As of this report though, we finally have our first real cold front. As the water gets colder expect the fishing to slow down a bit for the average angler. One reason that I like to throw a drop shot for bed fish is because it allows me to continually move and work the bait without actually moving the sinker and pulling it off of the nest. Fish baits that are fast moving, throw off a lot of vibration, or have some flash to them. A crankbait such as a Storm Wiggle wart or Spro Rock Crawler in a crawfish color is an excellent bait to cover water with and quickly work a rocky shoreline. The exception though is if the bank has things like stumps, concrete anchor blocks (for docks/ marinas), grass, or brush. Creature baits rigged on a Texas rig are a great way to trick them into biting! This past week I have fished both the upper and lower end of Lake Travis. I know I sound like a broken record, but I throw a drop shot with success year around on Lake Travis. The fish are post-spawn at this point so they will be making their way back out to the main lake and feeding up. Lake Austin's current water temperature is 62F Todays forecast is, Clear With a high around 92F and the low around 51F. Best Lake Travis Parks. I would love to help you out in doing the same as well with yours so take your kids fishing today Bryan Cotter Texas Hawgs, Thank goodness for the much needed rain that we have been receiving! Im generally going to start looking for fish in the 20 ft range during this time of year. Days with no wind, high barometric pressure and sunny skies will make fish move a little deeper and hold tight to cover. If you are not seeing fish busting on bait, get your casts close to structure such as the sides of docks or behind boats. Lake Travis Fuel Docks After an unusually cold winter, the fish are ready for a warm up! Instead, we have been targeting grass edges and shallow sloping rocky banks close to spawning areas. Jul 1, 2009. But honestly my favorite fishing comes in April when the shad spawn. With that said, focusing on the 10-20 foot depth range has been the most productive. Bluff walls near the mouths of spawning coves can also hold a lot of fish early in the pre-spawn phase. . I love these since I can cast them far, feel the bottom easily and they dont get snagged too easily. March is always a special month on Lake Travis as it is when a major transition in the lake occurs. If you have a chance go wet at line on Lake Travis! Lake Travis average April sea temperature Max: 23.6C / 72.1F Avg: 20.6C / 69.1F Min: 17.7C / 66.2F These figures are calculated from several years of recorded data and are the maximum, minimum and average temperatures of all the recorded years Average April sea temperatures C F Feb Mar Apr May Jun 0C 10C 20C 30C Lets start with pre-spawn. The second, to fish for bass that are using staging locations. Ledges With summer approaching the water temps are in the mid 70s and rising. This year they have been in the mid 50s with exception of right after that last winter storm we had. During these periods of the day you can find bass patrolling marinas that sit over deep water. Our weather has a tendency to stay hot for a while longer, so the true fall fishing bite is a few weeks out. For those of you with a boat headed out to the lake, consider checking out my Honey Hole Reports. I think the biggest fish of the year spawn first. I also mentioned swimbaits and Alabama Rigs. Now is a great time to book a trip! The water on Travis has cleared quite a bit since the flood, but if you can find some dirty water, you can catch fish flipping cover much shallower than in other parts of the lake. Sometimes you catch two fish at once with it! I also break down each spot with info on what baits to throw, colors to pick, conditions to look for, how to position your boat, what time of day to fish it, etc. For the most part though I stick with a drop shot, a Texas Rig, and a Carolina Rig. In addition to this, cuts and secondary points close to the mouth of a spawning cove, docks, and rock piles in the same area will also hold fish. 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. I should note, I also throw this bait a lot in red and orange as well, to imitate crawfish. At this time in 2020 . The fish are still very much in a wintertime pattern, but you can still have some great days on the water! Be dynamic this time of year. Also, I might focus on very main lake bluff type areas. Im looking to those warming trends as the critical hour for big fish potential. Bonus tip: When its windy, look for sharp mud lines, they make for great ambush points. Small swimbaits and spoons that imitate the threadfin shad they are feeding on work well to trick them into biting. If we have several more cold fronts it could push back the spawn. Spring means everything is green, the bass are getting ready to spawn, and the fishing is about to bust loose! The first two baits are my search baits when I first pull up on a ledge or point after finding the fish with the electronics. If its sunny and clear out, Ill move to a suspended-type presentation like my drop shot of mini carolina rig. Schooling Fish Fish slow and really pay attention to the feel of the bait hitting the bottom. A bright colored bait lets you see it disappear in their mouth easily. Green pumpkin speed craws are an excellent option. These fishing reports are different from the free reports you get here! However, the top part of the water column is the most prone to temperature fluctuations. Catching them will soon be on more moving baits such as spinner baits, crank baits, swimbaits, etc. For coves like this stick to the points and nearby shorelines. These hold fish almost year round. If you are planning on fishing visible cover, look for areas that receive direct sunlight. We stared seeing action pretty quick with most of our bites coming in the 20-30 foot depth. The majority of the fish I have been targeting are still pre-spawn. 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. I have been using my electronics lately to graph for these fish, and have found schools as big as 40+ fish. As long as you stick to the main river channel, watch for hazard buoys, and keep your lake map up while driving, its still a very safe lake even as low as it is. This normally means slowing way down with your presentation or going with a bait that will trigger reaction strikes. Medium Diving Crankbait Even from day to day what the bass want to bite can change. There are many areas on Lake Travis that you can see 25 ft down (to the bottom) and this really affects how fish are caught now and in the coming months. My biggest piece of advice this time of year is to get out early while its cool, avoid the weekends when its busy, and pack lots of cold drinks! These threadfin shad feed on plankton and are moving in search of that. I do know that access to freshwater and sunlight are important for the spawn. Secondary points are points underwater further away from a primary point, often separated by a flat. This time of year can hold some very good fishing! Overall, the climate of the Lake Travis and Lake Austin area is temperate with mild winters and relatively low humidity. I especially like the drop shot when fishing around docks as you can effectively fish it close to the docks.