Wanted to give y'all a quick report from my trip on LBJ the other day. If you are local to Austin you know about the wonderful weather we've been having. lolz.... its sucks! As I type this its 30 degrees outside. I am not looking forward to my trip tomorrow! Time to bust out the long underwear. Well yesterday was not much different, winds were around 10-15 mph with air temps in the low 40's.
My client for the day was Doug, an angler from the DFW area staying in Marble Falls while his wife attended a knitting conference. He told me he's been getting a lot more serious recently about bass fishing. Goal for the day was not only to catch fish, but cover different techniques and teach him a few things he can use in the future. Sometimes learning something new can be just as rewarding as catching a fish in my opinion. Doug was a lot of fun to fish with, super interesting guy and we had a lot of great conversation. The fishing was rather slow, but it was still a fun day out on the lake.
If you're new to bass fishing it can be a little daunting with the millions of lures for sale and overload of content on the internet these days. I feel like it can be overwhelming where to start and what lures to buy without going overboard. Hiring a guide can definitely cut down on the learning curve and teach you a few things that you might not get from watching YouTube videos in your office.
With the thick fog and cold temps we started out in Horsehoe Bay. Water temps were around 53 degrees with stained water. The water clarity out there has improved since the flooding, but is still slightly stained. Cold weather like we are experiencing will cause any fish that were up shallow to move back out deep in search of that deeper water that holds more dissolved oxygen. Lake LBJ can be a little funky at times though, as you can catch fish under docks just about year round. Keep that in mind the next time you are having a tough day on that lake.
We tried fishing a few rock piles, some brush piles, and some rocky shorelines with crank baits, but ultimately the offshore rock piles were best. A dropshot rig worked best worked slow. When the water temps are low and the weather is just shit, about all you can do when the bite is tough is to slow down. Work your bait with small twitches of the rod tip and avoid overdoing it, too much action can be a bad thing. When you work the bait back in make sure the rod is doing all the work. Often times I see clients do a combination of dragging the bait with the rod and slowly reeling it in. You want the rod tip to do all the work that way you feel every little rock, stick, and bite.
The weather in Austin is supposed to be lousy until Wednesday, but I'm telling you, once this weather turns on Thursday give it a few days of warm weather and you'll finally find some spawning bass. I'm booked all week until Saturday, but I will be in Mexico for a week come Sunday. I will of course keep the reports updated, but it may be a little while until I can do an in depth report on bed fishing. Catching spawning fish is one of my favorite things to do!
Good weather and great fishing is finally upon us! I have quite a few open days after my trip to Mexico, so if you are looking for a fishing guide in Austin, give me a ring or click that book online button!
See you on the water!