Latest Texas Fishing Reports for the Austin Area

Lake Travis fished great on October 16, even with the wind howling over 20 mph all day.

First fish of the morning on the windy main-lake flat

We started out on a main-lake flat midlake. The fish were chewing on a shallow crankbait some, but mainly on a watermelon candy red creature bait. We'd throw it out around rock veins covered with trees, and after just a bit a nice largemouth would take off with the line. We caught 7 or 8 doing that, then I decided to make it a little easier on everyone and head way back into a cove that was mostly out of the wind.

We moved around in the back of that cove for a bit and found the fish piled up in the little cuts. These had several docks and ran about 5 to 20 feet deep. The creature baits were the ticket again, and we caught plenty more there, all on the creature bait. The shad were stacked up in the backs, and the bass were right there with them.

A father-son double in the back of the cove

A quality largemouth from the docks in the cuts

Contact me today to get your time on the water. Texas Hawgs!

Lake Travis is fishing well right now. As the days get cooler and the water temperature drops, the bass are moving up shallow and getting more active.

Start early with topwater. A walking bait like a Spook, or a Whopper Plopper or Choppo, is drawing some good blowups at first light. Once the sun gets up, a shallow crankbait or jerkbait is catching good numbers, while a deep crankbait or swimbait is pulling some of the bigger bass from deeper water.

The soft plastic bite is steady as always. Texas-rigged worms, craws and creature baits, or a jig, are all catching plenty of fish.

Most of the bass are on main lake points and from the mouths back to about the halfway point in the coves and creeks. Cliff walls and ledges are holding fish too.

For the second trip of the day we headed out at noon and picked up right where the morning left off, catching fish up the river by working the deeper grass. Creature baits and worms were the go-to again.

We moved through four different spots and finally found some better-quality bass in shallow grass midlake. With all the wakeboats out we bounced around and covered a lot of water, but it paid off.

The best part of the day was putting an 11-year-old on fish and watching him enjoy every minute on the boat. Lake Austin in the fall is a great place to get a young angler into some bass.

The bass were ready to go this morning on Lake Austin. We started catching fish right away on our first stop up the river, and the action held up as we moved around. We fished three different areas on this half-day trip and caught about 20 bass, with the best ones going up to 3 pounds.

Soft plastics were the program. Creature baits and craw worms in watermelon candy red and watermelon candy got bit consistently. Topwater was slow this time, with only one blowup all morning, so we kept the plastics in the water.

The upper river has been a strong place to start lately, and a slow-worked plastic around the grass is hard to beat right now.

Lake Marble Falls is fishing well. There is still some schooling action up the river, out from the island and on up toward the north end.

When they are busting, a walking-style topwater or a small popper will get you bit, and a shallow crankbait or wakebait is catching some good ones.

Away from the schoolers, a Senko thrown at just about anything will draw bites. And don't forget the docks -- flip and skip a jig back under them, because the bass are crushing it.

Lake Austin is still fishing strong, and the pattern changes a little as you work your way down the lake.

On the upper end, the fish are holding around the thick grass in the middle of the lake. Drag craw worms, straight worms and creature baits along the grass edges and you will get plenty of bites right now. Some days a frog or a topwater can be really good too.

Midlake, work the docks. A wacky-rigged worm draws steady bites, and once the sun gets up, a jig skipped way back under the docks is catching the bigger bass.

On the lower end, fish the edges of the thick grass with a worm, or flip into the grass with a weedless spoon or a weedless-rigged small swimbait, worm or fluke for some really good bites.

We had a great half-day morning trip on Lake Austin, with the bass set up in the grass from the upper end of the lake down through midlake. Once we found the right grass lines, the bites came steady all morning.

Soft plastic creature baits did most of the damage, rigged in watermelon and green pumpkin and worked slowly through the edges and pockets of the grass. We also picked up a few on topwater early and caught some on a swimbait when they were chasing. The biggest of the day was a solid 5-pounder -- a great Lake Austin bass.

Grass is the key on Lake Austin right now. Slow down with a creature bait in natural greens, and keep a topwater handy for the low-light windows.

Buchanan is good right now, and it's a simple deal: find the rockpiles. Drag creature baits, craws, or worms slowly through the rock, or crank the same spots and let the bait crash and deflect off the rocks -- that deflection is what triggers the bite.

Pick your bait by mood: dragging when they want it slow, cranking when you need to cover water and find the active ones.

Travis is fishing good and the fall move is starting. Bass are pushing up shallower, and shallow crankbaits, worms, and jigs are all producing in that 5 to 15 foot range.

There's still schooling activity hanging around some of the marinas and deeper coves -- sometimes busting on top, sometimes sitting down in 15 to 20 feet. When they're down, a jigging spoon or flutter spoon dropped on them is the ticket; when they show on the surface, throw a walking-style topwater, a jerkbait, or a swimbait at them. Fun time of year on this lake -- two patterns going at once.

Lake Austin keeps on producing. Bass are on the chew all over the lake, and the grass is the whole game right now -- work creature baits, craws, and worms in green colors anywhere you find it, top to bottom of the lake. A swimbait in shad or bluegill colors will get bit around the same grass if you'd rather cover water.

Get out early and there's still a legitimate frog bite going, mostly midlake where bass are schooled up in the grass -- that bite won't last forever, so enjoy it while it's here.