Lake Travis Fishing Report - August 2024
With August here the weather is hot! Despite this the fishing can be really good, especially if you get out early. My biggest recommendation right now is to wake up early and be on the lake at first light. Getting out while it's still cool makes a big difference in catching a couple fish versus a few fish.
Recently the Lake Travis watershed finally caught some rain! The lake is currently around 641 MSL or about 39 feet low. That increase in the lake level was much needed and has opened a few more boat ramps back up, including Mansfield Dam Park. Current water temps in Lake Travis are in the upper 80’s with water clarity varying from 6+ feet of visibility on the lower end of the lake, to 1 foot visibility up river past the split.
If you are heading out there this month there are two patterns I recommend trying.
Early Morning Bite
Like I mentioned earlier, get out at the crack of dawn and target schooling fish that live up in the marinas. Certain marinas around the lake hold large schools of bass that get very active in the mornings chasing baitfish. It is common to see them hitting the surface and jumping out of the water trying to catch the fleeing shad. Small swimbaits, flukes, topwater poppers, and jerkbaits can all be excellent lures to throw. Select something natural and similar in color to a shad… chrome, albino, bone, etc are all great color options that will get bit.
Tip: if you are on fish but having trouble getting them to bite, try fishing faster. Force the fish to make a quick decision and react to the bait. These fish have great eyesight and I find at times fishing slow allows them too much time to decide whether they want to eat the lure or not and they end up passing on it.
Afternoon Bite
Later in the day you can still get bit, but going deep is key. With the water as warm as it is, bass like moving deep to find slightly cooler water. I recommend bluff walls in 20-35 feet of water, secondary points, and offshore ledges. Spend some time studying your lake map and look for structure out deep that sets up in that 20-35 foot range. The reason I say 35 feet is because that’s about where the thermocline currently is located, pay attention to that as it can vary in depth depending on what end of the lake you are fishing. Fish will go deep but they won’t go below a thermocline. Baits like dropshots, Texas Rigged craws, deep crankbaits, and Carolina rigs are just a few great options that will allow you to effectively get down to the fish and present a bait where you need to be to get bit. As far as colors of plastics, green pumpkin, plum, and watermelon red are all solid choices that consistently catch fish for me. If you have a good fish finder this is the time of year I highly recommend putting in some time graphing looking for fish. I often don’t stop to fish with my clients until I see fish on the graph. When presenting your baits (other than the crankbait) fish slow, when you think you are fishing slow enough fish slower!
If you sometimes struggle to locate fish, I highly recommend visiting the Torwick’s Guiding Service website and checking out my Honey Hole Reports. These reports give you the EXACT locations, baits, colors, and patterns I am fishing with my clients. I put a lot of work into these reports and guarantee they will put you on fish. If you are interested in a guided fishing trip please feel free to visit my website or reach out to me at 512-910-7255. Fall will be here before you know it and is an excellent time to fish! I book up in advance for that season, so don’t hesitate to make your reservation now!