Data from an ongoing survey highlighted the recreational and economic benefits Bois d’Arc Lake is already providing for North Texas
by Alex Johnson, Director of Communications
Anglers caught an astounding 98,000 bass, crappie and catfish from April to June of 2024, according to the initial survey data from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). While 31,000 total fish were harvested, meaning anglers kept them after being caught, only about 2 percent of the largemouth bass were harvested over the first three months of the survey. TPWD has set a strict 16-inch maximum length limit on largemouth bass at Bois d’Arc Lake to promote the growth of the larger trophy bass.
The survey also helps quantify the economic impacts of angling tourism so far in the Fannin County communities surrounding the lake. The initial data showed that anglers spent about $546,000 on fuel, groceries, tackle and lodging across 12,000 fishing trips in the first three months the lake was open to fishing.
The survey’s results so far indicate the lake opening has been an overall success for both anglers and Fannin County, according to Dan Bennett, Biologist at TPWD’s Denison District Fisheries Office.
“Our estimate of approximately $550,000 in association with anglers fishing the lake over the first three months is certainly impressive,” Bennett said. “I don’t doubt that figure will continue to grow as more resources become available like lodging opportunities, stores, and restaurants.”
While most visitors sampled in the survey came from North Texas, others visited the lake from across Texas and from contiguous states. A few even came from as far away as California and Nebraska to fish at Bois d’Arc. Bennett said he’s not surprised at the interest the lake has garnered.
“I think many non-anglers are often surprised to see just how important fishing can be, and it is really a multi-billion-dollar industry that people travel all over the world to pursue,” he said. “Fannin County is turning into a vibrant destination for anglers with the opening of Bois d’Arc and the construction of Ralph Hall, along with several smaller reservoirs that previously existed.”
TPWD’s initial survey results are based on in-depth interviews with 130 angling parties at Bois d’Arc Lake from April to June 2024. TPWD conducted the surveys on 14 randomly selected days and counted the number of anglers on the lake during the survey timeframes. This allowed their survey team to extrapolate the overall estimate of fish caught and the economic impact of anglers visiting the lake. TPWD will continue to survey anglers on the lake through April 2025.
In addition to the survey, TPWD continues to track the health of the fish population in Bois d’Arc Lake. One recent catch by bass fisherman Jason Conn helped TPWD verify that their initial stocking efforts for Bois d’Arc Lake have been a success. TPWD genetically confirmed the eight-pound bass caught by Conn was one of the first six-inch fish stocked in a “brood pond”—one of the small ponds within the future footprint of the lake stocked by TPWD biologists in the fall of 2019 before the lake filled.
Bennett said this discovery helps provide insight into the potential growth rates of Bois d’Arc’s bass population, an important data point for avid anglers. The largest bass in the lake are about five years old, suggesting they are putting on about two pounds per year. So far, all bass stocked in the lake have been produced by TPWD’s selective “ShareLunker” breeding program and have a greater chance of reaching trophy size.
“I anticipate that the bass fishery will likely explode as the bass continue to grow to some impressive sizes in the next few years,” Bennett said. “We hope to maximize the survival of the largest bass with the restrictive length limit for as long as possible, so the fish spawn and produce many future generations of trophy bass in the reservoir.”