Lake Tyler Depth Map & Fishing Spots (TX)

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Lake depth chart

Lake Tyler, TX

Max 38 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

Bluegill spawn (bream-bed bass) · forageMay 1 – Jul 31 · in ~8 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 Tyler

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 Tyler on the board.

Fishing Lake Tyler: what the data says

2,224-acre reservoir near Whitehouse. The original City of Tyler reservoir. Bass, crappie and blue cats east of Tyler. The lake tops out around 38 ft. The depth chart comes from Texas Water Development Board bathymetric survey data, so the contours are survey-derived rather than computer-modeled. Here's the year, species by species, as the scoring engine sees it.

Traced from the shoreline, Lake Tyler runs 2,385 acres with 32.5 miles of edge, broken up by 3 islands. That shoreline is heavily fingered (development index 4.7) — bays, points and pockets everywhere, which multiplies the fishable edge. About 44% of the surface sits shallower than 15 ft — that's the weed-and-bait zone. End to end it runs roughly 5 mi, about 2.9 mi across. The water lies in Smith County. For a second option, Lake Tyler East lies 3 mi east.

Largemouth Bass fishing at Lake Tyler

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. Time it for early morning and the evening. You won't need more than a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait most summer days.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 10 ft	dawn & dusk	Shallow bay flat (2 ft)	Spinnerbait, Chatterbait
Summer	8 to 20 ft	dawn & dusk	Break off the point (12 ft)	Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait
Fall	4 to 15 ft	midday & dawn	Main-lake point (7 ft)	Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait
Winter	15 to 35 ft	midday	Break off the point (12 ft)	Blade bait, Jigging spoon

Spotted Bass fishing at Lake Tyler

When the water first warms, spotted bass slide up into 5 to 20 ft. Summer is an 11 to 38 ft game here, winter an 11 to 38 ft one. Start at Main-lake point. It's a point holding about 7 ft of water and rates prime come spring. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening. Keep a drop shot over brush or an underspin + fluke (schoolers) rigged through the warm months.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	5 to 20 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (7 ft)	Ned rig on gravel points, Shaky head
Summer	11 to 38 ft	dawn & dusk	Secondary point (11 ft)	Drop shot over brush, Underspin + fluke (schoolers)
Fall	10 to 30 ft	dawn & dusk	Secondary point (11 ft)	Walking topwater, Underspin
Winter	11 to 38 ft	midday	Break off the point (12 ft)	Damiki/hover rig, Jigging spoon

White Bass fishing at Lake Tyler

When the water first warms, white bass slide up into 2 to 12 ft. Summer is an 8 to 25 ft game here, winter an 11 to 38 ft one. Start at Gilley Creek inflow. It's an inflow / creek mouth holding about 2 ft of water and rates prime come spring. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening. Keep a slab spoon or a small topwater (schooling fish) rigged through the warm months.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 12 ft	dawn & dusk	Gilley Creek inflow (2 ft)	Curly-tail jig (white), Small lipless crank
Summer	8 to 25 ft	dawn & dusk	Secondary point (11 ft)	Slab spoon, Small topwater (schooling fish)
Fall	6 to 25 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (7 ft)	Jigging spoon, Blade bait
Winter	11 to 38 ft	midday	Deep basin (37 ft)	Jigging spoon (deep), Blade bait

Crappie fishing at Lake Tyler

Spring puts crappie in skinny water — 2 to 8 ft is the zone. As the season builds they drop to 10 to 25 ft, wintering in 15 to 35 ft. Winter crappie concentrate at Deep basin, a prime-rated deep basin around 37 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around early morning and the evening. A jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) covers the summer program.

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	10 to 25 ft	dawn & dusk	Break off the point (12 ft)	Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled)
Fall	8 to 20 ft	dawn	Break off the point (12 ft)	Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2")
Winter	15 to 35 ft	midday	Deep basin (37 ft)	Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon

Channel Catfish fishing at Lake Tyler

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 11 to 38 ft. Deep basin is the standout, a deep basin at roughly 37 ft, rated prime for winter channel catfish. Time it for after dark and the evening.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at
Spring	3 to 12 ft	dusk	Gilley Creek inflow (2 ft)
Summer	8 to 25 ft	night & dusk	Shallow feeding flat (11 ft)
Fall	10 to 30 ft	dusk	Shallow feeding flat (11 ft)
Winter	11 to 38 ft	midday	Deep basin (37 ft)

Blue Catfish fishing at Lake Tyler

Come spring, look for blue catfish tight to the bank in 5 to 25 ft. They move out to 10 to 38 ft in summer and finish the year down in 11 to 38 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Deep basin: a deep basin around 37 ft that scores prime in winter. Best bite is early morning and the evening.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at
Spring	5 to 25 ft	dusk	Gilley Creek inflow (2 ft)
Summer	10 to 38 ft	dawn & dusk	Deep basin (37 ft)
Fall	11 to 38 ft	dusk	Deep basin (37 ft)
Winter	11 to 38 ft	midday	Deep basin (37 ft)

Lake Tyler also holds bluegill (4 to 15 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.

Notable structure

10 pieces of structure are mapped here — Deep basin, around 37 ft, is the deepest of them.

Deep basin: deep basin, around 37 ft
Shallow feeding flat: feeding flat, around 16 ft
Break off the point: drop-off, around 12 ft
Secondary point: point, around 11 ft
Shallow feeding flat: feeding flat, around 11 ft
Main-lake point: point, around 7 ft
Marina / dock area: dock line, around 6 ft
Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 2 ft
Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 2 ft
Gilley Creek inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 2 ft

Lake Tyler stocking report

Date	Species	Count	Size
2026*	ShareLunker largemouth Bass (fingerling)	19,076	—
2026*	Lone Star Bass (fingerling)	122,293	—
2025*	ShareLunker largemouth Bass (fingerling)	13,979	—
2025*	Lone Star Bass (fingerling)	125,250	—
2024*	Lone Star Bass (fingerling)	123,151	—

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

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

Check the official Texas fishing regulations →

Common questions

How deep is Lake Tyler?

Lake Tyler is about 38 ft (12 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 Tyler?

Anglers target largemouth bass, spotted bass, white bass, crappie, channel catfish, blue catfish, bluegill on Lake Tyler.

Where is the best fishing spot on Lake Tyler?

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. Scroll up to the map for the complete spot list by species and season.

When is the best time to fish Lake Tyler?

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 Tyler stocked with fish?

Yes — per TPWD stocking history records, Lake Tyler was most recently stocked 2026 with 19,076 sharelunker largemouth bass (fingerling). The full stocking history is listed above.

What are the fishing regulations for Lake Tyler?

Fishing on Lake Tyler 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 Tyler East 3 mi · Lake Palestine 18 mi · Lake Striker 22 mi · Lake Jacksonville 23 mi · Lake Gladewater 27 mi · Lake Hawkins 27 mi · Lake Athens 33 mi · Martin Creek Lake 36 mi · Lake Gilmer 37 mi · Lake Holbrook 38 mi · Mill Creek Reservoir 43 mi · Brandy Branch Reservoir 43 mi

See how Lake Tyler stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Texas · best white bass lakes in Texas · best crappie lakes in Texas · best bluegill 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.