When they do this you are able to sight fish for them and catch them off their nests. Also check out the background, notice how the bank is all rock? During the winter they fish slow down due to cold water, then fire back up as it warms in the Spring. The deeper you go the cooler the water is and the less it is prone to fluctuating with cool evenings or scorching afternoons. While not the species I normally guide for, I love catching them as theyre hard fighters and are great for clients who want to keep their catch. Big fish have greater metabolic needs and leave nursery type areas to follow oxygen saturation and open water forage. During the fall there are several baits I always keep tied on, but to keep this short I will focus on three main baits. However I rig this differently than I normally would. 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. You cant go wrong with a shad colored deep diving crank bait and a carolina rigged lizard or ribbon tail worm, in some variation of watermelon or green pumpkin. This is only for a day or two while the cold front rolls through. As of right now, I have been doing best targeting the points at the entrance to coves and fishing as far back as about halfway into the coves. Bites will be subtle but typically theyll feel like one light thump. Lee Benton Fishing Guides Austin, As my client found out this morning Lake Travis summer fishing is still strong! These are the primary species of baitfish that bass feed on in Central Texas. On days when the fish dont want to commit to a moving bait bite, slowing down with finesse techniques can be very productive. There are a lot of versions of this bait, a vixen, sexy dawg, spook, rover, dogma, etc are all good choices by various bait companies. It is a bait I pick up selectively, throw three or four times, then set it down. If you are fishing later in February start looking for the tops of small ledges that are close to deep water. Its no secret the tournament was won on surface baits (see video). I recommend looking for coves and flats that are out of the wind and away from boat traffic. A ounce brown and orange football jig with a speed craw for a trailer is a deadly combination. Start by tying your drop shot with an exposed hook and a very short tag end between the hook and sinker. There are several ways I have figured out how to catch them and have produced some very big limits this way. A few stripers up to 8 pounds have been showing up in the mix as well. Central Texas summer weather has usually started to settle in by this date, so come prepared for the sun and heat. Ambush points are always good places to look, but sometimes they just relate to structure since its instinctual, not always to position themselves to feed.I approach these the same way I approach ledges as far as baits. If you are planning on fishing visible cover, look for areas that receive direct sunlight. Finesse fishing excels this time of year, there are lots of other baits I throw, but what I call the holy trinity of finesse fishing is always on the deck of my boat; a shaky head, a drop shot, and a ned rig. Related Links: Nearly all my weekends are booked up, but I have quite a few openings mid week. Lake Travis is starting to fish better this month. Often in Southern climes, the biggest fish of the year can come during this month And I dont mean your 5 pounders. Lake Travis is a gorgeous manufactured reservoir on the Colorado River, northwest of lively Austin, Texas. There are days that Strategy 2 wont work, so dont try and force it. Focus on protected pockets and stable water. The fish are still very much in a wintertime pattern, but you can still have some great days on the water! Finding where there are ledges and drop offs along these bluff walls has been one of the best ways to target these fish. This is when the bass make a migration out of deep water where they have been living during the winter. That is a good sign as the post spawners are starting to come out and play. When I get groups of three anglers I usually only go searching for spawning bass if they ask for it making two people sit and watch doesnt make for a memorable trip. We would recommend a small black and blue craw imitation, worked slowly on the bottom over brush piles or grass patches. 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. Bluff Walls When I get younger children in the boat the trolling bite has been the ticket lately. When you see them jump, throw right into the middle of them. Jun 26, 2009 . For the drop shot, Im using a zoom fluke in the albino color. This time of year can hold some very good fishing! A slow moving bait paused on the bottom makes for an easy meal. Water clarity is great as always; expect to find visibility 5-10 feet on the lower end of the lake, and slightly less as you get further up river, especially past the split. The majority of the fish I have been targeting are still pre-spawn. Lake Travis has a ton of bluff walls, but not all of them are created equal. Football Jig Unlike some fishing guides, I offer what I call a coaching trip. Both of these lures can be very effective this time of year. I like to keep my boat as far away as possible and make long casts with the swimbait or Alabama rig and run it right through the middle of those schools of bass. Deep diving crankbaits can be good during warm fronts accompanied by either cloud cover or wind. I also live near the dam on Lake Travis and fish the lake over 200+ days a year. We have been catching the majority of my fish on drop shot flukes, on spinning tackle, in 10-20 ft of water. I recommend a 3.5 or 4 inch paddle tail swimbait rigged on a ounce lead head. (With that said, some of the absolute best fishing I have ever experienced on Travis has been during the winter.). As I mentioned earlier though, crawfish are a large part of their diet too. There is also another population of fish that shouldnt be overlooked. 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. 6,013 Readers. Before getting into that I should touch on the morning bite. Austin pumps highest amount of water, so far this year. Ledges, points, bluff walls, and rockpiles in 25-35 feet of water are your best bet. At this point in the season, you shouldnt be looking in the creeks at all. Bluff walls and creek channel bends where the shoreline is fairly steep can also be very productive. silver, white, smoke). Everything during the spring revolves around the water temperature. Hot water holds less dissolved oxygen and is also less appealing to largemouth bass, they would prefer cooler temps. All fishing trips include rods, reels, tackle, and a cooler of cold bottled waters. and as late as April 1st, have kept water temperatures cooler than average for this time of year. We are starting to see bass move to the shallows and this opens up a variety of ways to catch them. April is one of my favorite months to guide because here in Central Texas that is when the Shad spawn. I promise you will not find a guide in Austin with a better boat! Largemouth Bass are going to start moving up into coves to continue feeding on baitfish. So what should you throw to catch these shad hungry bass? Some days you can even find some good ones on top waters. Focus on rocky shorelines with a more gradual slope to them. Understanding their environment and how the conditions affect the fish makes them more predictable. In April, Town Lake, Travis gets on an average 32.84mm of rain and approximately 5 rainy days in the month. Strategy 2 requires a stable weather pattern, and cold fronts will limit you to Strategy 1. There are still a few fish on beds and they should be done after this next full moon. I caught a bass November 30th in 61 feet of water on a drop shot! The second pattern I recommend is focusing on structure. Im either at the mouth of the creek arm, fishing main lake points, or Im offshore looking at deep contours. Shad patterns work well too, but something about a crawfish colored crankbait bumping along the bottom kicking up sand and silt just triggers those bass into biting. 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. Pre-spawn Fish A green pumpkin Zoom baby brush hog is an excellent choice right now. This normally means slowing way down with your presentation or going with a bait that will trigger reaction strikes. Temperatures average 74 to 94 degrees in the summer and 40 to 70 degrees in the winter. Medium Diving Crankbait I recommend targeting the mouths of spawning coves. Look for fish busting on the surface to give away their location. 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. Water clarity is the typical Travis gin clear water; 8-12 foot visibility on the lower end of the lake is pretty normal. While they may not be locked on bed at this time, they will hover in and out of the areas which they will be spawning in. Something new I am offering on my website is what I call Honey Hole Reports. Once you have located an area with fish, I recommend either fishing very very slow, or rather quickly. The bite has been good and will only continue to get better until about June. Keep in mind that during this time of year cold fronts, rain, and wind can cause the lake temp to change more than normal. Longtime friend and client Mike Appel and I cruised out from Lakeway Marina at sunrise on the overcast morning of April 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgP4t5LSesM. Once you catch one, get back in there quick with a follow up cast as you can often trigger a feeding frenzy. Happy New Year and I hope to see you out on the water! What does that say about Lake Travis?? This Year's Turnback (2016) Lake Travis is overfull and could rise (as of late April) so keep abreast of the lake levels, especially due to . 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. January in Central Texas can actually bring some very good fishing! To prevent snagging those I like this way of rigging my swimbaits. Please check out my most recent video on fishing Lake Travis in the winter. Try fishing secondary points later in the day as these are usually places bass hang out once they have moved out deep. The second, to fish for bass that are using staging locations. Cast right on top of them when they are boiling on the surface. As the "Crown Jewel" of the Central Texas Highland Lakes, Lake Travis is THE most visited freshwater recreational vacation destination in the state. As it gets colder later in the year, you may consider pausing it longer. Now that you know where to start your search lets talk about what bait to throw. If you look around some of the deeper ledges and points, there are a lot of fish suspended and you can catch a few of these using jigging spoons. With the swings in water temps come different patterns the fish get on. Texas rigged creature baits, football jigs, shakey heads and drop shots are all effective baits. I like to fish this bait with the same cadence I do a jerkbait, when the bait gets out further from shore where it is deeper I like to give it a long pause to let it get closer to the bottom. Their goal is to expend as little energy as possible, burn as few calories as they have to, yet still feed. Overall, the climate of the Lake Travis and Lake Austin area is temperate with mild winters and relatively low humidity. The reason I mention this is because largemouth bass do not like to live below the thermocline. I recommend fishing deep secondary points, ledges, and the middle of creek channels. With the lake so low there is a lot of good structure at the right depth out close to the river channel on the main lake. Lee Benton Fishing Guides Austin, Ready or not summer is here! 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. Winds are out . Currently there are two main patterns I would use when targeting bass on Lake Travis. We have found the walking the dog baits have been very productive (Zara spook style). Ive had some trips catch in excess of 60 fish in one outing. 2. These reports are updated weekly on Thursdays at 6:00PM and contain a minimum of 5 pins on the map showing you EXACTLY where to fish, what bait to throw, what color to use, how to present it, what time of day to fish the spot, etc etc. Consider purchasing one today! Small minnows fished on a 1/16th ounce lead head have also been very productive. Legend: <0F 0F 10F 20F 30F 40F 50F 60F 70F 80F 90F 100F Early in the fall I focus heavily on shad patterns, baits with gray, silver, and chartreuse in them work well. A drop shot, a football jig, a Carolina rig, and a deep diving crank bait can be very effective. These two baits are perfect for putting numbers in the boat. Choose a bait that will dive to 10-12 feet and fish it along rocky shorelines with drop offs along them. Flukes can be deadly as they represent the migratory baitfish and can be color matched to be even more effective. Get out there on the water and go catch a few! The key to getting bit though is a well-placed cast. Hook sets are free! Great targets can be points, docks, seams, or any other obvious transition where bass have an opportunity to ambush. I recommend starting at the mouths of coves and working your way inside. Bonus tip: When its windy, look for sharp mud lines, they make for great ambush points. This data release provides gradient self-potential (SP), conductivity, and temperature measurements made during an investigation of surface-water and groundwater exchange in Lake Travis near Austin, Texas, where the Colorado River is incised into two zones of the Cretaceous-age Trinity aquifer (the lower-zone, and several hydrostratigraphic units of the middle zone). Lake Travis Fuel Docks 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. Areas of structure such as rock piles, small ledges, or grass not far from the shallow areas I described early, will hold fish. I rely heavily on my electronics this time of year. You can find them hitting the surface on and off, live sonar such as Garmins Pantopix is also very useful to find these fish. What I find to be most important in the winter is timing when you fish based on the weather forecast. Lake Travis Marinas The first being throwing moving baits. Lake Travis is mostly rock and has a healthy population of crawfish in it. Pro tip: if the fish is being finicky and not biting the bait but is expressing interest in it us a scent. Bass will move offshore or away from the bank to find cooler water further down in the water column. That is the fish that make their home on the main lake. This is where the ned rig and the drop shot come into play. Bass are feeding heavily in pods and corralling their prey. A topwater bait can be productive, but that bite is mainly limited to the first hour of daylight. I love teaching new and veteran anglers alike. You will also find a population of fish that stays out deep, even when its getting closer to sunset. One tip though, if you are fishing on the upper end of the lake where the water is a bit more stained, consider adding some chartreuse dye to the tail of your bait. The graph below shows the range of monthly Lake Travis water temperature derived from many years of historical sea surface temperature data. New for this season I am running a 2022 Phoenix 921 elite with a Mercury 300 on the back! Not that you cant catch them, but you have to work hard for them. Updated: 12:52 PM CDT April 21, 2021. Early in the morning I like to start out looking for schooling fish or throwing a topwater bait. This is one of the absolute best places to have Garmin Panoptix in your boat. Stick to colors that imitate a baitfish, anything white, grey or silver will work well. Focus on the mouths of small coves, points within a these coves, and drains along the shoreline in these coves. You may see a brief feeding window open up during periods of increased wind or temporary cloud cover. With water temps in the low to mid 60s and water clarity anywhere from 6-15 feet depending on what end of the lake you are fishing, the conditions right now are good! These baits and rocks dont mix, so do not let it hit the bottom. With these moving baits stick to colors that resemble a threadfin shad. During this time of year, there are two main patterns I fish in order to consistently find fish. This will likely consist of threadfin or gizzard shad schools. Just because the weather is a little cooler and a little more unpredictable, does not mean you shouldnt get out there and go fishing! During the late summer some fish will move up shallower and will orient around isolated structure. Offshore areas such as humps on the bottom with rock, small ledges where fish can set up to ambush prey, or bluff walls with docks that provide shade are all places I have been catching fish. As it gets colder I will continue going further and further into the backs of coves. For some anglers this can make staying on the bottom a little tougher, this long pause helps over come this. Finesse jigs, shakey heads and drop shots are also baits I will have tied on this time of year, especially on those days the fish are being a bit finicky and want something small and slow moving presented to them. It seems the August key depth zone is about 25 ft. We are now officially in the heat of the Summer. Key baits this month, when the fish are on bed, are bluegill imitations like square bill crankbaits or small swimbaits. I take out anyone from novice to most advanced and a lot of kids as well. Currently water clarity on Lake Travis is around 4-5 feet depending on the part of the lake youre on. A 1/16 oz weighted hook and a watermelon/red fluke has been producing great numbers and an occasional big bass on the lake. Creature baits rigged on a Texas rig are a great way to trick them into biting! Smaller subtle baits tend to get bit better this time of year. 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. Male bass will clear away debris and sediment on the bottom of the lake creating a nest for the female to lay their eggs. Small swimbaits, topwater lures, and jerkbaits can all be excellent baits to target these fish. While bed fishing is fun, targeting pre-spawn fish has produced better numbers for my clients in my recent trips. While the fish arent out on the deepest structure in the lake, they have made a significant move to the 1st major break. Later this month I expect to start finding fish up on beds. Go with as light of a weight as you can and still feel the bottom. Have a crawfish pattern and a shad pattern ready to go. Getting them back into the lake as soon as possible ensures the safety of those eggs, and the future bass population of Lake Travis! Lake Travis is mostly rock, so there is a large population of crawfish in the lake. Honestly I have been throwing a little bit of everything as far as baits, but a chrome pop-r and a whopper plopper in a shad color has been consistently getting bit. Lets not forget about the white bass run that is taking place farther up lake (up river) and the crappie that will soon be showing up in the shallows and the marinas to spawn. Look for ledges and points that are close to a creek channel and you will likely find these fish. In low light or more windy conditions, were seeking out chunk rock and other irregularities on the bank. Dates for spring are filling up so get your trip booked soon with Texas Hawgs, Lake Travis is fishing good right now. My clients the other morning caught two bass on one topwater bait! As the water gets into the 70s the bait fish in the lake spawn. You are trying to trigger a fish into naturally feeding, or illicit a reaction strike from a fast moving lure. One thing I always remind clients is that not every fish in the lake bee lines it for the bank. When fishing with any of these baits make sure to keep your retrieve very erratic, lots of stops and starts and changes to the speed of your retrieve will help to elicit reaction bites from the bass. 6,011 Readers. Fish that jig along rocky banks and over rocky veins along the shoreline. Each report contains 5+ EXACT spots on the map showing you where I am catching fish with my paid clients. Water temps are currently in the low 60s with water clarity around 4-6 feet on the lower end of the lake. One of the challenges of fishing Lake Travis is learning the lake at various lake levels. Crankbaits fished in the same places I fish the topwater plugs have also been very productive. Weve experienced sporadic schooling the last few weeks with these fish targeting 1 inch shad. Generally the very first dock, closest to the mouth of the cove will be the best. Lake Travis Vacation Rentals Most of the time I fish this bait on a or 3/8th ounce lead head. Look for coves that are protected from both boat traffic and the wind. Have a boat of your own? The fishing is only going to continue to get better over the next couple months! Alternate between these baits as you figure out which one the fish have a greater preference towards. These trips are geared around education and not running my honey holes. Pictured below is a healthy Lake Travis bass caught on an a-rig on a deep ledge in February. My biggest piece of advice when on the water is to keep moving, change baits often, and think outside the box. Ledges ARL:UT Lake Travis Test Station Real-Time Weather Data Lake Travis Test Station 04/28/2023 08:50:00 PM Early in the mornings there is still a marina bite to be had. The top water bite has been exceptional as of late, and will continue to be a major pattern until December. 11,848 Readers. Each report contains 5+ EXACT spots with all the information needed to fish them. Torwicks Guiding Service, Tyler Torwick. Torwicks Guiding Service is a full time licensed and insured fishing charter and specializing in guiding on Lake Travis. For now, focus on these patterns to put more fish in the boat! Topwater baits such as pop-rs and spooks in bone or chrome are very fun baits to throw early in the morning. In the south, February is the start of great things to come. Orange Spike-It dye is a must have in your boat for dipping your soft plastics in. Cliff Pace started the first day with 10.5 pound bass first thing in the morning. Reservoir Controlling Authority. Theres nothing better to get clients excited than when the bass are literally jumping in front of you!

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