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Fishing Cooper Lake: what the data says
19,305-acre reservoir near Cooper. The lake tops out around 51 ft. The depth chart is built from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the humps, channels and drop-offs you see are measured, not guessed. What follows comes from the same scoring engine that paints the spots above.
Largemouth Bass fishing at Cooper Lake
In spring, largemouth bass run shallow here, mostly 2 to 10 ft. Summer pushes them deeper, 8 to 20 ft, and winter fish settle into 15 to 35 ft. Shallow bay flat is the standout, a weed flat at roughly 2 ft, rated prime for spring largemouth bass. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Tie on a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 4 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
White Bass fishing at Cooper Lake
Start shallow in spring: white bass sit in 2 to 12 ft that time of year. Summer pushes them deeper, 8 to 25 ft, and winter fish settle into 15 to 40 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Doctors Creek inflow: a inflow / creek mouth around 2 ft that scores prime in spring. Best bite is early morning and the evening.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | see map |
| Summer | 8 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | see map |
| Fall | 6 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | see map |
| Winter | 15 to 40 ft | midday | see map |
White Bass & Hybrids fishing at Cooper Lake
In spring, white bass & hybrids run shallow here, mostly 3 to 15 ft. Summer pushes them deeper, 10 to 30 ft, and winter fish settle into 20 to 40 ft. Doctors Creek inflow is the standout, a inflow / creek mouth at roughly 2 ft, rated prime for spring white bass & hybrids. Plan around early morning and the evening in the warm months. Summer baits: a jigging spoon or a topwater (when schooling) gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Rooster tail / inline spinner, Curly-tail jig (white/chartreuse) |
| Summer | 10 to 30 ft | dawn & dusk | Jigging spoon, Topwater (when schooling) |
| Fall | 8 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | Small blade bait, Jigging spoon |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | midday | Jigging spoon, Blade bait (vertical) |
Crappie fishing at Cooper Lake
In spring, crappie run shallow here, mostly 2 to 8 ft. They move out to 10 to 25 ft in summer and finish the year down in 15 to 35 ft. Old creek channel is the standout, a creek channel at roughly 19 ft, rated prime for fall crappie. Plan around early morning and the evening in the warm months. Tie on a jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 10 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 8 to 20 ft | dawn | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
Channel Catfish fishing at Cooper Lake
In spring, channel catfish run shallow here, mostly 3 to 12 ft. Summer pushes them deeper, 8 to 25 ft, and winter fish settle into 20 to 40 ft. Old creek channel is the standout, a creek channel at roughly 19 ft, rated prime for summer channel catfish. Best bite is after dark and the evening.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dusk | |
| Summer | 8 to 25 ft | night & dusk | |
| Fall | 10 to 30 ft | dusk | |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | midday |
Blue Catfish fishing at Cooper Lake
Spring blue catfish on Cooper Lake hold shallow, usually 5 to 25 ft. They move out to 10 to 40 ft in summer and finish the year down in 20 to 50 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Old creek channel: a creek channel around 19 ft that scores prime in spring. Best bite is early morning and the evening.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 25 ft | dusk | |
| Summer | 10 to 40 ft | dawn & dusk | |
| Fall | 15 to 45 ft | dusk | |
| Winter | 20 to 50 ft | midday |
Cooper Lake also holds flathead catfish (8 to 30 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
Notable structure
- Deep basin: deep basin, around 50 ft
- Shallow feeding flat: feeding flat, around 20 ft
- Old creek channel: creek channel, around 19 ft
- Shallow feeding flat: feeding flat, around 19 ft
- Break off the point: drop-off, around 15 ft
- Main-lake point: point, around 6 ft
- Sharp break: drop-off, around 6 ft
- Feeding flat: feeding flat, around 6 ft
- Secondary point: point, around 5 ft
- Rock reef: rock pile, around 4 ft
- Rock reef: rock pile, around 3 ft
- Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 2 ft
- Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 2 ft
- Doctors Creek inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 2 ft
Common questions
How deep is Cooper Lake?
Cooper Lake is about 51 ft at its deepest point. The depth chart here comes from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the contours reflect measured depths.
What fish are in Cooper Lake?
Anglers target largemouth bass, white bass, crappie, channel catfish, white bass & hybrids, flathead catfish, blue catfish on Cooper Lake.
Where is the best fishing spot on Cooper Lake?
Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 2 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Open the map above to see every rated spot for each species and season.
When is the best time to fish Cooper Lake?
For largemouth bass, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Nearby waters
Lake Crook · Lake Fork · Lake Tawakoni · Pat Mayse Lake · Lake Bonham · Lake Bob Sandlin
See how Cooper Lake stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Texas · best white bass lakes in Texas · best crappie lakes in Texas · best channel catfish lakes in Texas
Browse all Texas fishing maps or every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: state fisheries survey programs. How we build these maps. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.