Van city lake???

Several years ago I had some buddies that fished the 'van city lake' I live in Tyler area and travel to Van on a regular basis; never seen any kind of sign of the lake.. I do know as you drive in to Van on Hwy 110 there is a large 'soil conservation lake" is that "IT"

directions or even a map would be appreciated.

And I thought I read that THe Canton lake that is behind the Walmart You now had to go to the police station for a permit to fish What period of time does the permit cover?

thanks

Van city lake,,many years ago,we called it pure oil city lake,,it was free,,that was 20 yrs ago...i remember hooking a monster bass and being broke off,long time ago

Canton Lake permit is good for the day. The daily pass is $3 and an annual pass is $25. I believe you can fish the lake free from the bank or if you launch a canoe / kayak without a trailer.

I have been on the "PURE OIL" lake ; took a friend there once we found a 'brush pile' and broke off so many times that I begain to wonder if the Bass had a knife. Later that day I took my push pole extented it down to the "brush pile' to find it was a pile of concrete blocks !

Last year the news reported that the dam on Pure Oil had broken

But I think the "Van City Lake" is East of town off of hwy 110 NOT SURE!!

I found it !!! Goggle earth has become a friend! It is east of Van and is on a road named "VAN CITY LAKE ROAD" how cool is that. Years ago Several of my fishing friends made trips to that lake to fish. THey always seemed to have good success.
I have not been fishing in many years but with the purchase of this new ( used) boat I plan on making a trip to Van City Lake soon as the weather makes it possible. Small lake maybe some big bites there.
thanks for you help
b

I was in Van Sunday--we eat at the "Dinner Bell" every Christmas, love how they decorate that place.

Van City Lake
18745 County Road 447 Van, TX 75790

How is the ramp and water level?

Sadly, the lake is now private (sold by the city to Glenn Hinckley for $1 million February of this year)

The lake is now private.

Van City Lake Sold

The lake is 90 acres. Getting the permits to build a 90 acre lake are getting harder and harder. Probably a smart move on Mr. Hinkley's part to buy it and bring it up to code.

Agree, smart move (I'm sure you've seen the stocking history)
Van City was on the short list of lakes to re-visit this weekend (only got to fish it once).
I'll be first in line if permits become available or the lake becomes part of PWF.

Not part of the PWF family of lakes. 90 acre lakes are hard to come by.

Fished there in the 90's...lots of native bass. Dredged out after a kid drowned there....nothing but a slick bottom left. Sorry to hear its gone private.

Went out there last week and found the lake has NO water or very little close to the dam. There was heavy equipment doing dirt work on the east shore. It has been fenced off with closed signs.

"As of Feb. 4, 2016, Van no longer owns the rights to the Van city lake. The lake was sold for a price tag of $1 million to Glenn Hinckley."

http://www.vanzandtnews.com/articles/2016/02/12/split-vote-van-sells-its-city-lake-1-million

Pure Oil Lake was awesome in the 80's and 90's, I believe the dam broke in 2008.

I believe the only piece of publicly accessable land on the lake was where the ramp is located.

Not open to public any longer. Private owner

There were two ramps on the lake, one on each side (the one on the west side was small and not well maintained)

Could easily launch a kayak/small vessel from the day use/campsites.

Guess the dam/lake was too expensive to upkeep for the city.

It's a shame, but Mr. Hinckley got one of the bargains of the century.