how deep is lake travis right nowhow deep is lake travis right now

Best Lake Travis Parks. These baits and rocks dont mix, so do not let it hit the bottom. On cold bluebird sky days you really need to force yourself to slow down and give your bait long pauses. The bites can be very very subtle. When they move offshore they usually are not super active even though they are schooled up. I like an underspin over a normal lead head since I believe the flash from the blade helps trigger more bites. One thing I love about the lake is how different it feels fishing the lower end of the lake close to the dam, versus the upper end out in the Lago Vista/ Spicewood/ Marble Falls area. A lot of the deep-water marinas on Lake Travis hold schools of baitfish, which attracts the bass. (just watch out for those dock cables). At 680' msl, Travis holds 1,108,000 acre feet. . Draining water is required by law and possession and transport of zebra mussels is illegal. While the shad pattern is very popular to fish this time of year, imitating crawfish can also produce some nice fish! This is one of the absolute best places to have Garmin Panoptix in your boat. As they leave their post spawn homes, the bass will begin moving deeper and relating to steeper bluffs. Look for ledges that sit in 10-20 feet of water on top and drop off deeper. With the end of summer approaching the patterns us anglers are focusing on will start to change. With the water being so clear, stick to natural colors like green pumpkin and watermelon. March and April are when the bass spawn, but May is very fun as that is when the Shad spawn. www.torwicksguidingservice.com. Topwater Baits: a chrome pop-r or bone colored spook are great topwater options that will allow you to cover a lot of water. Something new this year I am offering are what I call my Honey Hole Reports, these paid fishing reports are much different than the reports you can find here. As with all other beaches on Lake Travis, bringing a pair of swim shoes is advised because the rocks and invasive zebra mussels are sharp. During the summer understanding how a thermocline affects where the fish live is important. Spring is just around the corner and the fishing on Lake Travis is about to become prime. You have to train yourself to move a lot this time of the year, because you can bet the fish are. Ex: Big Jigs, Swimbaits, Big Worms, Big Jerk Baits. This divide in the water column can vary in depth from lake to lake and is affected by turbidity, current, and temperature. Lets not forget the night time crappie fishing. Plastics rigged on weedless drop shots or Carolina Rigs have also been really good. Example video title will go here for this video. Good luck and may the best angler win! A deep crankbait, a fluke on a heavy scrounger head, or a Biffle bug on a swinging jig head fished on the bottom can work well. Fish will move up shallow again to feed so moving baits like topwater and crankbaits can be productive. To prevent snagging those I like this way of rigging my swimbaits. For this style of fishing its all about visually seeing the fish. If the bass you are targeting are not getting fired up with the fast moving bait, slow down. Look for bluffs with docks as the bass will oftentimes hangout under or around them for the shade. They are not interested in eating it, just hurting or killing it. Manage My Subscriptions, archive Zoom trick worms in natural colors like green pumpkin or watermelon black seed have been good options for the dropshot. If you are not seeing any baitfish activity, keep moving. Steep shorelines that bottom out before going to the river/ creek channel, ledges, and points have all been great places to look for bass. The weekends have gotten really busy, especially at Mansfield Dam Park. I would place a premium on water quality. Look for more gradual banks that have rock, stumps, brush, or grass on them the more of these things the better. Patrick Ireland, Biologist, State Map It is located on the mighty Rio Grande River at the Amistad Dam. How Deep Is Lake Travis? I especially recommend this pattern if you are fishing in the evening on a day thats been warm and sunny. Water slight stain; 80 degrees; 42.10 feet below pool. Largemouth bass love eating shad, Threadfin shad is like candy to them! near the surface will call them to the top. Contact Us When you think you are fishing slow enough, fish slower! These small baitfish move in schools and will move to docks, marinas, and windy blown rocky shorelines to lay their eggs in the algae that grows on the rocks. What to throw: I recommend a craw style bait rigged on a Texas rig or a drop shot with a very short tag end between the hook and weight. Check me out online at www.torwicksguidingservice.com. Stay cool, and tight lines. If you are looking to up your game I would love to be your fishing coach! November is one of my favorite months to fish Lake Travis! If they are higher up off the bottom, the deep crank can work well to get the school fired up. Keitech is typically my favorite brand, but any small paddle tail swimbait in a shad color will work. I put a lot of work into these reports and share all the info on how Im catching fish with my clients. For more information about my Coaching Trips please visit my website. A Carolina rig, a drop shot, a deep crankbait, and a heavy Texas rig are all essentials this time of year. A Texas rig with a creature bait and a pegged weight can work very well for making accurate pitches at a bed. Guards monitor the tops and bottoms of every slide too. The schooling bite has been getting better everyday! I mean isnt Lake Travis made up mostly of rock yes and no. Why is that? Well thats because its a great time to get bit throwing moving baits and on topwater. Once you have found some fish, or pulled up on your favorite spot, there are a couple baits I recommend you have tied on. When guiding I want everyone to have fun and be fishing. With the water temps getting into the upper 70s and soon into the 80s some fish have moved out deep. So, 680' msl minus 492' msl, gives us a depth of 188'. To give you the Cliff Notes version of a thermocline, it is a divide in the lake where the cooler more dense water settles to the bottom, and the warmer less dense water rises to the surface. Stick to colors that imitate a baitfish, anything white, grey or silver will work well. Grass edges, secondary points, and ledges have all been good places. However, you want to let it sink and try to follow the bottom contour keeping it a few feet up off the rocks. Stick with natural colors that mimic threadfin shad. The fish have moved a little since the flooding several weeks ago but we are still coming across some really nice ones. Boat traffic is at an all time high, especially on weekends which can also be detrimental to the bite. Understanding what is going on beneath the surface of the lake, not only with largemouth bass, but also with the other species of fish in the lake, can help you become a better angler. A slow moving bait paused on the bottom makes for an easy meal. If youve been wanting to get out of the house and catch some fish, visit my website and book a trip! (Which in my opinion is better fishing anyways due to the lake being empty) March through May are some of the best months to bass fish in Austin, so get out there on the water! The lake is about to explode though with warmer weather on the way so its a great time to get out and on the fish. Before getting into that I should touch on the morning bite. During the summer months fish tend to move offshore in search of stable cool water. For some, that means taking a dip in our lakes . You can catch some fish on topwaters using a walking bait like a spook throwing over trees in 5-12 foot of water and over and near rock piles or cliffs to get some good bites. We have been getting quality bites fishing carolina rigged lizards and stick baits. Lake Travis water levels continue to drop. I spend more time fishing Lake Travis than any other local guide as this is my home lake. For this I recommend turning on your 2D sonar and Livescope if you have it. I guarantee that this alone will be worth the price of a guided trip! Expect to see water temperatures anywhere from the low 60s to the mid 50s. You may also get more aggressive with your approach and hop the bait more erratically and even try to bump the bait into the fishs nose. Well go over understanding seasonal patterns, how to establish a pattern, and how to understand how it positions the bass and where to look for them. During late February bass feed on both crawfish and shad, so I like to mix it up with the colors I throw. Deeper fish can be had on Texas rigged worms and shaky heads in watermelon and green pumpkin colors and some of the bigger fish have been eating a 1/2 oz up to a 3/4 oz jig in either green colors or black/blue with a good craw trailer. (Something to note, the words get interchanged often but structure is technically contour changes such as points or ledges, cover is an object or objects that create an ambush spot for a bass think docks, brush piles, stumps. If you know anything at all about Lake Travis then you know the lake is quite low right now. This is only for a day or two while the cold front rolls through. Keep this in mind the next time you are fishing docks! they tend to run small. These are trips geared towards teaching you how to fish Lake Travis and not just running you to my honey holes. Of course, this is an adult-only park, and it is consistently patrolled by rangers to keep visitors safe. On windy days I like to pick up a crankbait or a jerkbait and cover water. While I personally hate the cold, I love wintertime fishing! Check out the photo above of my client Brenda holding up a nice bass! When starting your search for deep summertime bass try targeting areas 20-40 feet deep, there is no need to look deeper unless there is no thermocline present. The top water bite has been exceptional as of late, and will continue to be a major pattern until December. Swimbait: A 3 or 4 inch paddle tail swimbait in a silver or white color is another excellent option. So what should you throw to catch these shad hungry bass? When its more calm or the bite is slower a jerkbait allows me to cover water, while still fishing slower since Im able to pause and suspend the bait when fish arent as aggressive. If you are not seeing fish busting on bait, get your casts close to structure such as the sides of docks or behind boats. A quick tip is to look for Blue Herons and Egrets, these birds feed on the shad and are a dead giveaway to the presence of bait fish. I know weve already passed up the first official day of fall, but keep in mind this is Central Texas. Largemouth love living down in the grass and will position themselves on holes or edges in the grass in order to come up from below and ambush their prey. The second, to fish for bass that are using staging locations. Top water baits have been good for the first few hours of the morning. When we report that Lake Traivs is 98% full, what does that number mean? Things are getting ready to bust loose! Lee Benton Fishing Guides Austin, Bassmaster Recap Video Lake Travis 2018 Tight lines! What is the current level of Lake Travis? There are now two separate and distinct approaches one can take. Once they go back down you are kind of just blind casting. You might give one of these a try this month for some good results. There are three types of offshore/ deep structure I look for, ledges, secondary points, and bluff walls with docks. If you notice the majority of your bites come on the pause, fish even slower! Topwater baits such as pop-rs and spooks in bone or chrome are very fun baits to throw early in the morning. If you see fishing jumping you need to be quick and accurate. If you look around some of the deeper ledges and points, there are a lot of fish suspended and you can catch a few of these using jigging spoons. If you are fishing later in February start looking for the tops of small ledges that are close to deep water. Lago Vista residents prepare to evacuate due to flooding of Lake Travis. When this happens the fishing gets good! With that said you typically dont start seeing fish actually on nests until the very end of February. A wacky rigged senko, a rage craw, or a jig are all good options for this type of fishing. Its February and you know what that means! These are paid fishing reports I update every single week at 6:00PM on Thursdays. Targeting spawning coves can be a very fun and productive way to fish. The bass fishing on Lake Travis continues to be good! The elevation-storage rating curve used to produce the storage hydrograph is made of two segments: (1) the segment up to the conservation pool top (below the red line) is based on measured data, and (2) the segment in the flood pool (above the red line) is an extrapolation from the first segment and shouldnt be relied upon for flood storage information. can be deadly for both numbers and quality-sized largemouth bass. However, on overcast days or very early in the morning something with some chartreuse in it has been very good. With the clear water I have been doing well with natural colors like red bug, watermelon black seed, and green pumpkin. Now with that said, these fish are not easy to catch. Bob Wentz Beach can be found at 7144 Comanche Trail, Austin, TX, near Comanche Village. Coordinates: 302331N 975424W Aerial shot of Lake Travis. Bass will move offshore or away from the bank to find cooler water further down in the water column. Concrete, large rocks, tires, and black dock floats all hold heat the best. were focusing on main lake points and docks with quick access to deep water nearby. We get far more bites using compact baits, especially when the fish arent extremely active. We try and use the shade lines to our advantage and fish where there is a shadow cast on the water. Go with as light of a weight as you can and still feel the bottom. However, for coves that do have a defined creek channel, look on the map and look for the places closest to the mouth of the cove that have a bend or ledge. I like to catch crawfish from time to time and see what color they are, in order to get a better idea of what color baits I should be throwing. When fishing this time of year there are two main patterns I recommend you focus on, deep offshore fish and shallow structure oriented fish. I have some tips for you that will help put more fish in the boat. The shorelines of Lake Travis hold all types of forage including threadfin shad, sunfish, bluegills, and cichlids that these bass will hunt for. Points, bluff walls, and offshore structure such as rock piles or brush piles can be especially good. You will notice fish become more aggressive during brief feeding windows rather than feeding all day long. For the drop shot I recommend a cylinder weight as it goes through the grass and rock the best. Does rain mess with fishing? Secondary points are points underwater further away from a primary point, often separated by a flat. I do experiment a lot with colors and changing them up, but when in doubt one of these three colors will get you bit. For anglers with more fishing experience, consider looking into one of my Coaching Trips. While the average depth is 62 feet when the lake is full, the deepest part of the lake (between Volente and Hudson Bend) goes to a depth of 210 feet. With this report you even get the exact GPS coordinates of where I recommend you fish! If the slow presentation wont draw a bite, switch baits to something fast moving. Just to the east of Bob Wentz Park, Hippie Hollow Park is the only legally recognized clothing-optional public park in Texas. Im talking about the 7s, 8s, and 9+s. I recommend a ounce football jig in light brown with some orange accents, a Zoom Speed craw, 6th Sense Stroker Craw, or a Strike King Rage Craw are all excellent trailer options. Shad patterns work well too, but something about a crawfish colored crankbait bumping along the bottom kicking up sand and silt just triggers those bass into biting. Alabama Rig- This bait has a reputation as a cold water bait. The majority of Lake Travis bass have now transitioned to post spawn. If they're not in the store you can often find them out and about on Lake Travis, on an island exploring the underwater world or learning more about the ocean! Web: Dive World Austin. However, the bulk of these fish will likely be post spawners. They take advantage of the cooler temps and low light conditions to feed up. Fish present in Lake Travis include largemouth bass, guadalupe bass, white bass, striped bass, catfish and sunfish. There are a couple things you can expect. Recently I have seen water temps as low as 61 degrees first thing in the morning. Flukes can be deadly as they represent the migratory baitfish and can be color matched to be even more effective. Their lives revolve around their diet, so if you find the bait, youll find the fish! Blue, channel, As water temps warm up, largemouth bass will make a push up to the bank in preparation to spawn. 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. On cloudy days or when the fish are being finicky and I just want to try something different I change to an underspin. While not the species I normally guide for, I love catching them as theyre hard fighters and are great for clients who want to keep their catch. Until then, you are best off targeting pre-spawn fish. With that said, let the fish tell you what they want. If you position your boat too far off the bank you spend more time letting the bait sink, or worst case, just swinging back towards the boat not even on the bottom. Look for bluffs with docks on them. For example, as I write this, Travis sits at about 680' msl and the surface of Lake Austin sits at 492' msl. There are few hope-giving warming trends that somehow find their way through a calendar of brutal cold fronts. Its a windy area, so expect to see lots of parasailors. The Glen Canyon Dam was built on the Colorado River, and afterward, in 1963, Lake Powell was constructed and filled over a 17-year period. Stick to natural colors like watermelon or green pumpkin when fishing the clearwater on the lower end of the lake. This normally means slowing way down with your presentation or going with a bait that will trigger reaction strikes. Check out my website and book now! If this fishing report helps you, please consider sharing it on your social media! Drop shots and shaky head worms have been doing well for me. With that said, it has been unseasonably warm. The further up river you go the more stained the water gets. With that said, I would expect to see pre-spawn fish getting active within a week or two unless a cold front comes through. Fish eating birds like Blue Herons and Egrets are also a good indicator of the shad. AUSTIN, Texas The mean water level on Lake Travis is 657 feet above sea level, or 64.5% full, down from the same time a year ago. Largemouth bass anglers have their best success on this reservoir during Weve definitely noticed that the bite is better near the lower end of the reservoir, meaning closer to the dam. Normally I see this behavior on Lake Travis in late February. for the blues and channels, while live bait is preferred for large flathead catfish. As water temps during the fall drop the main lake cools faster than the backs of the coves, which in turn allows plankton to keep growing. A football jig is one of my personal favorites. Bone or any translucent colored bait that mimics the color of a threadfin shad will get bit. For docks sitting in water deeper than 15-20 feet I will often add a small tungsten nail weight into the senko to make is sink slightly faster. Small spoons and little swimbaits are two of my other go-to baits bait when trying to mimic shad. Simply divide 1,108,000 by 1,135,000 and you come up with 98%. Fish slow and really pay attention to the feel of the bait hitting the bottom. Once you see the water temps get warmer here further into March the bass will commit to the spawn and they can be found up shallow. Once I find the fish I like to slow down and pick the area apart with a slower moving bait, then go back to the moving baits. Above 681 feet (208 m), flood control gates at Mansfield Dam are opened under the direction of the U . In April and May, these fish often school to chase shad and can As the Crown Jewel of the Central Texas Highland Lakes, Lake Travis is THE most visited freshwater recreational vacation destination in the state. Current I do not have any weekends open in March, however I do have a very limited number of weekday spots open. Numerous things affect bass behavior, but water temperature affects the metabolism and how active/ inactive they will be. On glass calm days you can often see the shad on the surface, other times I use my sonar to look for schools of shad in the general area. With water temps in the low 60s this is the prime time of year if you want to sight fish for Largemouth on beds. Lake Travis is full at 681 feet MSL. Stocking History Lake Travis Webcam. Once the sun has come out and it starts to warm up the bass tend to back off the bank and move a little deeper. At 680' msl, Travis holds 1,108,000 acre feet. With bed fishing you may spend 30+ minutes looking for a nest and trying to get the fish to bite. Bonus tip: When its windy, look for sharp mud lines, they make for great ambush points. While the average depth is 62 feet when the lake is full, the deepest part of the lake (between Volente and Hudson Bend) goes to a depth of 210 feet. Keep in mind that during this time of year cold fronts, rain, and wind can cause the lake temp to change more than normal. Prime presentations this month are low profile finesse jigs, Texas rigged beaver style baits, and Carolina rigged plastic craws. See the TPWD Nondiscrimination Policy. Please feel free to visit my website, or give me a call! Early in the mornings and late in the evenings there has been a solid topwater bite. I mainly throw my moving baits, like crankbaits and top waters, in the mornings and evenings. Right now you have the opposite affect going on. Consider booking a trip with me! https://www.torwicksguidingservice.com/honeyholes. If you want to fish on a weekend I recommend booking well in advance. Travis is a gin clear rock fishery and finesse baits excel. Mix it up and experiment to see what the bass like. Something new I am offering on my website is what I call Honey Hole Reports. When they are not on the surface, make long casts and let your bait sink 8-12 feet deep before beginning your retrieve. Targeting rocky ledges and rock piles on the upper end of the lake has been very productive. Happy New Year and I hope to see you out on the water! However, if you see me out on the lake fishing main lake spots, dont be surprised. I look for secondary points in 20-35 feet of water so pretty deep. I run Garmin Panoptix on my boat (for those unfamiliar with it, it is live view sonar). I am focused on water in the 10-15 ft depth range. With spring around the corner the fish are going to be on the move once you see water temperatures begin to increase. Lake Travis Camping We are still starting our mornings with top waters or shad imitation swim baits early. The fishing is only going to continue to get better over the next couple months! If the water appears to be more stained move shallower. would work. I am an open book with my clients and will treat the day as if we were practicing for a fishing tournament. Feel free to reach out to me ! Get right over the schools of bass and drop your bait down close to your transducer so that you can see it go down the screen, stop it once you are at the same depth as the fish. Areas where there are small drops offs that allow fish to sit at the base of them waiting to ambush prey are even better. These are extremely detailed reports where I give you the info on what is working to catch fish right now! With the swings in water temps come different patterns the fish get on. As far as plastics go Im not very picky, anything that resembles a crawfish usually works well. For these spots I recommend a drop shot, a shakey head, and a ned rig what I call the Holy Trinity of Finesse Fishing. The fishing out there has been consistently good and we havent even had a big cold front to cool things off. Lake Travis has been stocked with several species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. But, good techniques for deep points can be deep diving crankbaits, carolina rigs, and even jigs and Texas rigs. Let this info be of help when selecting what colors of crankbaits to throw. They are going to slowly move back into the creeks and coves in search of spawning areas. From scuba diving to jet skiing, there are lots of water sports to enjoy on this lake. Water clarity in the winter is usually very good, so on the lower end of Lake Travis dont be surprised if you see visibility in excess of 10 feet. The whites can still be caught in creeks on the main lake but there is a good number of them up river that can be caught a variety of ways including trolling. So what does this mean for bass fishing and how to target them? Once you see water 59 degrees or higher you can expect a change in the bass behavior. For more aggressive and active fish I like to jig a silver ounce jigging spoon around these schools of fish to trigger bites.