Lake Austin Guide

Going to be in Austin over the next few weeks and wanted to head out and fish this lake. Looking for some recommendations for a guide that you have used in the past.

Thanks
Jake

Brian Parker

lakeaustinfishing@yahoo.com

Be advised that 30,000 grass carp were released in Lake Austin and every sprig of vegetation was removed, which pretty much ruined what had been a great fishery. Yesterday, we had a flood in the Austin area and the lake is very muddy. There are still a few good bass in the lake, but they are few and far between.

+1

PM sent

Interesting news, I will be down there for a couple of weeks and would be willing to wait a little for the water to settle down. Any other lakes I should check out instead? Knew about the flooding so if it doesn't work out then it is what it is.


Thanks all.

To say Lake Austin is fishing rough right now is an understatement. It's definitely not what it used to be! Lake LBJ is probably the best lake here in Central Texas right now for numbers or big fish, IMO. But if you have your heart set on fishing Lake Austin, give Charles Whited a call at Barefoot Fishing Tours (512-557-6772). He's been guiding in Central Texas (Lake Austin, LBJ, Travis, Bastrop, etc..) for years and he's a good friend of mine. He's a fantastic fisherman, even better person and will take care of you, I promise. Tell him Kyle sent you.


PM me for more details as there can be a bunch...

Agreed on calling charlie. You can't go wrong with him.

Charles Whited for sure!

Head over to Bastrop and throw a fluke,wacky worm,and a Pop-R first thing I the morning. Good lake and easy to figure out.

Worst guide I ever hired was Charles Whited.......I have been on trips with numerous guides and this was by far the worst experience I have had. Fished Town Lake for half day we caught 0 fish and dude just keeps making excuses and looking at his watch. He literally dropped us off on the bank at exactly 4 hrs. Not only did he act like he didn't want to be there he was talking trash about another guide I told him I had considered. It was so bad that my buddy was pissed at me for hiring him.
Never again.

Fish Tight,
John

Charles whited
Brian parker
Ryan wags

I suggest chatting with all of them to see which one suits your needs instead of basing your pick on forum chatter...

Plus 1

Can you explain a little more about your experience?

I went with Brian back in March and he is a great guy. Like everyone said though it was brutal. No grass. Palaniuk did catch that 12 about 2 weeks after we were there but that doesn't really say how the fishing was just that he caught a 12. Although one DD would be enough for me.

Every time I was on Lake Austin with my Legend, I saw another guide with a Legend near by. Go with Brian Parker, he is on the water more than anyone else and has caught giants this year.

Would love to promote the Lake Austin Guides but the lake is just not fishing well. Grab a Centex guide and head to LBJ, I'm sure they'll put you on fish.

THIS!

For anyone looking for a guide that stumbles upon this post in the future...please rest assured that the negative post you see above about Charles Whited is the polar opposite of what I know to be true. Charles is good people and has a long list of happy customers that continues to grow almost daily! Book him with confidence

Agreed....Charles is a great guide and a great person. I wouldn't let that single comment sway you from him.

This is honestly the first time in my life that I have heard a negative word said about Charles.

Seriously? I bet you have him mixed up with someone else. Never heard a bad word about this guide, period.

Have used Charlie as well. Great guy. I'm sure everyone including yourself has had a bad day at work John so I'm not saying you have fabricated your story, but I can assure you there are many more happy than upset customers who fish with Charles. We had a rough day with him as well a few years ago, but the lake was fishing tough (not Lake Austin) at that time. He helped me understand the graphs and fishing techniques as well. This guy fishes A TON to support his family so I can imagine every now and then may not be his best day.

Would 100% recommend Charlie any day.

Every now and then someone comes on the forum and blasts a great guide because they can't catch fish that day. News flash - even guides have days they can't catch them! If you think the bad fishing day is his fault you are really deluded. The guide who earns his living on the water has the best chance to get something done then anybody. Sometimes they just won't cooperate...its called fishing.

Charles is one of the top guides in the hill country and knows every lake around us.

peace!

The reason I hired Charles in the first place was because of all the good things I had heard about him on this forum and from looking at his tournament results. I'm just telling you the experience I had. I've fished my whole life, won (and lost) big tournaments as a co-angler and professional so I know that on any given day, anyone can get skunked. And I've fished with many guides and know how that should go as well.
Maybe he was having a bad day, maybe he had somewhere to be, maybe he didn't feel good. I don't know. What I do know is, that if I had a client that hired me for the first time, I would bust my butt to make sure they had a good experience. Not hey, your four hours are up, (I literally felt like asking him if he needed to be somewhere, b/c he was checking his watch so often) sorry we didn't catch anything see you next time.
To answer below it was an afternoon trip.

You booked a half day, maybe he had another half day scheduled after. In my experience with booking and fishing with guides (a ton), a half day trip typically means exactly that, 4 hours. Maybe he had to pick his kids up, maybe he was checking the time to determine where the best location was to get bit at that time, maybe he just had an off day. I don't know, but I would still confidently recommend him. Dude catches them everywhere and has a long list of satisfied customers.