Salt Lake Fishing in Howard County, Texas

• Overview

  Howard County, Texas, is where Salt Lake sits. Height above sea level is 2,434 feet. It runs to roughly 137 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. It is high ground by Texas standards. Big Spring sits 7.4 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Midland sits 32 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Salt Lake

  This water is saline; the fishing interest, where it exists, sits in the feeder streams rather than the basin itself. The basin is ephemeral: it can stand empty for years between fills. Anglers passing through do better on the neighbouring fresh waters listed on this page. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The shape of Salt Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 82°F in July and bottoms out near 42°F in January. The surface stays open the year round. The first and last hours carry the summer; the middle is slow. Late winter often fishes better here than midsummer does. Salt Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. It is recorded as intermittent, which means the basin empties in dry spells. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. For a change of water, Natural Dam Lake is 3.9 miles distant. Where Salt Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.