Fishing report brought to you by Austin, TX Fishing Guide: Tyler Torwick
The fishing on Lake Austin has been very good this past week. February is always a very good month to chase BIG bass as they are pre-spawn this time of year and are beginning to feed more compared to winter. Combine this with the fact the big females have not spawned yet, you put yourself in a very good position to hunt big fish.
Currently water temps are kind of all over the place. I've seen them as low as 52 degrees and as high as 59 degrees. What end of the lake you are on, as well as time of day factors in a bunch. The main thing to take away though is that the water temps are currently not high enough to pull fish up into the spawning areas. With that said, if you've looked at the weather forecast for next week, it looks prime! High's in the 70's will pull up fish to bed for sure. I'm very excited for it!
Currently if you are getting out on the water to fish Lake Austin there are two patterns I'll key you in on: suspended fish chasing bait balls, and fish down deep in the grass.
Suspended Fish
Let me preface this by saying I spent HOUR graphing with side and down imaging looking for bait. When you find areas LOADED with bait they will have bass, and when I saw loaded, I mean you'll see massive schools of shad... it's very obvious. I have located a couple key areas of the lake with lots of bait out in the river channel. When you find these spots put down your trolling motor and start livescoping. Let me preface by saying I don't believe you need thousands of dollars in high end fishing electronics to catch fish! However there are a couple techniques such as this where it is a bit necessary.
I recommend setting your Livescope range to 110 feet, depth to 5' deeper than the bottom, and gain a little higher than you usually run it. This will help with locating the bass better compared to the bait. Keep your trolling motor moving and scanning looking for bait. Once you located some schools of shad start looking around for individual returns, often times they will be below the bass. In several areas we located schools of bass up to 15 fish. In addition to looking for them on livescope, keep your eyes peeled on the surface. Especially on days with calm winds you will sometimes see the bass come up hitting the surface chasing shad. It's not crazy surface schooling action like you find in the spring, but it's enough to give away where the bass are.
There are three main baits I like to keep rigged up for this.
Alabama Rig: This is a deadly rig to throw at these open water suspended fish, especially if they are on bait balls. I like the 6th Sense Divine Umbrella rig is a great one if they are hitting the rigs with blades. I like a 3.2 6th Sense Divine Swimbait, but for the bait in the back I like a 3.8 size.
Minnow: A 6th Sense Ozzie in a shad color has been another really good bait to shake in their face.
Jerkbait: A deep diving jerkbait such as a 6th Sense Provoke DD has been another I like to throw, especially when I see the fish in schools. The ability to pause it and let it sit can be very effective.
Fish in The Grass
The other pattern I recommend is graphing areas with grass growing, especially Hydrilla, and locating the deepest edges to it. Areas that form points or edges to the grass tend to hold fish and can be very good places this time of year before the fish move more shallow. There are a myriad of rigs you can throw through the grass! But some have been catching better than others.
Here are the top three that I have been catching them on.
Carolina Rig: I recommend a 1/2 ounce tungsten bullet weight as it slides through the grass much better than a egg sinker. Pair this up with a creature bait such as a 6th Sense Hogwalla. This bait has a little larger profile and has been getting some bigger bites for me.
Texas Rig: A Texas rigged with a pegged weight and a 5" senko has been working really well fished slow in the grass. This is classic bass fishing! Fish it slow with little hops and twitches and very long pauses.
Crankbait: A flatside crankbait that will dive to 10 feet give or take has been another good bait lately. The PD7 from 6th Sense has been working well for me. A flatside bait has a tighter wobble which is ideal in cold water. Fish this bait right over the top of the grass trying to tick the top of it from time to time to trigger reaction bites.
Should you end up shopping on the 6th Sense Website, please use my code TORWICK as it will save you 10% and helps me a bunch!
Like I said, the bass in Lake Austin are pre-spawn right now. But as we progress into spring the patterns that the fish are on will change. This is my favorite time of year and it so much fun to guide. If you've ever wanted to get out on the water and learn the lake better and catch a bunch of fish, now is a great time to book your trip! The link below will take you to my website with more information on the trips I offer.
I hope this report helps! If it does please consider following me on social media! I post a ton from my trips on Instagram @laketravisfishingguide