Lake Travis is not just popular for wakeboarding, day boozing, and fun in the sun it also provides a great bass fishing fishery. Only a 25-minute drive from Downtown Austin, Lake Travis is great for a quick fishing trip.
For someone who is looking for a quick fishing excursion, Lake Travis is a great place to start. Living in Austin your fishing success is closer than you know. All you need is the adventurous spirit and a few must-have items from bait casters, spinning reels, and quality lures.
We recommend the following fishing gear depending on what type of fish you are trying to catch.
Catfish Fishing On Lake Travis
These are the top-three catfish rigs you can try:
- Santee Cooper Rig
- Slip Bobber Rig
- Slip Sinker Rig
To help find the fish we recommend using a Skill and Garmin Striker 7SV. It helps you view and navigate to you the points, channel banks, and docks to look for the fish honey holes. If you still are unsure of which baits to go for, here’s the list of top baits to guide you through fishing in Lake Travis.
Football Jig
As it name states this thing is shaped like a football making it far less likely to get hung up than other lead jig heads. They are best suited for hard, rock-strewn, gravel bottoms. They do not perform well in grass or other forms of vegetation. So if you are going for deep water bass in Lake Travis then reach for a football Jig. You can use different techniques such as dragging, hopping, stroking, and slow rolling. Overall, the Football Jig is versatile and helps in catching bass all year round. You can even try a couple of different shades, like browns with a hint of orange and red to pair with it to catch bass.
Swimbait
The big bass getter. Known widely for helping catch monster bass the swimbait lure lives up to its reputation. Granted, you will be sacrificing the quantity of Bass you catch for quality. Swimbait lures typically are six to twelve inches long, meaning they typically only attract bigger fish.
Types Of Swimbaits
- Hard Body
- Multi Jointed
- Single Jointed
- Glide Baits
- Soft Body
- Full Body
- Line Through
- Top Hook
- Paddle Tail
- Hollow Body
- Solid-Body
- Full Body
You can pair lead head – ¼-3/8 ounces with the swimbait’s paddle tail to capture large schools of fish.
Crankbait
One of the best features of Crankbait is that it can take the forms of different types of forage. Depending on the season, you can try a bunch of different shades – oranges and red square bill for the basses who are likely to fatten up to prepare for the winters coming up. White and black, on the other hand, are suitable for the springs when the bass decides to key in on shad.
Some other Baits You can Try:
- Drop Shot
- Alabama Rig
Having proper knowledge of the kind of fishing gear and baits you should be using for fishing in Lake Travis is important. What’s more important, however, is to know about the fusing spots you should consider on Lake Travis. Let’s look into the spots you should consider to pick the right spot for fishing.
Mansfield Dam Park
Located right on the South end of Lake Travis, Mansfield Dam Park sits next to the dam. It has a huge place for parking and has spots that are ideal for fishing. One good strategy for fishing at the Mansfield Dam Park can be to start with the deepest points of the lake. Reason? Deep down, the points that extend furthest into the lakes, you are more likely to find large schools of bass. You can also find a protected cove around this park, having low fishing pressure and with a good number of fishes, up shallow.
Address: 4370 Mansfield Dam Park Rd., Austin, TX 78732
Tom Hughes Park
It is located near Marshall Ford Marina. Popular for being great swimming and a hammocking (‘mocking) spot, this place sits at the end of the lake. With a steep rocky shoreline, Tom Hughes gets closer to the shore, touching the rocky banks to search for crawfish and different forage species. To get the most of this spot, be sure to use drop shots, Texas-rigged plastics, and shakey heads, as these work quite perfect here.
Address: 12714 Hughes Park Rd, Austin, TX 78732
Windy Point Park
If you are planning to take your family out fishing in Lake Travis, Windy Point Park is the place to be. It has a sitting area where you can have barbeques with your family. In case there are any divers in your family, they can try the shoreline that faces the main lake. Not only is it great for diving, but it is an incredible fishing spot as well.
Address: 6506 Bob Wentz Park Rd, Austin, TX 78732
Cypress Creek Park
Found at the back of Cypress Creek, you can easily get to this park. Small plastic swimbait and square bill crankbait are ideal for use at the Cypress Creek Park, along with a Texas rigged worm. When the water is full, most bass like to hide in the park, so you are likely to find a school of bass during that time.
Address: 13601 Bullick Hollow Rd, Austin, TX 78726
Pace Bend Park
One of the grandest parks, Pace Bend Park, is operated by the Travis County Parks Department. The place gives you a chance to visit and explore and fish during your visit to the park. To get your hands on the best fishes, consider trying the park’s west side – it has the steepest banks and has the biggest basses. You can try football jigs and crankbaits to bait these basses.
Address: 2805 Pace Bend Rd N, Spicewood, TX 78669
We hope these tips and spots help you catch some fish! If you know of any spots we have missed please feel free to leave a comment below so we can update the article!
Tight Lines!
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