As retirement approaches we are considering getting a lake house. It would be for occasional use for 5 years or so, then, hopefully, be there full time. Looking primarily for white bass/striper as well as crappie and catfish fishing opportunities. I understand I have to share the lake with jet skis, party boaters, etc. but would prefer a lake with the least amount of temptation to sling a $8 MAL spinner at them. Thanks for your input!

Where are you looking?

Richland Chambers , most bang for the buck and low boat traffic compared to other lakes . Plenty of fish in that big ole lake .

Falcon

Agree. Loads of white bass and crappie in that lake.

I moved to Richland Chambers when I retired Jan 2019. Sand bass/hybrids, crappie and catfish describes it to a “T”.
Low boat traffic for sure. Main issue is grocery stores in town are 25-30 min away. Cell service is sub par and good emergency medical care is Dallas

Texoma
Great fishing, close to Okie land for the gambling if you're into that, occasional snow in the winter if you're into that, far enough from the big city but close enough to go there if you need to, and big enough lake so that if you don't want to mess with the jet ski's and other ding dongs there is always some water elsewhere

Curt0407, Looking anywhere in Central TX...Buchanan, Whitney, Cedar Creek, Richland Chambers. But not limited to those. Will consider any and all!

Buchanan is used to keep Inks, LBJ, and others at full pool. You may water and you may not. I would mark that one off the list.

True that! Been fishing Buch since '85. Seen it when you could drive almost across it. But, when it has water, she feels like an old pair of slippers!

What is internet service like? Might could live there if my wife has internet to work from home.

Love our lake house on Whitney .Everything you said is there . Only draw back is when the corp. floods it as they call it a flood control lake . Low traffic except when it's a holiday . Low taxes as well . Whitney is also a great town .

check out Tawakoni. Big enough with all the species you mentioned. Claims to be the catfish capital of Texas and close enough to Big D for doctors and internet.

Agree with both Whitney and Tawakoni.

I have a place on (well right off) of Sandlin. Good bass, crappie, sandies and catfish. Traffic not bad at all during the week. Weekends can be busy but bring retired, I just stay off the lake then. Internet not bad (Verizon). Several hospitals close by but better facilities in Tyler if necessary. Within an hour of Fork, Winnsboro, Gilmer, Cypress Springs, Monticello (if it ever opens again), Lone Star, Caddo, Lake of the Pines, Welsh, Martin Creek, and several other smaller lakes. Taxes not bad.

I had to make this decision in 2012 after I sold my company. I really enjoyed fishing at Texoma and it was great but I chose Possum Kingdom for the following reasons:

1. Very Very little boat or Jet Ski traffic during the week ( it's like my private Lake)
2. The view from my house is amazing and makes my wife happy. I had a nieghbor with a lake house at Athens whose wife would never go there. I didn't want to batch it all the time.
3. Very dry air out here, feels cooler in the summer and few Mosquitoes
4. I have a gated community, so I can maintain my house in the metroplex and know it's not being looted while I am gone.
5. Fishing is decent, if not as good as Texoma.


Everyone's situation will be different. One thing to note, is that if you are there all the time you'll catch really good fish at any of these premium lakes.

I've enjoyed the fishing:


I've enjoyed the view, as has my non fishing wife:


She really loves the wildlife

Also, you better have a million or 2 to buy in that part of the country. My brother just bought a place near Burnet so I was looking at prices down there. It is unreal how much they have gone up.

Thanks for all the input! I'm checking into availability as I watch it snowing here in Kerrville!

Texoma

I live full time in Spicewood, about a block from the marina ramp on the NW side of Lake Travis, 30 miles NW of Austin. I wanted to stay in the Austin area. So I'm on Travis, but Lake Austin and Lake LBJ are equidistant, both 24 miles away. This may not be my final home, however. So we'll see.

Yea, but we don't all have that Herb Steiner bank roll brother! LOL! Happy New Year Herb. (Sold the Legend and on the way to grab a BC Eyra Monday!

Palestine is top on my list when that day comes

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I have AT&T high speed. There are fiber optic cables out at the HWY 287 about 5-6 blocks away but was not run into our subdivision.

So many good fishing lakes in East Texas, close to advanced medical in Tyler, shopping is easy and the land prices have not escalated proportionally as in the metro-mess.

Lots of variables.
If you don’t mind bad storms and colder winters (for Texas) and being 600 miles from the coast, Texoma hands down.
Personally, I’d live on the Oklahoma side primarily for more peace and quiet. Texas side is approaching crowded levels

If you don’t mind very low water during drought conditions, don’t mind not having a dock, but want warm winters and proximity to the coast, home near Choke Canyon or Falcon.

Pk if you have the Dinero

I can't believe how much they are building NE, E and SE of Austin. A 1/3 acre of of old cow pasture will cost you at least $50K.

Lake Palestine is a good fishing lake. Plus you have tons of Medical care, shopping and restaurants a 15 minute drive North in Tyler. Richland Chambers would be my 2nd choice, but your nearest grocery stores are 20 minutes away in Fairfield or Corsicana. Good medical care or shopping is still quite a drive to Waco, Dallas, or Tyler. I live in Corsicana and fish RC a lot. It does have low traffic, but for all the above reasons, I might look at Palestine first.

Palestine for sure. My grandparents and now my parents have all retired to Palestine and absolutely love it. Their medical care is 20 minutes away and has some of the best facilities and providers in the state. Broad range of homes/prices to choose from so you'll surely find something within your budget. Plenty of lake front properties that are significantly more affordable than Austin area or even closer lakes to Dallas. Fishing though is #1 reason. Great for bass, sandbass, hybrids and crappie. You get tired of chasing one, you have plenty of others to choose from. Scenic lake too....lots of wilderness left, bald eagles, etc.

Randy, you buy boats like I buy crankbaits! Message me when the BC arrives and I'll come up to Jonestown for your new show-and-tell. And I'll leave the fairy wand in the car.

I picked Lake Tyler and built a lake front home. Though nice with nearby access to a large enough city and medical and all of that, the two lakes are pretty mediocre. One can catch a few bass and a few crappie. The crappie on the whole this winter have been on the small side. Be sure to pick a GOOD fishing lake. Lake Fork seemed too far out in the country to me. It would have driven my wife crazy. But they're a lot of nice lake homes on Fork.

I bought my place on Palestine in 98. I once planned on moving to the coast
when I sold my store , but now I believe I will stay put. 4 miles to the dollar store , 5 miles to the beer store, 8 miles to the grocery store, 15 miles to Tyler,

10 feet to great sunsets ,



good luck

Mo

I bought my place on Palestine in 98. I once planned on moving to the coast
when I sold my store , but now I believe I will stay put. 4 miles to the dollar store , 5 miles to the beer store, 8 miles to the grocery store, 15 miles to Tyler,

10 feet to great sunsets ,



good luck

Mo

I've been looking around Putnam County (St Johns river) in Florida but the comment about the Harris chain of lakes has got me thinking. Anybody got any first hand fishing experience on them??

PKfishing, A bit off the subject but I saw that pic of your wife feeding the deer. I had a friend that retired, moved to Oklahoma, and enjoyed feeding the deer......until one of them killed him. Be careful, they are not pets!

Palestine. There are about 5-6 good bass lakes within 30 minutes of there also. Enough said.

I'm just moving into my retirement place on Lake Palestine! I have 2 more years before retirement and really looking forward to it!

We picked Palestine for a lot of reasons previously stated, we seriously considered Fork but with Tyler being so close to Palestine for Shopping, Medical and lot of other "big Town" things we ended up at Lake Palestine-couldn't be happier

Bet it wasn’t this deer🤔🤪

Some deer get testy in the rut. These does hang out at my house and are less wild than the cows I had when I was young. Any animal can be dangerous. Kinda like anything, gotta know what you're doing.

Don't rule out Limestone. Only problem I see is Limestone does not have Stripers.