North Texas lakes are full for July 4th —which is good and bad

Benbrook Lake is 24 feet higher than it was six months ago, and that suits Joshua fishing guide Dan Swindell just fine.

The hybrid striped bass are biting and business is booming.

“A lot of people think the lake is closed, but it’s not,” Swindell said. “You just have to know somebody to get on the lake, and you just have to migrate to where the fish are. I thought the high water would be a curse, but the fishing has been off-the-chain good.”

Swindell took fishermen out 32 straight days before high winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill kept him off the lake for one day last month.

For some, getting around the lake can be challenging because many areas that are usually dry — including parking lots and parks — are under water.

“I’ve watched the lake change every day, so I know where to go,” Swindell said. “It can be a little tricky if you don’t know where you’re going.”

While Swindell has mastered navigating Benbrook Lake, the high water continues to cause problems for others going into Fourth of July weekend.

Army Corps of Engineers officials are cautioning boaters to be careful on their lakes, including Benbrook, Grapevine, Lewisville and Ray Roberts. Public boat ramps and many parks on those lakes remain closed, but some private ramps at marinas are open.

The corps lakes are designed to hold water to prevent flooding downstream.

“There’s no official boat ramps to launch a boat unless you have a boat already on the water,” said Clay Church, a spokesman for the corps’ Fort Worth district.

Others are good to go

With 35.58 inches of rain falling this year in North Texas — compared with 10.59 inches a year ago — many lakes are open and ready for a busy holiday weekend.

Tarrant Regional Water District lakes that have dealt with flooding in recent weeks — including Bridgeport and Eagle Mountain — are good to go.

“We still want to encourage boaters to be aware of their surroundings and use caution, especially those who haven’t been on the lake in a while,” water district spokesman Chad Lorance said. “Some things could look very different from the last time they were there.”

Even before the holiday weekend, the crowds have flocked to Eagle Mountain Lake.

“I can’t believe how many boats I’ve seen in the water this week,” said Denny Steward of Augie’s Sunset Cafe. “It’s been crazy. I didn’t think it would start this early.”

Augie’s will celebrate its 20th birthday this weekend, but Steward thinks there will be plenty of business to go around.

“I think every place will be busy,” Steward said. “There’s going to be people all over the lake.”

At Lake Granbury, which has been plagued by low levels in recent years, some have suggested that up to 100,000 people could visit this weekend.

“It might be close to that number,” Hood County Judge Darrell Cockerham said. “There’s a lot of people that are going to put a boat in the water this weekend.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 11:56 AM with the headline "North Texas lakes are full for July 4th —which is good and bad."