Mission Lake Fishing near Woodsboro, Texas

• Overview

  Out in Refugio County, Texas, sits Mission Lake. Elevation runs to 7 feet. With some 206 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The bank runs about 2.7 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. It lies lower than most water we list in Texas. Nearest town is Woodsboro, 9.3 miles off. Beyond it, Refugio at 11 miles and Fulton at 12 miles. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Mission Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. This is tidal water: the state of the tide decides where fish sit, so plan the session around it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Mission Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 84°F at the top of summer and 55°F at the bottom of winter. The year runs unbroken and warm. Late winter and spring fish steadiest here. Spring and autumn carry the year; summer squeezes it into the ends of the day. On Mission Lake that shapes the whole year. Fish feed harder before a change in weather than after it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Barramundi and estuary fish want hard-bodied lures and soft plastics worked around snags and drains. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Mission Bay is 2.1 miles off. Rules at Mission Lake are worth checking on the day.