My oldest daughter and I checked out Lake Bryson this morning.

About 10 years ago my old fishing partner and I went to Lake Bryson a few times to fish for the large Coppernose Bluegill to be found in the clear water. Fishing was not that easy, because the only access to the lake was a washed out road and a short boat ramp. The city had taken a back hoe and cut 2 trenches about 50 feet from the water to eliminate boat launches. The lake showed signs of complete neglect. The fishing pier had fallen in the water. The children�s playground was overgrown and the equipment rusted. There was considerable local resentment because outsiders were fishing in their lake. It was somewhat justified because the lake was known for huge Black Bass and Coppernose Bluegill. We had a 12 foot fiberglass boat that we drug the last 50 feet over the obstructions.

In 2006 the lake nearly went dry in the drought. After the lake refilled in 2007 the TPWD did a survey of the lake and did not find large fish. The lake was stocked, and in their report TPWD personnel indicated they were going to �visit� with the city about repairing the ramp and bank access. Sometime later the city did fill in the trenches and smooth the approach road. It will still rattle your teeth.

This morning we found the once clear water was stained and murky. The lake vegetation was gone. The standing timber was still there. It looks fishy, but we caught only about 6 Green Sunfish and the same number of small Bluegills using worms and crickets. Bank access is very limited because everything is overgrown. The pier is gone. The children�s playground is gone. We talked with a local fisherman. He indicated that rumor has it that the big Bluegill and Redear are still there, but he had never caught any.

Sadly, Lake Bryson is removed from our list of good sunfish lakes.

Here is the largest fish we caught.

That is a nice Green. Sounds like you had a good time with your daughter and that is what it is all about. You wont find a better fishing buddy.
Nice report thanks for sharing.

Man, sad to hear about one of your fishing holes. It's always tough to see a great fishing hole go to pott. That's crazy that they went so far to dig trenches in front of the boat ramp. Sounds like some folks (maybe locals or others or both) might messed the lake up real good. Hope your time on the water was at least good if the fishing wasn't up to par. Thanks for the report Smithaven.

It's sad to see good ol fishing spots changing for the worse. One thing that wont change is the times you have shared with your family. At least you have some good memories and nothing can change those. Your fishing pals for life.

So they went from resentment of out of town anglers to ruining the lake themselves , wow what an improvement . At least if it was fished it probably would have been maintained .

There are only about 500 city inhabitants. I can see where they might feel overwhelmed by a bass tournament that doubled the population of the town for a day or so. There is only one little general store. But think of the economic benefit of the tourist trade if they had developed it.

It is not too late. If they got a forward thinking city administration they could really benefit themselves. There are trophy bass in that lake. If they built a boat ramp and a bait store and charged an annual usage fee they could have a great little lake.

On the other hand the city of Glen Rose has the same attitude toward out of towners. But they are developing their lake on biblical principles(Matthew 25,35): "He was a stranger and I took him in" - for all he was worth.

I was passing through the area last August and fished it. I liked it, but then I'm a kayak fisherman who loves lakes where PBs are limited. There's some really nice bass in that lake. Caught a couple good ones in the 100 plus heat and I would like to go back sometime. I personally hope it remains 'off the radar' so to speak. You could see how the lake had come up rapidly and the amount of recently flooded brush makes me think that there will be some really good ones in there in the future.

Here is a picture I took at dawn at Lake Bryson, and one of the shore. They sure look like there should be bluegill, but we didn't find any.

Regarding the locals, we stopped at the store on the way out of town for a snack. It was like those old westerns where the stranger walks in and all conversation and movement cease. It was very spooky and we were clearly viewed as intruders.

To the Texas Fishing Forum. Glad to have you on board! Also Thanks for sharing.

there is a concrete ramp there now. was there a month ago and the fishing had relly went down hill

The concrete slab is only 20 feet long. It is half in and half out of the water. There is a big hole at the water end that would really do a number on the trailer if you went back too far. Still, it is a big improvement over a few years ago.

i personally think the do not practice catch and release unless it is into hot grease!

I am about to make some friends here but what incentive is there for them to develop such a small lake? Maybe they don�t want to see the lake go the same way as other small lakes. It makes me sick to see what happens to a lake after the masses learn where it is and run amuck around it. (Saw that walking through Scotland Park at Lake Arrowhead today, lost count of beer bottles, bait boxes and minnow bags.) There was still some trash around Bryson today but no where near other places (think Lake Wichita Dam, trash used to be 4' deep from the bank!).

I was told the same about outboard motors. Not allowed to be run on the lake. That suits me fine for such a small body of water. We were out there last year and nearly had our 10' jon boat flipped by throttle headed bass boat jockey. I believe it is the town�s main water supply. So that might explain the "No outboard motor" rule.

As for the lake, it has dropped considerably. The boat ramp is completely dry and has 1 foot drop off the end. Water was stained with about 2� visibility. We hit the water at 6:30 and fished until 10:00. Missed several but snagged one about 8#. Was teaching the youngest one how to fish Texas rig so had a lot of distraction.

Thanks for sharing your time on the water with us. I know the feeling about seeing a lot of garbage left at a lake or creek. It is a shame. No telling how many bags of trash I have picked up while out fishing. It is good that you take your son out fishing and teach him the sport along with the respect of our outdoors. I strongly feel that it is every Anglers and persons responsibility to keep and maintain our water bodies for future generations to come.

Lake Bryson is no longer the town's water supply. According to sources on the Internet they now buy their water from Graham.

The sad thing about Lake Bryson is the decline from what it once was. At one time it was an outstanding bass and coppernose bluegill fishery. There was a nice little park, with a lot of metal children's playground equipment and a great fishing pier and adequate ramp. The lake was built in 1980. I was unable to find out who paid for the lake, but it was probably a federal grant. I assume the park dates from the same time. The local population of only 500 people could not afford to maintain the lake and park, so it was reclaimed by nature. By the time I became aware of the lake around 2000 the playground was overgrown and rusty and the pier had fallen in. The locals would not reveal the location of the lake to outsiders.


These little villages located near the Metroplex have a real dilemma. If they build a nice place riff-raff from the city come out and spoil the park. On the other hand if they take state and federal funds they are obligated to share the facility. You see that now in the development of Wheeler Branch Lake in Glen Rose. The locals are fighting tooth and toenail to limit usage. Although they paid for the lake with local funds they took a federal/state grant to build the park and boat ramp, thus obligating themselves to share the facility. They would have been much better off to pay for the park themselves.