Clients always ask my favorite time of year to fish... that answer is NOW! March and April are my two favorite months of the year. The groundhog seems to have gotten it wrong this year as spring has come early. I have already caught fish off beds while most of the bass population is pre-spawn. This means the fish are up shallow and are feeding. They are relating to shallow brush and grass, which means fun shallow fishing with moving baits. Spinnerbaits, flukes, swimbaits, chatterbaits, and even frogs are all in the mix right now. Fishing right now is prime, if you follow my Instagram then you probably have seen my stories with how many we have been catching.

You can't go wrong with a fishing trip anytime from February to June. Not to say you can't have great fishing in the summer, but the spring is a killer time to be on the water in Austin. Keep in mind in Central Texas, even in February the water is only in the upper 50's at its coldest. This means the fish spawn much earlier around here than they do in most of the US. As of this past week I have seen plenty of signs that bass are on pre-spawn patterns, with some fish even building nests in some spots! This past week I have had clients catch a bunch of fish. I had one trip on Lake Travis a couple days ago that caught well over 30 bass. The lake is super healthy this year with beautiful grass flats growing bass and clean clear water on the lower end of the lake. At the moment I've been catching a lot of fish fishing a little deeper throwing Carolina Rigs, Jigs, Dropshots, and Neko Rigs. We have also been targeting fish throwing jerkbaits and crankbaits when we come across fish working the deeper weed edges feeding on shad. As the water temps increase the patterns will start to change and more moving baits such as swimbaits, flukes, crankbaits and topwater lures will be on deck. The fun part about this time of year is that depending on the part of the lake you are in the fish can be on different patterns. This means you have a bunch of different ways to target them! Historically this is the time of year I have lots of trips that average 20+ fish... I'm not the kind of guide to over promise and bullshit you, but I've had a lot of trips in the springtime catch 50+ bass during their trip. If you can cast I can put you on fish! The other fun thing about getting out there on the water is that you never know what you're going to hook into! This past week the Buffalo carp seem to be following me around as I've had two BIG ones hit the net. If you are interested in getting out on the water, book your trip and we'll get on a phone call and discuss what you want to catch and what would be your ideal guided trip.

I've got a serious case of bass thumb right now! We've been tearing them up the past several weeks. This last week my half day trips have been averaging 20-40 fish! I had one trip catch 46 fish, and that's only the fish that hit the net, not the ones we hooked and lost... unlike some guides I don't fish very much when I guide and I certainly don't count any fish I catch towards the fish catch numbers I advertise. My focus when guiding is teaching you and doing everything to make sure you not only catch fish but have fun. As of the past week water temps are in the 64-66 degree range. There are fish on beds, but targeting those pre-spawn fish has been the most productive. The shad are also spawning, and you can catch a ton of fish targeting those wind blown banks. Jerkbaits, swimbaits, crankbaits, and spinnerbaits are all working well right now. There are quite a few ways you can catch them right now. If you book a trip in the next week or two you can count on a lot of action and a lot of hooksets! I can also promise that you will be fishing with higher end equipment and from a nicer/newer boat than any other guide listed on FishingBooker in Austin, TX!

The fishing couldn't be better! Every year I look forward to March and April. Current water temps are in the low 60's and the weather has been warm. This combination has the fish up shallow feeding before the spawn. There are fish on beds right now, but the best bite has been targeting pre-spawn fish. If you book a trip right now you can expect a variety of techniques. Small swimbaits and crankbaits have been very productive. Soft plastics such as drop shots, Texas rigs, and carolina rigs have also been catching a lot of fish. I would expect the topwater bite to be turning on very soon. Once the water temps get into the mid 60's is when I tie on a lot of topwater plugs. My most recent trip caught 24 bass, the day prior had 33... those were on half day trips with beginner anglers. We probably had half as many fish jump and spit the bait too! There is no better time than right now to be on the water!

As of about a week ago the bass have started making a transition and are post-spawn. This means that due to the warmer weather and us getting closer to Spring here in Central Texas, the bass are moving up more shallow. They'll pull out of their deep wintertime spots or out of the creek channels where they've been suspending and move to the bank. It'll be a few more weeks before the spawn is in full swing, but it's not far off. With the warmer weather the bite has been getting better and better. I was out a few days ago and ended with 31 fish. Small swimbaits, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and the drop shot have all been producing fish. If you book a trip there is a variety of patterns working that we can catch them on. I know everyone's favorite technique is topwater fishing. That will start to turn on here pretty soon. I would recommend booking now and picking a date anytime in March, April or May. Those months consistently produce good numbers, great size, and consistent topwater action, even mid day. Book your trip and let's get out on the water!

Torwick's Guiding Service Fishing Report September 20, 2021 The bite on Lake Travis has been decent lately. With hot weather and warm water temperatures, its pretty typical for the bite to slow a bit. Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen and slows the metabolism of largemouth bass. This doesn't mean that they won't bite, or that you can't have a good day on the water! What it does mean though, is that you have to work a little harder for the fish. During this time of year I tend to move around a lot and run and gun. I am the type of angler who rather move to find fish that will cooperate as opposed to trying a million different baits and colors to get them to bite. Currently Lake Travis is close to 17.5 feet low with water clarity around 8-10 feet on the lower end and 3-4 feet on the upper end. Water temps are around 84-86 degrees, however I did see it as low as 83 degrees the other day early in the morning before the sun came up. Why is that important? Well the end of September is always a transition period here on Lake Travis. This is usually the time of year when the fish start moving and the pattern changes. Those cooler evenings we've been experience are a sign of things to come and tell me that things are about to kick off! I even saw something on the weather channel about the possibility of a cold front next week! That gets me very excited. For this report let's start off with what I recommend fishing if you are getting out there this next week, then we'll talk about what I would have tied on once we start experience cooler fall weather. End of Summer Fishing We are on the verge of fall fishing, but are not quite there yet. Right now the water temps are still warm enough that fish are staying deep. Offshore spots such as secondary points and ledges are a prime place to look. I rely heavily on my graphs for this type of fishing. Schools of bass can still be found in these areas if you put in enough time graphing. I will look for these drop offs and bottom contours that are close to a creek channel. In the case of Lake Travis, being as deep as it is, you could be fishing a secondary point thats around 30 feet deep, but have you boat positioned in 80+ feet of water casting towards the point. Keep in mind places like this attract fish as it gives them the ability to move out to deeper water and suspend, or move up shallower if they want. Weather patterns such as small rain storms, fronts, and cloud cover can all make fish change their behavior on a whim. I keep an eye on the weather and barometric pressure a lot to help me make decisions of how to fish. Here is a helpful website I recommend y'all check out for lake information such as lake temps and the barometer. Lake Travis Test Station Downsizing baits and slowing way down with your presentation can be very effective right now. I have been throwing a lot of drop shots, ned rigs, and small paddle tail swimbaits. For the drop shot and ned rig, fish it slow and make sure you maintain that bottom contact. When the fish are close to the bottom I like these baits since I can keep them in the strike zone a long time and work them subtly to trigger bites from those more finicky fish. Early in the morning, late in the day, or when I find suspended schools of bass, I will throw a small swimbait. A 4" Keitech easy shiner in a shad color rigged on an underspin or a ball head jig retrieved very slowly has been working well. Turn your reel handle slower than you normally would to get more bites. I also like fishing these swimbaits on braid with a long fluorocarbon leader of 8 pound test. Since I am not near the bottom I can get away with the lighter line, and feel it helps get more bites. Just make sure you have your drag set loose enough! (A little tip for you, sometimes I will take scissors and cut off a 1/2 inch of the swimbait head to give it an even smaller profile.) As far as colors of baits go, when it comes to worms I have my staple colors that I rotate through. Green Pumpkin, Watermelon black seed, Red Bug, and Margarita Mutilator are all solid choices. At times I will change things up and experiment with other colors, but start with these if you are unsure what to throw. As for moving baits such as swimbaits, choose baits that resemble threadfin shad. Anything in silver or grey works sell. I use a lot of Keitech baits and they make a ton of great colors that work well. I am not the type of angler who feels you need a certain specific color to get bit. Fishing the Fall Transition As the weather cools and the water temps start to drop into the low 80's and especially the upper 70's, the bite will get good! Did I say good? I meant great! Fall fishing makes guiding a blast for me. Numbers go up, average size increases, its cooler out on the water, and the stupid wakeboard boats aren't out in numbers. If you're really bored, go back through my website and look at previous year's fishing reports from October and November and you'll