Lake Texoma History and Striper Fishing Facts

A history of Lake Texoma, Lake Texoma fishing management plan and other information about the fishing on the lake.

Lake Texoma History

Lake Texoma was impounded in 1944, as the Red River was dammed up for flood control. Lake Texoma is a man-made lake created by the Denison Dam, built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and completed in 1944. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and controls all the shoreline on the lake. Being that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns the lake there is no lake frontage private property ownership. This has created a pristine shoreline zone around the entire lake and great fishing.

Lake Texoma is approximately 1.5 hours north of Dallas. It is a border lake on the Texas and Oklahoma border with about 80% of its 90,000 acres located in Oklahoma. It's maximum depth is 110 feet and has numerous islands, river ledges, and underwater structure that attract and hold numerous Striped Bass and Sand Bass. The striped bass lake record is 35.12 lbs! Striped Bass were stocked in Lake Texoma from 1969 through 1974 and the fish have thrived since then and naturally reproduce allowing a liberal 10 fish limit per person.

Lake Texoma Facts

Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the United States, the 12th largest US Army Corps of Engineers' lake, and the largest in USACE Tulsa District.

• Lake Texoma is 75 miles north Dallas
• Largest surface area lake in Texas
• Area: 139.1 mi²
• Surface Area: 93,000 acres (360 km²)
• Catchment area: 39,719 mi²
• Surface elevation: 620′
• 580 miles of shoreline
• 24 Marinas (Leased by Corps of Engineers)
• Approximately 6,000 wet slips in these marinas
• Normal Lake elevation is 617 feet
• Flood pool elevation is 640 feet
• Average water depth is 39.9 feet
• Maximum Depth 110 feet
• Home of Hagerman Wildlife Reserve
• Conservation Water Volume of 2,525,568 acre⋅ft (3.115242 km3)
• Flood-control volume of 5,194,163 acre⋅ft (6.406906 km3)
• Location: Oklahoma–Texas border, United States
• Counties: Oklahoma counties of Murray, Johnston, and Love, and the Texas county of Grayson
• Islands: North Island
• Did you know: Lake Texoma was built by the Corps of Engineers in the 1940's, and was stocked with black bass and crappie along with the native white bass in the Red and Washita Rivers.

Read the Lake Texoma Management Plan.

Read More On Lake Texoma's History