The huge holiday rain event has the Lake Travis lake level rapidly rising. Previously dry vegetation is now flooded all over the lake.

Newly inundated brush and green bushes create new feeding grounds for hungry bass and other gamefish. A variety of lure types can produce action in shallow shoreline greenery.

On May 23, a slowly crawled green pumpkin worm ignited a big battle with an 8-pound channel catfish cruising around 2-foot deep green bushes.

Then a fast moving square lip crankbait got ambushed by a boisterous 4-pound largemouth in less than 3 feet of water.


Lake Travis has risen over 10 feet since these episodes and is still rising quickly. More rain is predicted this coming week, so nobody knows when things will stabilize.

Surface lures, buzz baits and spinnerbaits should all be producing in coming weeks. Focus your efforts over, in, and around the vegetation. Early mornings should produce the best action, but breezy afternoons can be good also.

Not all bass will invade the shallow cover. Many black bass will hang out on or near the bottom on points and humps. Texas rigged plastic worms will produce in the 15- to 20-foot zone. Deep diving crankbaits are also worth experimenting with.

The very best fishing will occur after the big rise ebbs and we get a stable warm weather pattern.

The lake sits at 647 feet MSL elevation as I write this column. Contrast this with the low 619 MSL in September 2013. El Nino is finally giving us some serious benefits. We’ve had a 16-foot rise since May 16 of this year. It will be interesting to see just how high we can go.

For updates or a guided excursion call 512-261-3644 or email achristenson1@austin.rr.com.