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Tell me about Texas lakes

Music to my Ears

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Specifically around Dallas. Spending time in Midlothian with family and want to check out the scene. Just saw Joe Pool which is closest to their house, Lake Ray Hubbard and Lake Lewisville but only by car. Do any of these lakes or others fairly close by have beach spots or coves that are cool to hang out in?


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Jed-O

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My sister lives in Allen, just north of Plano. Their lake house is on Cedar Creek Reservoir south east of Dallas bitchin place, but the water is a bit murky and they all have snapping turtles and water mockisins.
 

pronstar

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TBH I’ve only spent time at my buddy’s house on the shore at Ray Hubbard, I haven’t been boating at all since I’ve been here. He’s got a boathouse but no boat.

Both lakes have marinas and boat storage/slips. I just don’t have firsthand experience with actually being on the water or where to go.

I’ve heard that Possum Kingdom and Lake Texoma are good spots to boat, but they’re a bit of a drive (each are about 90 miles away).

Joe Pool Lake is close to us, but it’s a reservoir and I’ve only seen small boats with dudes fishing from them.


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Magic Mike

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We had family visiting from Houston years ago, our boat was in a slip at Havasu marina for a couple months at the time.
They were blown away by Havasu, said Texas lakes were brown and ugly in comparison...
Said there are nice spots in Texas like lake Travis though.
 

Shlbyntro

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We had family visiting from Houston years ago, our boat was in a slip at Havasu marina for a couple months at the time.
They were blown away by Havasu, said Texas lakes were brown and ugly in comparison...
Said there are nice spots in Texas like lake Travis though.

I can confirm. Good clear water that's comparable to havasu on Lake Travis, Lake Austin is comparable to the strip but mainly roll bar boats.

There's not much for public beaches on lake Travis, there's a couple spots that are worth hanging out at when the water level is correct. Lake Austin has a public park or 2 that have some nice stretches of beach and both lakes have substantial party coves where people like to tie up. There's a couple water side restaurants on Lake Austin, and probably about a half dozen on Lake Travis.

There are lots of big boats on Travis, it mostly made up of 30-40ft cruisers and roll bar boats. With some smaller boats and also some massive boats. Occasionally you'll see a pack of go fasts running around and there's also a fair amount of houseboats on the lake as well. Lake Austin is almost all roll bar boats and 20ish ft run abouts as well as a healthy number of bass boats. Lake lice is moderate on both lakes.

There's a couple other sizable lakes (Lake LBJ and Lake Marble Falls) up stream from Travis where the water is still pretty clear and the area is a bit more relaxed as compared to Travis and Austin. I dont have much experience on those lakes though except for the occasional Harley ride up that way, I've never been boating on either of them. I do know that heavy rain has been known to put a lot of debris in the water up there though, but it does eventually settle out.
 

shunter2005

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If you look up Texas lakes, you'll find that most of the Hill Country lakes are labeled by TPW as having "stained" water. They all used to be much clearer than they are now (at least it seemed so). This includes Buchanan, LBJ, Travis and the whole chain. They don't compare to Havasu for clarity, but they are still nice lakes. They are all in the Colorado River chain. Canyon Lake, near New Braunfels has clear water and not that far from Austin/San Antonio, but it's not near as big as Travis.
 

Music to my Ears

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Thanks everybody (or I should say y’all) for the input, much appreciated! Great insight for sure. I drove accross Joe Pool today and it was pretty busy. A mix of roll bar boats, pontoon boats and runabouts. Looked like a cool spot for the day. I know that most of the Texas lakes are murky but there are plenty of them. May need to head a bit farther south for clearer water. Thanks again!


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shunter2005

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Thanks everybody (or I should say y’all) for the input, much appreciated! Great insight for sure. I drove accross Joe Pool today and it was pretty busy. A mix of roll bar boats, pontoon boats and runabouts. Looked like a cool spot for the day. I know that most of the Texas lakes are murky but there are plenty of them. May need to head a bit farther south for clearer water. Thanks again!


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Head west from Plano to Possum Kingdom near Mineral Wells and Graford. TPWD rates the water as clear. You might message pkbullet here on RDP. I think he either lives or has a lake home on PK lake and can probably give you a good read on it. Cool hang out is Hells Gate. Kinda the old Copper Canyon of PK lake, they say. This is one of my bucket list lakes here in Texas. Gonna try to make there in late summer for a few days.

Oh, I forgot. I spent a year on Joe Pool one day. It sucked. I took my newly refurbished 18' woood boat there once, and it felt like I was in a washing machine. Tossed my little woody around like crazy. Never again!!!!
 

Mack

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Possum Kingdom is a nice size lake not crowded until holiday weekends. Lake Granbury a smaller lake but not to busy until the holidays. However on holidays don’t put your boat in the water it will be full of dangerous people. On Grabury the Brazos River Authority frowns on noise from big engines and will have the game wardens chase you down and inform you of theor powers. Now Texas jewel of lakes is Lake Amistad. Clear warm water lots of history and big. On any holiday weekend it is safe plenty of room you won’t see any massive crowds. However parks and wildlife is going to check every boat for safety equipment and on boat ramp DPS will be there looking for open containers. After holidays on Amistad it Is back to normal. Picture from Rough Canyon old boat ramp Lake Amistad last weekend. Lake is low but still lots of surface area to play on
 

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Music to my Ears

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Head west from Plano to Possum Kingdom near Mineral Wells and Graford. TPWD rates the water as clear. You might message pkbullet here on RDP. I think he either lives or has a lake home on PK lake and can probably give you a good read on it. Cool hang out is Hells Gate. Kinda the old Copper Canyon of PK lake, they say. This is one of my bucket list lakes here in Texas. Gonna try to make there in late summer for a few days.

Oh, I forgot. I spent a year on Joe Pool one day. It sucked. I took my newly refurbished 18' woood boat there once, and it felt like I was in a washing machine. Tossed my little woody around like crazy. Never again!!!!

I must have caught Joe Pool on a decent day as it looked pretty mellow today. [emoji106]

I’ve seen pictures of PK Lake and it looks pretty nice. That may be the go to lake in this area with some great hang spots. Cleaner water would be nice too!


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Bobby V

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We had family visiting from Houston years ago, our boat was in a slip at Havasu marina for a couple months at the time.
They were blown away by Havasu, said Texas lakes were brown and ugly in comparison...
Said there are nice spots in Texas like lake Travis though.
Yep. My friend got transferred to Dallas. Couldn’t stand the lakes and took his boat back to Havasu. They would fly to Phoenix and rent a car to Havasu.
 

Taboma

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Possum Kingdom is a nice size lake not crowded until holiday weekends. Lake Granbury a smaller lake but not to busy until the holidays. However on holidays don’t put your boat in the water it will be full of dangerous people. On Grabury the Brazos River Authority frowns on noise from big engines and will have the game wardens chase you down and inform you of theor powers. Now Texas jewel of lakes is Lake Amistad. Clear warm water lots of history and big. On any holiday weekend it is safe plenty of room you won’t see any massive crowds. However parks and wildlife is going to check every boat for safety equipment and on boat ramp DPS will be there looking for open containers. After holidays on Amistad it Is back to normal. Picture from Rough Canyon old boat ramp Lake Amistad last weekend. Lake is low but still lots of surface area to play on

Well that Amistad looks interesting with the US / Mexican border running down the center :oops: That conjures up all kinds of scary scenarios, bad enough dealing with San Berdo sheriffs on Havasu and two different state regs, let alone dealing with Mex Federales if you stray to their side.
 

pkbullet

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I have had homes on PK since 2006. It basically has three scenes. Homeowners have their own docks and hang with family and neighbors. The launch and tie up scene is Hells Gate and sandy beach. There is also a lot of camping at the state parks, especially on holiday weekends. Water is usually clear unless river gets out of banks. The only thing the lake lacks is waterfront restaurants and bars. They are limited in both quantity and consistent operation. PoPo leaves you alone unless you are an idiot, or maybe because we have a 50cal mounted on our tower? Gotta love Texas, just spent two week there not a mask in sight.
 

Mack

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Never had a problem on the Mexican side before kids we spent a lot of time at a pull up taco beer stand. Nobody has ever pulled any crap the boarder patrol make rounds in boats and helicopters very safe lake. Early 2000 boaters from all over came out but after Lake Falcon death it killed Lake Amistad traffic. We don’t complain as it leaves a huge lake to the locals and it is safe. The devils river arm of the lake it 20 miles to the dam to Mexico side and then the Rio Grande portion goes way up river along the Mexican border Beautiful lake with huge towering cliffs with several places to look at cave art from 4000 years ago
 

Music to my Ears

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Thanks again for the feedback. I suppose my next question is what kind of boat is the right fit here. If we end up moving this way what kind of boat is the right fit. We have a Conquest deck boat and I haven’t seen anything like that out here yet. Seems like it could work here? I’m not interested in a roll bar boat so pontoon, CC, cabin cruiser? At the end of the day, I’m sure it’s just personal preference.


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Mack

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Any boat will work in Texas pontoon to the 40 footer. Amistad maybe 3 custom boats rest are anything you can imagine to get on the water with. Closer you get to Metroplex you will see more custom boats but not like California are Havasu. A real market exits out here for custom guy if they could set up satellite sales to cover this area. I have lots of people inquire about my boat. Most shy away because no local dealer network so they go mass produced boats
 

bilz

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Any info on Benbrook lake near Fort Worth?
 

pkbullet

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Wide variety on PK. Lots of fountains, cabin cruisers, formulas, wake boats, pontoons. MTI’s are getting popular, with a couple new 48’s and a 42 center console. The Hell on Water poker run has helped increase the performance boat quantity. A conquest would be a great boat for the area.
 

TX Foilhead

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As far as the clear or murky water goes, everything east of I35 to the gulf is murky. The limestone in the Hill Country will filter the murkiness out so most lakes west of Austin and San Antonio are clear. LBJ is an exception, it’s shallow and gets stits stirred up from boat traffic, that begins to settle out in lake Marble Falls and the upper end of Travis. The gulf is the same way, shallow and stays stirred up enough that the water along the coast tends to be murky, but is you get far enough out I clears up.

Remember if not for Powell and Mead you would probably be playing in red water in Havasu.
 

hawgty55

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Yes the water is dark. And nothing even comes close to west coast water clarity.
I live west of fort worth fish on eagle mountain lake and bridgeport mostly both are great lakes. Eagle mountain gets a bit busy do to its proximity of the city but most lakes outside of town get quite.

Pk is on our list to to visit.
Ray hubbard Lewisville travis and lakes of that nature are not really the seen we're looking for one of the reasons we didn't move to havasu. To many people.

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this is lake jacksboro
 

hawgty55

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This is eagle mountain lake closest lake to our place.
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This is lake Palestine. East Texas outside of Tyler
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And bridgeport
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As you can see not much traffic. Lol

Sold my powerboat because of the lake lifestyle out here. Most lakes we visit and use dont have beautiful sandy beaches like havas and the river offer so you spend alot of time on the boat hence the pontoons and newer open floor plan ski boats.
 

rrrr

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A real market exits out here for custom guy if they could set up satellite sales to cover this area. I have lots of people inquire about my boat. Most shy away because no local dealer network so they go mass produced boats

Eliminator opened a store in Dallas around 2005, after three years it closed.
 

Mack

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That’s where I ordered mine from Mike it was delivered to Dallas where I picked it up. They closed couple years after that.
 

shunter2005

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Hey MTME - Just happened to see this on Facebook.
This might be one lake around Dallas to think about before you go. Lake Grandbury. Tree stump=1 - Tahoe=0. Everyone bruised but safe.

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Shlbyntro

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Canyon Lake is known for this too. I had the pleasure of totalling out a boat for insurance that got fully impaled
 

hold_j

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I live in Fort Worth and Went to possum kingdom Saturday, We did a day trip and came back home. 1hr and a half to get there but the water is much nicer then the lakes around here in FW so I don’t mind the little drive lol. A lot of baller pads on that lake for sure !
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Music to my Ears

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I live in Fort Worth and Went to possum kingdom Saturday, We did a day trip and came back home. 1hr and a half to get there but the water is much nicer then the lakes around here in FW so I don’t mind the little drive lol. A lot of baller pads on that lake for sure ! View attachment 883055 View attachment 883055 View attachment 883056 View attachment 883057
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Great pics. That lake looks pretty promising. Thanks!


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