December 4, 2025 - Winter Bass Fishing Report for Austin, TX (Lake Travis, Lake Austin, Lake LBJ)

Lake Travis, Lake Austin, & Lake LBJ Fishing Report - Brought to you by Austin, Texas professional fishing guide Tyler Torwick

It may be December but the water temps on our local lakes have just recently dropped into the 60's with the cold fronts we've had pass through. With the warmer temps a lot of fish are still on Fall patterns. Fishing up in the coves, targeting areas near creek channels, and for lakes that have it, locating grass down in the creek channels or drains is all producing fish right now.

Lake Travis has been a bit off this season. I attribute it largely to the warmer temperatures we'd been seeing. That's all changing though, as I mentioned the recent cold fronts have finally dropped the water temps and the fish are setting up better to be caught. The bite has been largely weather dependent lately. Days after a front moves through were its bluebird skies and wind out of the north can be tough to get bit. With those conditions I recommend slowing way down with your presentation.

If you're getting out on Lake Travis I would have a couple baits tied on. For starters a jig/ Texas rig, a dropshot, a flat side crankbait, and a jerkbait would all be tied on. With the lake having come up a bunch back in July there is a lot of brush underwater. Weedless baits are key to getting down into these areas... there are other baits I would like to be throwing, but if they get snagged every other cast what good are they. Look for areas in 15-25 feet of water where there is brush or rock located fairly close to a creek channel edge. Remember, bass use these creek channels to move in and out of areas as they position to feed. When the fish are more active and willing to chase moving baits a crankbait or deep diving jerkbait can be very effective for getting them fired up. Go with shad patterns as they bass are heavily keyed in on Threadfin shad right now. When fishing around rock more so than the brush try craw colors in your crankbait... reds, oranges, and browns will work well. Fish your crankbait with a very erratic retrieve with lots of stops and starts to it.

Another pattern than has been working really well has been targeting steep bluff walls, especially ones near the mouths of large coves. Its that time of year though were we get some strong winds coming out of the north. There are days that I fish these bluff walls not only because they hold good fish, but you can always find ones that will protect you front the wind. When its blowing 15-20 mph it can get pretty choppy on the lake and make presenting a lure correctly a chore. Try some bluff walls where the water calms down and allows you to work your bait without struggling to feel the bottom. These bluff walls are where I like throwing a jig, a Texas rig, and especially a drop shot. Green Pumpkin and brown colors have been working well as far as colors. When fishing these baits, its crucial that your bait is in contact with the rocks at all time. I recommend line watching as you fish. If you see your line is staying under tension as you pause to let it sink, take your reel out of gear or open your bail. Allowing the bait to fall on slack line ensures it falls vertically rather than penduluming back to your boat.

Lake Austin and Lake LBJ have also been fishing well, I was on both of those lake recently. The grass in Lake Austin has come back and is very healthy on the lower end upper end of the lake. There is a large area in the middle of the lake though that doesn't have grass for some reason. Chatterbaits, swimbaits, frogs, and weedless plastics are working well on both lakes. Lake LBJ doesn't have quite as much grass as it used to, but if you spend enough time looking around you'll find some.

Something more unique to Lake LBJ is the amount of brush piles in that lake. I think it's a lot of Crappie fisherman sink them to attract Crappie... but its great for us bass anglers! First thing I recommend is graph shallow points, and creek channel bends. These are common places to find sunk brush piles as they are also places crappie move to. Having livescope is super helpful for this... After I have located a brush pile on my side scan I like to drop a couple waypoints around it. From there line up on it with your livescope and fire a couple casts with a crankbait and jerkbait first. These are my two go to baits to get the fish fired up and see if there are more fish down in the pile that I'm not seeing on the sonar.

After fishing those baits for a while I like to drag baits like a senko, a creature bait, or a drop shot all around and through the brush pile before moving on. During this time of year you can get lucky and hook into a giant doing this!

The most fun and notable pattern I got on the other day fishing Lake Austin was the frog bite. There are shorelines where the grass is very thick and matted. If you can make long enough casts to get up by the breakwalls behind the thick grass, they'll eat a frog! A Buzz Gill from 6th Sense was my best bait as it allowed me and my clients to cover more water and fish quicker. I will say, casting accuracy was key. Looking for holes in the grass, the corners of where the boat slips for private docks open up, spots where pipes are going down into the lake... all these kinds of cover where key. Make a good cast up close and you'll be rewarded.

Similar to Lake Travis, both LBJ and Austin are patterning the same in terms of bass relating to the creek channels. Graphing is a sure fire way to locate them, but a tip is to use Google Earth and look at old satellite imagery. You can find these creek channels and mark way points of where they make a bend of where there is a steep drop off in them. From there, look for cover nearby. Sometimes the fish are right on or in the creek channel, but if they want to move shallow they will typically not go too far, just to a nearby grass line, rockpile, or dock.

If you are headed out there soon I highly recommend checking out my recent Honey Hole Reports! These reports are a lot different then my free reports like this one. My Honey Hole Reports give you the EXACT locations, baits, and colors I am using to catch fish with my clients. They are extremely detailed and guaranteed to put you on fish.

Good luck out there on the water! If you are interested in booking a trip give me a call, or you can make your reservation online.