The Outdoors in Emory, Texas

Just east of Emory, Lake Fork is widely regarded as the premier trophy largemouth bass lake in Texas, and one of the best in the nation. The reservoir has produced the great majority of the state's biggest bass, including the current Texas record, and its reputation draws anglers from across the country chasing a fish of a lifetime.

Beyond the famous bass, Lake Fork offers crappie and catfish fishing, boating, and the timber-and-water scenery of a flooded bottomland lake. Special slot limits help protect the trophy fishery, and a network of guides, marinas, and lakeside lodging caters to visiting anglers. For Emory, having a world-class bass lake at its back door is a defining feature of life here.

West of Emory, Lake Tawakoni is one of the region's largest lakes and is locally nicknamed the 'Catfish Capital of Texas,' famous for big blue and channel catfish along with white bass, hybrid striped bass, and crappie. Its broad open water also makes it popular for boating, sailing, and swimming.

Lake Tawakoni State Park, on the lake's shore, adds camping, hiking trails, a swimming beach, and birdwatching to the mix. Between the two lakes, Emory residents can chase trophy bass one day and big catfish the next — a rare combination that few small towns can match, and building Lake Tawakoni in the late 1950s is what first drew retirees to the area.

Away from the water, Emory is surrounded by the gently rolling farm-and-timber country of Rains County. Quiet country roads make for scenic drives, and the woods and fields make good hunting country, with deer, hogs, dove, and waterfowl drawn to the area's mix of habitat and water.

The lakes, the state park, the farmland, and the woods together give Emory a full menu of outdoor recreation in every season — fishing and boating in warm weather, hunting in the fall and winter, and birding and hiking year-round. For a small county seat, having two famous lakes and good hunting country at hand makes it a genuine outdoor base.