Lake Travis Bass Fishing Report - April 23, 2025

Boy, I just realise it's been a while since I have posted a fishing report. First off thank you to everybody who has booked a trip this spring! This has been the most busy spring I have had in terms of guiding ever. March and April have been booked almost solid. There has only been a couple days where I haven't been on the water and those have only been when I take time off since my family likes to see me at least every once in a while. haha So thank you again, without great clients like you I wouldn't be able to do what I love!

Now obviously I'm very biased since I do this for a living, but personally when I travel and book other fishing guides when I'm on vacation, I spend the time looking for guides who are full-time. I realise that being a fishing guide has relatively low barriers to entry, but it's like anything you get what you pay for. I feel that one huge advantage I have over my competition who do this as a side hustle, is that by being on the water almost every day I stay on top of what the fish are doing. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that as the temperature changes, the seasons change and even day-to-day weather patterns change, what the fish do changes constantly. To me a good guide is one who understands how these changes affect what the fish do and is willing to put in the work to find fish especially when the conditions aren't ideal and the fish aren't cooperating. We can't always control what the fish do, but I can control how hard I work to put you on fish and make sure you have a fun time... that is my promise to you!

This spring has been some of the best fishing I can remember. Not only have we been catching a ton of fish but I've had clients catch numerous really big fish. We've had several 7 and 8 pounders, and lots of 5's and 6's! Unfortunately, we even had one that I'm pretty confident was a double digit bass that got off after jumping a couple times, but that's the way she goes sometimes!

Being that it is the end of April the spawn is in full swing as is the shad spawn. Bass are in all stages of the spawn. There's still some that are pre-spawn, lots that are actively spawning and plenty that are post spawn. There are also quite a few different baits that are working right now.

Morning Topwater

In the mornings there is a good topwater bite to be had if you can locate areas that are holding shad. I recommend looking for areas with a gradual sloping sandy or gravel bank where the wind is pushing into it a bit. Looking for birds such as Herons and Egrets is also a dead giveaway of baitfish in an area. Bone colored spooks such as a 6th Sense Catwalk is a great lure that has been catching a lot of big ones for me. If you find you are getting bit up more close to the bank try busting out a bone or chrome colored popper.

Grass Bite

With the low lake level the bass will spawn in some odd locations and something that I have found lately is that they will spawn in the holes down on the sand and grass flats. In addition to catching spawning fish, you also find fish that are pulling up into these areas for the cover it provides and to feed on things like bluegills and shad.

I've done well throwing a wacky rigged stick bait, a swimbait, and a Texas Rig.

The 6th Sense Clout in Watermelon Red and Dark Melon is a great bait for the wacky rig and the Texas rig. When fishing both these rigs make sure to go as light as you can get away with as it allows the rig to slide through the grass a lot easier. For the swimbait I have been using a 3.5" 6th Sense Whale in a variety of shad colors. Rig this on a belly weighted hook to make it weedless and swim it slow over the top of the grass trying to bump into it from time to time.

Deep Bite

On some of those warmer sunny days I've been finding a good amount of fish moving out deeper getting on grass edges and points. 15-20 feet of water has been good, but they biggest key is that there needs to be some bait around. It's common to find small schools of bluegills down in the grass and this helps keep the bass in the area. Graph around looking for that, once you've located that try throwing a weedless drop shot. A straight tail worm in watermelon red or watermelon black seed has been a great rig to throw that's gotten a ton of bites.

We still have a while before the summer heat sets in! The fishing has been great and will stay good for a while. I highly recommend getting on my calendar and booking your trip!

Are you coming to visit Austin, TX? If so Kayak has a great article with lots of helpful tips on things to check out! https://www.kayak.com/Austin.22863.guide