Lake Olney Depth Map & Fishing Spots (TX)

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Lake depth chart

Lake Olney, TX

Max 15 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 ~5 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 Olney

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 Olney on the board.

Fishing Lake Olney: what the data says

201-acre reservoir near Olney. Upper pool of the Olney-Cooper municipal system on Mesquite Creek (Archer County); TWDB 2014 survey. The lake tops out around 15 ft. The depth chart comes from Texas Water Development Board bathymetric survey data, so the contours are survey-derived rather than computer-modeled. Species by species, here's what the data says the year looks like.

The drawn water covers 201 acres wrapped in 3.6 miles of bank. A middling shoreline index (1.8) gives it some bays to work without being a maze. End to end it runs roughly 1.2 mi, about 0.5 mi across. It sits in Archer County. If the bite dies, Lake Cooper (Olney) is 1 mi to the north.

Largemouth Bass fishing at Lake Olney

Spring largemouth bass on Lake Olney hold shallow, usually 2 to 10 ft. They move out to 5 to 15 ft in summer and finish the year down in 5 to 15 ft. Put Shallow bay flat first on the milk run — a weed flat near 5 ft that grades prime for spring. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening. The summer box starts with a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 10 ft	dawn & dusk	Shallow bay flat (5 ft)	Spinnerbait, Chatterbait
Summer	5 to 15 ft	dawn & dusk	Shallow bay flat (5 ft)	Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait
Fall	4 to 15 ft	midday & dawn	Main-lake point (5 ft)	Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait
Winter	5 to 15 ft	midday	Break off the point (6 ft)	Blade bait, Jigging spoon

Notable structure

6 pieces of structure are mapped here — Deep basin, around 14 ft, is the deepest of them.

Deep basin: deep basin, around 14 ft
Break off the point: drop-off, around 6 ft
Main-lake point: point, around 5 ft
Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 5 ft
Secondary point: point, around 4 ft
Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 2 ft

Lake Olney 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 Olney specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.

Check the official Texas fishing regulations →

Common questions

How deep is Lake Olney?

Lake Olney is about 15 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 Olney?

Anglers target largemouth bass on Lake Olney.

Where is the best fishing spot on Lake Olney?

Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 5 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 Olney?

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.

What are the fishing regulations for Lake Olney?

Fishing on Lake Olney 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

Lake Cooper (Olney) 1 mi · Lake Kickapoo 15 mi · Lake Graham 21 mi · Diversion Lake 27 mi · Lake Bryson 28 mi · Lake Arrowhead 30 mi · Lake Wichita 31 mi · Lake Kemp 34 mi · Millers Creek Reservoir 35 mi · North Fork Buffalo Creek Reservoir 39 mi · Possum Kingdom Lake 39 mi · Lost Creek Reservoir 40 mi

See how Lake Olney stacks up: best largemouth bass 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.