Stagners Lake near Smithville: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Out in Bastrop County, Texas, sits Stagners Lake. Country round the bank runs to warm green lowland. The water covers some 81 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. A plain outline means the drop-off does the work that bays would elsewhere. It ranks high for size among our Bastrop County listings. Smithville sits 3.1 miles from here and is the nearest stop. The big place round here is Austin, 42 miles distant. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Stagners Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Public wildlife records from this area list channel catfish, gizzard shad and Guadalupe bass. It is a record of sightings and surveys, so use it as a guide. Stagners Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 49°F to 84°F. The calendar barely matters here; the time of day does. Shade and hour of day matter more than month. June to September is hot work, so the first and last hours are what count. Stagners Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out. After a storm, the water clears from the edges inwards.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Shipp Lake is 1.8 miles off. Treat Stagners Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.