So is this lake a bust for property owners? Sounds like since it doesn't have a great watershed most of the ramps/docks are going to be high out of the water.

I don't think so; most that purchase property on lakes like this do so for the view, and that's it. This situation might be perfect for them.

That is a very good point.

Maybe they just need to redefine what "full" means for this lake. They thought it would fill to XYZ feet. Those are best guesses.

Seems like what it is at now is a more reasonable expectation of full pool.

Why they made the ramps so short when building a brand new lake is something to wonder about. Why would the state build a public reservoir that is designed so the public can't launch if it is even moderately low? How would making the ramps longer affect the ability to pump water?

The state has built a lot of lakes. They all seem OK. I can't imagine that they built this one wrong.Then again I'm not a lake builder guy. I am just a fisherman.

We have accurate weather data and creek/river flow rates going back decades, along with precise population growth projections and water consumption rates.
They knew exactly what they are doing. The lake level is likely within an inch or two of where they want it right now.

I didn't say the state built the lake wrong, I just wonder why the ramps aren't usable when 7 feet low. The government-built ramps at lakes like Fork, Rayburn, Sandlin, and Pines can be used at much lower levels. Fork was about 7-8 feet low for Bass Champs last year but there was no problem launching at the 515 public ramp. When Lake Tyler was 9-11 feet low years ago the city extended the ramp and dug a channel to the main lake. It would make sense to make the ramps longer when there's no water to get in the way.

The state didn't build this lake.
The lake is not a public lake.
It is a private lake built by a business (NTMWD) using money from loans they got that they are paying back by selling the water.
It was not built with public tax dollars.
The private water district could have built no ramps and said the public is not allowed to use it at all.

Maybe everyone should be happy that some ramps were built and that eventually it will fill and the public will be allowed to fish it.
Lets not forget that the watershed is pretty small, and despite several rain events in the area there hasn't been much runoff.

NTMWD is a government entity. It's a division of and under authority of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). It is not a private, for-profit corporation.

https://www.tceq.texas.gov/waterdistricts

Tell me you bought a lake front lot without telling me you bought a lake front lot.

Fat pipe in a little lake.

Yep. But our tax money has stocked the fire out of the lake and I’d be willing to bet that NT pitched the recreational and real estate economic impacts to the residents of fannin county as they bent them over.

But yes it is a small water shed. It will fill when it fills.

That’s funny right there.

Yes, but we can drive on the tollway expansion areas before they put the toll booths/toll scanners in.
I remember driving on George Bush from Preston all the way to 635 for two months for free before they put the tollbooths in. If it is a navigable water way and the bridge over the lake is most certainly public land.

We should be able to fish from the bridge and launch hand carried watercraft from the bridge rip rap right now.