LADY BIRD LAKE Big Bass Guide

Where Giants Live, Season by Season

Each season gets its own map with the spots I would fish first, in order. Picks lean on the giant score, the deep-water access at each spot and the ShareLunker calendar analysisinference. A ★ on a spot card means the spot is a seasonal pick.

Winter and pre-spawn (Dec–Feb)

Big females sit near the deepest water close to where they will spawn, and feed in short windows on warm afternoons. The archive's first giant months start here: six of Lady Bird's eight 10-lb-plus ShareLunkers came between January 22 and March 30 (ShareLunker archives). Fish the deep holes and the steep banks next to them, slowly analysisinference.

Map of giant spots for Winter and pre-spawn (Dec–Feb)

Seasonal picks, numbered in order of preference analysisinference. Main baits: Football jig, 10-in Texas-rigged worm, slow glide counted down to the break.

# Spot Score Deepest ≤300 ft Why now
1 10C Harpers Branch mouth into the 33-ft hole 90 33 ft creek mouth on a 33-ft hole; creek inflow next to deep water
2 11C Holly pier to the 35-ft hole (deepest water in the lake) 80 34 ft pier over the deepest hole; shad over deep water
3 12A Snake Island west tip and the 30-ft channel 90 31 ft island tip on a 30-ft channel; bait on the channel edge
4 7A South wall at the 27-ft hole 73 27 ft bulkhead into 27-ft hole; sunfish, shad
5 1A Tailrace scour-hole south lip 90 30 ft riprap and scour hole; turbine-washed shad and sunfish
6 11B Fiesta Gardens lagoon 30-ft hole 83 30 ft enclosed lagoon; sunfish, shad trapped in lagoon
7 10A I-35 piling rows (main and frontage bridges) 87 31 ft three I-35 bridges, deep piers; shad in shade
8 2A South-bank rock bluff 70 22 ft TPWD-mapped rock bluff; crawfish, sunfish

Spawn (Mar–Apr)

February and March produce 26 of the lake's 69 ShareLunker entries analysis, and the lake record was a February bedding fish on Barton Creek (Outdoor Life). Look for protected creek mouths, deltas and flats beside deep water. In clear water, see the fish before it sees you inference.

Map of giant spots for Spawn (Mar–Apr)

Seasonal picks, numbered in order of preference analysisinference. Main baits: Weightless or Texas-rigged soft jerkbait, stick worm, soft glide; sight-fishing.

# Spot Score Deepest ≤300 ft Why now
1 9E Blunn Creek delta lip 70 24 ft creek delta, reeds; Blunn Creek inflow
2 9A Waller Creek mouth into the channel 70 23 ft creek delta, reeds; Waller Creek inflow
3 5B Barton Creek mouth delta 50 18 ft creek delta; warm spring water; bait
4 12B Lakeshore Park south lobe drop 67 28 ft basin drop, offshore humps (TPWD grass); bait on humps
5 12C North arm flat edge (Metz side) 50 18 ft flat edge; sunfish
6 11B Fiesta Gardens lagoon 30-ft hole 83 30 ft enclosed lagoon; sunfish, shad trapped in lagoon
7 3D Johnson Branch delta flat 57 17 ft creek delta; creek inflow
8 2D Eanes Creek mouth 53 20 ft creek delta, reeds; creek inflow bait
9 9C East Bouldin mouth and the islet 53 19 ft islet and creek mouth; creek inflow
10 7B Shoal Creek delta lip 57 22 ft creek delta; creek inflow

Post-spawn and summer (May–Aug)

After the spawn, big bass move to shade, current and deep cover: bridge piers, dock lines and steep drops. Fish dawn and the last light before the 10 pm boat curfew (City code 8-5-82) inference.

Map of giant spots for Post-spawn and summer (May–Aug)

Seasonal picks, numbered in order of preference analysisinference. Main baits: Jig and big worm in the shade, big topwater at dawn, glide on shade lines.

# Spot Score Deepest ≤300 ft Why now
1 10A I-35 piling rows (main and frontage bridges) 87 31 ft three I-35 bridges, deep piers; shad in shade
2 8A South 1st Street Bridge piling row 70 23 ft bridge pilings; shad
3 8B Congress Avenue Bridge piling row 67 22 ft bridge pilings; shad
4 6A Lamar Blvd Bridge piling row 57 20 ft arch-bridge piers; shad
5 3A MoPac piling rows 63 19 ft MoPac pilings (many); shad in shade lines
6 9D Community Dock north-bank drop 67 24 ft dock over a 19-ft drop; sunfish
7 11D International Shores pier drop (south bank) 63 30 ft pier, bulkhead; sunfish
8 11E Peace Point dock drop (south bank) 73 35 ft dock, wooded bank; sunfish
9 1A Tailrace scour-hole south lip 90 30 ft riprap and scour hole; turbine-washed shad and sunfish
10 9B Waller Creek boathouse docks (north bank) 57 22 ft boathouse docks; sunfish under docks

Fall (Sep–Nov)

Shad push into creek mouths and over points as the water cools. Cover water with glides and swimbaits on breaks near creeks and current, and expect fish to roam inference.

Map of giant spots for Fall (Sep–Nov)

Seasonal picks, numbered in order of preference analysisinference. Main baits: 6–8 in glide, swimbait, walking topwater.

# Spot Score Deepest ≤300 ft Why now
1 9A Waller Creek mouth into the channel 70 23 ft creek delta, reeds; Waller Creek inflow
2 10C Harpers Branch mouth into the 33-ft hole 90 33 ft creek mouth on a 33-ft hole; creek inflow next to deep water
3 12A Snake Island west tip and the 30-ft channel 90 31 ft island tip on a 30-ft channel; bait on the channel edge
4 1E Red Bud Isle south tip and channel merge 57 22 ft island tip, laydowns; seam concentrates bait
5 5C North wall into the 22-ft hole 60 22 ft wooded wall; sunfish
6 12D Longhorn Dam face 63 21 ft dam riprap; bait pinned at the dam
7 6D West Bouldin Creek mouth and south shelf 53 19 ft creek mouth, weir; creek inflow
8 1B Emmett Shelton Bridge piling row 63 12 ft bridge pilings; current carries bait past piers