Texas Public Waters
5 notable public water bodies. Use “Fishing near me” to sort by distance.
| Water | Type | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Fork TX | lake | — | Trophy largemouth bass. |
| Toledo Bend TX | reservoir | — | Big bass (shared with LA). |
| Lake Texoma TX | lake | — | Striped bass. |
| Lake Travis TX | lake | — | Largemouth bass. |
| Texas Gulf Coast TX | coast | — | Redfish and speckled trout. |
Coordinates are approximate. Always confirm public access, boat-launch status, and local rules with the managing agency before you travel.
Spot profiles
Each profile covers the water’s type, the species recorded there, access notes, and the regulations or special rules that apply to that specific waterbody.
Lake Fork
Toledo Bend
Lake Texoma
Lake Travis
Texas Gulf Coast
Planning a trip in Texas
Everything below is drawn from FishFig's verified Texas data layer — license fees, stocking records, resolved statewide limits, and reported license-free dates. Each figure names its source.
Public waters in Texas covered here
This state hub indexes 5 notable public water bodies: 3 lakes, 1 reservoir, 1 coast. The dataset is a curated list of destination waters rather than every public access point, so a productive local pond or municipal lake near you may still be missing.
Species profiles exist for 5 of the 5 tracked waters. Commonly indexed destinations include Lake Fork, Toledo Bend, Lake Texoma and Lake Travis.
Use the "Fishing near me" sorter on this page to reorder the list by straight-line distance from your location. Straight-line distance is a planning estimate, not a drive time — a water 20 miles away across a ridge or a bay can take far longer to reach than one 40 miles down a highway, and seasonal closures, launch fees, and permit requirements are set by the managing agency rather than by this list.
What a Texas fishing license costs
A resident annual license for Texas is $30.00, and the non-resident annual license is $58.00 — a difference of $28.00. The non-resident rate is roughly 1.9 times the resident rate — meaning the license is usually the smallest expense in the trip budget.
Short-term options as published: 1-day all-water $11.00 (resident) / $16.00 (nonresident); additional consecutive days available at purchase.
At the published short-term prices, a resident annual license breaks even at about 3 single days. Below that trip count the short-term pass is cheaper; above it the annual license is. (Break-even arithmetic from the published fees — confirm current products with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).)
Saltwater: Saltwater Fishing Endorsement $10.00 (included in Saltwater Package $35.00 resident / $63.00 nonresident and All-Water Package). Lake Texoma license $12.00. Red drum & spotted seatrout tags included with saltwater endorsement..
Senior and reduced-rate options: Senior resident Freshwater $12.00 / Saltwater $17.00 / All-Water $22.00 (age 65+; born on/after Jan 1, 1931).
Reciprocal border waters to check before travelling: Lake Texoma.
Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department — 2025-2026 Texas Outdoor Annual License Fees (tpwd.texas.gov / outdoorannual.com).
Stocking in Texas
A statewide annual stocking total for Texas is pending verification in this dataset, so this tool shows no number rather than an estimate. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) publishes stocking by water, county, and species.
Waters named in the stocking record: Lake Fork (Largemouth bass; trophy fishery.); Toledo Bend (Bass and crappie; shared with Louisiana.); Lake Texoma (Striped bass (shared with OK).); Texas coastal bays (Red drum stocking.).
TPWD reports stocking tens of millions of fish annually — including channel catfish, rainbow trout (winter), Florida-strain largemouth bass, red drum, and striped bass — across public waters and coastal systems. A precise annual total is pending verification; see TPWD Inland Fisheries stocking reports.
Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) — Inland Fisheries stocking reports.
Why stocking matters to planning: put-and-take fisheries are the most catch-rate-sensitive to plant timing, so a water that fishes poorly in April can fish well in May once the trucks arrive. Check the current-year plant list before writing off a water, and check it again before assuming a hot bite will last.
Size and bag limits tracked for Texas
Texas has 11 statewide limits resolved in this tool — Channel Catfish, Crappie, Flathead Catfish, Flounder, Largemouth Bass, Red Drum (Redfish), Smallmouth Bass and Snook, among 11 in the tracked set. Each entry below carries the agency citation it came from.
Channel Catfish: bag 25 (channel, blue and hybrids combined; only 10 may be 20 in or longer); season Year-round. Citation: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department — 2026–27 Outdoor Annual (Freshwater). https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/fish_hunt/fish/freshwater_limits.phtml
Crappie: minimum length 10 in; bag 25 (white and black combined); season Year-round. Citation: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department — 2026–27 Outdoor Annual (Freshwater). https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/fish_hunt/fish/freshwater_limits.phtml
Flathead Catfish: minimum length 18 in; bag 5; season Year-round. Citation: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department — 2026–27 Outdoor Annual (Freshwater). https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/fish_hunt/fish/freshwater_limits.phtml
Flounder: minimum length 15 in; bag 5; season Year-round (closed Nov 1 – Dec 14; bag = 0 during closure); 2026–27 minimum raised to 15 in; seasonal closure Nov 1 – Dec 14.. Citation: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department — 2026–27 Outdoor Annual (Saltwater Flounder Bag & Length Limits). https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/fishing/saltwater-fishing/bag-length-limits/flounder-bag-length-limits
Largemouth Bass: minimum length 14 in; bag 5 (combined black bass: largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, Alabama, Guadalupe); season Year-round. Citation: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department — 2026–27 Outdoor Annual (Freshwater Bag & Length Limits, effective Sep. 1, 2026). https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/fish_hunt/fish/freshwater_limits.phtml
Red Drum (Redfish): protected slot 20–28 in (release fish in the slot); bag 3 (1 over 28 in allowed per license year with Red Drum Tag); season Year-round. Citation: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department — 2026–27 Outdoor Annual (Saltwater Drum Bag & Length Limits). https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/fishing/saltwater-fishing/bag-length-limits/drum-bag-length-limits
These are statewide general rules only. Slot limits, special-regulation waters, catch-and-release stretches, and zone-by-zone seasons override them — and a general rule that is absent from this list is not the same as no restriction. Confirm the rule for the exact water you are fishing with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) before keeping a fish.
Free fishing days in Texas
Reported license-free dates for 2026: June 6, 2026. Most states waive the license only, not the rules — size and bag limits, gear restrictions, seasons, and any required report card still apply, and some states still require a free or zero-cost license to be issued before you fish.
Reported for 2026 by public aggregators and may not match the official state schedule. Always confirm the current year’s dates and any species/stamp exceptions with the agency before planning.
Source: Compiled from 2026 public Free-Fishing-Day roundups (modefreefinds.com, heyitsfree.net, fishkillflea.com). Not an official source — verify with the state agency. (compiled 2026-08-29).
State agency & contact
Licenses, regulations, and stocking are set by the agency below. When FishFig can’t verify a figure, contact them directly.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)
FishFig is an independent guide and is not affiliated with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). Verify every figure with the agency before purchasing a license, keeping fish, or relying on stocking data.