I will be going to Lake Arlington for the first time later this week and wanted to know if there were any obstacles in the lake to watch for or avoid.

Probably will use the north ramp (Richard Simpson Park) if that helps with information. Wife wants to go somewhere close and I thought this lake would fit the bill.

Any suggestions on lures?

Any comments are helpful.

You can be at Whitney in about 38 miles and it's a lot larger, prettier and less busy...Not to mention it's only about a foot low...I haven't fished Arlington in a boat, so I'm not sure of any obstacles, but I have houses in Joshua and around Lake Whitney...

If you decide to go to Whitney, go to McCown Valley and you can find stripers and cats not too far off the shore line going to the Katy Bridge and then south towards the dam...

Thanks for the suggestion LoneStar, but the wife wants to try Arlington this time...

Lake Arlington is'nt exactly the most exciting lake, but it is full now. The only obstacles in that lake are in the upper end of the lake between the Bowman Springs ramp and I-20, but presently the water up there is extremely muddy (possibly the whole lake is muddy as it has been above spillway level several times lately and might still be). It is a small lake, so you should be able to cover all of it that you want to in half a day. I haven't personally fished the lake in over 10 years nor have I talked to anyone else who has, but there are bass, sandies, channel and yellow cats, and I guess they still put hybrids in there. There was a 13 lb bass caught out of Arlington a few years back, but I wouldn't get my hopes up to high on repeating that. Not sure what you are fishing for, but your guess is as good as mine on what to throw at them. Good luck.

Do you still have to have allake sticker for your boat on Arlington? I havent boat fished there in about 12 to 15 years.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Think a sticker is $25 or maybe $30 per year, but you can get a one day pass for $5 I think.

I called the office and they pro-rate the sticker price after Sept until the end of Dec.

The wife is just looking to get out and do some bonding...

I took and 11lb 13oz black bass out of there a few years ago. It a tough lake to fish until you learn the area, just like any lake

I would put in on the arkansas ramp. The lake is wide open until you go south of the south ramp. I am not sure what they call it now but it use to be called Feather Beach. This is the newer part of the lake and at normal pool is around 5 feet deep in most areas.

Like stated this is a humbling lake to fish. There is a lot of shad here. I would work the dam, the point of the yacht club, and some of the newly flooded shoreline.

Honestly if I wasn't so close to it I would never fish it. I do believe that people do pretty well for Crappie and Catfish though. There are a few that do pretty good on Bass, but I am not one of them. My guess is they have sunk brush piles off points, but I do not know this for a fact.

Benbrook is not far, but can be another tough lake. It is prettier though.

Good luck to you!

When the wife says "...lets get the boat out and go fishing.." she doesn't have to ask me twice, especially when she picks the lake! With both of our work schedules, it is a treat to go to the water together.

Dwight,
Don't let these guys fool you about Lake Arlington. I have been fishing the lake since 1965.It may not have a state record, but it's a good lake for black bass.
One of my favorite places to fish is across from the south boat ramp on the north bank where the white house sits. Along that bank where Womacks used to be are a lot of brush & reads & fishing is excellance. Any place along the banks on the south end is also good. Be sure & fish the islands & the reads, caught a lot of fish there. Remember you can catch fish shallow on this lake.
The best colors in worms: black/chart, purple/chart, pumpkin pepper/orange tail, redbug, motor-oil & strawberry.
Crankbaits:Crawdads (browns & Chart), chatterbaits in perch.
Spinnerbaits: Chart/white, chart.
Jigs:Peanut/Butter&Jelly,Brown/orange & Black/Chart

Good Luck

Thanks Ken.

what Ken said

i would launch at the South ramp
fish the shoreline towards I-20
the islands
there is a creek that runs about in the middle of the lake
it is excellent fishing

that lake is so hot in the summer, that is why people think it is hard to fish

no obstacles at this water level unless it is floating

fish my Dad's dock (it is the only old fashioned wood dock you will see. 400 yards South of the Bowman Springs ramp

brush piles all over it

have fun

Thanks guys for your help. I stopped by the office today and got a lake pass...the ramp on the north end slopes very shallow and the ramp on the south end slopes pretty steep....

that lake sucks. dont waste your time

dwight kens right one, also may try west end of lake by trailer park point at dock to north 100 yards or so ,and all the boat docks east cove bank from west shoreline also may try buzz baits (black) over flooded roadbeds just east of white house good luck and might be out there saturday myself good luck Gerry

Thanks Gerry...

nice hybrids in that lake. don't take any alcohol on the lake, they are VERY strict.

It can be a good lake if you learn it. Nothing to worry about on the upper end.

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions...I took my son and wife out for 2 days and we had a blast. The lake was almost empty, I guess most guys are deer hunting.

How was the fishing?

The fishing was great...caught so many fish, the boat almost sank!!

you can go to he77 for lying

In our minds....we caught so many fish the boat was sinking!!!

Actually, we did OK for our first time on Lake Arlington, it was a lot of fun....

Im bout a rocks throw away from the lake and have never seen a hybrid come outta there. Is there a secret your not telling me?????

There are hybrids in there. I would imagine most are caught small and kept mistaken for sandies.

I FISHED IT WEDNESDAY NO LMB,HOWEVER DID MANAGE 18 SANDIES MOST WERE DINKS-NO HYBRIDS,THIS LAKE HAS BEEN TOUGH LATELY

Glad to hear its not just me having a tough time catching fish from Lake Arlington. I still stuggle finding fish consistently out there.