Welcome to my Central Texas Fishing Reports page. I update these reports regularly based on firsthand experience guiding anglers on many of the area’s best bass lakes. Here you’ll find current fishing conditions, water temperatures, water clarity, productive techniques, and seasonal bass patterns for lakes including Lake Austin, Lady Bird Lake, Lake Travis, Lake Georgetown, Lake LBJ, Inks Lake, Belton Lake, Stillhouse Hollow Lake, and more. Whether you’re looking for trophy bass or simply want to know what’s producing before your next trip, these reports are designed to provide current, reliable information from time spent on the water. Each report also includes my Big Bass Score and Numbers Score to provide a quick snapshot of current fishing conditions. If you’re curious how those ratings are determined, you’ll find a full explanation at the bottom of this page.
Last Updated 05 November 2026
11/02/2026 – Belton Lake is offering clear water with temperatures around 72 degrees and a water level approximately 1–2 feet below full pool. The best fishing has been around shallow cover and secondary points in the first half of creek arms and pockets, particularly in areas receiving some wind.
Weightless soft plastic jerkbaits have been the most productive presentation, targeting bass in less than 8 feet of water. Overall, the fishing has been fair.
Big Bass Score = 2; Numbers Score = 2; Total = 4
10/23/2026 – Inks Lake is offering clear water with temperatures around 72 degrees and a water level approximately 1 foot below full pool. The best fishing has been around shallow cover in pockets and creek arms, primarily in 1–5 feet of water.
Urchin style baits have been the most productive presentation when targeting bass around this shallow cover. Overall, the fishing has been fair.
Lady Bird Lake (AKA: Town Lake)
10/20/2026 – Lady Bird Lake is offering clear water with 4–6 feet of visibility, water temperatures around 75 degrees, and a water level at normal pool. The best fishing has been around shallow inside grasslines in less than 7 feet of water.
Urchin style baits and drop-shot rigged finesse worms have been the most productive presentations around these shallow grasslines. Overall, the fishing has been fair.
10/30/2026 – Lake Austin is offering clear water with temperatures around 74 degrees and a water level near normal pool. The best fishing has been around submerged vegetation on main-lake flats in less than 10 feet of water.
Urchin style baits and lightly Texas-rigged stick worms fished over the submerged vegetation have been the most productive presentations. Overall, the fishing has been fair.
Big Bass Score = 3; Numbers Score = 2; Total = 5
03/07/2025 – Water temp is 49-52 on the lower end and 55-57 on the upper end. Water clarity also varies from being about 4 ft visibility on the lower end to only 2 ft visibility on the upper end. The bite has slowed down quite a bit and those bigger bites have gotten tougher to come by. The best pattern we’ve had going right now is just using drop-shot rigged finesse worms around rockpiles.
Big Bass Score = 2; Numbers Score = 2; Total 4
08/12/2026 – Lake Georgetown is offering stained water with 2–4 feet of visibility, water temperatures around 85 degrees, and a water level approximately 2 feet below full pool. The best fishing has been around small, shallow rocky points with wind blowing across them.
Small baitfish-colored squarebill crankbaits have been producing the best action, with wind-blown rock being the key to locating active bass.
Big Bass Score = 2; Numbers Score = 1; Total = 3
10/27/2026 – Lake LBJ is offering stained water with 2–4 feet of visibility, water temperatures around 70 degrees, and a water level near normal pool. The best fishing has been around shallow docks in pockets and creek arms, as well as rockpiles in less than 10 feet of water.
Urchin style baits have been producing well around docks, while drop-shot rigged finesse worms and urchin style baits have been effective around shallow rockpiles.
Big Bass Score = 2; Numbers Score = 3; Total = 5
Lake Marble Falls
10/24/2026 – Lake Marble Falls is offering stained water with 2–4 feet of visibility, water temperatures around 70 degrees, and a water level near normal pool. The best fishing has been around rocky areas where shallow flats transition into steeper channel-swing banks.
Finesse jigs have been the most productive presentation when targeting bass around these transitions in less than 10 feet of water. Overall, the fishing has been fair.
Big Bass Score = 2; Numbers Score = 2; Total = 4
11/04/2026 – Lake Travis is offering clear water with temperatures around 74 degrees and a water level approximately 4 feet below full pool. The best fishing has been around rocky transition areas where flats give way to steeper channel-swing banks, particularly where brush is present.
Bass have been scattered throughout the water column, from just a couple of feet down to around 20 feet, making for a typical fall pattern. Drop-shot rigged finesse worms and urchin style baits have been the most productive presentations. Overall, the fishing has been fair.
Big Bass Score = 2; Numbers Score = 2; Total = 4
10/31/2026 – Lake Waco is offering stained water with temperatures around 72 degrees and a water level approximately 3 feet below full pool. The best fishing has been around small rocky points in less than 5 feet of water.
Urchin style baits and chatterbaits have been the most productive presentations when targeting bass around these shallow rocky areas. Overall, the fishing has been fair.
Big Bass Score = 3; Numbers Score = 2; Total = 5
Lake Walter E. Long (AKA: Decker Lake)
10/16/2024 – Boat ramp is now closed due to low water levels while the city “works on the dam.” Projected open date again is not until 2027!!!
Big Bass Score = 2; Numbers Score = 4; Total = 6
10/07/2026 – O.H. Ivie Lake is offering water temperatures around 77 degrees, clear to stained water with 3–6 feet of visibility, and a water level approximately 22 feet below full pool. The best fishing has been around submerged vegetation on flats in 2–8 feet of water.
Chatterbaits worked over the submerged vegetation have been the most productive presentation, with weightless trick worms and underspin swimbaits also producing fish. Overall, the fishing has been fair.
Big Bass Score = 2; Numbers Score = 2; Total = 4
10/31/2026 – Stillhouse Hollow Lake is offering clear water with temperatures around 72 degrees and a water level approximately 1.5 feet below full pool. The best fishing has been around well-defined shallow inside grasslines in 6–8 feet of water.
Urchin style baits, lightly Texas-rigged stick worms, and small paddle-tail swimbaits fished on underspins have been the most productive presentations around these grasslines. Overall, the fishing has been fair.
Big Bass Score = 2; Numbers Score = 3; Total = 5
“Score” Guide / Key
Each report ends with a score based on two factors:
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Big Bass Score – odds of catching a bass over 5 pounds.
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Numbers Score – odds of catching solid keeper bass (14 inches or larger).
Both are rated on a scale of 1–5, for a maximum possible total of 10 points.
⚠️ Important: The Numbers Score counts only bass 14 inches and larger. Smaller bass under 14″ are not included, even though they can sometimes be caught in high numbers during a trip.
Here’s what the scores mean (read as: odds of a big bass / numbers of keeper bass):
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1 – Odds are slim to none / 0–4 keeper bass in the boat.
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2 – Low odds, but some big ones live here / 5–8 keeper bass.
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3 – A definite “maybe” for one over 5 lbs / 9–12 keeper bass.
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4 – Decent odds of someone in the boat hooking one over 5 lbs / 13–20 keeper bass.
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5 – It’s on! Very good chance at a 5+ pounder / 20+ keeper bass.
A perfect score of 10/10 is rare — but if you ever see me post it, that means conditions are absolutely on fire and you’ll want to book a trip fast.
Austin Bass Fishing Guide
Austin Fishing Guide