The fishing on Lake Travis has been phenomenal the past few weeks! Use code LAKETRAVIS.COM for 10% off your first report! 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. It is more narrow, has smaller coves and creek arms, and the water is more stained. When they are more lethargic I like to drop a small fluke on a drop shot down to them. Fish Deep! Concrete, large rocks, tires, and black dock floats all hold heat the best. One thing I always remind clients is that not every fish in the lake bee lines it for the bank. Not that you cant catch them, but you have to work hard for them. These reports give you all the info on what baits Im throwing, colors to use, conditions to look for and a ton more. Really, its times like these when Im able to hoan in and focus, making my time on the water count. It is part of the Colorado River and is fed by overflow from Lake Travis. You will notice fish become more aggressive during brief feeding windows rather than feeding all day long. I had the honor of taking a young man fishing on Labor Day and he landed several bass, two being in the 4-5lb range. Once summer gets here and the water warms more fish will start to move out of the coves and out of the shallows to deeper cooler water. You can catch some of the bigger fish on jigs and shaky heads using trick worms, senkos and craw worms. Anything before mid May is no swimming just peeing in the water if you're desperate weather but you'll have a great time on the boat. With these baits you want to really slow down and pick apart the structure you are fishing. Today's Weather Forecast. You can catch several fish up shallow but not too many big ones. With the swings in water temps come different patterns the fish get on. As water temps warm up, largemouth bass will make a push up to the bank in preparation to spawn. This holds true on the mid section of the lake where there is good visibility. With Lake Travis water temps in the upper 80s the fishing is changing a bit from the last fishing repoort. With the gin clear water its very important to match the the size of your bait to the shad. As of writing this at the beginning of January, water temps are still in the mid 60s! This bite is referred to as a reaction bite. Look for hard targets like stumps and or boulders, with sand and gravel nearby. Dont let the heat stop you from booking a trip and getting out on the lake with me this month! Lake Travis is mostly rock, so there is a large population of crawfish in the lake. It seems the August key depth zone is about 25 ft. Alternate between these baits as you figure out which one the fish have a greater preference towards. Overall, the climate of the Lake Travis and Lake Austin area is temperate with mild winters and relatively low humidity. Right now you have the opposite affect going on. The water on Travis is getting pretty clear now but you still cant see fish on beds in deeper water like 15-20 just yet. During this time of year I rely heavily on electronics to help me find the fish and not waste time fishing empty water. The fishing on Lake Travis has been exceptional the past month! Current conditions, warnings and historical records . Fall is a close second to springtime for me as the numbers of fish you catch are excellent, and later in the fall you start to see lots of big fish being caught. Flukes can be deadly as they represent the migratory baitfish and can be color matched to be even more effective. Lake Travis average April sea temperature Max: 23.6C / 72.1F Avg: 20.6C / 69.1F Min: 17.7C / 66.2F These figures are calculated from several years of recorded data and are the maximum, minimum and average temperatures of all the recorded years Average April sea temperatures C F Feb Mar Apr May Jun 0C 10C 20C 30C For this type of fishing there are four baits that are my go-tos, but there are plenty of others that will work. The fishing on Lake Travis has been decent as of late. You are getting these fish to react to it. Currently there are three patterns that I am focusing on to catch the majority of our fish. I want to keep my bait in that 20-35 foot depth range. This is the first time seeing the lake so low for a lot of Austins new residents, so get out there and fish it! The main thing to keep in mind is you are trying to mimic a Threadfin Shad, so select baits that look like them. Wind blow shorelines and big marinas can hold a lot of bait fish, which in turn attracts the bass. If you dont have one of these graphs yet give me a shout and I will help you get set up through Mealey Marine. In an effort to find this, some bass will seek out deeper areas of the lake to live. Make long casts and use a slower retrieve. . On windy overcast days, especially if the barometer is dropping from weather moving in, I like to get on main lake points and shorelines getting hit by the wind. These areas typically hold schools of threadfin shad, which is one of the primary food sources for bass. If you are looking to learn the lake better and would like to get out with a professional fishing guide, please visit my website for more information on booking a trip. The average number of fish caught per trip has been exceptional lately. Focus on rocky shorelines with a more gradual slope to them. During this phase of the spawn they make a migration from their winter deep water homes, to areas close to spawning coves and flats. 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. Water temps throughout the winter have been cold. If I am not getting bit throwing a moving bait, I will then slow down and switch to working the bottom with one of those other baits. I also live near the dam on Lake Travis and fish the lake over 200+ days a year. Until then tie on the baits mentioned above and go catch some bass! We get far more bites using compact baits, especially when the fish arent extremely active. I know weve already passed up the first official day of fall, but keep in mind this is Central Texas. Pictured below is a young man that caught some good ones in a classic spawning creek on the lower end of the lake. A football jig or a Texas rigged craw will also work extremely well. I recommend a bright color such as white since it is easier to visually see when the bass has taken the bait. With the end of summer approaching the patterns us anglers are focusing on will start to change. Spots like this are higher probability to hold bass as these fish living out deep dont have to travel far to find shallow water to feed in. Spring is right around the corner! A green pumpkin Zoom baby brush hog is an excellent choice right now. Be dynamic this time of year. Topwater Baits: a chrome pop-r or bone colored spook are great topwater options that will allow you to cover a lot of water. 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. On Lake Travis there is an abundance of bluff walls. Often times when the bass strikes your bait it is very quick and they usually spit it back out. They also go into extreme detail telling you what baits to throw, what colors to throw, how to position your boat, what conditions to look for etc. They can still find your lure, but I find it makes them a little less discerning and more likely to attach a fast flashy moving bait like an Umbrella Rig. First off, while we are experiencing this cold front expect the bite to change and the fish to react to it. Throwing small swimbaits that mimic threadfin shad can be a great way to cover a lot of water and catch a lot of fish. A Picasso School-E rig is my favorite Alabama rig to throw this time of year. Once you catch one, get back in there quick with a follow up cast as you can often trigger a feeding frenzy. If the water appears to be more stained move shallower. Long casts, subtle movements of the bait, and lots of pauses work well when fishing this way. On windy days I like to pick up a crankbait or a jerkbait and cover water. Today's Weather Forecast. Once you see water 59 degrees or higher you can expect a change in the bass behavior. For largemouth bass winter time is about survival. 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. During the winter time the lake has no thermocline and the water is cold from the bottom of the lake to the top of the lake. My primary approach for bass fishing Lake Travis in January is to employ 1 of 2 strategies. Where can I find information regarding Lake Travis water temperature, swimming and lake conditions? There are few hope-giving warming trends that somehow find their way through a calendar of brutal cold fronts. Lake Travis Boat Club for long-term or short-term use during your stay on Lake Travis. The A rig and the crankbait are effective ways to burn the bank and cover water. For the shaky head worm, I am using a 4 zoom finesse worm in green pumpkin. Water temperature affects dissolved oxygen levels in the lake, where the baitfish live, and the slowing of the bass metabolism. Choose a bait according to the depth of the bank you are fishing. In addition to this, cuts and secondary points close to the mouth of a spawning cove, docks, and rock piles in the same area will also hold fish. Beating the bank gets tougher as many of these shallow fish have moved, and you really have to work for every bite. These hold fish almost year round. Dont be afraid to swing away. Some clients opt to take a lunch break midday and stop at one of the many great restaurants on the lake. There are a couple things you can expect. 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. The fishing is good now, but the best fishing of the year is still ahead of us! Bass fishing in September on Lake Travis can be a very fun time to hit the water! The coldest month is January with an average water temperature of 56.7F / 13.7C. . With that said, focusing on the 10-20 foot depth range has been the most productive. Secondary Points As we move into early fall, we are finding fish near creek channel swing banks, on the main lake. Bass like to spawn in shallow areas where they will not be disturbed. The Lake is HEALTHY! In most of the country December means winter fishing. If they are higher up off the bottom, the deep crank can work well to get the school fired up. Schooling Fish For this I like to fish it on a bait casting setup in order to use heavier line and have more control when I pitch this bait into the fishs nest. It is not uncommon to graph a point and come across large schools of bass close to the bottom. However, the swimbait, which is also a moving bait, can work during the day when the wind picks up. 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. September is typically a transition month here in the south. Strategy 2 requires a stable weather pattern, and cold fronts will limit you to Strategy 1. I especially recommend this pattern if you are fishing in the evening on a day thats been warm and sunny. The angle of the bank also makes a difference. Due to this then move out deep seeking cooler water. The fishing will stay really good for a while longer! I recommend throwing this on braided line with a fluorocarbon leader. Crankbaits are excellent search baits to cover a lot of water. I cant tell you how easy this has made this type of fishing for me! A weedless drop shot with a Roboworm, a shakey head with a straight tail finesse worm, or a small Texas Rig/ finesse jig to imitate a crawfish can be a great choice of baits. During the fall there are several baits I always keep tied on, but to keep this short I will focus on three main baits. These three baits never leave the deck of my boat no matter the time of year, when fishing Lake Travis. And it's a great recreational playground for all things water-related since it's capable of storing 256 gallons of water. As the water gets into the 70s the bait fish in the lake spawn. Boating, scuba diving and swimming are popular activities enjoyed at the lake. In the past I would wait until the fish jumped to start casting. I typically start with a brown craw color this time of year, but if Im not getting bit on it I will quickly switch to a shad pattern. If you fish Lake Travis often this can be the difference between having a good trip every once and a while, to consistently going out and catching fish. My Saturday and Sunday trips book up fast! On days when the fish dont want to commit to a moving bait bite, slowing down with finesse techniques can be very productive. Recently I have seen water temps as low as 61 degrees first thing in the morning. Look for fish busting on the surface to give away their location. Happy New Year everyone. While this may all sound like doom and gloom, fear not! While you can get bit doing some of those things at the moment, thats not the main way I am fishing. Right now the fish are a little mixed up. There is also a type of grass called chara that grows up shallow, its an annoying stringy grass that doesnt help attract fish but rather fouls up your hooks more than anything. I do have some openings available in April so dont wait! Early in the morning bass will move up shallow to feed. The reason I mention this is because largemouth bass do not like to live below the thermocline. Once the sun comes up and the morning bite slows, I like to back off the bank. Whatever bait you are throwing, slow way down with it and keep it in contact with the bottom. Football Jig These small baitfish move in schools and will move to docks, marinas, and windy blown rocky shorelines to lay their eggs in the algae that grows on the rocks. I recommend starting at the mouths of coves and working your way inside. It casts far, covers a lot of water, and looks very realistic. Their lives revolve around their diet, so if you find the bait, youll find the fish! Small swimbaits and spoons that imitate the threadfin shad they are feeding on work well to trick them into biting. Sunset Water Utilities has the rights to 348.74 acre-feet of groundwater but is only permitted to use 152.5 . The first approach would be to fish shallow for females that are close to beds. Lake Travis is a BIG lake. Right now Lake Travis is very much in a fall type pattern. With the lake having risen recently due to the rain, there are a lot of weeds on the edge of the lake. A Rapala DT-10 or a Storm Wiggle wart are two good options. 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. On these days our best success has been on deeper flats and drops (the 15-25 ft depth) with a slow falling bait (fluke or senko). I like to throw the jerkbait across points and up in the backs of small drains. Current weather 15C / 58F (clear sky) Wind 13 mph Humidity 65% Without going super in depth (if you want that level of info consider purchasing one of my Honey Hole Reports) I recommend having a variety of crankbaits in different diving depths as well as a swimbait tied on. Once you get a bite, take advantage of the feeding frenzy it can often trigger. This also applies to the first dock in a row of docks when you enter a large cove. Some fish will stay out deep offshore in their typical summertime homes, while others will make a transition and move. This has definitely had an impact on the bass spawn . I mean isnt Lake Travis made up mostly of rock yes and no. During slow periods, the baitfish and bass will relate to the creek channels. May in particular is one of my favorite months! Additionally the White Bass are moving up to spawn, and with the low lake levels I have found them spawning in unusual places. January in Central Texas can actually bring some very good fishing! Test your agility on over 2 football fields of pulse-pounding obstacles then relax and play on over 1500 feet of beautiful lake Travis shoreline with beach games, food, drinks and more! Areas getting hit by the wind are usually the best. Those fish may have moved out deep but they still have to eat. 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. When bass are spawning they are not hungry or fixated on feeding, rather they are territorial and will attack something that poses a threat to them. Winter is my slower season and I have more open dates. If you have young children now is the perfect time to introduce them to the sport of fishing and get them hooked on the sport that you love! Best Lake Travis Lakeside Restaurants Lets start off with our bottom baits. Get your casts back in there ASAP as its not uncommon to hook another fish when you get one from the school to bite. I am focused on water in the 10-15 ft depth range. I use these bright colors since they are easy for me to visually see on the bottom of the lake. I still have some dates coming up so get your trip booked soon with Texas Hawgs, Lake Travis has been fishing a little tough this month. You want to look for places where its convenient for the fish to move out of deep water and still be close to areas they would eventually build a nest in. Lake Travis Water Temperature (Today) 29th Apr 2023 23.5C / 74.3F The water will feel warm (balmy). (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. As soon as the bass catch the shad they are after they go back down 10-15 feet deep, so being fast to cast is critical. https://www.torwicksguidingservice.com/honeyholes. Currently water temps are around 60 degrees on the main lake, up to 64 degrees in the backs of coves. I have noticed the fish relating to the deep sloped chunk rock banks as the lake level creeps down. In my previous report we discussed how the fish will move back into the coves to follow their food source of shad. This time last year the lake was almost 7 degrees warmer and as you may know this plays a huge role in the fishing. By this time the bass have begun spawning and will continue to do so the rest of the month. Lately I have found more success downsizing my swimbait selection to mimic the little threadfin shad the bass have been feeding on. At this time in 2020 . Typically the shoreline 100 yards inside and outside of the point will be the first place these fish will stage in preparation to move further back. In other news, theres been some big changes at Torwicks Guiding Service! Lately the weather has been all over the place with cold fronts and stretches of warm weather. Cut them off by targeting the areas they can easily move to. Look for bluffs with docks as the bass will oftentimes hangout under or around them for the shade. Boat traffic is at an all time high, especially on weekends which can also be detrimental to the bite. Lake Travis Lodging Jul 1, 2009. These baits will let you cover water quickly, but once you catch a fish slow down and make repeated casts in that area. Cold water slows the fishs metabolism and they are less likely to feed on an erratically moving bait. If you position your boat too far off the bank you spend more time letting the bait sink, or worst case, just swinging back towards the boat not even on the bottom. Each report contains 5+ EXACT spots with all the information needed to fish them. Several bass over 8 pounds were caught and a bunch over 4 pounds. Structure such as shallow brush, rock, or a drop off is ideal just be thinking about where a bass could position themself to be hidden from their prey. Winter fishing, if you read last months report this will be quite similar. At nearly 35 feet low as of writing this there is a ton of new structure to fish! Water temperature is by far one of the largest factors that influence how the bass behave and what they do.