The fishing on Lake Travis is crazy good right now! You can catch fish all over the lake, but there are several types of areas in particular I would recommend, but we'll get to that in a moment. The reason for the increase in activity by the bass is the water temperature. Water temp is one of the most influential factor's in a bass' environment when it comes to their behavior. These recent cold fronts have dropped the lake to 74-78 degrees. Temps vary slightly depending on which part of the lake you are in or time of day. This kicks their metabolism in gear and tells the fish its time to feed up before winter.
During this time of year when we see these first significant cold fronts, largemouth bass will move up from their deep summertime homes and head towards the bank to feed. Typically you get a 2-3 week window where the fishing is stellar. After this window the fishing will stay good until the water temps drop down into the low 60's.
Currently I recommend sticking to the main lake sides of shorelines directly adjacent to coves. As the fish move up to feed inside coves they will move to these areas first and stage. A quick reminder is that not all fish move up and do the same thing at once. So catching fish in other places than this is totally in play. This however is a major pattern I am focusing on.
Another place to search is shallow shorelines directly adjacent to a deep rocky drop off, or close to a creek channel. Bass on Travis love rock, and if you fish this lake you know there is an abundance of it... kinda. When I describe this pattern what I am looking for are normal sandy/ gravel shorelines that have a vein of rock running along them, this rock is key. Typically you will find that these "rocky veins" create small ledges anywhere from 2-4 feet from top to bottom. These areas are prime for a medium diving crankbait. Most of your bites will come once your bait goes over that drop off. The bass will almost always be near the rock and not on the sand or gravel except for when there is isolated structure nearby.
Crawfish and shad colors are the two main color patterns I am throwing when it comes to crankbaits. Make sure you are grinding that bait into the bottom when you retrieve it, as that will make all the difference.
As far as colors go, the usual natural colors are all working. Its less about colors right now that it is about location. However watermelon black seed, green pumpkin, and motor oil are all great colors for plastics right now. As for your hard baits, stick to shad imitation colors or reds and browns to mimic crawfish.
My last tip for you is to run and gun! If you are not catching fish, keep moving until you do. This seems pretty obvious, but I find all too often that a lot of anglers will sit and work a long stretch of shoreline hoping to come across a magic school of bass. If you have fished an area for 20 minutes or more right now, find another spot. The fishing is very good right now, but it's not necessarily easy. Think of bass fishing like real estate... location, location, location! Keep moving until you start getting a few bites, then slow down.
This is a great time of year for all skill levels to get on the lake. If you have kids I can get y'all on a bunch of fish right now. We will fish small finesse plastics and have a blast! If you are a more advanced angler, consider booking a trip by yourself or with just one friend (its soooo much easier for me to give you more individual attention when its just one or two anglers) and we can get more technical. We'll be fishing a combination of drop shots, jigs, crankbaits, topwater plugs, and swimbaits. If you are able to cast a bait caster I would love to show you the more advanced techniques I love to throw to specifically target larger fish. With the fish more aggressive and active right now, it makes it easy to reinforce these techniques.
If you have a boat of your own, but aren't interested in a trip, and are just here for the info, no worries! I'm happy you are here, I love educating people and giving as much helpful information as possible.
Shameless sales plug though... if you are interested in knowing some of the EXACT SPOTS I am catching these fish, consider purchasing my Lake Pro Guides report for Lake Travis. For twelve bucks you will get 5+ pins on a map with accompanying videos I have recorded explaining in great detail how to fish the spots. For less than the cost of the fuel you will burn searching for fish, I can jump start your day on spots to try and key you in on the pattern that is working. Once you have that pattern dialed in you'll be off to the races! My reports are updated every Thursday at 4:00PM, so all the information is fresh and current.
If you are ever on the water or at the boat ramp and see me, don't hesitate to stop by and say hi! Just look for my white and black 2019 Skeeter FX21.
If this fishing report helped you, please consider sharing it on social media, it helps me a ton!!!
Comments