lake travis water temperature april

Best fishing hours are early morning and late evening in low light conditions. Now is a great time to book a trip! Windblown areas can also be great as they congregate bait fish and other prey species. Does Travis County rent boats, sailboats or jet skis? These are the places fish will pull up to in order to stage before making a move to spawn. These are all excellent options when trying to match the shad the bass are feeding on. There is no central/single point of access. Lake Travis Test Station | Weather (utexas.edu) Public Boat Ramp Information Water Recreation and Safety TPWD Weekly Fishing Reports Water Quality 1996 - 2023 - Lower Colorado River Authority I think its a common misconception that the fishing is bad in the winter just because its colder. Try throwing a bright colored bait directly onto their nest to trigger them into striking it. Come December through February the fishing will slow down a bit as the fish get more lethargic. Evenings Additionally the White Bass are moving up to spawn, and with the low lake levels I have found them spawning in unusual places. You can catch them right on the bank out to 35-40 feet of water. Topwater Baits: a chrome pop-r or bone colored spook are great topwater options that will allow you to cover a lot of water. If its windy or I want to get the bait a little deeper I will opt for the hook with the belly weight. Use braid that is white or yellow as it is easier to see. I personally like starting with moving baits in order to cover more water, plus I find it more fun than fishing slow and easier for clients to tell when they are bit. The average rainfall is about 32 inches of rain a year, which means the sun shines more than 300 days a year. There are more of these below the water line, and this is where the fish congregate. I put a lot of work into these reports and share all the info on how Im catching fish with my clients. Finesse jigs, shakey heads and drop shots are also baits I will have tied on this time of year, especially on those days the fish are being a bit finicky and want something small and slow moving presented to them. A quick tip is to look for Blue Herons and Egrets, these birds feed on the shad and are a dead giveaway to the presence of bait fish. Now with that being said the bite has begun to slow up a bit with the warming water. Water Level. Understanding what is going on beneath the surface of the lake, not only with largemouth bass, but also with the other species of fish in the lake, can help you become a better angler. 639.82 ft updated 6:00 AM. Flukes: A Zoom fluke in a shad color rigged weightless or on a Owner twist lock hook with a small belly weight can be deadly fished up shallow. For the topwater spook I work this a little faster giving it a walk the dog action while pausing it every 5-6 feet. We decided to just fish deep today and fish very slow. We get far more bites using compact baits, especially when the fish arent extremely active. Moving baits such as swimbaits and crankbaits is about to get good so keep trying those to get some good bites. Water temps throughout the winter have been cold. As far as baits go, I recommend a dropshot with a small straight tail worm such as a Roboworm, a Texas rig with a curl tail power worm, or a Carolina rig with a creature bait such as a lizard or baby brush hog. For these baits stick to natural colors like green pumpkin or watermelon. Its no secret the tournament was won on surface baits (see video). These hold fish almost year round. Written by Professional Austin fishing guide, tournament angler and owner of Torwicks Guiding Service, Tyler Torwick. Largemouth build nests up shallow in areas protected from the wind and waves. If you fish Lake Travis often this can be the difference between having a good trip every once and a while, to consistently going out and catching fish. Every now and then you will get a nice bonus bite with a striper latching on! I can cut your learning curve of fishing Lake Travis in half but dont take my word for it, check my reviews online! We will also cover bait selection, colors I like to throw, how to rig your gear, but most importantly the why behind all of that. A slowly rising lake level and a surface temperature hovering at 65 degrees have created some outstanding bass fishing on Lake Travis. Wind breaks up light penetration through the water and causes it to refract making it a little more difficult for the bass to get a good look at your bait. Currently water clarity is 5-10 feet depending on what end of the lake you are on. Due to this then move out deep seeking cooler water. We have been fishing ledges and drops in the 20-35ft depth and having to fish very SLOW Without going in to great detail the heavy soft plastics, jigs, a-rigs, and slab spoons have been the go to baits this winter for most of us. When the moving bait bite is good I like to tie on a red/ orange squarebill, a white spinnerbait, a 4 Keitech on an underspin head, or a fluke rigged on a belly weighted hook. If you see fishing jumping you need to be quick and accurate. There is more deep water current which transports cool water and oxygen. Hot water holds less dissolved oxygen and is also less appealing to largemouth bass, they would prefer cooler temps. A trick worm in Green Pumpkin or Red Bug is an excellent soft plastic to throw this time of year. Fishing has been getting good and will only get better until it gets really cold! Bass will move from the creek/ river channel to feed up shallow. Boat traffic is at an all time high, especially on weekends which can also be detrimental to the bite. If you can hit the fish on the head with your bait right after they jump, you will get bit almost every time. Fish live deep on this lake all year, so catching them in 20 feet of water right now is not uncommon at all. Let me break down the bite I have been on in two ways, fishing shallow and fishing deep. I especially like the drop shot when fishing around docks as you can effectively fish it close to the docks. I find a deep diving jerkbait like a Megabass Vision 110 +2 to be a great option to trick them into biting. When I get solo clients or groups with only two anglers weve been catching a lot of fish off beds. When bass are on a nest they become very territorial. I typically start with a brown craw color this time of year, but if Im not getting bit on it I will quickly switch to a shad pattern. Your guide to Lake Travis Fishing. I recommend graphing these areas and paying attention to your 2D sonar and side scan to identify where the fish are positioned. Look for areas up shallower where there is deep water nearby. The lake is about to explode though with warmer weather on the way so its a great time to get out and on the fish. As they leave their post spawn homes, the bass will begin moving deeper and relating to steeper bluffs. Tight lines and have a great July! I mostly stick to crawfish patters, browns, oranges, and reds are all very good colors. While not our target species theyre a blast to catch! Spring is right around the corner! During this time of year I rely heavily on electronics to help me find the fish and not waste time fishing empty water. Flukes can be deadly as they represent the migratory baitfish and can be color matched to be even more effective. Look for small white circles on the bottom of the lake bed, this is where the male bass has cleaned away the sediment to make a suitable place for a female to lay their eggs. Currently there are three patterns that I am focusing on to catch the majority of our fish. Make long casts up forward of your boat and get close to the shoreline. The bite on Lake Travis has been great and will only get better for the next month! These baits and rocks dont mix, so do not let it hit the bottom. From year to year your favorite honey hole could be high and dry, or 30 feet underwater! Top Bassmaster Tournament Lures on Lake Travis (slide show), Its May and the fishing is really strong on Lake Travis. Then find shallow water closest to that! If you luck out and get on the lake when there is little wind, bed fishing is a blast since you can see the fish very easily. Jun 30, 2009. (Photo: @MikeyTantalo) Aug. 2022. When you take a good look at the size of Lake Travis, this large water mass is quite impressive. I have been catching fish out deep on deep diving crankbaits, and as the water gets even hotter, more fish will begin that migration. Right now you can get bit fishing around docks on bluff walls in 15-30 feet of water. I completely disagree! Coves will be an important place to look for the next few weeks until winter really sets in. During the heat of summer I find there is usually a short period of time when Lake Travis fishes tough. Ideally I want the front of the docks to be sitting over about 40 feet of water, too deep and these areas are tough to fish. I believe that starting your fishing trip early in the morning this time of year seems to yield more bites and fish. Transitional areas are important during this time of the year. First off, while we are experiencing this cold front expect the bite to change and the fish to react to it. For this type of fishing there are four baits that are my go-tos, but there are plenty of others that will work. For the shaky head worm, I am using a 4 zoom finesse worm in green pumpkin. If youve been wanting to get out of the house and catch some fish, visit my website and book a trip! You can catch some fish on topwaters using a walking bait like a spook throwing over trees in 5-12 foot of water and over and near rock piles or cliffs to get some good bites. Pictured below is a healthy Lake Travis bass caught on an a-rig on a deep ledge in February. These fish rebound very quickly and will continue to feed until winter. When the fish are like this I approach them in two ways. All fishing trips include rods, reels, tackle, and a cooler of cold bottled waters. I dont want to have my boat positioned too far back into the creeks. If its sunny and clear out, Ill move to a suspended-type presentation like my drop shot of mini carolina rig. Oftentimes, early in the morning, you can find bass chasing shad feeding up for the day. I look for banks where there isnt a super steep drop off, but I do want to find deep water (15+ feet) fairly close by. Torwicks Guiding Service, Tyler Torwick. Weve definitely noticed that the bite is better near the lower end of the reservoir, meaning closer to the dam. Lake Lyndon B. Johnson's water temperature & fishing We have been catching the majority of my fish on drop shot flukes, on spinning tackle, in 10-20 ft of water. Visiting Lake Travis | A Lake Travis Vacation Guide With these hot temperatures naturally comes warmer water temps, which is one of the number one things to affect fish and how the behave. For the drop shot, Im using a zoom fluke in the albino color. On days when the fish dont want to commit to a moving bait bite, slowing down with finesse techniques can be very productive. We just happened to pull up on the right school of fish at the right time feeding. Winds are out of the SSE at 8mph, with wind gusts of 17mph. Water temperature is one of the biggest factors in understanding how bass behave and where they go throughout the year. Deep docks with numerous cross members and a low platform are probably the best. I recommend starting at the mouths of coves and working your way inside. With the water being so clear, stick to natural colors like green pumpkin and watermelon. Im looking to those warming trends as the critical hour for big fish potential. Football jigs and finesse jigs with a craw style trailer work very well and tend to draw larger bites. A Strike King 6XD or 10XD, depending on the depth, is a great bait to cover water and get down to these schools of fish. If you notice the majority of your bites come on the pause, fish even slower! Ive seen it as low as 61 degrees recently though. The process begins with the fish finder, your underwater eyes. Focus on rocky areas outside of places you have found bass historically spawning. Humidity is close to 71%. I am now looking at primary points at the front of the spawning creeks with a deep water channel swing nearby. Bone or any translucent colored bait that mimics the color of a threadfin shad will get bit. Hit them with a fast moving reaction bait, they follow up with a more subtle plastic. Happy New Year everyone! The second pattern I recommend is focusing on structure. A slower retrieve with your baits such as the drop shot or jig will work best on those hot days when the bite is slower. Play around with the cadence, but I find a 2-3 second pause between twitches to be sufficient. There are a couple things you can expect. Until the water temps drop a considerable amount, a slow presentation with your soft plastics will work best. A Rapala DT-10 or a Storm Wiggle wart are two good options. Lake Travis in April : r/Austin - Reddit During the fall bass eat a lot of shad, however they still continue to feed on bluegill and crawfish. Until then, you are best off targeting pre-spawn fish. Host a fundraising event. The dog days of summer are here and its hot out! This type of transition is the first area deep schools of bait fish will pull up from, moving out of the creek channel toward shallower water. https://www.torwicksguidingservice.com/honeyholes. The average number of fish caught per trip has been exceptional lately. The majority of the fish I have been targeting are still pre-spawn. This is favorable to them and directly relates to the places they live during these colder months. Austin's Rainey Street revelers weigh in on possible serial killer Personally I love throwing topwater since it is so much fun seeing the fish hit it on the surface! With Lake Travis water temps in the upper 80s the fishing is changing a bit from the last fishing repoort. Lake Travis has a ton of bluff walls, but not all of them are created equal. Fish the bait slow and really try to get a feel for the bottom. Water clarity is great as always; expect to find visibility 5-10 feet on the lower end of the lake, and slightly less as you get further up river, especially past the split. Do you fish Lake Travis often but unsure where to fish? Lake Austin's water temperature & fishing - LakeMonster.com Its February and you know what that means! On days when we get some cloud cover and especially wind you can catch a lot of fish throwing crankbaits, swimbaits, and Alabama rigs. 6,013 Readers. This time of year can be very productive! I prefer the crankbait and Alabama rig when there is a little bit of wind or cloud cover, I find those conditions help. Fish will not bee line it back into the coves, they will move to the mouths of the coves and stage before actually building a nest. Lake Travis Fishing Report - April 2019 There are exceptions like when there is a warming trend and the fish will move up shallow to feed. The link above is a great video I filmed last year teaching you how to fish a crankbait this way. Lake Travis is a gorgeous manufactured reservoir on the Colorado River, northwest of lively Austin, Texas. This year I am making an effort to produce more videos for yall! But a senko? Once you get a bite, take advantage of the feeding frenzy it can often trigger. Check me out online at www.torwicksguidingservice.com. For the Texas rig I recommend a senko rigged on a small tungsten bullet weight. TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas - The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is investigating a deadly hit-and-run crash in Southeast Austin. The Colorado River and Highland Lakes - LCRA - Energy, Water, Community Why does Lake Travis smell bad? | KXAN Austin weather If you are interested to know more about catching bass off a nest, visit the Article page of my website. Consider booking a trip with me! Austin, Texas 78703. Once you see water temperatures down in the high fifties you can expect the bite to slow. So it begs the questions, why do they do that? As for the fluke, I like to rig this on an Owner twist lock hook and make long casts with it. You may also get more aggressive with your approach and hop the bait more erratically and even try to bump the bait into the fishs nose. Updated: 12:52 PM CDT April 21, 2021. An underspin is just a swimbait lead head that has a small willow blade attached to the bottom of it. They can still find your lure, but I find it makes them a little less discerning and more likely to attach a fast flashy moving bait like an Umbrella Rig. THE ULTIMATE LAKE EXPERIENCE OPENING MAY 13 A Revolutionary Floating Water Park, Challenge Course and Private Island Getaway! During the summer the warm water and sunlight provide ideal conditions for plankton blooms and an ample food source for these hungry shad. A good indication of this is if you follow my Instagram account and see me posting a lot of photos from my trips at Lake Decker! Once you catch a fish off a nest, please return them to the lake quickly. Until the water gets really hot and summer gets here you can expect to have good fishing up shallow. Austin pumps highest amount of water, so far this year. The angle of the bank also makes a difference. For this though, I will throw colors like Smoke or Natural Shad. If you follow my reports you know Spring is my favorite time of year to fish. Currently the thermocline on Lake Travis is around 40 feet deep. Sunken speedboat now points skyward after Lake Mead water level drops. These two baits are perfect for putting numbers in the boat. Strategy 2 requires a stable weather pattern, and cold fronts will limit you to Strategy 1. When it comes to pre-spawn bass there are a lot of lures you can throw, but I will limit it to my top three baits: a Medium diving crankbait, a jerkbait, and an Alabama Rig. Bass tend to spawn in waves, with fish moving up at different times throughout the spring. Winds are out . When bass are suspended the $10,000 worth of fishing electronics I have my boat rigged up with are crucial. Drop shots and shaky head worms have been doing well for me. If you are out there early either fishing from your boat, or at your marina getting ready for a fun lake weekend, have a rod at the ready rigged up with a small 3 swimbait smaller the better. If you would like to get out on the water or learn how to fish the lake more effectively give me a call or book online via my website! This has definitely had an impact on the bass spawn . Lets not forget about the white bass run that is taking place farther up lake (up river) and the crappie that will soon be showing up in the shallows and the marinas to spawn. This is especially nice as I am able to return to a spot multiple times during the week without wearing it out. The water on Travis is getting pretty clear now but you still cant see fish on beds in deeper water like 15-20 just yet. Fishing improves as lake level, water temperature rises - Lake Travis Of the various styles of topwater lures a classic spook is my favorite. It seems the August key depth zone is about 25 ft. Look for ledges and points that are close to a creek channel and you will likely find these fish. Areas like this are natural places for bass to congregate since its typically the only ambush spot on the bottom in these areas. The deeper you go the cooler the water is and the less it is prone to fluctuating with cool evenings or scorching afternoons. Lake Austin's current water temperature is 62F Todays forecast is, Clear With a high around 92F and the low around 51F. During the summer the bass spend a lot of time just hanging out in small schools. When fishing though I am always looking for the banks made up of rock as the bass like hard bottoms, plus all this rock attracts other species like sunfish, bluegills, crawfish, various species of minnows, and sometimes shad. I would love to get you out on the water and educate you on how to catch these fish, that way you are successful the next time you are out on the lake by yourself. Lee Benton Fishing Guides Austin, Ready or not summer is here! Lake Travis Water Levels Are Way Down Due To Drought. May in particular is one of my favorite months! Once you have found some fish, or pulled up on your favorite spot, there are a couple baits I recommend you have tied on. . Once they go back down you are kind of just blind casting. This is where the ned rig and the drop shot come into play. Big fish become very migratory and predictable, while smaller fish can be found in the backs of creeks, year round. During April when the water warms to the right temperature the shad move up shallow on gravel banks and around docks to lay their eggs. Be quick though. Lake Travis Marinas In this video I cover my top 5 baits to have tied on. With a new course configuration this season, Lake Travis Waterloo Adventures offers . Shad patterns work well too, but something about a crawfish colored crankbait bumping along the bottom kicking up sand and silt just triggers those bass into biting. Spring means everything is green, the bass are getting ready to spawn, and the fishing is about to bust loose! Look for structure that provides an ambush point for a bass to attack their prey. If you intend to stay in the water for a while a thin shorty wetsuit will suffice. On cold bluebird sky days you really need to force yourself to slow down and give your bait long pauses. This time of year I recommend having an Alabama Rig, a jerkbait, and a medium diving crankbait tied on. Lake Travis has an abundance of deep points and deep ledges. I especially like it if there is a little wind blowing into the area I am fishing. Nonetheless, the runoff it produces tends to make the lake more stained, also the bottom up river has more mud and dirt, whereas the lower end of the lake is more limestone, rock, and sand. When I get younger children in the boat the trolling bite has been the ticket lately. In some areas of the lake right now there is a lot of grass growing along the bottom. Fish Deep! However, this is just a ballpark figure and there are always exceptions. Focus on rocky shorelines that are not super steep. (With that said, some of the absolute best fishing I have ever experienced on Travis has been during the winter.). I promise you will not find a guide in Austin with a better boat! 3700 Lake Austin Blvd. A speedboat remains vertical and almost on dry land at Lake Mead. The tail end of the shad spawn is still going on, so pay attention to the shorelines early in the morning for signs of this. Please note, the tide times given are not suitable for navigational purposes. The lakes have provided a reliable water supply for Central Texas since Lake Travis was completed in the 1940s. Knowing when a thermocline is present can help significantly in figuring out how deep to fish. This is one of the absolute best places to have Garmin Panoptix in your boat. April 2023. During this phase of the spawn they make a migration from their winter deep water homes, to areas close to spawning coves and flats. Alternate between these baits as you figure out which one the fish have a greater preference towards. You will find schools of baitfish making a slow migration back into the coves, which in turn attracts bass. Related Links: Swimbait: A 3 or 4 inch paddle tail swimbait in a silver or white color is another excellent option. Both of these lures can be very effective this time of year. Several bass over 8 pounds were caught and a bunch over 4 pounds. Some days you can even find some good ones on top waters. Early in the mornings and late in the evenings there has been a solid topwater bite. . If you know anything at all about Lake Travis then you know the lake is quite low right now. Lake Travis Lodging During the winter time the lake has no thermocline and the water is cold from the bottom of the lake to the top of the lake. Water temperatures are currently between 67-69 degrees, but with temps forecasted in the 80s all next week I expect to see temps finally get over 70. 11,848 Readers. A slower retrieve gets more bites in my opinion. There are several ways I have figured out how to catch them and have produced some very big limits this way. More shallow sloping banks are what I recommend you focus your time fishing right now. Spring is here and the fishing on Lake Travis has been fantastic. In addition to my normal guided trips I also offer what I call Coaching Trip geared solely towards teaching you how to become a better angler. Lately I have been fishing certain areas of the lake following this pattern, targeting bass anywhere between 15-40 feet deep. Look for more gradual banks that have rock, stumps, brush, or grass on them the more of these things the better. Fall is a close second to springtime for me as the numbers of fish you catch are excellent, and later in the fall you start to see lots of big fish being caught. I recommend starting off with a small profile shad colored crankbait, a 4 paddle tail swimbait rigged weedless, or a Alabama Rig with small 3-4 paddle tail swimbaits. Well, its to follow their food source! Look for points and drains close to spawning coves with deep water nearby. While the weather may be hot, the bite can sometimes be just as hot! Of course, the early and late bite are the times that you want to capitalize on. Lake Austin is a popular spot for boating and fishing, as it has a massive population of bass, many of which weigh over 10 lbs. By this time the bass have begun spawning and will continue to do so the rest of the month. Currently water clarity on Lake Travis is around 4-5 feet depending on the part of the lake youre on. I recommend this style hook as opposed to a lead head in order to prevent snags. We are now officially in the heat of the Summer. To know if you should be looking for bed fish or be targeting pre-spawn fish, keep any eye on the water temps. Predator species like bass will move into the coves to follow their food source. A green pumpkin Zoom baby brush hog is an excellent choice right now. You can cover water quickly, you can trigger reaction baits by choosing a bait that will bump into the rocks on the bottom, and the come in tons of realistic colors. Casting up near the back of the docks near the staircases is always a good spot! Fall fishing is a blast, not only can you catch them on a variety of patterns but I typically see high numbers and a larger average size fish. If you are interested in booking a trip with me, visit my website via www.torwicksguidingservice.com and click that Book Online tab! Not all marinas are created equal, but certain ones are holding large schools of baitfish, which attracts predator fish such as largemouth bass and white bass. As it gets colder I will continue going further and further into the backs of coves. The water temperature on Lake Travis is in the high 50s to low 60s, so pretty warm compared to the rest of the country this time of year! April is one of my favorite months to guide because here in Central Texas that is when the Shad spawn. Knowing how to determine when a thermocline is present is something I cover during my guided trips. It is subtler moving, as they dont have lots of appendages flapping around. While I prefer throwing moving baits, sometimes slowing down will do the trick. Time of day and wind direction may have a temporary local effect as can water flows from neraby rivers. You can find these by using your side scan sonar, or even just looking on Google Earth at old satellite imagery from when the lake was low. Watch for a tick in the line or it to stop falling prematurely; if you see anything odd lift your rod tip and feel for pressure if you feel anything weird dont forget hook sets are free. Cold water slows the fishs metabolism and they are less likely to feed on an erratically moving bait. Purchase a Honey Hole Report Look for bright spots on the bottom where the male bass has cleared away sediment from the rock with his tail. Once the sun has come up and it has gotten hot again the fish tend to move fairly deep. 20-35 feet of water is where I have been finding the most fish. This time of year I will focus on points and ledges close to the mouth of coves. If you are new to Lake Travis and want to learn to fish the lake more effectively, consider booking a trip with me! The fishing out there has been consistently good and we havent even had a big cold front to cool things off. Sometimes you come across areas where there is a lot of it on the bottom, this is when I will switch to a shallow diving crank such as a squarebill in order to avoid it. Texas rigged creature baits, football jigs, shakey heads and drop shots are all effective baits. Consider purchasing one today! Small movements, long pauses, and constant bottom contact are key. Lake Travis Test Station | Weather - University of Texas at Austin Well, there are several things I like to throw, but lets go with my top three. I do not have any weekends open in March, however I do have a very limited number of weekday spots open. Give it a watch! If you look around some of the deeper ledges and points, there are a lot of fish suspended and you can catch a few of these using jigging spoons. Shallow areas near deep water are especially good places to look as this is the first place fish will move out of that deeper water to in order to hunt for food.

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