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Lake Austin Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake Austin: the constant-level Colorado River reservoir between Lake Travis and downtown Austin, managed by statewide rules and stocked with Lone Star bass.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
492.15 ft
Air / High
85 / 85 F
Wind
SE 9 mph

Sources: Texas Water Development Board (Lake Austin), Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake Austin offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The gauge reads 492.15 ft, easing 0.14 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 9 mph, steady pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 85. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:36 PM-12:36 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Tomorrow: Similar at 84 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Texas requires a fishing licence from age 17, from $30.00 for residents. What a Texas licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with TPWD before you keep anything. The season dates for Texas, read off the agency, are on the Texas seasons page.

Water and weather

Daily lake level from the Texas Water Development Board (Lake Austin); live weather.

Water level, last 30 days

Texas Water Development Board daily estimate, 95.8% of conservation capacity on 2026-10-23.

492.00492.17492.34492.15 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp85 F
High / Low85 / 57 F
WindSE 9-11 mph
Pressure1017.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:38 / 18:51
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake Austin this week

The best day on Lake Austin this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:09 AM-12:09 PM and 10:36 PM-12:36 AM
Minor period
4:30 AM-5:30 AM
Sun
07:38 to 18:51
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Austin: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

When to come: the Lake Austin calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Austin today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 87 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 85 F, wind to 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 83 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Texas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

A Texas fishing license is required, and TPWD manages every species here under statewide regulations. A triploid grass carp permit is in effect: any grass carp caught must be returned unharmed. Zebra mussels are present, so drain all water from the boat when leaving.

Access

Most of the shoreline is private (TPWD). Public ramps: Walsh Boat Landing (City of Austin, two lanes, no fee), the Loop 360 ramp under the Pennybacker Bridge (Travis County, entry and trailer fee), Emma Long Park (City, entrance fee) and Mary Quinlan Park (Travis County). Bank access at the Loop 360 bridge, Emma Long, Mary Quinlan, Commons Ford, Selma Hughes and Fritz Hughes parks.

About this water

A 1,599-acre constant-level reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Travis County, Texas, between Mansfield Dam and Tom Miller Dam.

Fishing Lake Austin: the full guide

The lake in figures

TPWD gives Lake Austin 1,599 acres, a maximum depth of 75 feet and impoundment in 1939, operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority. It is a constant-level lake, though TPWD notes it can fluctuate slightly with releases from Lake Travis upstream; normal clarity is clear to slightly stained.

Bass and stocking

TPWD rates the largemouth population excellent, with the potential for a trophy, and says many bass of 8-10 pounds are caught each year; the lake record is a 16.03-pound largemouth from January 2011. TPWD's stocking history shows Lone Star bass fingerlings every year from 2023 through 2026 and adult ShareLunker largemouth in 2024. Bluegill, redbreast and redear add sunfish fishing, and flathead and blue catfish are present at low density.

Cover and timing

TPWD points to weed beds, boat docks, rock slides off the bluffs and placed brush piles, and says the spawn runs February through April, later on the upper end because of cold water released from Lake Travis. Heavy daytime boating in summer makes early mornings and nights the practical times to fish.

Common questions

Will Lake Austin be lowered this year?

No. The City of Austin canceled the drawdown planned for October 12-November 30, 2026, and LCRA says any 2027 lowering will be decided in late summer 2027.

When do Lake Austin bass spawn?

February through April, according to TPWD, with the upper end spawning later because of cold water from Lake Travis.

Where can I launch on Lake Austin?

TPWD lists Walsh Boat Landing, the Loop 360 ramp, Emma Long Park and Mary Quinlan Park.

Is fishing good at Lake Austin right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lady Bird Lake7 miLake Travis18 miLake Bastrop33 miLake Marble Falls33 miLake LBJ37 miGranger Lake37 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Reservoir level
Texas Water Development Board β€” Lake Austin
Water Data for Texas, daily average elevation estimated by the TWDB from operator data (for this lake, the Lower Colorado River Authority). A daily figure, not a live reading.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 30.3450, -97.7895 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.