Lady Bird Lake Description: Located on the Colorado River, Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake), runs right through the center of downtown Austin. It is a relatively small lake with a surface area of 468 acres and a maximum depth of about 20 feet. Don’t be fooled by it’s small size though as it regularly produces some of the biggest bass out of any of the lakes I offer guided bass fishing trips on. The lake was impounded in 196o, generally has slightly stained water clarity, and features some of the most unique bass fishing scenes in the area as it is surrounded by both trees and skyscrapers. Due to it’s location in downtown Austin, it is a very popular kayak and stand-up paddle board lake, so as such, the lake is restricted to electric motors only for safety purposes. A jogging trail that runs along most of the lakes shorelines provides good shore access for most bank fishermen. The primary cover in the lake are the trees hanging over the edges of the shorelines along with several offshore, submerged rock formations and bridges that cross the lake. The lake is currently void of aquatic vegetation due to the overstocking of grass carp in Lake Austin from 2010-2013. Subsequent floods in the area after that time period allowed the carp to move freely from Lake Austin into Lady Bird Lake. Hopefully vegetation will begin to take hold again in the near future.
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Fishing Lady Bird Lake: When clients want a shot at a trophy-sized bass, this is one of the lakes I consider for our trip. It can also be a great lake for numbers of bass at certain times of the year as well. While the lake has generally seen a decline in the fishing over the past few years due to an overabundance of grass carp and some major flooding events, there are still some big bass to be caught here. My favorite time of the year to fish the lake is actually in the summertime when the bass pile on predictable offshore structures where they can readily be caught. While other lakes see heavy boat traffic from recreational boaters and can be frustrating to fish, Lady Bird offers a bit of a retreat from the relentless boat wakes caused by recreational boaters. Kayaks and stand-up paddle boards can be pretty thick during the summer time and can sometimes be oblivious to anglers trying to fish, but they are generally much easier to deal with than the surf boats and jet skies on Lake Austin and Lake Travis.
Typical Lady Bird Lake Bass Fishing Methods: Back when the lake had an abundant amount of shoreline vegetation, fishing along the edges of the lake was extremely productive, but with the lack of vegetation now, we generally have much better success by fishing offshore rock piles and brush piles with large Texas-rigged worms such as a PowerTeam Lures Ribbon Hinge. A drop-shot rig with a finesse worm such as the PowerTeam Lures Finicky Tickler in these same areas can also be very effective. Nonetheless, don’t overlook the bite along the shorelines on channel swing banks lined with cypress trees and other overhanging trees. Skipping lures like a wacky-rigged senko or a River2Sea Bully Wa II hollow-body frog under these tree branches can be highly productive at times as well.
If you are looking for a Lady Bird Lake fishing guide, click here now to see information about my Lady Bird Lake fishing guide services as well as other Austin area lakes! OR just call me at the phone number listed in the top left corner of the page!
A Few Lady Bird Lake Guided Fishing Trip Photos (Caught by Clients):
A Few of My Bass From Lady Bird Lake:
