By Nate Skinner for Lone Star Outdoor News
Anglers and fishing guides are getting plenty of bites on various lakes in the central portion of the state while targeting bass. With the weather constantly changing from warm to cold, the fish do not seem to be holding to any specific patterns or areas. Folks who have been willing to cover water and employ a variety of techniques have been able to hook up consistently.
Austin-area guide Ander Meine has been spending plenty of time on Decker Lake, where the bass have been biting better on cooler days after weather changes.
“The bite has been pretty slow until you find the right spot where they are stacked up,” Meine said. “Once you find the right shoreline or the right stretch of grass where they are staging, it’s game on.”
Lately, the fish have been along the outside edges of grass in water depths anywhere from 10 to 15 feet.
“There really has not been a significant consistent pattern, other than
the bass have definitely been hanging along the deep edges of grass beds,” Meine said. “The spots holding the most fish seem to have a little bit steeper drop-off or transition to deeper water. Anywhere along the outside edge of the grass that drops off quicker into deeper water in relation to the surrounding area, is a good spot to focus on.”
Meine has been getting most of his bites using drop shot rigs. Crankbaits have been a good locator bait presentation, and the majority of bass he is catching are in the 2- to 3.5-pound range.
On Lake Travis, Ray Tomasits said his anglers have been catching anywhere from 15 to 30 bass per day.
“Swimbaits, jigs, and various soft plastics have been drawing the most strikes over areas with chunk rock in water depths of 5 to 15 feet,” Tomasits said. “There are some fish out deep as well, but we’ve still got quite a few fish hanging out in relatively shallow water.”
Most of the fish are in the 2 to 3.5-pound range, but Tomasits has been seeing a few pushing 5 pounds or more.
“The fish have been on the move,” Tomasits said. “We recently got some cooler weather, but prior to this, it was warm for a long time. I’ve really had to cover water in order to find good numbers of bass. They definitely haven’t been stacked up in one area.”
Fayette County Reservoir guide Rick Denton said deep-water stretches have been holding the most fish.
“Creek channels with water depths ranging from 18 to 30 feet have been the ticket,” Denton said. “You just have to find where they are concentrating along these creek channels. Bends in channels, drop offs, and anywhere there are significant changes along the bottom in deep water are great places to look for schools of bass.”
Denton has been getting plenty of bites on crankbaits, large plastic worms and jigs. He’s been consistently catching them up to 4-5 pounds, with some bass pushing 6-8 pounds mixed in.
“Anything that will get you down deep where the fish are will work,” he said.
