Lake Mexia Depth Map & Fishing Spots (TX)

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Lake depth chart

Lake Mexia, TX

Max 18 ft

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Where to start

Fall shad migration window is on — see the hatch outlook

Hatch outlook

Fall shad migrationActive window

Typical here: Sep 1 – Dec 15 · upper ends and stained creeks turn on first, the main lake follows; Deep-South creeks hold bait into December

adultall day, best mid-afternoon as the sun warms the bait — the rare pattern where you can sleep in — follow the bait, not the structure: gulls, herons and egrets diving or stacked in a creek mean the shad (and the bass) are there — run and gun until you find flickering bait or surface activity

Concentrates hard but unevenly — whole stretches go empty while one creek loads up. The birds are the map.

Creek-arm run-and-gun: lipless crankbait and squarebill through the flats and ditches, walking topwater over surface schools, a 3/8 oz spinnerbait around isolated cover along the creek channel. Downsize to match the young-of-year shad; jerkbaits are the sleeper.

The event happens over backs of creek arms, pockets and ditches, secondary points on the way in, and main-lake flats where the bait balls roam

Willow fly (summer mayfly)Active window

Typical here: Apr 1 – Oct 31 · recurring broods all summer — the heart of it is June–July, famously around July 4th on the Tennessee River lakes; any one hatch lasts days to ~3 weeks

dunhatches at dusk — clouds of bugs just before dark, continuing into the night — after hatching they fly to shoreline foliage — trees near lighted docks get covered; the feeding zone is the water under bug-loaded overhanging bushes and willows
spinnerthe following days: mating, egg drop and spent flies falling from the overhangs — the bream bite under the bushes runs as long as the bugs do

A two-level event: bream stack under the bug trees, and the big bass stack under the bream. Fish the same bushes twice — small for bream, big for the bass just outside them.

Crickets or small poppers under a float tight to the bug-covered bushes for bream; beetle spins and hair jigs just under the surface; for the bass, run a bluegill-pattern topwater or squarebill down the outside edge of the overhangs.

The event happens over under and just outside overhanging willows and bushes on steep banks; trees near lighted docks after dark

Next on this water

Spring crawfish emergence · forageFeb 15 – May 15 · in ~6 months

Shad spawn · baitfishMar 15 – Jun 15 · in ~6 months

Recommendations come from depth structure and seasonal species behavior. Treat them as a starting point, not a guarantee. Contours here are generated from real agency depth surveys; use the survey badge for the provider, dataset, datum and measured coverage. Never use for navigation. Always check local regulations.

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Recent catches at Lake Mexia

Shared by DepthScout anglers. Exact spots stay private, always.

No shared catches here yet — be the first.Log a catch from the map above and share it to put Lake Mexia on the board.

Fishing Lake Mexia: what the data says

1,009-acre reservoir near Mexia. The lake tops out around 18 ft. The depth chart comes from Texas Water Development Board bathymetric survey data, so the contours are survey-derived rather than computer-modeled. What follows comes from the same scoring engine that paints the spots above.

Traced from the shoreline, Lake Mexia runs 972 acres with 24 miles of edge, broken up by 2 islands. That shoreline is heavily fingered (development index 5.5) — bays, points and pockets everywhere, which multiplies the fishable edge. End to end it runs roughly 3 mi, about 2.3 mi across. The water lies in Limestone County. For a second option, Fort Parker Lake lies 5 mi southeast.

Largemouth Bass fishing at Lake Mexia

Spring puts largemouth bass in skinny water — 2 to 10 ft is the zone. As the season builds they drop to 5 to 18 ft, wintering in 5 to 18 ft. Spring largemouth bass concentrate at Shallow bay flat, a prime-rated weed flat around 2 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around early morning and the evening. A texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait covers the summer program.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 10 ft	dawn & dusk	Shallow bay flat (2 ft)	Spinnerbait, Chatterbait
Summer	5 to 18 ft	dawn & dusk	Shallow bay flat (2 ft)	Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait
Fall	4 to 15 ft	midday & dawn	Main-lake point (2 ft)	Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait
Winter	5 to 18 ft	midday	Deep basin (13 ft)	Blade bait, Jigging spoon

White Bass fishing at Lake Mexia

Come spring, look for white bass tight to the bank in 2 to 12 ft. They move out to 5 to 18 ft in summer and finish the year down in 5 to 18 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Navasota River inflow: an inflow / creek mouth around 3 ft that scores prime in spring. Best bite is early morning and the evening. A slab spoon or a small topwater (schooling fish) is the honest summer answer here.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 12 ft	dawn & dusk	Navasota River inflow (3 ft)	Curly-tail jig (white), Small lipless crank
Summer	5 to 18 ft	dawn & dusk	Deep basin (13 ft)	Slab spoon, Small topwater (schooling fish)
Fall	4 to 18 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (2 ft)	Jigging spoon, Blade bait
Winter	5 to 18 ft	midday	Deep basin (13 ft)	Jigging spoon (deep), Blade bait

Crappie fishing at Lake Mexia

In spring, crappie run shallow here, mostly 2 to 8 ft. Summer pushes them deeper, 5 to 18 ft, and winter fish settle into 5 to 18 ft. Deep basin is the standout, a deep basin at roughly 13 ft, rated prime for winter crappie. Time it for early morning and the evening. You won't need more than a jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) most summer days.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 8 ft	midday & dawn	Shallow bay flat (2 ft)	1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub
Summer	5 to 18 ft	dawn & dusk	Deep basin (13 ft)	Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled)
Fall	5 to 18 ft	dawn	Deep basin (13 ft)	Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2")
Winter	5 to 18 ft	midday	Deep basin (13 ft)	Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon

Channel Catfish fishing at Lake Mexia

Spring puts channel catfish in skinny water — 3 to 12 ft is the zone. As the season builds they drop to 5 to 18 ft, wintering in 5 to 18 ft. Spring channel catfish concentrate at Navasota River inflow, a prime-rated inflow / creek mouth around 3 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around after dark and the evening.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at
Spring	3 to 12 ft	dusk	Navasota River inflow (3 ft)
Summer	5 to 18 ft	night & dusk	Deep basin (13 ft)
Fall	5 to 18 ft	dusk	Deep basin (13 ft)
Winter	5 to 18 ft	midday	Deep basin (13 ft)

Blue Catfish fishing at Lake Mexia

When the water first warms, blue catfish slide up into 4 to 18 ft. There's no big seasonal slide here — summer means 5 to 18 ft, winter 5 to 18 ft. Start at Deep basin. It's a deep basin holding about 13 ft of water and rates prime come winter. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at
Spring	4 to 18 ft	dusk	Navasota River inflow (3 ft)
Summer	5 to 18 ft	dawn & dusk	Deep basin (13 ft)
Fall	5 to 18 ft	dusk	Deep basin (13 ft)
Winter	5 to 18 ft	midday	Deep basin (13 ft)

Notable structure

Lake Mexia carries 7 mapped structure features, topping out (or rather bottoming out) at Deep basin, about 13 ft down.

Deep basin: deep basin, around 13 ft
Navasota River inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 3 ft
Main-lake point: point, around 2 ft
Secondary point: point, around 2 ft
Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 2 ft
Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 2 ft
Cedar Creek inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 2 ft

Lake Mexia stocking report

Date	Species	Count	Size
2025*	Largemouth Bass (fingerling)	25,405	—
2025*	Largemouth Bass (fry)	224,560	—

* Approximate date (agency reports month or season only). Source: TPWD stocking history, retrieved 2026-08-18.

Lake Mexia fishing regulations

Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Texas waters are set by the Texas Parks & Wildlife — and special regulations can apply to Lake Mexia specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.

Check the official Texas fishing regulations →

Common questions

How deep is Lake Mexia?

Lake Mexia is about 18 ft (5 m) deep at its deepest point. The depth chart comes from Texas Water Development Board bathymetric survey data, so the contours are survey-derived rather than computer-modeled.

What fish are in Lake Mexia?

Anglers target largemouth bass, white bass, crappie, channel catfish, blue catfish on Lake Mexia.

Where is the best fishing spot on Lake Mexia?

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. The interactive chart above rates every spot for each species and season.

When is the best time to fish Lake Mexia?

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.

Is Lake Mexia stocked with fish?

Yes — per TPWD stocking history records, Lake Mexia was most recently stocked 2025 with 25,405 largemouth bass (fingerling). The full stocking history is listed above.

What are the fishing regulations for Lake Mexia?

Fishing on Lake Mexia is regulated by the Texas Parks & Wildlife. Check the official Texas regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.

Nearby waters

Fort Parker Lake 5 mi · Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir 22 mi · Navarro Mills Lake 22 mi · Lake Limestone 23 mi · Lake Halbert 30 mi · Richland-Chambers Reservoir 32 mi · Lake Waco 39 mi · Aquilla Lake 40 mi · Bardwell Lake 44 mi · Lake Waxahachie 49 mi · Cedar Creek Reservoir 53 mi · Lake Whitney 53 mi

See how Lake Mexia 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 see every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry: published agency survey data. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.