The fishing on Lake Travis continues to be solid! You can expect the bass fishing to be great for at least another month. During the summer the fishing is still good, however we have to work a little harder for the fish, that's all. Currently numbers and size have been up! We even had a 7 pounder last week.
Currently most bass are post-spawn and into their summertime patterns. As the water warms during May and June there are two main patterns I see these fish get on. One is centered all around the shad spawn. The recent rain and have kept the lake temps down in the low to mid 70's. This is ideal for those threadfin shad to spawn and do their thing. I recommend tying on shad imitation baits early in the morning and focusing on this pattern.
Shad spawn around docks on this lake, so finding stretches of shoreline with a little wind blowing into them first thing in the morning can be good. Find the shorelines that have docks on them though, this is key. A fluke, a small swimbait, a spook, or an Alabama rig are all good options for this. Get your bait as close to the docks as you can when casting. You can often times draw out the bass that are up around these docks feeding on the baitfish.
Another thing I like to do is focus on marinas and break walls early in the morning. You can fish them the same way working baits around the boats and empty slips. In addition to this you will often find fish hitting the surface in the middle of the marina. They chase the schools of shad that live down a little deeper up the surface. This is why you see the bass break the surface of the water and make a splash. A small silver casting spoon, a swimbait, or a chrome pop-r are all great baits to throw at these fish. If you have live sonar like Garmin's Panopotix this is where it really comes in handy. This pattern will be solid from first light until around 8:30-9AM ish... after this the fish tend to move out since the shad quit spawning.
The other pattern that is reliable this time of year is targeting fish out deep or along banks adjacent to deep water. If you follow my reports, you should know that I rely heavily on creek channels to find fish. Creek channels are natural highways that allow bass to move in and out of areas easily. When they are feeding, bass tend to move shallow to hunt. Crawfish, bluegill, sunfish, minnows, and shad are abundant along the shorelines of Lake Travis. If the bass are actively hunting and I have been catching them well, I will target areas 10-20 feet deep. (Do remember that "shallow" is a relative term, 10-20 feet is what I consider shallow on Lake Travis.) If the bite is a little slower I like to back off the bank and target depths 15-30 feet. Ned rigs, drop shots, Texas rigged creature baits, and jigs are all things I love throwing.
I have also been catching fish on deep crankbaits like a DD-22 or a 6XD. Find those steep drop offs on the edge of the creek channels and run those deep cranks over them. This is a great way to target big fish! You may not catch as many, but you will usually hook into the right kind. Stick to shad colored baits as the water clarity is very good right now.
If you follow me on social media then you probably noticed a change in my fishing last weekend. I took some time off for my bachelor party and headed down to Venice, LA! We did some fishing on the coast for redfish... heres a couple of bull reds we doubled up on! They definitely fight a little harder than largemouth bass!
Just as a reminder, if you would like to know some of my EXACT fishing spots, I sell a weekly report, updated each Thursday at 4PM on www.lakeproguides.com for $11.99. Trust me, if you need a quick refresher on the pattern I am fishing and the spots I am targeting, its well worth the money.
Tight lines!
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