Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Lake Austin fishing report.

We’re sliding into a classic Central Texas early‑winter pattern on the river lake. Cool nights, mild afternoons, and mostly light north–northeast breeze with a high around the mid‑60s and stable barometer – good conditions for bass to chew shallow early and slide off to mid‑depth structure by mid‑day, according to the latest NWS point forecast for central Austin. Sunrise is right around 7:10 a.m. with sunset close to 5:30 p.m., based on the Austin solunar tables from SolunarForecast.

Those same tables for the 78788 area show the better major feed running late morning into early afternoon, with minor windows around daybreak and just before dark. On the water that’s been lining up with a little low‑light flurry, a slower patch, and then a nice mid‑day bump once the sun warms the rocks and docks.

Recent chatter from local guides and Austin‑area bass reports has Lake Austin giving up steady numbers of **largemouth** in the 1–3 pound class, with a few 4–5s, plus some **Guadalupe bass** mixed in along chunk rock and current breaks. Catfish guys working stinkbait and cut shad on the channel bends have been boxing decent **blues and channels**, and a handful of crappie are starting to show tight to deeper marina docks with brush, similar to what Texas Parks and Wildlife describes as typical winter behavior on Hill Country reservoirs.

Best producers this week:

- **Lures**
- Shallow to mid‑running **crankbaits** in shad or red craw, bumped off rock and seawalls.
- **Suspending jerkbaits** over 8–12 feet near grass edges and dock corners.
- **Green pumpkin or watermelon red soft plastics** (Texas‑rig worms, creature baits, and 3–4" swimbaits) dragged slowly on points and bluff ends.
- **Jigs** in black‑blue or green pumpkin with a compact trailer for dock skipping and laydowns.

- **Bait**
- For cats: **cut shad**, **chicken liver**, or punch bait on the lower‑lake bends.
- For panfish: **live minnows** or small jigs tight to shaded dock poles.

Couple of local hot spots to circle:

- **The 360 Bridge stretch**: work the riprap, pilings, and nearby grass with cranks and jerkbaits at first light, then slow‑roll plastics along the first break.
- **Mansfield Dam end and main‑lake points**: clearer water, good for jerkbaits and football jigs in 12–18 feet; cats holding on the channel edge here too.

Pattern wise, think slow and deliberate once the sun’s up. Start shallow around seawalls, grass, and docks at dawn with moving baits; as that bite fades, back out and grind a jig or Texas‑rig on the first drop and any rock or brush you can find. Wind on a bank has been a plus, not a minus.

That’s the Lake Austin rundown from Artificial Lure.

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