Lake Texoma Information

Known simply as Texoma or Texomaland to locals, Lake Texoma is situated on the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas. Attracting approximately 6 million visitors a year, Lake Texoma's popularity is largely attributed to its sheer size as well as its proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, about an hour's drive south of the lake.

The lake area includes two wildlife refuges, two state parks, fifty four USACE-managed parks, twelve marinas, twenty-six resorts, hundreds of campgrounds and a variety of excellent golf courses. Power boating, sailing, personal watercraft, water skiing and wind surfing are all popular pursuits. Lake Texoma has become a major sailing center based on the lake's size, depth and miles of sailing shoreline.

Located at the confluence of the Red River and Washita Rivers, Lake Texoma is formed by Denison Dam on the Red River about 726 miles upstream from the mouth of the river. The damsite is approximately 5 miles northwest of Denison, Texas, and 15 miles southwest of Durant, Oklahoma.

Construction on the Denison dam, spillway, and outlet works were started in August 1939 and completed in February 1944. At that time, Denison Dam was the largest rolled, earthfilled dam in the United States. The project was put into operation for flood control in January 1944 and the first hydroelectric turbine was placed in operation in March 1945.

Lake Texoma provides habitat for at least 70 species of fish including largemouth, spotted, white, and striped bass, white crappie and channel, blue, and flathead catfish. The lake is one of the seven U.S. inland lakes where striped bass reproduce naturally instead of being farmed and released into the waters. The "stripers" feed on large schools of shad, and often reach sizes of 12 to 20 pounds with a lake record of 35.12 lb caught April 25, 1984. In 2004, a blue catfish was pulled from the lake weighing in at 121.5 pounds, temporarily setting a world weight record for rod and reel caught catfish. More commonly, catfish in Lake Texoma weigh from 5 up to about 70 pounds.