Lake Austin Fishing Forecast: Crisp Temps, Active Bite for Bass, Crappie, and Catfish

Good morning, y’all—Artificial Lure here, giving you the Lake Austin fishing scoop for Saturday, November 8, 2025. If you’re itching to get a line wet, you’ve picked a promising fall day here in central Texas.

Today’s weather is crisp and partly cloudy, with morning temps starting off in the upper 50s and working up toward the low 70s by afternoon. Light southern winds are expected, which should make the bite pretty active, especially in the early hours. According to the National Weather Service, sunrise was at 6:48 a.m., and sunset will roll around at 5:34 p.m.—classic Texas daylight shrinking, so plan accordingly if you want to maximize those golden hours.

Lake Austin doesn’t have traditional tides like the coast, but with consistent flow from Tom Miller Dam and the Highland Lakes, you’ll notice a decent current in certain stretches, particularly after recent rain earlier this week. Water’s looking a bit stained, but visibility is holding up in the 2-3 foot range near main-lake points and docks.

Fish activity is definitely on the upswing. The cooling water and dying shad schools have the big ones pushing shallow and into creek mouths. Folks in the past few days have been hauling in healthy largemouth bass and some chunky Guadalupe bass. Reports from local guides and videos out of ReelCTX show solid numbers of fall bass caught shallow around docks and grass edges, mostly in the 1 to 3 pound range, with the occasional 4+ chunk surfacing when shad are thick.

Crappie action has picked up around deeper brush piles and bridge pilings, with limits reported by noon if you stick to the right depth—try 10 to 15 feet with small minnows or jigs in white and chartreuse. Catfishing has been steady at night using fresh cut shad or stink bait, especially up toward Quinlan Park and Emma Long.

Your best bets for lures right now: go-to soft plastics like green pumpkin or watermelon red flake Senkos and flukes, worked weightless or Texas-rigged along docks and bulkheads. Spinnerbaits in white/chartreuse with a little flash will cover water fast—especially when the wind picks up midmorning. Chatterbaits and shallow-diving crankbaits in shad patterns have been nailing reaction bites all week, and don't overlook topwater walk-the-dog baits right at sunrise in the shallow flats.

If live bait’s your game, you can’t beat a lively shiner or big minnow under a slip bobber, especially if you’re after bass or crappie suspending under dock shade. For blue cats or channels, get your hands on some fresh cut bait and soak it on a Carolina rig near drop-offs.

For hotspots, you’ll want to focus on the stretch between Emma Long Metropolitan Park and the Pennybacker Bridge (the 360 bridge)—lots of submerged structure here, especially around the remnant cypress roots and hydrilla beds. Another favorite is the mouth of Bee Creek; this area holds stripers and bass chasing bait right now. Don’t overlook the deeper boat docks along Steiner Ranch, either.

Final tip—move often if you aren’t getting bites within twenty minutes. The fish are chasing schools, and with the water temps dropping, they’re on the move after bait.

Thanks for tuning in to today’s rundown. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a report on the bite across central Texas. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI