Lake Buchanan water level today 1018.62 ft, falling

Questions people ask about Lake Buchanan

Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for Lake Buchanan.

Is it worth fishing Lake Buchanan today?

5 out of 10 — picky. Work for it. The strongest stretch is 3:36 AM–5:36 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level.

What time should you fish Lake Buchanan?

Today's major windows run 3:36 AM–5:36 AM and 4:00 PM–6:00 PM, with minor windows at 11:16 AM–12:16 PM and 9:39 PM–10:39 PM. Sunrise is 7:18 AM and sunset 7:39 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.

What is the water temperature at Lake Buchanan?

No gauge on Lake Buchanan measures it, so this is an estimate: roughly 85°F, worked out from the 7-day mean of air temperature at NOAA weather station KBMQ (Burnet, Burnet Municipal Craddock Field). Checked against the lakes that do have a thermometer, that method lands within about 4.5°F of the real reading and was off by 8.3°F at worst. Treat it as a ballpark, not a measurement — and note the bite index above ignores it entirely, because an error that size would move the verdict as often as it would fix it.

What is the water level at Lake Buchanan right now?

1018.62 ft, read at 7:40 AM from USGS station 08148000. Over 24 hours it is down 0.04 ft.

Are water levels rising or falling at Lake Buchanan?

Falling. The lake is down 0.04 ft in 24 hours and down 0.23 ft over the week. Over the last 8 days it has held between 1018.61 and 1018.88 ft. Every figure here is a difference between two gauge readings, not a forecast — what the level does next depends on rain and on what the dam releases.

Is Lake Buchanan full right now?

At 1018.62 ft the lake is 1.38 ft below its conservation pool of 1020 ft, as Texas Water Development Board defines it. That is a comparison of two elevations, not a percentage of capacity — a reservoir at half its depth holds far less than half its water, so the two are not the same thing.

Can you eat the fish you catch in Lake Buchanan?

That is a health question, and it is answered officially rather than by us. Texas Department of State Health Services publishes the fish consumption advisory covering these waters, where an interactive viewer shows advisories and possession bans by waterbody. Read it before you keep a meal — we give no eating advice.

Texas DSHS fish consumption advisory

Do you need a licence to fish Lake Buchanan?

Yes. A Texas fishing license covers this water, required from age 17. TPWD sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What a Texas license costs, and who is exempt

What size fish can you keep in Texas?

It depends on the species, and several have slot limits rather than a simple minimum. Open to harvest today: red drum (redfish), spotted seatrout (speckled trout), black drum, southern flounder. Seasons here change mid-year by agency order, so the status is re-checked every morning.

Red drum (redfish) limits · Spotted seatrout (speckled trout) limits · Black drum limits · Southern flounder limits · Check a length against the rules