Good morning anglers, Artificial Lure here with your Lake Austin fishing report for Saturday, May 17, 2025.

We are rolling into a classic May pattern on Lake Austin. Water levels are just a hair under normal, stained, and holding steady at about 75 degrees. Sunrise today was at 6:33 AM, and you can expect sunset around 8:18 PM. Weather is shaping up pleasant with mild morning temps climbing into the mid 80s, and only a light breeze on tap, making for perfect conditions to get out and fish.

The recent bite has been solid, especially for largemouth bass. Topwater action is hot early in the mornings over the grass beds—bring your small poppers and walk-the-dog style lures to work over the vegetation. Try the edges of grass with hollow-body frogs or a buzzbait for some explosive strikes. Once the sun gets up and boat traffic increases, bass are pushing offshore and setting up on brush piles and deeper structure. This is where a Texas rigged worm, dropshot, or shaky head presentation will get you bit. Swimbaits reeled slowly along dock edges and bulkheads have been producing as well, especially in the cooler part of the day. If you have forward-facing sonar, look for suspended bass out around bait balls and throw a minnow-style soft plastic for your best shot at numbers[5][1][2].

Bluegill are moving up shallow, especially around docks and riprap, and they are on the beds. Small creature baits, live worms, or crickets will get constant action from both kids and adults. Don't be surprised if you pick up the occasional chunky redear mixed in. Crappie have been slower, but the odd one is turning up around brush in 12-20 feet.

In the past week, reports have come in of a few impressive stringers. Anglers fishing early have been scoring with both numbers and size, and there was even a white bass pushing record class caught last weekend. Most bass are in the 2-4 pound range with the occasional 5+ pounder landed[2][3].

Best baits right now are:
- Topwater lures (frogs, poppers, buzzbaits) in the morning
- Small swimbaits and chatterbaits along docks and grass lines
- Texas rigged plastics, shaky heads, and dropshots for offshore structure
- Live worms and crickets for bluegill

For hot spots today, check out the area around Emma Long Park—good grass, lots of fish, and easy access. Also, the stretch from Quinlan Park upstream to the boat ramp has been holding quality fish, especially early and late in the day.

Tight lines out there and be sure to drain your boats to help stop the spread of zebra mussels. See you on the water!