# Lake Livingston Lake House Hunt - Advice?



## FishinAg02 (Aug 1, 2016)

I know a lot of you guys live on Lake Livingston... I am casually looking on the lake for a lakehouse (have been off and on for 5 years), but went a looked at a house for the first time this weekend. The house was in Cedar Point, and while it was okay, one of my big concerns was dock depth. The end of the dock was only in 3 feet of water.

So, two questions:

1. What areas / subdivisions / neighborhoods would you look at? 
2. Dock depth... how deep should I be looking for. Livingston doesn't fluctuate as much as North Texas or flood control lakes, but I prefer not to have a boat stranded over dirt. 

Thanks!


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Well, as we know, Lake Livingston is tried to be maintained at 131 feet above msl. 



The TRA may allow 134.9', but will not allow 135'. They get into legal and liable problems at 135. So far, since 1969 when the lake was completed, they have not allowed 135, and have only used roughly 1/3 of the release capability though the dam to keep that level. 



They do what they can to conserve the level in droughts or draw downs such as after Hurricane Rita damage to the dam. Basically, the lowest it has reached is about 127, which is 4 feet low. 



My water at my bulkhead is 4' deep at 131 above msl. So yes, if my boat had been hanging when these events occurred, I would have been shirt out of luck. 



I would look for a place with a minimum of 4' of water at 131'. You sure wouldn't be trapped often. Having 5' or more at 131 would almost guarantee you always getting out.


Hope this makes sense and helps.


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## FishinAg02 (Aug 1, 2016)

Makes perfect since! I appreciate the input.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

FishinAg02 said:


> Makes perfect since! I appreciate the input.


You can drag this and also zoom in a lot. Cedar Point in most ares gets deep fairly quickly. Was it up in a cove or a short dock?

https://webapp.navionics.com/#[email protected]&key=wepzDhdlcQ


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## wwind3 (Sep 30, 2009)

Water depth was my number one concern--number two was prevailing south wind direction when we bought in Twin Harbors in Onalaska. 



We have 6 ft at back of our boat at 131' and are protected against a south wind pretty well... When lake dropped 4ft we couldnt launch-we have a cradle lift and half our boat house was out of the water. 



Some waterfront in Twin Harbors has VERY little water at 131'


I would suggest you explore any potential property by boat first to check water depths and wind direction in the area. Above the 190 bridge in Kickapoo in Yaupon Cove are some very shallow areas even at 131'.


At the end of Hwy 3186 the south winds are brutal with an exposed boathouse. You can leave when it is calm and then have to park your boat in 2 ft swells...


Good luck.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

^^^ The wind direction mentioned above is a *huge* factor. Those beautiful 180 Â° or more views are great when conditions are perfect, which may not be often.
Measuring wind direction, degrees clockwise from true north, 150Â° is most common. The prevailing wind is almost always between 120Â° and 180Â°. I have the end of a peninsula sticking out on the opposite side of cove from me that makes all the difference in the world. I am somewhat open to 75Â° to 150Â° wind, but it doesn't have a tremendous distance to build waves. From 150Â° all the way around back to 75Â° I am protected.

We have all seen wind pick up so quickly and water turn rough so fast that you could launch in smooth conditions and 20 minutes later not be able to get your boat back in your lift, it would be too dangerous to try.


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## FishinAg02 (Aug 1, 2016)

These are coordinates of the dock. 30.803583, -95.082645

Some of Cedar Point is deep and some is pretty shallow. My friend's 11 yr old son walked out past the end of the dock and it was no deeper than his belly button, then dropped off quickly. But the area is somewhat protected from the south wind which is nice.

Thanks for your input!


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Getting picky here, but over the weekend when you looked the water was a little above or deeper than normal.


Saturday morning it was about 5 inches high and by Sunday night it was 8 inches high.


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## SetDaHook (Oct 21, 2010)

When looking at lakefront property, it's a good idea to look at surrounding properties, boathouses, etc. If the boathouses extend way out into the water you know it's going to be shallow, and the lake is silting in badly all the time. Look at what type of boats are in the slings. Deep drafting boats or cruisers are a pretty good sign. Boathouses with no boats that look like they haven't been used in quite a while would be a red flag for me. Some areas have silted in so bad, that the owners have taken the boats out and gave up on it. This is especially true in some areas on the north end, north of Hwy. 190. Also not a bad idea to talk to existing neighbors regarding water issues. And as previously mentioned, those open water views are awesome, but water is a powerful source that can strip a well constructed metal bulkhead to shreds during a storm, or make it almost impossible to get in and out of a boathouse with even moderate swells.


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## Nikki's Landing (Jul 14, 2020)

The location you posted looks very nice. We're at the south end of FM 3186 and do get the winds from S, E, and W as noted above. I've seen storm waves ~ 4' high so it's important that the lift gets the boat well out of the water. We've lived here ~ 2 1/2 years and have seen 60 mph winds twice. 

The usual moderate S winds are very cooling in the warmer weather. Winds > 10 mph usually make it too rough on the lake for us, and it's very rough by the boathouse then too. Thankfully we've not been caught out when a storm hit; always checking wind direction (particularly changes), clouds, and radar.

It's usually 3 - 4' at my boat slip, and it's never been too shallow getting in/out with our tritoon. I think 2' would be deep enough. I would agree that generally deeper is better, but it's also convenient to be able to stand in the water while working on the dock (such as installing bumpers, etc.).

Also it's better I think for the boat slip end to face out towards deeper water. Ours faces E, parallel to the bulkhead, so our approach requires moving near other docks and gets waves from both the normally S wind and those bouncing back off the bulkhead.

Happy house hunting!


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## Richk (Jul 22, 2010)

FishinAg02 goto this link where some low lake level pics have been posted

https://www.2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=2679805


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## Liv'n_the_dream (Jun 11, 2016)

Good luck, market is incredible right now. I looked on Zillow and HAR and the number of homes under contract is crazy. When I was looking I carried 2 sections of 4ft pvc and a coupling in my truck. If it wasnâ€™t past the coupling I wouldnâ€™t consider it. Im at 4 1/2 feet at the bulkhead with a gradual slope to 8 feet after about 100 yards. TRA manages it pretty well at 131 feet elevation. Easy swimming for kids. I am on open water on the west side and the waves can get big but you wouldnâ€™t want to be in the water at those times anyway. I got caught one time and almost ended up with boat against the bulkhead. Lesson learned about watching the weather. But there is always a nice breeze, I have been sitting on the boathouse or porch the last several days at 95F for hours and itâ€™s been enjoyable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## wwind3 (Sep 30, 2009)

Nikki's Landing said:


> The location you posted looks very nice. We're at the south end of FM 3186 and do get the winds from S, E, and W as noted above. I've seen storm waves ~ 4' high so it's important that the lift gets the boat well out of the water. We've lived here ~ 2 1/2 years and have seen 60 mph winds twice.
> 
> The usual moderate S winds are very cooling in the warmer weather. Winds > 10 mph usually make it too rough on the lake for us, and it's very rough by the boathouse then too. Thankfully we've not been caught out when a storm hit; always checking wind direction (particularly changes), clouds, and radar.
> 
> ...


I've driven down to your area a couple times when the winds were up ----scary.... I've also got some videos at my place when the waves are busting over my bulkhead but videos are too big to post. Any area on this lake can get dangerous.....

I also fished outa Stanford's marina in late 60's early 70's in a 12 ft jon boat and later a bassboat. Fished one day in the jon boat off the point where waves had created a muddy/clear water line. Buddy and I caught 14 bass on rattle traps--throw into the mud-as soon as it hit the clear--bam--it was on--still have the Polaroid pic.

ps--anyone know where the marina actually was in relation to what it looks like now? I have an old AID map I bet it's on if I can find it.


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## marksmu2 (Jun 8, 2018)

FishinAg02 said:


> I know a lot of you guys live on Lake Livingston... I am casually looking on the lake for a lakehouse (have been off and on for 5 years), but went a looked at a house for the first time this weekend. The house was in Cedar Point, and while it was okay, one of my big concerns was dock depth. The end of the dock was only in 3 feet of water.
> 
> So, two questions:
> 
> ...


We bought a house in Texas Landing, its a very friendly neighborhood.

We have a long pier - but the water at the back of the boat house is about 4'. At the bulkhead at 131' its about 2' - Ive seen it as low as 129'....I wish it was possible to drop it 4-5' for a weekend every winter. It would sure make maintenance alot easier.

Also, something I found is rarely talked about by realtors on Livingston - You need to be VERY careful about houses that are on Septic, and the age of the septic. If the septic field is within 75' of the lake and it is damaged, TRA will require you to move it so that the closest leach line is more than 75' from the bulkhead. You can not just repair it and carry on. There are alot of houses, with septic systems that are 20-30 years old, that don't have enough yard to relocate their septic field. Its a big issue, that has only been going on for a few years. TRA is aggressively searching out people with defective septics that are leaching sewage into the water.

I found a house I liked in Indian Hills that seemed priced to good to be true. It had a defective septic, and the owners were aware, but failed to disclose it. We did not buy it. TRA would not permit them to repair it, and while they would not say it was not possible to do something - they told me "If I were you, I would find a different property" - Good enough for me.

The other things I took into consideration are wind direction and also sunset direction. I would not buy a house where the sun sets directly into the back of the house. You can't enjoy your decks/dock/lake when the sun bears down on you and blinds you for 2 hours every night.

Wind Direction - my house is in a big cove, but if the wind comes directly out of the South-east - the waves can get huge, and make getting into the boat house impossible. I don't even try - I bought some mooring whips and tie up to the whips until the sun sets and it gets calm. If it doesn't calm down I will have the wife meet me at the ramp, and pull it. I won't leave it in the water overnight - I've seen it go from smooth to 6' chop in minutes.

I haven't had to pull it yet, but I came close once - ended up just anchoring off pine island for a few hours to ride out the wind - and it eventually calmed down.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Markmu2 you haven't posted a lot yet, but that one got green.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Great Post!


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## marksmu2 (Jun 8, 2018)

Whitebassfisher said:


> Markmu2 you haven't posted a lot yet, but that one got green.


My original account was just "marksmu" but I never could get it back years ago when everything went haywire - I used to post alot more - but life got busy, now I just mostly read & sometimes comment.

I think its important for everyone to know about the septics though - the realtors on both sides are hiding that fact, and its a huge deal.


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

Buy off the lakefront save a ton in taxes and trailer to the area you want to fish or launch in neighborhood. You may want to fish the river in the winter or below the dam. You can find some great deals. JMO


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## FishinAg02 (Aug 1, 2016)

Thank you for everyone's input! This is all incredibly helpful. Very good thoughts and advice. I'll let you know if and when i choose to buy. My best friend appears to be buying in cedar point. Really nice place, maybe I'll just "borrow" his place from time to time! Sounds cheaper that way!


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

I enjoy living on the water. This is my view looking over the top of my desktop monitor. Taken just now.


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## Whitey (Dec 16, 2004)

My family has a lake house on the water in Point Lookout Estates that will be for sale in the next couple of months. Very close to the west end of the HWY 190 submerged roadbed so great fishing is a 3 minute boat ride away. 


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

That's a sweet spot you have there Mr. WhiteBassFisher!


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

shadslinger said:


> That's a sweet spot you have there Mr. WhiteBassFisher!


Thank you sir!! As you well know, it wasn't a spur of the moment happening.


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## markbrumbaugh (Jul 13, 2010)

Facing northeast is ideal! se wind dominant, nw wind is tamed, little blindness from sun


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