Fishes Lake Livingston
Reservoir · Piney Woods · Texas
Lake Livingston Fishing Guides
A big, shallow, fertile Trinity River reservoir north of Houston, and the most productive trophy blue catfish water in this part of Texas.
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Guides on the Lake Livingston
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
Order on this page: premium and outfitter plans first (labelled Premium placement), then claimed free profiles, then unclaimed — one published price, no bidding for position. How placement works
About the Lake Livingston
Livingston is a catfish lake that happens to hold other species. The Trinity River Authority dammed the Trinity in 1969 to supply Houston, and the result is a large, shallow, fertile reservoir with an enormous shad forage base and a blue catfish population that grows very large on it. Guided trips here are overwhelmingly catfish trips, and the standard method is drifting cut shad across open flats rather than anchoring on structure, which makes it an unusually easy fishery for beginners to be successful in.
The white bass run is the other reason people come. In late winter the fish move up the Trinity arm to spawn and stack in the river above the lake, and that fishing is accessible from small boats and in places from the bank, which matters on a lake where most of the good water otherwise requires a rig that can handle open water.
Because Livingston is shallow and wide, wind is a bigger factor here than on most Texas reservoirs. A steady south wind builds a genuinely dangerous chop across the lower end, and the right answer on those days is to fish the protected creek arms or stay up on the river rather than to push out and hope.
The gauge below reports pool elevation and stored volume. Livingston is held close to a constant level most of the year because it is a supply reservoir with a comparatively small flood pool, so what the number usually tells you is whether the Trinity is running high after rain upstream. A rising, muddy lake pushes catfish to the edges of the colour line and will shut the white bass down for several days.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Lake Livingston.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Pool right now
128.98ft NGVD29
- 24 hours-0.06 ft → steady
- Storage1,452,000 acre-ft
- For the dateNear the lowest this lake has been this week of the year
Reading taken 37 min ago at USGS 08066190, Livingston Res nr Goodrich, TX. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
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Access
Lake Livingston State Park: ramps, piers and bank access on the east shore.
Wolf Creek Park: Trinity River Authority park with ramps on the west side.
Cape Royale and Pine Islands: mid-lake access to the deeper water.
Trinity River arm above the lake: the winter and spring white bass run.
Highway 190 bridge area: open-water flats and standard drift-fishing water.
Ramps near the dam at Goodrich: access to the lower end and deepest water.
Note: this is big open water and it gets rough fast in wind.
Seasons
Winter: the most reliable stretch for the biggest blue catfish, and the start of the white bass push.
Spring: white bass in the Trinity arm, then a shallow bass and catfish bite as the lake warms.
Summer: drifting shad over open flats, early starts, afternoon thunderstorms.
Fall: cooling water brings catfish and white bass back to the mid-depths and the creek mouths.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Lake Livingston?
Anglers target Blue Catfish, Channel Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, White Bass on the Lake Livingston in Texas.
Are there fishing guides on the Lake Livingston?
GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Lake Livingston. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Lake Livingston?
Lake Livingston State Park: ramps, piers and bank access on the east shore. Wolf Creek Park: Trinity River Authority park with ramps on the west side. Cape Royale and Pine Islands: mid-lake access to the deeper water. Trinity River arm above the lake: the winter and spring white bass run. Highway 190 bridge area: open-water flats and standard drift-fishing water. Ramps near the dam at Goodrich: access to the lower end and deepest water. Note: this is big open water and it gets rough fast in wind.
When is the best time to fish the Lake Livingston?
Winter: the most reliable stretch for the biggest blue catfish, and the start of the white bass push. Spring: white bass in the Trinity arm, then a shallow bass and catfish bite as the lake warms. Summer: drifting shad over open flats, early starts, afternoon thunderstorms. Fall: cooling water brings catfish and white bass back to the mid-depths and the creek mouths.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Lake Livingston?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Texas agency site: https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/fishing