If you are part of the Austin bass tournament scene you are familiar with Guadapalooza, a Guadalupe Bass only tournament that Texas Tournament Zone puts on. If you've never heard of it, its a tournament hosted on Lake Travis where only Guadalupe Bass are eligible for your best 5 fish limit. The best part is the fish are all kept after the tournament and they have a big fish fry. Guad nuggets are delicious if you've never tried them. Shout out to Paul Sherill for cooking for everyone!
Now that the tournament is over I thought I would share what I found during pre fishing for it and tournament day. I fished with Jake Kennemer and ended up with a 3.5 LBS limit good for 12th place... we just never found that big Guad we needed.
Guadalupe bass do not get very large as you can tell from our limit. Typically I target these fish with small bitsy jigs, drop shots, shakey heads, and ned rigs. If you are targeting these fish I recommend stick to rocky areas. Rocky steep bluffs are excellent spots to find these fish. They will also hold off of rocky main lake points and steep ledges. Lake Travis has an abundant population of these bass and has great habitat for them to thrive in.
When targeting these fish I like to stay around the lower end of the lake... there are plenty of areas up river that hold nice Guads, but you don't have to go far if you live on the Austin side of Lake Travis. Our success came with two baits in particular, the Z Man ned rig and a drop shot. Jake caught the majority of our Guads, but I caught easily over 20 largemouth bass with the drop shot. I started out with my usual Zoom trick worm, but my new favorite dropshot bait prevailed... y'all need to try Berkeley's new Maxx Scent flat worm. Not only do they have great scent but they are actually extremely durable and hold up to numerous fish.
I chose the flat worm over a trick worm since it has a smaller profile and is easier for those little Guads to get in their mouth. Despite this we still caught a ton of Largemouth Bass. Jake love to throw a jig, he tossed it all day and had several bites, but never got the big Guad he was after. If you are after a big largemouth through, tossing a football jig all day long this time of year would be a great idea. On Lake Travis you can catch big bass year around with the jig.
Congrats to Trey Groce and Charles Whited with the win! They had around 6.5 LBS I believe and an impressive big bass too! If you live in the Austin area I highly recommend getting out and fishing this tournament next year. Its only a $60 entry and is a lot of fun. Its more about fun than money since there isn't a huge payday on the line.
On a side note, I fished several days last week and the fishing is still good! Main lake points were the best, that cold weather seems to have moved the fish out of the shallows. If you're out there though and the sun comes out for a while and starts to warm the bank don't be afraid to go shallow!
If you are in Central Texas of the Austin area and would like to get out on the lake give me a call! Lake Travis is fishing good, Lake LBJ just opened back up, and Lake Decker still has a ton of good grass to fish. There are all sorts of options for fishing trips this time of year!
Tight Lines!