Lake Travis Update
Julio 28, 2019 Lago Vista 2 fotos
Bass (Striped)
Bass (Striped)
Bass (Largemouth)
Bass (Largemouth)

Trip Summary

So I have been slacking big time... In the last month I have only NOT been on the water 4 days. The lack of reports isn't due to a lack of fishing... its due to a lack of time! Lately I have been fishing Lake Travis and Lake Decker the most. I have hit a few other lakes, but I've got more info for y'all about Travis. Lake Travis Fishing Report Lake Travis is pretty warm right now, I've seen surface temps during the day as high as 88 degrees... those warm water temps will push fish offshore and make them hangout in deep water spots as well as suspend in some areas. Here are my tips for you... Ledges: ledges are almost always good on Lake Travis, however in the summertime they can be especially good. This time of year I want to see fish on the graph before I make a cast when ledge fishing. Use your side scan and downscan and cruise down the ledge with your boat positioned right at the edge. Most of the time those fish will either be right on the top of the the ledge at the edge of it, or suspended right along side it. Pay attention to the depth of it, often times if you find fish at a certain depth, they will favor that depth in other parts of the lake. This all goes into my philosophy of finding a pattern and not fishing "spots". This can also help you decide on where to fish next after fishing that first spot... find other ledges that are similar in depth. I LOVE fishing with electronics, if you have a graph and want to learn how to use it better, book a trip! Another thing this time of year to pay attention to is wind and bait fish. Wind till play a big part in finding where fish are concentrated. Remember, 10% of the lake holds 90% of the fish. Locating those high percentage areas will increase your catch rates. During the summer you will find warm winds coming out of the south. But look at last week, we had that brief cold front come through and the wind direction changed. I pay attention to this and look for bluff walls and points with wind hitting them. With that said, main lake points near really deep water have also been productive. There are two main techniques here. First, position your boat near the bluff wall, but far enough away that your boat is sitting in 50-60 feet of water. Make long casts in front of your boat at about a 45 degree angle. You are trying to maximize the time your bait it fished along the terraces of those bluff walls. A drop shot is a great bait to cover water here. Be patient and let that bait sink... You will catch fish in 40 feet of water all the time. Travis is a deep lake, get used to it. There are plenty of other baits like a jig or a swimbait that will work, but in terms of numbers a drop shot will produce. The next way to fish these bluff walls is to keep your 2D sonar on as you work your way along side them with the drop shot. Periodically I will come across small schools of bass suspended off the deep edges. Typically it seems like they are between 3-10 fish, nothing huge. Keep a jigging spoon tied on. I like a very very small Cotton Cordell spoon in silver. Replace the hook with a slightly larger one in order to help catch those fish swiping at it, and add a swivel. These things will twist up your line bad. I actually prefer fishing it on a spinning rod when over open water that way I can get it down to depth quicker than having to hand line off a baitcaster. Topwater: If you get out on the lake right at first light you can still get on a topwater bite. The topwater bite has been poor this year in my opinion, but it's still there. I see guys posting on Instagam about this great topwater bite... I'm sorry but 2-4 fish in a morning is not a great bite. I want a dozen fish or more! I won't like, nothing beats that surface explosion though. Find those points within coves and throw a bone colored spook. Cover water... I will throw half a dozen casts across the point, then pick up a different bait. Those bigger fish will be the first to hit often times, so be ready! After hitting those points, I will pick apart isolate cover with a Berkley Bullet Pop... it has a good popping and walk the dog action unlike a Pop-R. Cast next to isolated cover and work that bait as close to the cover as you can. Rocks, underwater brush, the corners of docks, stair cases, anything like that is worth a cast and is more likely to hold a bass than just an open stretch of shoreline. Video Gaming: Right now the best bite has been video gaming fish. Bass suspend during the summer and will live around the thermocline. If you adjust your sensitivity up, turn up your colorline, and put your ping speed to max you can usually make out the depth the thermocline as at. I'll save you some time... 30-35' has been the hot spot on Travis. You will find fish above and below it, but this has been the best. Turn your bow graph on and select the bow transducer built into your trolling motor. Adjust your settings to see those fish below you. Marinas, points, break walls... places l
Tyler Torwick
Lago-vista, Texas, United States
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Capt. Tyler with Lake Travis Fishing Guide offers all inclusive guided fishing trips in the Austin area. In business since 2017, Capt. Tyler is a full time guide and tournament angler and spends 250+ days annually on the water. Trips are offered on Lake T...

Other reports from this captain

September 20, 2021 Lake Travis Fishing R
September 20, 2021 Lake Travis Fishing R
Septiembre 20, 2021
Torwick's Guiding Service Fishing Report September 20, 2021 The bite on Lake Travis has been decent lately. With hot weather and warm water temperatures, its pretty typical for the bite to slow a bit. Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen and slows the metabolism of largemouth bass. This doesn't mean that they won't bite, or that you can't have a good day on the water! What it does mean though, is that you have to work a little harder for the fish. During this time of year I tend to move around a lot and run and gun. I am the type of angler who rather move to find fish that will cooperate as opposed to trying a million different baits and colors to get them to bite. Currently Lake Travis is close to 17.5 feet low with water clarity around 8-10 feet on the lower end and 3-4 feet on the upper end. Water temps are around 84-86 degrees, however I did see it as low as 83 degrees the other day early in the morning before the sun came up. Why is that important? Well the end of September is always a transition period here on Lake Travis. This is usually the time of year when the fish start moving and the pattern changes. Those cooler evenings we've been experience are a sign of things to come and tell me that things are about to kick off! I even saw something on the weather channel about the possibility of a cold front next week! That gets me very excited. For this report let's start off with what I recommend fishing if you are getting out there this next week, then we'll talk about what I would have tied on once we start experience cooler fall weather. End of Summer Fishing We are on the verge of fall fishing, but are not quite there yet. Right now the water temps are still warm enough that fish are staying deep. Offshore spots such as secondary points and ledges are a prime place to look. I rely heavily on my graphs for this type of fishing. Schools of bass can still be found in these areas if you put in enough time graphing. I will look for these drop offs and bottom contours that are close to a creek channel. In the case of Lake Travis, being as deep as it is, you could be fishing a secondary point thats around 30 feet deep, but have you boat positioned in 80+ feet of water casting towards the point. Keep in mind places like this attract fish as it gives them the ability to move out to deeper water and suspend, or move up shallower if they want. Weather patterns such as small rain storms, fronts, and cloud cover can all make fish change their behavior on a whim. I keep an eye on the weather and barometric pressure a lot to help me make decisions of how to fish. Here is a helpful website I recommend y'all check out for lake information such as lake temps and the barometer. Lake Travis Test Station Downsizing baits and slowing way down with your presentation can be very effective right now. I have been throwing a lot of drop shots, ned rigs, and small paddle tail swimbaits. For the drop shot and ned rig, fish it slow and make sure you maintain that bottom contact. When the fish are close to the bottom I like these baits since I can keep them in the strike zone a long time and work them subtly to trigger bites from those more finicky fish. Early in the morning, late in the day, or when I find suspended schools of bass, I will throw a small swimbait. A 4" Keitech easy shiner in a shad color rigged on an underspin or a ball head jig retrieved very slowly has been working well. Turn your reel handle slower than you normally would to get more bites. I also like fishing these swimbaits on braid with a long fluorocarbon leader of 8 pound test. Since I am not near the bottom I can get away with the lighter line, and feel it helps get more bites. Just make sure you have your drag set loose enough! (A little tip for you, sometimes I will take scissors and cut off a 1/2 inch of the swimbait head to give it an even smaller profile.) As far as colors of baits go, when it comes to worms I have my staple colors that I rotate through. Green Pumpkin, Watermelon black seed, Red Bug, and Margarita Mutilator are all solid choices. At times I will change things up and experiment with other colors, but start with these if you are unsure what to throw. As for moving baits such as swimbaits, choose baits that resemble threadfin shad. Anything in silver or grey works sell. I use a lot of Keitech baits and they make a ton of great colors that work well. I am not the type of angler who feels you need a certain specific color to get bit. Fishing the Fall Transition As the weather cools and the water temps start to drop into the low 80's and especially the upper 70's, the bite will get good! Did I say good? I meant great! Fall fishing makes guiding a blast for me. Numbers go up, average size increases, its cooler out on the water, and the stupid wakeboard boats aren't out in numbers. If you're really bored, go back through my website and look at previous year's fishing reports from October and November and you'll
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