Yesterday my new friend Justin and I hit Lake LBJ to chase some bass and film a new intro video for my website. Justin has a Youtube channel and does video production work. He agreed to get some cool shots and film a segment that I plan to use on my home page to explain to newcomers to my site what my guide service offers.
Check out his channel! https://www.youtube.com/user/justintheapparition
Right now the LCRA has Lake LBJ about four feet low for a drawdown intended to allow lake front property owners to make dock repairs and dredge out debris. The lake really has changed a lot from last year, brush piles I knew of have moved, there is debris in shallow areas, new sandbars, and the water is still very stained. I get asked this a lot... yes the water is still pretty muddy. Its worse the further up river you go. Down near Horseshoe Bay it's not that bad.
We launched from the Yacht Club launch ramp without any trouble. I was worried I would need to use 4x4 to pull out based off some other reports I have read, not the case. We didn't have any issues, but there is a drop off at the end of the ramp so don't back up further than you need to. Do be careful idling out of the cove though. There are some low spots with rocks just under the water that you can run aground on. I did hit some rocks and have to push the boat up. haha (In my defense we were trying to get some shots of me driving by in the boat for the video and Justin was paying attention to the view finder and I was paying attention to him. Just stick to the deep areas on your chart and you will be fine.
One tip for you.. If you run a Humminbird go into your settings and manually adjust the lake level -4 feet. Set the shallow water depth highlight to 1 foot and it will help bring your attention to areas that you might run into trouble. Lakemaster's maps are way way way more accurate than Navionics in my opinion, so if you run a Lowrance sorry don't know what to tell ya. haha
Water temps were in the mid 50's but there are some fish up shallow. With the lake low I targeted rock piles and deep structure. It seems year around you can catch fish off the docks on that lake, but with the lake so low I figured they would move out and stack up on structure.
The bite was fairly slow to begin with... it was a beautiful warm day out, but the bluebird sky conditions and no wind didn't help. Our best bites came from rock piles in 10-15 feet of water. A jig was by far the most productive lure. I threw a drop shot, a football and a brush jig, and a crankbait. Dark brown with some black and PB&J were still the most productive colors. A twin tail grub or a speed craw make good trailer. If the water drops closer to 50 degrees of below I will switch over to a chunk trailer.
I'm tempted to head back out to Lake LBJ tomorrow, I haven't decided yet. I want to fish Travis but I am on the fence about fishing TTZ and I don't want to break the off limits rule in the event I do decide to enter. Good luck to those of you who fish it! I have a feeling you'll see about 5 guys above that 18 pound mark, then the weights will drop off after that. My guess is that it'll take 26 pounds to win.
I have a few dates open this Sunday and next week! If you want to get out there give me a call. If you are an experienced angler and want to learn how to grind lets get out to LBJ. The fishing wasn't phenomenal when we went but the bite changes daily this time of year. With the lake low you can't use the docks as a crutch to find fish. Let me show you how I look for fish offshore and my methodology to target them. This is the best time of year to do it and I would love to teach you!
Tight lines!