Hill Country Region Week of May 1, 2024

Austin

GOOD. Water stained; 72 degrees; 0.72 feet below pool. Majority of the lake has a stain to it from recent rains and low release levels from Lower Colorado River Authority. Bass are good early in the morning in shallow water using chatterbaits, spinnerbaits. Fish will transition into deep grass late morning, so dragging a worm slowly has been good. On overcast days there is a decent topwater bite going on. Poppers, walking baits and buzzbaits are getting some explosive blow ups. Not catching numbers on topwater but quality is there. Report by Carson Conklin, ATX Fishing.

Brady

GOOD. Water stained; 65 degrees; 13.40 feet below pool. Largemouth bass are very good up to 7 pounds on rocks with crankbaits, chatterbaits and senkos. Catfish are very good on live perch or cut shad on trotlines or jug lines. Crappie are good in the marina or around hardwood main lake or creek entrance. White bass are good schooling on small crankbaits, or spinnerbaits.

Brownwood

GOOD. Water stained; 70 degrees; 8.96 feet below pool. Black bass to 8.50 pounds are good on jigs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits in 3-12 feet of water. Crappie are good along the shoreline out to 4 feet with black and chartreuse and brush piles with minnows in 10-12 feet of water. White bass are good on crankbaits and small swimbaits in the lights late and then slow during the day. Catfish are good on cut or prepared bait around the flats.

Bryan

GOOD. Water stained; 70 degrees. Fishing has been tough due to the rain. Bass are suspended on piles and near the dam. Report by The Aggie Anglers. Consistent fishing patterns for catfish, crappie and bass near the restaurant, off rocks and floating docks with small minnows, worms, and cut bait. Report by The Bait Barn.

Buchanan

EXCELLENT. Water slightly stained; 74 degrees; 24.57 feet below pool. Striper fishing is excellent using live shad as bait in the 5-30 feet of water. There has also been some good action early on topwater around the shad spawn. White bass are excellent on live bait, jigging spoons, and topwater early around the shad spawn. Report by Travis Holland, TH Fishing. Crappie are good in 10-20 feet of water on brush piles with orange and chartreuse jigs. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service. Bass are good in the backs of creeks, flip every stick up as there is still some spawning action. There are a lot of fish on rock piles and rocky points also so hit all of those. Using jigs, swimbaits and flukes will get you plenty of bites in these places. A medium or deep crankbait will also get you a bite on the deeper rock piles. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Canyon Lake

GOOD. Water normal stain; 70 degrees; 22.37 feet below pool. Fishing pattern is hoding steady. Bass are excellent on moving baits around grass, or with a neko rig on deeper grass. Report by Evan Coleman, Big Bassin Fishing.

Granger

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 65 degrees; 1.64 feet above pool. The lake is up 2 feet above normal after the recent flood in Granger. Black bass are fair on spinnerbaits and topwaters in shallow cover. Crappie are good on jigs fished over brush in 6 to 12 feet of water. White bass are fair on spoons fished along shallow roadbeds. Blue catfish are very good all over the lake in the newly flooded shallow water. Yellow catfish are good on live perch. Report by Tommy Tidwell, Tommy Tidwell’s Granger Lake Guide Service.

LBJ

FAIR. Water stained; 74 degrees; 0.25 feet below pool. Crappie are fair in 10-20 feet of water on brush piles with chartreuse jigs. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service. Bass are good flipping docks with wacky rigged stick worms, jigs and flukes. Working along bulkheads will catch some good ones throwing shallow crankbaits, wake baits and frogs. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Medina

SLOW. Water lightly stained; 68 degrees; 91.60 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers on the water due to limited access and low water level.

Travis

GOOD. Water stain; 70 degrees; 50.66 feet below pool. Bass are good in the main lake in shallow water and pockets, and points off the main lake with swimbaits and craws. Bigger bass on craws, creature baits, with better numbers on dropshots. More bass are starting to show up in marinas. White bass are schooling near bluff walls chasing the shad spawn. Report by Randal Frisbie, Central Texas Fishing Guide, LLC. The majority of bass are done spawning, but you may stumble upon some along small pockets or ledges on the main lake in about as deep as you can see on bluff walls. Texas rigged soft plastics like stick worms, lizards, or creature baits, and craws work well here, and a medium crankbait also will catch some nice ones. The grass is holding lots of post spawners, and most of your soft plastics will work here, including flukes and swimbaits. Topwater bite is starting to pick up with the warmer weather. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

Waco

GREAT. Water stained; 66 degrees; 2.55 feet above pool. The lake is stained to murky with recent runoff from rains. White bass are returning to the upper lake. Boaters will begin catching more white bass and hybrids on the lake while they migrate from the upper ends of the lake towards the dam over the next few weeks. Crappie bite is improving in shallow water on live minnows and artificial jigs fished around shoreline trees in the back of coves and marinas. This pattern will hold up for about one month. Largemouth bass are spawning and can still be caught on Texas rigs, small swimbaits, bladed jigs and creature baits in creeks and flats. Anglers are still catching channel catfish and blue catfish on live and cut bait on rod and reel and juglines. Yellow catfish will begin spawning later on as the water must warm up even more. They can mostly only be caught on live bait. Lake is murky due to runoff and high winds. Boaters should take caution by wearing their PFDs while on the lake due to unpredictable storms with high winds and waves. Navigate with caution watching for stumps and debris in the lake from runoff.

Walter E. Long

GOOD. Water stained; 71 degrees. Bass are good with several 5-6.5 pound catches using a variety or lures but the lure of choice continues to be worms. Hybrids have been schooling on and off. Crappie anglers are catching good numbers. The sunfish have moved to the shallows this week. Report by David Townsend, Austin Fishing Guide. Lake Decker is going strong with better bass showing back up anywhere in or near the deeper grass lines. Throw 4-5 inch stick worms, flukes and craw worms in watermelon and green pumpkin colors. Lots of flakes, either bright or dark, in your soft plastics work well. Be sure to flip into the edge of reeds as you can pull some big bass out. Report by Bryan Cotter, Texas Hawgs.

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