I was hoping I could get some ideas on some lakes that would be good to fish mid November that are approximately 1 hour from either Austin, San Antonio, Houston, or Dallas. Thank you for any advice.

1 hour is close to the metro mess in all those areas. Most lake are fun in mid November. Coleto Creek is a fun lake, prolly not close enuff to meet your criteria though. Fayette County for numbers 1hr+ west of Houston.

1 hr from downtown Houston and you may still be in the City. Conroe, Lake Houston are your only options with that criteria.

Man, talk about a lot of options. Since you are saying mid-November, I would look at going to Squaw Creek. Other than fishing there are some neat things to see around that general area like Fossil Rim Wildlife Park, The dinosaur stuff, etc. And if the weather cooperates, the fish could be in full pre-spawn at that lake. Just make sure you look at the schedule and understand what days they are open or not.

Thanks for the reply. We're still in planning stage but are eyeing up a possible stay in Plano. It appears that Ray Hubbard, Ray Roberts and Lewisville Lake are all pretty close if they are decent? A 2 hour drive to Lake Fork could be a possibility.

I would look at Lake Lbj if you are going to Austin. It is about an hour West and a great serene fishery. There are a couple other lake close by, Buchanan and Inks. Lots of places to stay. Lots of things to do in the Austin area. My other choice would be Lake Fork for obvious reasons, it is the land of giants. It is about an hour and a half East of Dallas. There are a couple smaller lakes close by to that can be great fishing away from crowds. Lots of places to stay that cater to fishermen. I live on Ray Hubbard, it is very urban no good places to stay that are safe to keep a boat. Ray Roberts can be very fickle. Has lodging at the State Park. Lewisville is very urban, has some great night life.

Texoma at that time would be my choice within 1 hour.

I�m assuming you�re flying in? BC those cities are not close to one another.

Dallas offers the most options, Houston is really not your best bet, Austin has the prettiest lakes and other outdoor adventures, and San Antonio is a no go until water arrives in Choke.

Since I�m assuming you are traveling from out of state I say Shreveport. It has a couple really fun, shallow
Water lakes close by, and you can always take a trip to T-Bend for a day. Those options are much better than the dallas lakes you listed.

Yes I would be flying in and looking for a guide on whichever lake was picked. I'd be coming from tiny Delaware to ginormous Texas and would be a whole new deal for me. Texoma would work for the plano area if they have guides and a chance at a giant. I imagine every lake in Tx can put out a giant at any given time but was looking for a good shot at a 7+ or bigger while on vacation.

Texoma mostly guides for stripers, but you can find one for black bass. Texoma is not a giant producer, but has a nice mix of the three black basses. If your goal is big rather than numbers of decent fish, get a guide in East Texas and drive the 90 minutes - 2 hours. Speed limits are generally 70+. , so you can go further than you think within an �hour� if you don�t account for traffic!

A lot of lakes in TX don�t produce the Giants you are looking for. At least not the numbers of them that will make them readily catchable.

Fork, Rayburn, T-Bend, Falcon, Conroe are your best bets for a Texas sized bucket mouth. A couple others out west do as well but they are out there.

Fork, Rayburn, and Falcon have the guides that really focus on mega bass.

I don�t think Texoma has what you�re looking for.

That's good to know. I would definitely rather catch a couple chunks than 20 dinks in a day. Fork wouldn't be too bad of a drive from Plano ( 2 hours)? Scenic drives and wildlife viewing would be great too if thats in a 2 hour or so drive from Plano.

Fork is likely best for you. Great guides and that time of year will be a little less crowded because Hunting season has started.
Good luck and enjoy!

Thanks everyone. Will definitely post reports if we end up going to Tx. for a warmer getaway.

Nothing like hopping a big jig on Lake Fork in November! I've caught some of my best fish when it just starts to get cold! Are you ready for some footballs?? (pardon the NFL pun!)

If it has not gotten too cold yet, and the water temps are still in the 60s Roberts is great in the fall. Fish are feeding big time before it gets cold and are usually fat and active. If we get early cold snaps and the water gets into the 50s, forget Roberts and try somewhere else.