Lake Austin Winter Bite Heats Up - Largemouth, Crappie, & Cats on the Prowl

Hey y'all, this is Artificial Lure comin' atcha with your Lake Austin fishin' report for Monday mornin', January 26th, right around 8:30 AM. Winter's got her grip on Central Texas, but don't ya dare put up your rods—the bite's alive in these chilly shallows!

Weather's lookin' crisp today: highs in the low 50s, partly cloudy skies, light north breeze at 5-10 mph keepin' things stable. No tides here on this Highland Lake reservoir, but water temps hoverin' 48-52 degrees from recent reports, perfect for winter patterns. Sunrise was at 7:28 AM, sunset 5:48 PM—plenty of daylight to chase 'em.

Fish activity's pickin' up after yesterday's "Winter Waltz" report: bass, crappie, and more dancin' in the shallows. Largemouths are schooled on shad near grass lines and hydrilla, with Guadalupe bass—our Texas state fish—mixin' in, especially hybrids up to 1.5 pounds or more in Travis-connected waters. Recent catches include a 6.45-pound largemouth from nearby Barton Creek on buzzbait back in '14, channel cats to 4.58 pounds on cut bait, and crappie on brush piles. Bream hittin' deep at 25-35 feet.

Best lures right now? Swimbaits, umbrella rigs, and lipless crankbaits for bass chasin' shad—think Texas-rigged soft plastics or frogs over grass. For crappie, small jigs or minnows under corks. Live bait shines: cut shad or herring for cats in 20-25 feet, crickets for bream, minnows for slabs.

Hit these hot spots: shallow pockets around FM 2222 near the dam for schooling bass, and deep brush in Mansfield Dam coves for crappie and cats. Bundle up, watch for shad balls on sonar, and let 'em eat!

Thanks for tunin' in, folks—subscribe for more reports! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.

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