Moving to Texas

[Yumeya]

Me and the wife are looking into moving from Utah to Texas next year, I have never been to Texas so any special locations/areas that are close to local lakes?

Right now here in Utah I have 3-4 lakes that are within a 20 minutes to 1 hour drive away, I would like the same if possible.

My wife would need to relocate here job in either Austin or Dallas.

Thanks for any info.

[CroakHunter]

I would think the dfw area would be close to lots of lakes. 

[LionHeart]

Lake Lewisville is 30 minutes from DFW, Eagle Mountain is about 45.  Ray Roberts is about an hour and the only one I fish since I live about a mile from the boat ramp.  A blessing and a curse.

[greentrout]

Dallas...LAKE FORK...MONSTERS...GET A GUIDE TO START.... 

 

Lucky man...

 

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/fork/

[Catt]

There's probably a dozen or more outstanding lakes in the Metro-mess area.

 

With Austin you'll have farther to drive but if ya interested the hunting is better.

[Brad in Texas]

You'll have more lake "density" in North Texas, especially just to its east, than almost anywhere else in the USA. No, it isn't quite like, say, Minnesota, but just a huge number of quality bass fisheries.

 

I know less about Austin, just that it has some really cool lakes to fish, Lady Bird Lake comes to mind but there are many others.

 

Texas is "dry" once you get just a bit west of Fort Worth, dry again once you get down toward Austin and San Antonio. Fort Worth and other large cities often own the water on lakes in east Texas where we have more rainfall. Fort Worth, for example, owns the water on Richland Chambers south of Dallas. 

 

Anyway, if you are moving to either location, you are in for some great fishing!   Brad

[WRB]

Dallas is metro area, Austin is a rural college city, 100 miles apart and night and day difference.

Tom

[Catt]

For pure bass fishing Dallas hands down, it has 8-10 solid lakes in close proximity.

 

Austin ya gonna have trailer some distance.

[Brad in Texas]

On 4/23/2018 at 9:07 AM, WRB said:

Dallas is metro area, Austin is a rural college city, 100 miles apart and night and day difference.

Tom

Austin is hardly rural with almost 1 million residents, and it is the 11th largest city in the USA.

 

It is just under 200 miles away from Dallas and Fort Worth.

[WRB]

1 hour ago, Brad in Texas said:

Austin is hardly rural with almost 1 million residents, and it is the 11th largest city in the USA.

 

It is just under 200 miles away from Dallas and Fort Worth.

You are right 200 miles. By Rural I met the surrounding area. Catt pointed out Dallas-Fort Worth has more lakes close by. Having only visited Autin a few time 20 years ago that is how it's remembered and Dallas-Fort Worth spend lots of time there and fished several lakes with business freinds and it reminds me of the Angeles area....too much turmoil and traffic. Where I live it's rural but 20 minutes from metro areas, 40 minutes to several bass lakes.

Tom

[Basseditor]

I live in first city south of Austin (It’s in Hays County, not Travis County, has about 15,000 people, so it’s less expensive and has a Cabelas in town). There are 15 to 17 lakes within 2 hours. Plus you can get to all the major famous lakes in east, north, or south Texas in about 5 hours or so.

 

It is really centrally located for fishing.

 

I moved here from Murray, UT almost 14 years ago. Let me know if you need more information. Housing, business, schools, etc. I’d be happy to help. Plus, I’ll introduce you to the best fishing spots.

[Brad in Texas]

19 hours ago, WRB said:

You are right 200 miles. By Rural I met the surrounding area. Catt pointed out Dallas-Fort Worth has more lakes close by. Having only visited Autin a few time 20 years ago that is how it's remembered and Dallas-Fort Worth spend lots of time there and fished several lakes with business freinds and it reminds me of the Angeles area....too much turmoil and traffic. Where I live it's rural but 20 minutes from metro areas, 40 minutes to several bass lakes.

Tom

Yes, I see what you mean, Tom.

 

If you get just a bit outside of Austin, certainly to its east or west, it becomes rural very quickly with some of the most beautiful countryside in the USA. The Hill Country area is generally studded with trees and seasonal wildflowers, just beautiful. Austin is highly regarded, the city with its music, restaurants and, usually cities with big dominant universities have a special "vibe" to them. 

 

D/FW is all grown together now with cities/development all in between the two major cities . . . pushing up now to its north and I suppose will one day soon bump into the Oklahoma border. 

 

It will generally be east Texas where one can access countless high-quality bass lakes and these are very accessible from either the Austin area of Dallas/Fort Worth. 

 

An angler could move here and spend years visiting different lakes and likely not cover them all.

 

Brad

[Trox]

Austin has a number of good fishing lakes, but the problem is growth. In the last 20 years, the city has boomed (I'm a 3rd generation Austinite, recently removed to San Anotnio) to what feels like 4x the population. 

 

The positive: All of the following lakes are BEAUTIFUL and can be fished effectively most weekdays. Can also produce some BIG fish.

 

The negative (On the weekends after 10am):

Lake Austin:  fishing is almost unbearable (it's a dammed river about 75yds from side to side, and NO ONE will slow down for you) where you can expect at least 2 ski boats per minute zooming by. It's basically a party lake.

Lake Travis: Although you will be able to tuck away into pockets and get some good fishing in, traveling to those honey holes can and will be a chore. Lake Travis is known to have a lot of yacht and ski boat traffic that can produce waves up to 4ft in height. And on a windy day, forget it. I always left more frustrated than anything.
Lady Bird: Trolling only, and you will be forced to navigate through up to (but not limited to) a thousand paddle boarders, unfortunately, that's not an exaggeration. 

Walter E Long Lake - just off Toll 130 (If your talking to a local fisherman though, call it Decker Lake - They changed the name of it a few years back and most people refuse to except that fact lol). Only problem with Decker is that if you get there ANY later than 6am on the weekend, most of the spots are gonna be taken due to the small size of the reservoir. It is a powered lake though, so that has it's benefits and is part of what makes it so popular. Plus, pulling away from that small lake WITHOUT a 3-4+lbs catch is somewhat uncommon. Other than the dam, shoreline is strictly reeds. 

 

Ugh, I hate to be so negative but as a native Austinite, the relatively small number of lakes compared to the ever increasing polulation makes it an easy topic to rag on...

 

Well... those are the primary lakes that Austin has to offer. Outside of this list will require a good hour drive. I'd go the DFW route if fishing is your main concern. Unless you love bicycle lanes. 

[OCdockskipper]

My sister lives an hour outside of Austin (Wimberley) in what is called the Hill Country.  What they have there is a myriad of smaller private lakes on ranches as well as smaller rivers.  I have had a blast fishing these locations (with permission of course) when I come to visit.

 

It takes a little time to cultivate relationships to the point you can access to th ed waters, but it is time well spent.