I'm planning to go from SoCal (Los Angeles) to Austin as a trip (driving) starting early December. Will be in Austin for 3 weeks before coming back to SoCal.

 

What are some lakes/ponds I should definitely try to fish? What kind of gear should I be bringing on this trip? This isn't purely a fishing trip as probably will bring 1 rod maximum. What tackle? I'd love to try fishing for bass/bluegill. I do have an ultralight with a vanford 1000 or a medium/light with a 2000 Daiwa BG.

 

 

 

 

Ultra light and texas don’t go together terribly well, I would bring your bigger rod 

Sounds good. What are the good areas to fish near Austin? Anything on the way from CA -> Austin?

Bring the bigger rod... 

 

I'm assuming that since you are driving and only bringing one combo, that you will likely be fishing from the shore? If you are staying in the downtown Austin area, Lady Bird Lake will be your best bet, free access, and there are quite a few areas to fish from the shore there. It would be hard for me to recommend anywhere else to fish from land in the Austin area. 

Lady Bird Lake (also known as Town Lake) is basically the section of the Colorado river that runs through Austin. I suppose technically it's a "lake" because it has a dam on one end (well, both ends actually), but it doesn't really look or feel like one. It feels like, well, the section of a river that runs through a city. 

 

Having said that, it's my understanding that it does hold a lot of bass. And as noted, it's free access and almost all of it is accessible by shore. The problem is that an extremely busy hike and bike trail surrounds most of it, there is a huge homeless population in the area, and it's often packed full of kayakers and paddle boarders. I tried bank fishing there a couple of times and got frustrated with the constant interruptions and the stress of worrying about when and where to cast, and this was years ago when it wasn't even as crowded as it is now. 

 

After having said THAT, there is a small area at the very top end of the lake called Red Bud Isle that is decently isolated and away from all the "noise". The problem there, though, is that it's far enough from downtown that you have to drive to it and parking is extremely limited. But if can get there during non-peak hours, you'll do OK. You could also venture to the east side of the lake where things open up a lot more, but it gets kinda sketchy once you cross I-35. 

 

Another option would be to rent a kayak or canoe from one of the rental places and fish from that. There are some youtube videos of guys doing that with decent success. 

 

Other than that, bank fishing around here is spotty at best. I know a few places in the north part of town - specifically Brushy Creek Lake Park and a very well kept (for now) secret called either Muir Lake or "Soil Conservation Service Site #6" depending on the map. I had fun once at Lake Pflugerville but it's pretty far from me and I have to really want to get there, and haven't since. I've heard Decker Lake can be good but I've never been there. 

 

Where are you staying, that might help us? 

On 10/24/2021 at 3:21 AM, leeroythecat said:

Sounds good. What are the good areas to fish near Austin? Anything on the way from CA -> Austin?

 

Maybe something in the Highland Lakes chain? It's basically a series of dams northwest of Austin built in the 1930's to control flooding along the Colorado. Lady Bird Lake is the last in the chain but there are several larger lakes upstream.

 

Unfortunately I'm only familiar with Lake Buchanan and the area I bank fish there is private. I assume there are public access areas on all the lakes but I'm just not familiar with them, except for Lake Travis which is always crowded and I've yet to find a decent bank access spot. Buchanan holds a lot of striper but you need your own boat or a guide to get to them. 

 

What's that lake in west-ish Texas I see mentioned a lot - Lake Ivie? 

On 11/13/2021 at 12:08 PM, Dash Riprock said:

What's that lake in west-ish Texas I see mentioned a lot - Lake Ivie? 

 

lol, yeah... I was actually just about to recommend that. You can definately make it an "on-the-way" destination if you give it some effort. I'd bring my a-rig