← Texas fishing maps

Best smallmouth bass lakes in Texas

10 Texas waters hold smallmouth bass, 7 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Current- and rock-loving fighter. Lives around gravel, boulders and hard-bottom structure.

1. Lake Texoma — 96 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie
2. Amistad Reservoir — 217 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie
3. Lake Whitney — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie
4. Possum Kingdom Lake — 108 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie
5. Belton Lake — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie
6. Canyon Lake — 147 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie
7. Stillhouse Hollow Lake — 117 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie
8. Lake Alan Henry — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
9. Nueces River — 7 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
10. Devils River — 10 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish

When to fish smallmouth bass in Texas

• Spring 3–12 ft — Gravel and rock flats near deep water; spawning happens on hard bottom.
• Summer 10–30 ft — Offshore rock humps and deep points; smallmouth suspend near bait.
• Fall 8–25 ft — Feeding hard for winter — long tapering points and rocky drops.
• Winter 20–45 ft — Deep, vertical presentations near rocky wintering holes.

Also in Texas: best largemouth bass lakes · best white bass lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best striped bass lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best flathead catfish lakes · best blue catfish lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best longnose gar lakes · best red drum (redfish) lakes · best spotted seatrout lakes · best southern flounder lakes

Smallmouth Bass elsewhere: Ontario · Minnesota · Québec · Michigan · New Hampshire · Montana · Wyoming · Massachusetts · Washington · North Dakota · Iowa · Indiana · Connecticut · Ohio · Utah · Colorado · South Dakota · New York · Wisconsin · Kentucky · Arizona · Nevada · Illinois · Kansas · Oklahoma · Tennessee · Missouri · Oregon · Maine · Manitoba · Vermont · West Virginia · Rhode Island · New Jersey · California · Pennsylvania