I offer what I call a Honey Hole Report, essentially what this is is a paid fishing report that I update weekly on Thursdays at 6:00PM. Reservoir Controlling Authority. Cast right on top of them when they are boiling on the surface. My primary approach for bass fishing Lake Travis in January is to employ 1 of 2 strategies. Look for more gradual banks that have rock, stumps, brush, or grass on them the more of these things the better. I recently made a in-depth video on how to find and catch these fish, so check it out! As of writing this at the beginning of January, water temps are still in the mid 60s! Let the bill of your bait hit and deflect off rocks; this will often trigger bites. A watermelon red trick worm on a shakey head has been our ticket the last few weeks. Not all marinas are created equal, but certain ones are holding large schools of baitfish, which attracts predator fish such as largemouth bass and white bass. Repeated casts alongside structure like this can often lead to a few extra bites. I also sell a weekly Honey Hole Report on my website! During the fall there are two main forages the bass prefer; crawfish and threadfin shad. Make long casts with your spook across main lake points or ledges adjacent to deep water. One key to the topwater bite is finding the right kinds of banks. The shorelines of Lake Travis hold all types of forage including threadfin shad, sunfish, bluegills, and cichlids that these bass will hunt for. A Heddon Zara Spook- A bone colored spook is one of my favorite topwater baits. Texas rigged creature baits, football jigs, shakey heads and drop shots are all effective baits. We will also cover bait selection, colors I like to throw, how to rig your gear, but most importantly the why behind all of that. We will focus on learning how to cast, how to present different kinds of lures, and how to fight a fish back to the boat. During March there are two patterns I focus on pre-spawn and spawn fishing. Alternate between these baits and target points and drains outside of areas bass spawn. Nowadays I feel like so many anglers simply regurgitate the same info over and over. I like an underspin over a normal lead head since I believe the flash from the blade helps trigger more bites. Most people will be OK with just bathers / swimming costume at this temperature. However I rig this differently than I normally would. Trooper said on April 29, around 11:56 p.m., a 2003 Suzuki . More shallow sloping banks are what I recommend you focus your time fishing right now. Currently water clarity on Lake Travis is around 4-5 feet depending on the part of the lake you're on. (Something to note, the words get interchanged often but structure is technically contour changes such as points or ledges, cover is an object or objects that create an ambush spot for a bass think docks, brush piles, stumps. If the water appears to be more stained move shallower. In addition to my normal guided trips I also offer what I call Coaching Trip geared solely towards teaching you how to become a better angler. As far as baits go, I recommend a dropshot with a small straight tail worm such as a Roboworm, a Texas rig with a curl tail power worm, or a Carolina rig with a creature bait such as a lizard or baby brush hog. At this time in 2020 . Obviously there are times these arent the best places to be fishing, but for a lot of the year, especially times when fish favor deep water, these can be the ticket. Dont get me wrong, I love fishing jigs, Texas rigs, drop shots, etc but getting slammed on a moving bait like a swimbait is a blast since there is no doubt when you get a bite! When the water is low I focus more on man-made structures such as docks, staircases into the lake, concrete walkways, etc. If you know anything at all about Lake Travis then you know the lake is quite low right now. NOAA weather radar, satellite and synoptic charts. 11,848 Readers. Fish these baits tight to cover or as close to the docks as you can cast. For the cost of a couple crankbaits I will show you the patterns and spots I am catching fish on with paid clients. These baits and rocks dont mix, so do not let it hit the bottom. Summer fishing often requires a fair amount of graphing with the sonar before making a cast. A wacky rigged senko, a rage craw, or a jig are all good options for this type of fishing. Today's Weather Forecast. The better quality bass have been showing up night fishing with jigs and creature baits. Choose a bait that will get down to the depth the fish are at, oftentimes bottom contact is key to getting these fish to bite. Something new I am offering on my website is what I call Honey Hole Reports. I find that when fishing these suspended fish it is an invaluable tool. In an effort to find this, some bass will seek out deeper areas of the lake to live. Between now and the heat of summer the fishing will only continue to get better! Pictured below is a young man that caught some good ones in a classic spawning creek on the lower end of the lake. Play around with the cadence, but I find a 2-3 second pause between twitches to be sufficient. With the gin clear water its very important to match the the size of your bait to the shad. The tail end of the shad spawn is still going on, so pay attention to the shorelines early in the morning for signs of this. A 3.8 size Keitech fat swing impact in electric shad is a deadly combo. Theres nothing better to get clients excited than when the bass are literally jumping in front of you! Nonetheless, the runoff it produces tends to make the lake more stained, also the bottom up river has more mud and dirt, whereas the lower end of the lake is more limestone, rock, and sand. As the water cools you will find these shad moving from deep water, which in the case of Lake Travis will be the river channels and major creek arms. May in particular is one of my favorite months! Today's Weather Forecast. Were also finding the lighter line has been producing a few more bites in the lakes aquarium like water. Swimbait: A 3 or 4 inch paddle tail swimbait in a silver or white color is another excellent option. Try throwing a bright colored bait directly onto their nest to trigger them into striking it. These reports give you all the info on what baits Im throwing, colors to use, conditions to look for and a ton more. My go to Summer techniques are swimbaits, carolina rigs, shaky head worms, and drop shots. On Lake Travis there is an abundance of bluff walls. Do you fish Lake Travis often but unsure where to fish? Look for bluffs with docks on them. These hold fish almost year round. For my coaching trips I like to approach the trip as if we were practicing for a fishing tournament. 6,541 Readers. Beating the bank gets tougher as many of these shallow fish have moved, and you really have to work for every bite. Topwater baits such as pop-rs and spooks in bone or chrome are very fun baits to throw early in the morning. Im looking to those warming trends as the critical hour for big fish potential. During the fall the fish move shallower, but keep in mind on Travis shallow is a relative term. Ex: Big Jigs, Swimbaits, Big Worms, Big Jerk Baits. Areas with a lot of rock attract the fish as it provides habitat as well as hold forage they feed on. I do experiment a lot with colors and changing them up, but when in doubt one of these three colors will get you bit. Everyday Im on the water I am refining the patterns that are working to put fish in the boat. First I look for places I have historically found a lot of bed fish, then work my way out. These feeding windows are often short lived, so dont waste time taking selfies, measuring the fish, or Face Timing your fishing buddies, get back to fishing! I am the former team president of the Baylor Bass Fishing Team and fish competitively in several tournament trails in Central Texas. The fishing is only going to continue to get better over the next couple months! Catching them will soon be on more moving baits such as spinner baits, crank baits, swimbaits, etc. These are extremely detailed reports where I give you the info on what is working to catch fish right now! I love these since I can cast them far, feel the bottom easily and they dont get snagged too easily. If you dont have one of these graphs yet give me a shout and I will help you get set up through Mealey Marine. You can catch some fish on topwaters using a walking bait like a spook throwing over trees in 5-12 foot of water and over and near rock piles or cliffs to get some good bites. When it comes to baits to use there are a lot of options but I will give you my top three. Currently there are three patterns that I am focusing on to catch the majority of our fish. However, the bulk of these fish will likely be post spawners. For this though, I will throw colors like Smoke or Natural Shad. The bass fishing on Lake Travis continues to be good! This translates into catching more fish, bigger bass, and being able to throw more moving baits. A craw colored crankbait, a jig, or a Texas rigged plastic can all be great ways to target these fish. Instead, we have been targeting grass edges and shallow sloping rocky banks close to spawning areas. The main thing to keep in mind is you are trying to mimic a Threadfin Shad, so select baits that look like them. A ounce brown and orange football jig with a speed craw for a trailer is a deadly combination. Please note, the tide times given are not suitable for navigational purposes. I recommend starting at the mouths of coves and working your way inside. Deep diving crankbaits can be good during warm fronts accompanied by either cloud cover or wind. Jun 28, 2009. Alabama Rig- This bait has a reputation as a cold water bait. With all these baits, slow down and give the bait long pauses. Look for hard targets like stumps and or boulders, with sand and gravel nearby. My clients the other morning caught two bass on one topwater bait! Areas such as shallow points or drains outside of spawning areas will hold bass this time of year. Banks that are just sand and gravel tend to hold very few bass. Here in Austin, we are fortunate it doesnt really get that cold. Once the sun has come out and it starts to warm up the bass tend to back off the bank and move a little deeper. For the shallow bite, Im pretty keen on the lightweight texas-rigged brush hog. Well go over understanding seasonal patterns, how to establish a pattern, and how to understand how it positions the bass and where to look for them. You can contact Tyler by phone (512) 910-7255, or book a trip directly online. However, for coves that do have a defined creek channel, look on the map and look for the places closest to the mouth of the cove that have a bend or ledge. This year I am making an effort to produce more videos for yall! A Ned rig with a green pumpkin TRD worm, a Neko rigged Grande Bass airtail rattler, and a finesse jig are all bottom baits I like to fish slow this time of year. Now with that said, these fish are not easy to catch. Austin pumps highest amount of water, so far this year. With these baits you want to really slow down and pick apart the structure you are fishing. The evening bite has been very good. When you take a good look at the size of Lake Travis, this large water mass is quite impressive. I have some tips for you that will help put more fish in the boat. Seventy is a magical number on Lake Travis as that is the temperature needed for the shad to begin their spawn. With that winter storm bringing abnormally low air temps and lots of ice and snow, that has delayed this. Its the season of the spawn, the best time of year for the average fisherman to catch a not-so-average bass on Lake Travis. Recently I had a day with a morning and evening trip we caught numerous fish, up to 5 pounds, on a spook all throughout the day. This also applies to the first dock in a row of docks when you enter a large cove. I especially like the drop shot when fishing around docks as you can effectively fish it close to the docks. During the cold months the baitfish congregate in these river channels and move in condensed clouds. Bass fishing in September on Lake Travis can be a very fun time to hit the water! Get your casts back in there ASAP as its not uncommon to hook another fish when you get one from the school to bite. Coves that are protected from the wind will be the first places I look. It casts far, covers a lot of water, and looks very realistic. Things are getting ready to bust loose! Sunset Water Utilities has the rights to 348.74 acre-feet of groundwater but is only permitted to use 152.5 . Lets start with pre-spawn. Theyre my personal favorite at least! When fishing for bed fish one person gets to be up on the bow trying to catch the fish off the nest while I coach them, while the rest of the group gets to watch. 639.82 ft updated 6:00 AM. I would recommend setting aside a rod with a topwater tied on so you can fire out to schooling fish off these points. Areas of structure such as rock piles, small ledges, or grass not far from the shallow areas I described early, will hold fish. Right now you have the opposite affect going on. This is why times of year like the spring are notorious for great fishing. This is dependent on 3 factors: Moon Phase, Water Temperature, and Barometric Pressure. Bites will be subtle but typically theyll feel like one light thump. These small silver bait fish are plentiful in Lake Travis and are like candy to hungry bass. March is always a special month on Lake Travis as it is when a major transition in the lake occurs. You might give one of these a try this month for some good results. Topwater Spook I love throwing a shad colored walking style bait such as a Zara Spook, Sammy, or Gunfish. I will switch baits depending on the depth of the rock I am fishing, so I recommend having several similar colored baits, but with different diving depths. When guiding I want everyone to have fun and be fishing. In this report well discuss both what the fish are currently doing as well as what they will be doing. I stick with a 3.8 fat swing impact of a 4 inch Easy Shiner in shad colors. Flukes and Senkos- a fluke makes sense to try and imitate a shad right? With bed fishing you may spend 30+ minutes looking for a nest and trying to get the fish to bite. Small minnows fished on a 1/16th ounce lead head have also been very productive. Central heat wave blamed for at least 4 deaths. THE ULTIMATE LAKE EXPERIENCE OPENING MAY 13 A Revolutionary Floating Water Park, Challenge Course and Private Island Getaway! Look for ledges and points that are close to a creek channel and you will likely find these fish. It is very light, but that little bit of lead helps it cast far. There are more of these below the water line, and this is where the fish congregate. Using my sonar I am able to see how far from the surface the Hydrilla is growing, and select baits that will get down to it, without going so deep as to get snagged. For more information about my Coaching Trips please visit my website. You need to have the confidence that you can feel your bait hitting the bottom and be confident its down there where the fish are. haha. I will typically start with a search bait such as a crankbait, then gauge their interest in it. Fishing deep will still be productive and a consistent way to catch bass on those days when its bluebird skies with little wind. During late February bass feed on both crawfish and shad, so I like to mix it up with the colors I throw. Look for docks in 20-35 feet of water that have metal staircases under them, use your side scan sonar to find the schools of Crappie and drop your baits down into the middle of the schools. We are starting to see bass move to the shallows and this opens up a variety of ways to catch them. Ive even seen a couple bass beds, indicative of spawning behavior talk about some confused fish! Some of the best fishing of the year is almost upon us! With water temps this warm expect to find most of your fish out deep once the sun comes out. Lake Travis Test Station | Weather (utexas.edu) Public Boat Ramp Information Water Recreation and Safety TPWD Weekly Fishing Reports Water Quality 1996 - 2023 - Lower Colorado River Authority 11,847 Readers. The reason for this is due to the water temperature. Coves will be an important place to look for the next few weeks until winter really sets in. While the bite this time of year can be a little more hit or miss, if you put in the work you can still have some very rewarding days on the water! These fishing reports are different from the free reports you get here! Truthfully there is no such thing as fishing too slow in the winter. A few stripers up to 8 pounds have been showing up in the mix as well. I like to catch crawfish from time to time and see what color they are, in order to get a better idea of what color baits I should be throwing. Current conditions, warnings and historical records . I want to keep my bait in that 20-35 foot depth range. I like to use a crawfish scent on my plastics to make it a little more enticing. Its mainly about how high in the water column the fish are positioned and their level of activity. Like clockwork, every year at the beginning of fall, there is a couple week period where the water starts to cool and the fish get active. Average Weather in Town Lake, Travis in April. This is especially nice as I am able to return to a spot multiple times during the week without wearing it out. Water temperature affects dissolved oxygen levels in the lake, where the baitfish live, and the slowing of the bass metabolism. In the last few weeks we have been catching fish on surface baits then switching to spoons and drop shots when the schools move deep and suspend. When fishing open clear water like this I can easily see out to 80 feet away from my boat with the forward facing live sonar. These fish will move on you when you find them, so if you dont get bit after 10 minutes of fishing, graph them again. Before getting into that I should touch on the morning bite. Early in the mornings there is still a marina bite to be had. This is favorable to them and directly relates to the places they live during these colder months. Currently water temperatures are in the 85-88 degree range with temps varying slightly depending on the time of day you are on the water and what end of the lake you are fishing. Well, there are several things I like to throw, but lets go with my top three. The slow fall of the bait can often get you bit. On cloudy days or when the fish are being finicky and I just want to try something different I change to an underspin. If you are out there early either fishing from your boat, or at your marina getting ready for a fun lake weekend, have a rod at the ready rigged up with a small 3 swimbait smaller the better. Lower Colorado River Authority. Towards the end of this month I would expect more and more fish to be pulling offshore. If you are interested to know more about catching bass off a nest, visit the Article page of my website. With summer approaching the water temps are in the mid 70s and rising. Humidity is close to 71%. Our weather has a tendency to stay hot for a while longer, so the true fall fishing bite is a few weeks out. As a general rule, Strategy 1 should produce more frequent bites While Strategy 2 should draw a larger bite. The water temperature on Lake Travis is in the high 50's to low 60's, so pretty warm compared to the rest of the country this time of year! I fish this bait around docks and marinas to mimic the schools of bait fish that are also living around them. Choose a bait that will dive to 10-12 feet and fish it along rocky shorelines with drop offs along them. Right now Lake Travis is very much in a fall type pattern. Understanding their environment and how the conditions affect the fish makes them more predictable. Targeting spawning coves can be a very fun and productive way to fish. Lee Benton Fishing Guides Austin, Ready or not summer is here! When fishing it I prefer a medium speed retrieve but I stop and start the bait a lot as well as very the retrieve by speeding up and slowing it down often keep the retrieve erratic and avoid just reeling it in over and over again at the same speed. I believe that starting your fishing trip early in the morning this time of year seems to yield more bites and fish. Have a crawfish pattern and a shad pattern ready to go. Your guide to Lake Travis Fishing. During the summer months the bass take advantage of the cooler temps in the early morning and late evening. Medium Diving Crankbait The shoreline of Lake Travis is mostly limestone and as the lake drops exposing new rock and the wind creates chop it tends to make the water a bit more cloudy than normal. Check me out online at www.torwicksguidingservice.com. There are fish in every part of the water column from a few feet to all the way down to 60+ feet. Right now you can get bit fishing around docks on bluff walls in 15-30 feet of water. A crankbait such as a Storm Wiggle wart or Spro Rock Crawler in a crawfish color is an excellent bait to cover water with and quickly work a rocky shoreline. June marks the beginning of summer, and with the warm weather lately the fish know that! Get on your trolling motor and quietly move around docks up inside the coves looking for white spots on the bottom. As they leave their post spawn homes, the bass will begin moving deeper and relating to steeper bluffs. A crankbait is one of my favorite ways to catch bass in the fall. Fish it with small twitches of the rod top and dont be too aggressive with the bait. Recently I have seen water temps as low as 61 degrees first thing in the morning. Of course, this fluctuates if its a hot sunny day, or if its early in the morning right after a cold night. Nearly all my weekends are booked up, but I have quite a few openings mid week. Fish live deep on this lake all year, so catching them in 20 feet of water right now is not uncommon at all. It was 71 degrees across most of the lake this past week, but expect that to keep slowly going down as we get further into fall. The areas we target are near the main river channel that runs through the lake. My approach to guiding is educational, so if you are looking for more than someone who will hand you a rod and tell you where to cast, give me a call. From year to year your favorite honey hole could be high and dry, or 30 feet underwater! Lake Travis Vacation Rentals When its more calm or the bite is slower a jerkbait allows me to cover water, while still fishing slower since Im able to pause and suspend the bait when fish arent as aggressive. The dog days of summer are here and its hot out! Dont be afraid to get out on the lake and go fishing, you can still catch some really nice fish! The Lake is HEALTHY! As I mentioned earlier though, crawfish are a large part of their diet too. Polarized sunglasses are a must! Avoid the steep bluff walls or banks with large rock. Green pumpkin speed craws are an excellent option. I have been catching fish out deep on deep diving crankbaits, and as the water gets even hotter, more fish will begin that migration. With the lake level so low, there is very little isolated cover in the lake such as brush or trees. In addition to your normal guided fishing trips, I also offer what I call my Coaching Trips. Crankbaits- Medium diving crankbaits can also be a terrific bait to throw at these shad hungry fish. As the "Crown Jewel" of the Central Texas Highland Lakes, Lake Travis is THE most visited freshwater recreational vacation destination in the state. We are still starting our mornings with top waters or shad imitation swim baits early. The majority of Lake Travis bass have now transitioned to post spawn. You can cover water quickly, you can trigger reaction baits by choosing a bait that will bump into the rocks on the bottom, and the come in tons of realistic colors. A trick worm in Green Pumpkin or Red Bug is an excellent soft plastic to throw this time of year. Lake Austin's current water temperature is 62F Todays forecast is, Clear With a high around 92F and the low around 51F. You need to be wearing polarized glasses in order to bed fish effectively. There are a couple things you can expect. Tight lines! Temperatures average 74 to 94 degrees in the summer and 40 to 70 degrees in the winter. This stuff will attract them really well! Once again, these lures would be most effective when color matched to the predominate prey species in your fishery. Steep shorelines that bottom out before going to the river/ creek channel, ledges, and points have all been great places to look for bass. Get out there on the water and go catch a few! Summertime fishing can be hit or miss for a lot of anglers, but I promise you, if you put in the time and learn how bass behave and why certain conditions make them behave a certain way, you will be more successful. My biggest piece of advice this time of year is to get out early while its cool, avoid the weekends when its busy, and pack lots of cold drinks! Water Data For Texas Lake Travis: 44.0% full as of 2023-04-29 Recent Historical Statistics Lake Travis Water Levels Are Way Down Due To Drought. The National Weather Service reported an estimated wind gust of 65 mph in Burnet County, the highest in the area. They move out and down the bank pretty fast. Make long casts up forward of your boat and get close to the shoreline. The average rainfall is about 32 inches of rain a year, which means the sun shines more than 300 days a year. Typically these nests will be up along the shoreline in 5 feet of water or less. I also live near the dam on Lake Travis and fish the lake over 200+ days a year. Best Lake Travis Parks. I do have some openings available in April so dont wait! Ex: Small Drop Shots, Small Shaky Head Worms, Small Jerk Baits, Strategy 2: Throw large baits and retrieve at a slower than average speed. Please feel free to visit my website, or give me a call! Once you see water temperatures down in the high fifties you can expect the bite to slow. Quick, accurate casts into the schools of bass hitting the surface are key to getting bit. If you are looking to up your game I would love to be your fishing coach! Weve experienced sporadic schooling the last few weeks with these fish targeting 1 inch shad. All fishing trips include rods, reels, tackle, and a cooler of cold bottled waters. Hydromet - Today's Temperature Data (F) Reports Temperature (F) 4/30/23 1:04 PM Temperature Data (F) 4-30-2023 *Disclaimer: Data is automatically retrieved and subject to revision. These reports give you 5+ EXACT spots on Google Earth showing you exactly where to fish. I have noticed the fish relating to the deep sloped chunk rock banks as the lake level creeps down. A slower retrieve gets more bites in my opinion. Dates for spring are filling up so get your trip booked soon with Texas Hawgs, Lake Travis is fishing good right now. As of last month I have a new tool in my boat Garmin Panoptics Livescope sonar. Some clients opt to take a lunch break midday and stop at one of the many great restaurants on the lake. But upon further inspection they are mostly sand and gravel, these areas generally dont hold too many fish. February is always a transition month on Lake Travis. These are paid fishing reports I update every single week at 6:00PM on Thursdays. In these areas I select a bait that will stay above it and avoid fouling up the hooks. Medium diving crankbaits, small swimbaits, flukes, and plastics fished along the bottom are all good ways to target these fish. If you would like to get out on the water or learn how to fish the lake more effectively give me a call or book online via my website! Also, deep timber off of these points can also be good. If you notice the majority of your bites come on the pause, fish even slower! As for the deep bite, this has been the most consistent pattern for me lately. For those of you new to Lake Travis, the lake is around 65 miles long. Pre-spawn Fish Lets start off with our bottom baits. The topwater bite in the morning has been a lot of fun. As water temps warm up, largemouth bass will make a push up to the bank in preparation to spawn. With that said you typically dont start seeing fish actually on nests until the very end of February. Several bass over 8 pounds were caught and a bunch over 4 pounds. Keitech is my brand of choice, but there are lots of other good options. This is where the female bass will move to in order to spawn with the male bass. Changes in water flow and temperature can also impact growth rates, so the City and TPWD will continue to monitor Lake Austin vegetation and implement control efforts as needed. During the heat of summer I find there is usually a short period of time when Lake Travis fishes tough. A swimbait- I like to throw a 4 paddle tail swimbait rigged on a ounce lead head a lot. If you follow my reports you know Spring is my favorite time of year to fish.

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