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Home › Waters › Oklahoma › Lake Lawtonka
Reservoir · Southwestern Oklahoma, Comanche County, the granite country at the foot of Mount Scott in the Wichita Mountains north of Lawton · Oklahoma

Lake Lawtonka Fishing Guides

A clear granite-basin reservoir under Mount Scott in the Wichita Mountains, holding smallmouth bass and walleye in water far rockier than southwestern Oklahoma suggests.

Sunrise burning off mist over a timbered reservoir
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Lake Lawtonka

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About the Lake Lawtonka

Lake Lawtonka sits directly beneath Mount Scott in the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma, impounded on Medicine Creek to supply the city of Lawton. It drains about ninety square miles of granite uplands, and that granite is what sets it apart from every other reservoir in this part of the state. Most southwestern Oklahoma impoundments sit in red clay and run permanently turbid. Lawtonka sits in rock, and it runs clear.

The consequences for fishing are substantial. Clear water over a rocky basin means sight feeding predators, deeper thermal structure in summer, and a species mix that includes fish which simply do not thrive in the muddy lakes nearby. Boulder shorelines, submerged granite points and rock ledges provide the structure, and the Wichita Mountains rising straight out of the water make it one of the more striking places to fish in Oklahoma. The gauge reads reservoir storage and stage, which are the numbers that govern how much of that rocky shoreline is in play.

Smallmouth bass are the notable fish here and the lake is one of relatively few Oklahoma waters where they do genuinely well. Largemouth and spotted bass are present in good numbers. Walleye are stocked and provide a strong seasonal fishery, and hybrid striped bass and white bass school over open water and can produce spectacular surface activity. Channel, blue and flathead catfish are all present, and crappie and bluegill round out the assemblage.

Access is good, with ramps, a marina and city park facilities around the lake, and Lawton immediately south for anything a visiting angler needs. The adjoining Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge makes this a destination worth more than a single day even for anglers travelling alone.

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Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Pool right now

  • Storage43,130 acre-ft

Reading taken 60 min ago at USGS 07309500, Lake Lawtonka near Lawton, OK. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.

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Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.

Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Lake Lawtonka.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Lawton - the city immediately south, with full services, lodging, tackle and an airport.
Mount Scott - the peak above the lake, with a summit road and the defining landmark of the area.
Public ramps and marina on the lake - the main access points for boat anglers.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge - the large public land tract adjacent, with hiking, wildlife and additional water.
Medicine Park - the historic cobblestone village on the lake, with food and lodging.
Lake Elmer Thomas - a small clear refuge lake nearby, a good change of pace.
Fort Sill - the neighbouring installation and a landmark for navigating the area.

Seasons

Spring: bass move shallow onto the rock and this is the most productive and most popular period of the year.
Summer: fish hold deeper on the granite structure, with hybrid and white bass schooling over open water early and late.
Fall: cooling water brings a strong surface bite and walleye return to the points and ledges.
Winter: the lake stays open, fishing slows to deep structure, and crappie and catfish carry the cold months.

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Questions

What species can you catch on the Lake Lawtonka?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Hybrid Striped Bass, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Spotted Bass, Walleye, White Bass on the Lake Lawtonka in Oklahoma.

Where can you access the Lake Lawtonka?

Lawton - the city immediately south, with full services, lodging, tackle and an airport. Mount Scott - the peak above the lake, with a summit road and the defining landmark of the area. Public ramps and marina on the lake - the main access points for boat anglers. Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge - the large public land tract adjacent, with hiking, wildlife and additional water. Medicine Park - the historic cobblestone village on the lake, with food and lodging. Lake Elmer Thomas - a small clear refuge lake nearby, a good change of pace. Fort Sill - the neighbouring installation and a landmar...

When is the best time to fish the Lake Lawtonka?

Spring: bass move shallow onto the rock and this is the most productive and most popular period of the year. Summer: fish hold deeper on the granite structure, with hybrid and white bass schooling over open water early and late. Fall: cooling water brings a strong surface bite and walleye return to the points and ledges. Winter: the lake stays open, fishing slows to deep structure, and crappie and catfish carry the cold months.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Lake Lawtonka?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Oklahoma agency site: https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/fishing/regs