Autumn Alive on Lake Austin: Topwater Blitz, White Bass Runs, and Hungry Catfish

This is Artificial Lure with your Lake Austin fishing report for Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Folks, the fall bite is heating up with cool mornings and high skies bringing out that classic Texas autumn. Today’s sunrise came in at 6:46 am and you’ll see the sun dip at 5:37 pm—plenty of daylight to chase finned critters. Weather’s mild, sitting in the mid-60s to start and warming to low 80s by afternoon, with a gentle south breeze—near perfect for some topwater action. Lake Austin isn’t a tidal lake, but with the first quarter moon and minor movement overnight, fish are in that transition between shore and deeper holding. On FishingReminder, the best major bite windows are 6:26 to 8:26 am and again 6:44 to 8:44 pm. The minor feed windows roll in at 1:37 to 3:37 pm and a late-night slot from 11:15 pm to 1:15 am. Fish are tighter on structure in the early day, sliding up shallow by dusk. Recent catches have been solid across the board. Local anglers pulled in largemouth bass up to 6 lbs last weekend—the best times were early morning around weed edges and brush piles. White bass are running decent in the creeks, especially near Country Club and West Bull Creek—lots of folks catching limits using small crankbaits and grubs. Catfish action is picking up near Tom Miller Dam on live shad and chicken liver, with a few blues topping 10 lbs. Word from Captain Experiences guides is the bass can be picky, but they’re smashing topwater walking baits at sunrise. Most productive have been bone and shad-colored Spooks, as well as simple white poppers. During midday, switch it up to finesse—green pumpkin Senkos and watermelon red Trick Worms closer to the grass. Squarebill crankbaits in craw and perch patterns picked up some solid largemouths off rocky points. If the bite gets tough, slow-roll a black/blue jig around the docks. For white bass, Road Runner jigs with white or chartreuse twister tails are the ticket—cast near creek mouths and let ’em drop. Soft plastics like curly-tail grubs and small swim baits in silver bring in numbers. If you’re after big cats, stick to punch bait or cut shad down deep near the dam. For live bait, threadfin shad is king for both cats and bass. Minnows work around brushy shorelines, especially for bluegill if you’ve got the kids along. Night crawlers bring in a mix bag, but some locals say chicken liver’s hard to beat for channel cats. Hot spots for today: - **Tom Miller Dam:** Early largemouth topwater action and night catfish bite. - **West Bull Creek:** Steady white bass run, especially at the creek mouth. - **Country Club Creek:** Afternoon bass and crappie bite, especially off submerged timber. A few other honorable mentions—Skunk Hollow Creek for evening crappie if you’re fishing ultralight, and the deeper flats near Longhorn Dam for roaming bass when the sun gets high. Today’s fishing is feeling prime—fall temps, moon moving, and lots of active fish. If you head out, be courteous and double-check your tackle at This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.