Hill Country Region Week of April 17, 2024

Austin

GOOD. Water slight stain; 72 degrees; 0.70 feet below pool. Bass have been consistently shallow for the last couple of weeks. Fish can be caught on shaky head senkos, dropshots and small soft swimbaits. Cloudy days with a little bit of wind have been best for catching bigger fish shallow. Still seeing some fish on beds, and as the weather continues to warm another group of fish will be pushing up to spawn. Check the backs of pockets, around shallow docks and big flats for beds. If you can find grass, fish it because there are probably some fish. Lady Bird Lake is heavily stained on a majority of the lake below the MoPac Expressway. We are catching fish on a number of baits right now. Soft swimbaits over grass lines and around hardcover is good. Slow dragging light Texas rigged worms in the grass are also producing good fish right now. Some topwater can be found right now. Frogs, spooks and poppers. We are not getting a bunch of hits on topwater but quality seems to be consistent. The topwater bite will get improve in May. Report by Carson Conklin, ATX Fishing.

Brady

FAIR. Water stained; 65 degrees; 13.26 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; 8.89 feet below pool. Black bass to 5.21 pounds are excellent on jigs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits in 3-8 feet of water. Most bass are in a post spawn transition with the last wave coming next full moon. Crappie are excellent in the cove pocket suspended on black and chartreuse jigs and brush piles on minnows in 10-12 feet with some fish spawning or post spawn. White bass are good on crankbaits and small swimbaits in the lights. Catfish are good on cut or prepared bait around the flats.

Bryan

GOOD. Water stained; 70 degrees. Weather is improving, bringing out the 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. Bass are in a transition period switching to summer patterns. Fishing has been tough out on the water but you can catch some on brush piles. Water is stained. Report by The Aggie Anglers.

Buchanan

EXCELLENT. Water slightly stained; 69 degrees; 24.91 feet below pool. Water clarity is improving on the north end of the lake, and the mid to south end water remains clear. Striper fishing is excellent using live shad as bait in the 5-30 feet of water. The shad spawn is in full swing and the shallow water early morning bite is great. Focus on sandy shorelines twenty minutes before first light, the bite can continue throughout the day but is generally finished by 8 A.M. White bass continue to good early in the morning on topwaters, jigging spoons, live bait, or trolling crankbaits. Report by Travis Holland, TH Fishing. Crappie are good in 10-20 feet of water on chartreuse jigs. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service.

Canyon Lake

GOOD. Water normal stain; 70 degrees; 22.10 feet below pool. 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; 1.36 feet above pool. Black bass are good on white spinnerbaits fished in very shallow water. Crappie are good in shallow coves and ditches all over the lake. White bass are fair up river with most fish moving back into the lake. Blue catfish are good in shallow water along wind blown banks. Yellow catfish are good on live bait. Report by Tommy Tidwell, Tommy Tidwell’s Granger Lake Guide Service.

LBJ

FAIR. Water stained; 67 degrees; 0.29 feet below pool. Crappie are fair in 10-20 feet of water with orange and chartreuse jigs. Report by Jess Rotherham, Texas Crappie Fishing Service.

Medina

SLOW. Water lightly stained; 68 degrees; 91.24 feet below pool. Few reports and anglers on the water due to limited access and low water level.

Travis

GOOD. Water stain; 65 degrees; 50.24 feet below pool. Bass are good in the main lake in shallow water and coves off the main lake with swimbaits and craws. White bass are schooling midlake chasing the shad spawn. Report by Randal Frisbie, Central Texas Fishing Guide, LLC.

Waco

GREAT. Water stained; 66 degrees; 0.29 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

GREAT. Water stained; 71 degrees. Water is clearing after the recent rains. Bass are best with underspins on wind blown banks and yum dingers. Report by David Townsend, Austin Fishing Guide.

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