Lake Jacksonville Is Working Water Close to Home

Lake Jacksonville sits about three miles southwest of town off U.S. 79. The 1,320-acre reservoir was impounded in 1957, and Jacksonville Municipal Water Supply is its controlling authority. That working job sits quietly behind an afternoon of fishing or a boat easing away from shore. The civic purpose and recreation have shared this shoreline for decades.

This is a steep-sided East Texas lake, not a broad sheet of prairie water. Iron-ore rock shows on points, riprap lines the dam, and fish habitat gathers around deep structure, brush, and lighted piers. Those details give the lake a close, wooded character even though it reaches depths of 62 feet. TPWD lists largemouth and spotted bass, catfish, crappie, and sunfish in the fishery.

TPWD currently lists three city-operated public ramps: Northwest Ramp, Peninsula Point Public Park and Ramp, and Southshore Park. All three are listed without a launch fee, though Northwest Ramp can become difficult at low water. The access page is worth checking before hauling a boat because ramp conditions can change.