Latest Texas Fishing Reports for the Austin Area

After a fast morning on Lake Austin, we ran the second half of the double-header out at Lake Bastrop for the afternoon and evening. The bite there was a different story - slow and grind-it-out - but we stayed patient, put 10 bass in the boat and missed a handful of other bites along the way. On a tough afternoon, that's honest work.

And it was TOUGH conditions: water temperatures ran in the mid to upper 90s across the lake and hit 103 degrees in the discharge. That's bathwater. Bastrop is a power-plant lake, and while that warm water keeps the bass biting all winter long, in the heart of a Texas summer it stacks heat on top of heat - the fish get sluggish through the afternoon and make you earn every bite until things start cooling off in the evening.

The bites we got came on the same family of baits that worked in the morning: soft plastic creature baits in those darker green colors, plus a shaky head rigged with a watermelon candy trick worm. When the fishing gets that tough, the shaky head is hard to beat - a slow, subtle worm wiggling in place will draw a strike from bass that won't chase anything else, and watermelon candy fit the finesse game perfectly.

Two lakes in one day is a fun way to do it - a numbers morning on Lake Austin and a technical evening on Bastrop is a full education in Central Texas bass fishing. And keep this lake in your back pocket: once fall and winter roll around, that same hot discharge water turns Bastrop into one of the best cold-weather bass bites in the region. Call or text and let's set up your trip.

What a morning of bass fishing on Lake Austin. My clients and I got after them early and the bite never really let up - we boated right around four dozen largemouth bass, with the better fish pushing up to 3 pounds. When the catching is that steady, everybody in the boat stays busy, and that's exactly the kind of morning this lake can produce when you're on the right stuff.

The pattern was all about soft plastics. We caught them on creature baits, worms and a small swimbait, but the creature bait was the clear MVP of the day. Color mattered more than usual too: watermelon purple flake, watermelon magic, green pumpkin magic and green pumpkin purple-and-green flake all got bit, while brighter stuff went ignored. The common thread was those darker greens - if it looked like something subtle crawling along the bottom, a Lake Austin bass wanted to eat it.

That's typical of this lake in late summer. Lake Austin's clear, grass-filled water grows bass that get a good look at everything you throw, so natural greens that match the vegetation almost always outfish the loud colors. Work a creature bait slow around the grass edges and docks right now and you're going to get bites.

September is one of my favorite stretches on Lake Austin - the crowds thin out, the mornings cool off, and the bass feed up ahead of fall. If a 40-fish morning ten minutes from downtown Austin sounds like your kind of day, give me a shout and let's get you on the water.

Beautiful late-summer morning on the upper end of Lake Austin with some repeat clients I hadn't seen in a while, and we picked up right where we left off. One of them brought his wife and kids along, and the kids were catching largemouth bass right alongside the adults — a family fishing trip where everyone gets bent rods always makes for a great day on the water.

With water temperatures running 69–73 degrees on the upper end, soft plastic creature baits were the ticket for this Lake Austin bass fishing trip, and everyone on the boat put fish in the net. The first bass of the morning got things started, and the bite turned on strong from there. It seemed like every time someone boated a bass, they'd pitch right back to the same spot and hook another one — when the fish are grouped up like that, the action stays fast for kids and first-timers as well as the seasoned anglers.

Another great guided bass fishing trip on Lake Austin with Texas Hawgs! If you're looking for an Austin fishing guide for largemouth bass — whether it's a family outing or a serious day of bass fishing — the late-summer bite is on. Book your trip and let's get you on some fish.

Great day on Lake Austin with my clients. They started catching right away and it lasted a while before slowing down. The bass ate up the Texas-rigged creature baits. They were rigged with a light weight so they easily flowed through the grass. The bass were holding along the grass edges all across the lake in 8-12 feet of water.

It was beautiful out this morning, with a rainstorm just south of us and a little lightning show to boot. When the clouds finally moved away and the sun popped out it warmed up some, but the trip was almost over by then, so it stayed nice and cool most of the morning. It didn't hurt either after catching almost 40 bass.

Hit Lake Austin for the morning and it was a great day. Skipped around trying to figure out where the bass were piled up and found a few spots. One small spot gave up 15 pounds in 4 fish on 5 flips - the biggest pushing 6 pounds, backed by a 4, a 3 and a 2. Most fish were in small packs out in the middle of the lake, with a few more along the docks and rocks. Best lures were straight worms and creature baits, plus a small swimbait that only worked early, before the sun got up.

15 pounds in 4 fish - on 5 flips

Mornings are starting to cool off a little, but the days are still hitting triple digits. That will change soon, and the bass fishing should only get better from here on out. If you are looking to catch some bass, now is a great time to book your trip. And with the fall and winter holidays coming, a gift certificate makes a great gift for that special someone. It is also a great time to get the kids out - nothing beats the smile on their face when they land one. Good times with Texas Hawgs!

Nice day on Lake Travis with a dad and his two boys — the bass were a bit scattered, but we managed to get everyone on fish. We caught them along docks, retaining walls, and flats anywhere from 5 feet deep out to 30. In some spots that deeper water was right beside the shore, and both the Guadalupe bass and largemouth bass were sitting right on that edge.

Texas-rigged worms in green pumpkin with purple and green flakes were the best choice on this Lake Travis bass fishing trip, with watermelon candy picking up fish as well. We covered a lot of water and caught bass pretty much everywhere we went — just a few in each spot with the fish spread out — but that kept things moving, and everyone on the boat caught fish and had fun. That's what a family fishing trip is all about.

Another fun guided fishing trip on Lake Travis with Texas Hawgs! If you're looking for a Lake Travis fishing guide for largemouth and Guadalupe bass — especially a trip the kids will love — the late-summer bite is going strong. Book your trip and let's get out there.

Nice day on Lake Travis with a group of five aboard. It started out a little slow, but the bite picked up after a bit and everyone was catching fish — it turned into a very nice day on the water. Nothing too big, but they were all decent-sized bass, and steady action for a full boat is hard to beat.

The fish were in deeper water today, averaging around 20 feet, with some pushed right up on the bank — usually in areas where a flat had deeper water close by. Texas-rigged worms were the best bait by far on this Lake Travis bass fishing trip. One of the group got himself a very nice Guadalupe bass, with several other fat ones mixed in along the same stretch — even the Guads were smacking those worms pretty good.

Another fun guided bass fishing trip on Lake Travis with Texas Hawgs! If you're after largemouth and Guadalupe bass with an Austin-area fishing guide, the late-summer deep bite is producing. Book your trip and come get in on it.

Good day on Travis — at least two dozen largemouth on a half-day trip. The fish never really schooled up, so the topwater bite was slow, but we picked off a few early. The biggest of the day was a 5- to 6-pounder that ate a topwater and threw it halfway back to the boat — that one’s still out there.

Almost everything came tight to the bank: cliff walls, rock veins, and docks. The bait that did the work was a 5″ worm in green pumpkin with green and purple flake, worked slow along the rock. If you’re on Travis this week, fish the shade lines close to shore and let the worm do the talking.

Fished with me recently? A quick Google review is the biggest thank-you there is — leave one here. Ready to get on the water? Book a trip.

Decent day, and an encouraging one. Since the flooding a month ago the fish have been sitting deep, but they’re showing signs of moving back shallow. We saw a lot of bass in the 10–25 foot range, though they only wanted to eat a little way out from the bank, mostly around random trees close to rock.

The morning started on an underspin swimbait and a topwater walking bait, then we went almost all worms once the sun got up. Green pumpkin with different flake colors, or watermelon candy, were the colors they wanted.

The afternoon trip surprised us: the bass were piled up on the walls and we actually caught more in the early afternoon than at first light. Bite was off and on all day, but between the two trips we put right around three dozen bass in the boat, with some nice ones mixed in and a 5-pounder as the best.

Fished with me recently? A quick Google review is the biggest thank-you there is — leave one here. Ready to get on the water? Book a trip.

The lake is now right at or just barely below full. Hasn't been this high since the flood of 2018. It was closed due to flooding for over a week and just opened so I got out there to look around for the trips this week.

First thing I looked at is how much of the new growth was in the water and there's lots of it. Those bass are already moving up into it but not the bigger ones just yet. I banged around some in it and caught some with a frog and a squarebill in shad color but mostly with a fluke stick in the Green Pumpkin / Purple and Green flake. They ate the worm up pretty good.

After fishing a few stretches with this pattern, I moved out to deeper water in 12-25 and caught a couple bigger fish around 3 pounds but the bigger ones wouldn't participate very well after sticking a bait in front of about 15-20 different big ones without a bite.

All in all a fun filled morning with lots of bass up to 3 pounds with a couple schooling bass mixed in. I'd give it a couple more days for the bass to really start eating up good and the topwater bite to pick up to where it normally is this time of year.

Now is the best time to book for the school starting up time and the fall and winter bite about to start. Texas Hawgs!