Lake Fryer
Ochiltree County, Texas90 acresView mapDirections
TCEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Fryer. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 14 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Fryer in Ochiltree County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 0.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 100 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 124 µg/L. Surface area: 90 acres.
Lake Fryer is a 90-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Ochiltree County, Texas with an estimated average depth of about 14 feet. Phosphorus level is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TCEQ, last sampled 2026-01-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Fryer covers about 90 acres in Ochiltree County. It has one public boat landing. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Lake Fryer, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Lake Fryer is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Fryer is safe to swim in today is a call for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Fryer
These are the measurements TCEQ publishes for Lake Fryer, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 0.7 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 100 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 124 µg/L. TSI 77.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 0.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 100µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 124µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 77 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Lake Fryer
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~14 ft est.
Surface area
90 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by TCEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Texas has not published bathymetry for Lake Fryer.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
449 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,664 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Lake FryerPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake Fryer
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Fryer in Ochiltree County, Texas — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Lake Fryer are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Fryer
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Texas’s top lakes →
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Fishing Lake Fryer
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-17.16 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+10.42 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Fryer is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Fryer Dam (completed 1939), built primarily for recreation on the Wolf Creek; earth-type dam, 40 ft tall and 2,650 ft long.
- Surface area
- 90 ac
- Normal storage
- 947 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,792 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 138 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- OCHILTREE COUNTY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID TX03890 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Ochiltree County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Fryer
Where is Lake Fryer?
- Lake Fryer is a lake in Ochiltree County, Texas. Its water-quality measurements are published by TCEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Fryer?
- Lake Fryer in Ochiltree County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 0.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 100 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 124 µg/L. Surface area: 90 acres.
Is Lake Fryer safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Fryer?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Fryer, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 14 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 90 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Fryer?
- Lake Fryer has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Fryer. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Fryer?
- Lake Fryer has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Texas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lake Fryer across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
38 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
TCEQMAIN38 samples · 2020–2026
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory