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Lake Bastrop Fishing Report

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

Lake Bastrop: a 906-acre LCRA power-plant cooling reservoir near Bastrop, where warmer water keeps bass active in winter and a 14-21-inch slot applies.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
85 / 85 F
Wind
SE 7 mph

Sources: 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 Bastrop offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 7 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 10:07 AM-12:07 PM and 10:33 PM-12:33 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.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 85 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

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp85 F
High / Low85 / 54 F
WindSE 7-9 mph
Pressure1017.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:36 / 18:49
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 Bastrop this week

The best day on Lake Bastrop 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
10:07 AM-12:07 PM and 10:33 PM-12:33 AM
Minor period
4:28 AM-5:28 AM
Sun
07:36 to 18:49
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Bastrop: 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.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

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 Bastrop 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
Crappie
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 Bastrop today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

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 87 F, wind to 7 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 7 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 84 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

Texas fishing license. TPWD rules for Bastrop: largemouth 14-21 in. slot (keep fish 14 in. or less, or 21 in. or more; only one 21 in. or more), 5 black bass a day; channel and blue catfish 25 a day, only 10 of them 20 in. or longer; flathead 18-in. minimum, 5 a day; juglines, throwlines and trotlines prohibited. LCRA prohibits bowfishing.

Access

LCRA's North Shore Park (off FM 1441) and South Shore Park (off South Shore Road), each with a one-lane concrete ramp, entrance fee and year-round opening (TPWD).

About this water

906 acres, 60 ft maximum depth, impounded 1964 (TPWD), conservation pool 450 ft; LCRA reservoir in Bastrop County, Texas.

Fishing Lake Bastrop: the full guide

A cooling reservoir

TPWD lists Lake Bastrop at 906 acres, 60 feet at its deepest, impounded in 1964 and controlled by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Because it cools a power plant, TPWD says the water runs warmer than on some other lakes, keeping bass active through winter and early spring, though it can get extremely hot in summer and slow the fishing.

Bass

TPWD calls Bastrop a high-quality bass lake that has been heavily stocked with Florida largemouth, though not noted for trophy fish: most bass caught weigh 2 to 5 pounds. It rates February through June as the most productive period and points to creek channels, humps, drop-offs and large stands of submerged vegetation, with schooling bass in June-September.

Catfish and crappie

Channel, blue and flathead catfish have been stocked, and channel catfish are abundant, best before summer vegetation gets in the way of bottom fishing. TPWD suggests the creek channels and the power-plant discharge canal for catfish, and notes only a low-density crappie population.

Common questions

Why is Lake Bastrop warmer in winter?

It is a power-plant cooling reservoir, and TPWD says its water temperatures run warmer than on some other lakes, keeping bass active in winter and early spring.

What is the bass slot on Lake Bastrop?

A 14-21-inch slot: bass 14 inches or less, or 21 inches or more, may be kept, with only one 21 inches or longer, within 5 black bass a day (TPWD).

Can I use trotlines on Lake Bastrop?

No. TPWD prohibits juglines, throwlines and trotlines there, and LCRA prohibits bowfishing.

Is fishing good at Lake Bastrop 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 Lake28 miLake Austin33 miLake Fayette36 miGranger Lake38 miLake Somerville43 miLake Travis51 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 30.1550, -97.2850 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.