Lake Austin’s looking just about right for a November outing. The water’s sitting at 72 degrees, clarity is good, and the level is about 0.65 feet below pool. Bass activity has picked up, especially with some of the grass dying off, which is pushing bait and bass into the shallows and back pockets. These pockets are holding plenty of shad, with fish schooling and getting thick for winter. The river channel’s also hot, with suspended bass following bait schools—weightless flukes, small swimbaits, jerkbaits, and Alabama rigs are all putting fish in the boat, according to local guide Carson Conklin from ATX Fishing.
Spinnerbaits and jerkbaits fished around the main lake’s submerged vegetation have had solid results. Ander Meine with Bassquatch Fishing reports the best bass bite around outside, deeper grass edges for consistent action. With water stained and vegetation thinning, focus efforts on those transition areas between deep water and remaining grasslines. Three-inch paddle-tail swimbaits over submerged grass and minnow-style plastics have also fooled suspended fish.
The catfish bite is notable—channel cats are great on punch bait in 10–20 feet of water, while flatheads are moving into shallow mouths of the river, hitting live bait well. For trophies, try large chunks of fresh cut bait along channel edges. According to Brian Worley from B&S Catfishing, eater-size cats under 10 pounds are keying in on small cut shad with a deadsticking approach along ledges and channels.
Crappie are fair to good, staging on hard structure or brush in 4–15 feet—jigs and minnows both drawing bites. Not any major numbers reported this week, but seasoned hands working tight to submerged cover continue to put together respectable stringers, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife.
Best baits and lures lately:
- **For bass:** weightless flukes, small swimbaits, jerkbaits, three-inch paddle tails, spinnerbaits, Alabama rigs, and soft plastic stick worms are all solid.
- **For catfish:** punch bait, cut shad, and live bait.
- **For crappie:** small jigs and live minnows on submerged brush or docks.
Weather’s stable: cool starts in the 50s, afternoon highs reaching mid-to-high 70s. Winds are light to variable, and with no big cold fronts in the last few days, the bite’s steady—expect a real push after the next cold snap. Sunrise today is right around 6:57AM and sunset about 5:30PM, so prime time is dawn through mid-morning and again in late afternoon.
Tide isn’t much of a factor here in Lake Austin, but keep in mind surface water’s cooling slowly—if we get a brief rain or chilly wind, expect more fish to pull shallow and the bite to get better near protected banks.
As for hot spots, give a look at:
- **Emma Long Park**: Bass are schooling along deep weedlines and where the flats meet river bends.
- **Pennybacker Bridge area**: Always reliable this time of year—river channel meets several extended points, and bait stacks attract bass and catfish.
- For crappie, hit the marinas or brush near the city park docks, especially in the late afternoon.
Recent catches include mixed bags of 1–3 pound largemouth, plenty of eater channel cats, some flatheads pushing the teens, and typical crappie running 9–12 inches on good days. Bass are feeding up for winter, so don’t overlook reaction baits if you spot shad busting the surface.
That’s the skinny for Lake Austin today. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s round-up—if you want to keep catching more than just the latest gossip, make sure to subscribe so you never miss a report.
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