Lake Travis
Lake Travis is located in the western part of Austin, Texas. It was constructed back in 1942 by LCRA to contain flood waters in the area since we are prone to flash flooding. It is also used for generating electrical power and recreation. The lake has been known to fluctuate up and down nearly 100’ over the years. Historically the highest level the lake has been was 710 feet above sea level on December 25, 1991. The lowest Lake Travis has been was 614ft above sea level back in 1991. The lake is considered full at 681 and has 30 square miles of surface area. This body of water has the largest water storage capacity of the seven reservoirs known as the Highland Lakes. Lake Travis stretches 65 miles up the Colorado river to the Starcke dam in Burnet County. Even though majority of people use the lake for recreational boating, the lake offers some very good fishing. Here you will find largemouth bass, white bass, striped bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill, gar, carp and a variety of other species. My guide service targets largemouth bass and Guadalupe bass. With miles of rocky shoreline, docks, marinas, brush piles and some vegetation, these bass can be caught a number of ways. My goal is to teach you how fish use different types of cover in the lake and how to be effective in both shallow and deep scenarios. I will teach you how I break down a large body of water and things I look for when choosing an area to fish. I will also teach you about bait migration and seasonal patterns on the lake. Catching fish is for sure fun, but the most important thing is understanding why these fish are located where they are. When you book a trip with me on Lake Travis I can promise that you will leave feeling much more educated on the lake than when you showed up!
Lake Austin
Lake Austin is a section of the Colorado river located just below Mansfield dam. The lake cuts from North West Austin to Southeast Austin. The lake has very few tributaries with the largest being Bull Creek entering around the 360 bridge and Bee Creek entering just above Tom Miller dam at the bottom of the lake. Lake Austin is a constant level lake with a max depth of 75 feet. The lake has been stocked with several species of fish with some record sized bass caught in the last few years. Lake Austin was one of the Texas highland lakes infested with Hydrilla. The lower Colorado river authority would intentionally lower the lake during winter time months in order to kill off the grass to make the lake more navigable for recreational boaters and to keep the grass from filling in around homeowners docks. The city of Austin also introduced a large number of Asian grass carp into the lake to eat the grass and by March 2014 all of the lakes vegetation was gone. The aquatic wildlife suffered severely in this lake but has been rebounding in the last few years. These big bass still live in the lake and there are ways to target them. When you book a trip with me I will show you how I break down this long winding river and what to look for to be successful.
Lake Walter E Long
Lake Walter E Long also known as Decker Lake is a power plant cooling reservoir on Decker Creek in Austin Texas. The lake was built back in 1967 and serves to provide water for turbines used to produce electricity from petroleum based fuels. The lake has been stocked with multiple species over the years including largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, sunfish and catfish. The lake is full of Hydrilla, pondweed, bulrush, waterstar grass, coontail and southern naiad. There is no shortage of vegetation on this lake which makes it a great habitat for fish. It is not uncommon to catch large numbers of fish with a good average size bass around 3 pounds. When you book a trip with me on Lake Walter E Long, my goal is to teach you exactly what I look for when fishing a lake with a lot of vegetation and techniques I use to target the above average bass. I will explain how fish position in and around grass and what bait selections work best for different areas of the lake. I will also go over seasonal patterns and how I effectively use my electronics to find fish. All skill levels are welcome!
Lady Bird Lake
Just below Lake Austin you will find Lady Bird Lake that cuts directly through downtown Austin!. Longhorn dam located on the lower end of the lake was constructed in 1960 to form the lake. The original purpose for the lake was to serve as a cooling pond for the Holly Street power plant. The plant was in operation from 1960 until 2007. The lake is now primarily used for recreation. The fishing on Lady Bird lake is very good. The lake offers a lot of cover including hydrilla, fanwort, big cypress trees lining the bank with overhanging willow and oak trees. Lady Bird Lake has been stocked with largemouth bass, catfish and sunfish. From personal experience out there these fish look extremely healthy and well fed. The lake runs through the heart of downtown Austin and it is always a treat to fish down there. Not to mention some of the bass in there are BIG!! If you are looking for a fishing trip close to town with great sightseeing and good fishing I highly recommend booking me on Lady Bird Lake!
Lower Colorado River
The Colorado river is approximately 862 miles long stretching from Lubbock down to Matagorda Bay on the Texas coast. The river flows from Dawson County through Ballinger, Marble Falls, Lago Vista, Austin, Bastrop, Smithville, La Grange, Columbus, Wharton, and Bay City before it dumps into Matagorda Bay. All of the highland lakes are just sections of the Colorado river. Once the river reaches Lady Bird Lake at Longhorn dam it becomes extremely shallow with heavy current. This heavy current is present year round even with minimal flows from Longhorn Dam. There are limited access points to get on the river due to most of the banks being private property. On the river you will find thick beds of hydrilla, hyacinth plant, heavy brush piles or log jams, big lay downs with heavy current pushing in creating big mats, fields of chunk rock and many more types of cover. Many sections of the river are 1 feet or less with long tapering sand bars dropping off into deep pools making for some textbook bass fishing. Fish tend to hang around current breaks and grass lines where they can ambush bait coming down the current without spending much energy. Most of my clients tend to book the Lower Colorado river trip because of its unique characteristics and the ability to fish more aggressive techniques. These bass down here have some shoulders on them and feed heavily. Bigger fish prefer large crawfish making the jig bite excellent. These waters are also home to the state fish of Texas the Guadalupe bass! This fish can only be found in Texas and is a bucket list fish for most anglers. I have a custom built 18' heavy duty aluminum riverboat with a large 4 stroke Yamaha jet outboard that excels out here in these harsh conditions. I am extremely knowledgeable when it comes to fishing this off the beaten path fishery and I highly recommend booking a trip sometime. This place is nothing short of an adventure!