See every public fishing venue in Texas on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Balmorhea Lake is a public lake in Reeves County, Texas, managed by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. The shoreline and water are open to the public. Public access confirmed via TPWD public water.
A High Plains reservoir — one of the few Texas walleye fisheries, with smallmouth bass on the rock, wiper and white bass in the open water, and channel catfish.
Balmorhea Lake covers about 564 acres in the West Texas & Big Bend region. Anglers here mostly fish for walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, white bass; hybrid striped bass (wiper), black crappie, channel catfish, flathead catfish are also on record. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Toyah Creek and Canyon Creek.
Species from TPWD DEC public fishing access and fishery survey data.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Texas. State parks and some city lakes have gate hours; check the specific water. Bowfishing and jugline/trotline catfishing are commonly done at night.
Boats: Boats and motors allowed on public waters. Draining all water from the boat, livewell and bait bucket is required by LAW statewide, and the drain plug must be removed while the boat is on the road (zebra mussel / invasive species). Boater education is required for operators born on or after 1 Sept 1993.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at Texas state parks (reserve ahead), US Army Corps of Engineers lake campgrounds, and the four East Texas national forests (dispersed camping allowed there). Most reservoir shoreline is Corps or river-authority land — use a designated site; private riparian land elsewhere is off-limits.
Tackle: Statewide: largemouth bass 14-inch minimum, 5 per day. Many lakes carry a slot limit or a higher minimum (Lake Fork, Alan Henry, Caddo and others) and several have special blue/flathead catfish rules — check the TPWD Outdoor Annual for this water. Report a 13 lb-plus largemouth to the ShareLunker program.
Camping: 1 site mapped nearby — Balmorhea Lake.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Everyone 17 or older needs a Texas fishing licence with a Freshwater Fishing endorsement — the resident freshwater package is about $30, an all-water package about $47, and a non-resident annual about $58. A 1-day all-water licence is about $16. No separate trout stamp. Buy from Texas Parks & Wildlife. Everyone 17 or older needs a Texas fishing licence with a Freshwater Fishing endorsement; there is no separate trout stamp. Draining all water from the boat and livewell is required by law statewide.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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