Fort Parker State Park Lake

Quick Links: Fishing Regulations | Angling Opportunities | Cover & Structure | Tips & Tactics

Public Access Facilities

Lake Characteristics

Location: South of Mexia on Texas Highway 14
Surface area: 725 acres
Maximum depth: 6 feet
Impounded: 1935

Water Conditions

Current Lake Level: Available at State Park office
Fluctuation: 1-2 feet
Normal Clarity: Very turbid

Reservoir Controlling Authority

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Fort Parker State Park
Route 3 Box 95
Mexia, Texas 76667
(254) 562-5751

Aquatic Vegetation

Lotus, cutgrass, bulrush

Predominant Fish Species

Lake Records
Stocking History
Latest Survey Report

Lake Maps

Available at the park office (254) 562-5751

Fishing Regulations

Being located within a state park, this lake is regulated as a Community Fishing Lake.

Angling Opportunities

Fort Parker Lake is not known as a great fishing hole, but there are some good opportunities. Management and stocking efforts to improve the fishery have met with limited success for some species. Years of flooding from the muddy Navasota River have taken a toll on this otherwise scenic lake, which has become severely silted in since impoundment in 1935. The upper 2/3 of the reservoir is not navigable by boat most of the time. The lower 1/3 has a maximum depth of about 9 feet due to a dredging operation in the 1990s.

Species	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent
Largemouth Bass
Catfish
Crappie
White Bass
Sunfish

Fishing Cover/Structure

The lower third of the reservoir is ringed with shoreline vegetation but little other cover is present. The upper 2/3 often has lotus or other emergent vegetation in dense stands, but shallow water limits its usefulness to fish. In 2016, TPWD worked with a local volunteer group to install crappie condos to provide cover for fish.

Use the Habitat Structure Viewer for an interactive map of fish habitat structures and downloadable GPS coordinates.

Tips & Tactics

Fishing for blue and channel catfish is quite good, and occasionally large blue catfish can be caught from shore in the vicinity of the campground. The crappie population is also very good, although they can sometimes be hard to find, traveling between the main lake and the Navasota River. The largemouth bass population is relatively low in numbers, but there are some quality fish to be found in the lower end of the lake. White bass can be caught from shore just downstream of the dam during the spring run if water conditions are good. Contact the park for current conditions.