Lake Travis Fishing Report- March 7, 2019
Today I had the pleasure of fishing with Dan, an angler from here in Austin, Texas. Dan works in advertising and is working on an online magazine focusing on the outdoors, particularly things here in Texas. Dan told me he is planning on writing a segment about the benefits of hiring a fishing guide! He wanted to get out on Lake Travis and learn some new areas, learn more about reading sonar, and some new techniques. I will edit this in the morning and post a link to Dan's website for you to check out. As I am writing this I realized I wrote down his site and its sitting in boat out in the garage.
Today I actually learned a ton from Dan. Huge thank you to him giving me all kinds of SEO tips for my website. As I've mentioned before, this report section began as a way to help my site rank on Google. Well I have gotten a lot of feedback from y'all and realized some folks actually read what I write and enjoy it. Now I spend a lot more time giving tips, advice, reports, and lake conditions. But I know that I can improve how I format these reports and how I write them to help me improve my ranking on Google.
So Why Hire a Fishing Guide?
While talking with Dan today he reminded me that a lot of times people hire fishing guides like myself more for the education than just the fish catches. A fishing guide definitely cuts down on your learning curve. Not to sound arrogant, but I probably spend a lot more time on the water than you. I fish 200+ days a year and have learned a ton of things over the course of my fishing career. I love teaching other anglers everything I know and hold nothing back. You're probably like me and learn a lot better with someone actually showing you what to do, rather than just watching a video on YouTube.
Throughout the year patterns change with the seasons. Fish move and do not stay on the same spots as the last time you fished them. I can show you how to not only find new high percentage areas, but I can also explain why those fish would be there. Each area you approach can be fished differently. Now we all have those three or four go to baits... I'm guilty of it! I throw a drop shot everywhere. But there are certainly times and places that a different bait will be more productive. That is something I can teach you and explain to you why I switch baits or use one type of plastic over another in certain scenarios.
Lake Travis- Fishing Report- March 7, 2019
Today was the first day in Austin that we finally had some warm weather. It was by no means a scorcher but the temps finally got into the 70's. With this warming trend you should expect to find fish up more shallow. Early spawners will start to move up and look for areas to make beds in the next week or so. The water temperature right now was 53-55 degrees... not much has changed in that regard as it literally just got warm today. While the bass may not spawn right away, you will find fish that want to move up and stage. I keep mentioning that pre-spawn pattern. That played a role into today's trip. I should also note, I fished yesterday afternoon just scouting, so some of what I reference in this report will be from yesterday as well.
If you are fishing this weekend I would recommend keeping a medium diving crankbait, a spinner bait, and a drop shot tied on. Work those deep staging points with your moving baits first, then back off and throw the worm. Some fish will still be deep and a slowly presented worm will get you a limit. Your bigger fish will likely come in that 5-12 foot range on reaction baits. A Rapala DT-6 is my favorite bait right now. The lake has a ton of slime grass in it, so keep those casts on the edge of the brush line and not up in it. Oh, and replace your hooks! I can't tell you the difference it made yesterday when it came to the fish that weren't committing to the bait fully.
Visit my site tomorrow!
I plan to post an article tomorrow discussing spawning and pre spawn bass so stay tuned for that! If you or someone you know is looking for a fishing guide in Austin please pass along my info! I love referrals and would be very grateful to you!