Fishing report
Palo Duro Reservoir Smallmouth Bass Fishing Report
Waka, TX
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Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Aug 10, 2026 at 1:00 PM CDT, plus solunar and sun/moon times computed in-house. This is a computed report, not an eyewitness catch report.
A state fisheries survey records Smallmouth Bass in Palo Duro Reservoir.
Overall rating
Smallmouth Bass at Palo Duro Reservoir — 2026-08-10
Fair · 42/100Best window: 8 PM (Fair · 53/100)
- Season
- Summer
- Moon
- 6% illuminated, waningWaning Crescent
- Est. surface temp
- 98.2°F
- Pressure
- 30.06 inHgStable
Est. water temp
98.2°F
v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading
Above Smallmouth Bass's 70-80°F range
Sun & moon
- Sunrise
- 6:58 AM
- Sunset
- 8:40 PM
- Moonrise
- 4:15 AM
- Moonset
- 7:32 PM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 8 PM
- Cloud cover
- 19%
- Precip chance
- 1%
- Wind
- 15 mph S
- Pressure
- 30.06 inHg Stable
Species context
Why this score
Fair (42/100) for Smallmouth Bass: water is estimated at 98.2°F, above Smallmouth Bass's 70-80°F optimal range. Best window: Dusk — boosts feeding activity by about 30%, one of their peak feeding windows. That hour also overlaps a minor solunar period. 30.06 inHg and stable pressure modeled flat — no change from this fish's baseline. Moderate (10-20 mph) wind modeled about 10% above this fish's baseline.
What's driving the 8 PM score
Light window (dusk) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on water temperature — 98.2°F estimated, about 40 points below its best.
- Water temperature · hurting
- Light window · helping
- Solunar period · neutral
- Barometric pressure · helping
- Wind · helping
Show the numbers behind this
Water temperature: 98.2°F estimated
0 of 40 pts
Optimal range 70-80°F
Well supportedWater temperature governs a cold-blooded fish's metabolism, so it is the largest term in the model (Christie & Regier 1988). The figure is a thermal-lag estimate built from forecast air temperature and the time of year — not a sensor reading, and not this lake's actual measured water.
Light window: Dusk
25 of 25 pts
Boosts feeding activity by about 30%
Well supportedLow-light feeding windows are the strongest timing signal inside a single day. How much each window is worth is this species' own cited response, sourced in its model file, not a generic curve.
Solunar period: Minor period
9 of 15 pts
Not supported by testingPeer-reviewed testing of North American freshwater fisheries found no significant relationship between solunar values, lunar phase or lunar illumination and catch rates (SN Applied Sciences, 2023) — air temperature predicted catch better than any solunar table tested. It is shown because anglers expect it, and it is shown separately so you can discount it. Its weight is under owner review.
Barometric pressure: Stable
9.5 of 10 pts
Modeled flat — no change from this fish's baseline
ContestedThe barometric effect is real to most anglers but small and contested in the literature — several of the species studies cited in this model report null results — so it carries one of the smallest weights here.
Wind: Moderate (10-20 mph)
9.6 of 10 pts
Modeled about 10% above this fish's baseline
Moderately supportedWind stacks forage on windward structure, but both the size and the direction of the effect depend on the species and the water, so it carries a modest weight.
Then the whole score is scaled
Season: Summer — ×1.00 (100% of the ungated score)
How catchable Smallmouth Bass are at this point in the year. This scales the whole score rather than competing with the factors above — a fish that is dormant this time of year cannot score well no matter how good the hour looks.
Weather front: No clear front — ×1.00 (100% of the ungated score)
A multi-hour frontal pattern read from the day's forecast trajectory. No front is classified today, so this changes nothing and the single-reading pressure factor above does its normal job.
Those five factors add up to 53.1 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 53. The weights are v1 tuning constants under owner review — they are shown here rather than hidden so you can weigh them against your own judgement.
What this score does not know
- Water clarity. We have no source for it and do not estimate it.
- Measured water temperature. The figure in the breakdown is a model over forecast air temperature, not a reading from a buoy or a probe.
- Baitfish and forage activity.
- How much fishing pressure this water has had.
- Where the fish actually are. Depth bands are the species' published seasonal ranges, not an observation of this lake.
- What anyone actually caught. No catch reports feed this score.
Conditions read from the National Weather Service as of Aug 10, 2026 at 1:00 PM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.
When best caught
It's currently summer. Smallmouth Bass typically hold 20-40 ft deep this time of year — at an estimated 98.2°F, this looks like a slower time of year to target them, since water temp is outside their optimal range.
Current depth
20-40 ft
This is the seasonal depth band from the species model — relative to this species' typical behavior, not this lake's actual structure. True depth relative to this lake's bottom contours needs lake bathymetry (tracked in issue #175).
Today's solunar periods
- Minor: 3:45 AM–4:45 AM
- Major: 10:58 AM–12:58 PM
- Minor: 7:02 PM–8:02 PM
- Major: 11:28 PM–1:28 AM
Best times
When do smallmouth bass feed during the day?
Smallmouth Bass feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 21% above the daily average across all four light windows.
- Dawn1.30x
Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.
- Daytime0.70x
Suppresses feeding activity by about 30%.
- Dusk1.30x
Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.
- Night1.00x
Has no measurable effect on feeding activity.
Hour by hour
Hourly bite forecast
| Hour | Bite score | Rating | Light | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 PM | 48 | Fair | Day | 15 mph SSW |
| 1 PM | 36 | Poor | Day | 20 mph SSW |
| 2 PM | 36 | Poor | Day | 20 mph S |
| 3 PM | 36 | Poor | Day | 20 mph S |
| 4 PM | 36 | Poor | Day | 20 mph S |
| 5 PM | 36 | Poor | Day | 20 mph S |
| 6 PM | 36 | Poor | Day | 20 mph S |
| 7 PM | 40 | Fair | Day | 20 mph S |
| 8 PM | 53 | Fair | Dusk | 15 mph S |
| 9 PM | 49 | Fair | Dusk | 15 mph S |
| 10 PM | 43 | Fair | Night | 15 mph S |
| 11 PM | 53 | Fair | Night | 15 mph S |
Where to find Smallmouth Bass right now
Typical Summer depth: 20-40 ft
Smallmouth Bass feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 21% above the daily average across all four light windows.
No depth survey or measurement is on record for Palo Duro Reservoir, so these bands are the species' published seasonal ranges rather than a reading of this water.
Plan a Smallmouth Bass trip to Palo Duro Reservoir
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Other species on record at Palo Duro Reservoir
FAQ
Common questions
Are there Smallmouth Bass in Palo Duro Reservoir?
A state fisheries survey records Smallmouth Bass in Palo Duro Reservoir.
When do Smallmouth Bass bite at Palo Duro Reservoir?
Smallmouth Bass feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 21% above the daily average across all four light windows. Today's report above scores every hour of the local day against live weather for Palo Duro Reservoir, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.
How deep should you fish for Smallmouth Bass at Palo Duro Reservoir?
Typical Smallmouth Bass depth by season: Pre-Spawn 15-25 ft, Spawn 2-5 ft, Post-Spawn 8-20 ft, Summer 20-40 ft, Fall 20-40 ft, Winter 25-45 ft. These bands come from published fisheries data for the species, not from a survey of Palo Duro Reservoir itself.