activity, anglers should try vertical jigging slabs or spoons off the bottom or trolling major points using lipless crankbaits, sassy shads and roadrunners. In addition, live shad are used by many anglers to catch hybrids and stripers. Crappie fishing is often concentrated near bridge pilings, submerged trees and brush piles in late spring and fall.
In Van Zandt, Rains, and Hunt counties, 15 miles southeast of Greenville on Caddo Creek and the South Fork and Cowleech Fork of the Sabine River
Businesses Located Nearby
Bait & Tackle
- Mark Pack Lake Fork Tackle
- 515 Us-69 - Emory, TX
- (903) 473-1132
- Hawgy's Bait & Tackle
- 709 N Virginia St, Ste 20 - Terrell, TX
- (972) 620-6320
- Malakoff Bait & Tackle Shop
- 1102 N Terry St - Malakoff, TX
- (903) 489-0223
Boat Rental
- Ricky's Lake Fork Boat Rental
- 8394 Fm-515 - Yantis, TX
- (903) 383-2814
- Lake Fork Boat Rental
- 4340 Fm-17 - Alba, TX
- (903) 765-3209
- 1 Stop ATV & Jet Ski Rentals Dallas
- 231 W Fm-544, Ste 108 - Murphy, TX
- (469) 865-9902
Vacation Rental
- Jasmine Cove Bed & Breakfast
- 7404 County Road 964 - Nevada, TX
- (972) 588-8883
- Southfork Hotels
- 1600 N Central Expy - Plano, TX
- (972) 578-8555
- Best Western Trail Dust Inn
- 1521 Shannon Rd E - Sulphur Springs, TX
- (903) 885-7515
Bar and Restaurant
- Smokehouse BBQ
- 106 E Pine St - Edgewood, TX
- (903) 896-1120
- CHELOS Mexican Grill & BAR Restaurant
- 351 Fm 148 - Terrell, TX
- (972) 563-3222
- Chuck Wagon Bar-B-Q
- Hwy 276 W - Royse City, TX
- (972) 636-0904