Myself and fishing buddy Steve fished Lake Bastrop this past Thursday! We fished from 7am till 2pm. We launched our Kayaks at South Shore Park and fished that area. The Hydrilla is thick but we did manage to find several nice places that were holding some nice fish. Fish were in 8 to 12 feet of water. We caught around 50 fish and we had to work for em. Copper Nose Bluegill in the 8 to 9 inch range, Redear in the 8 to 10 inch range,a few Redbreast in the 9 inch range, and several bass in the 1 to 3 pound range rounded out the catch. Fish were fat and full of fight. All fish were released to fight again. The best time of the bite was between 11am till 1pm. Curly Tail Grubs Chartreuse/Black and Gulp Alive Minnows Chartreuse got the best results. We also caught fish on the Gulp Alive Leaches. Plan on fishing Bastrop a lot more!

As always nice post Laker. How was the boat traffic?

Good stuff Laker...Not quite as far a drive as Fayette...How would you say this lake compares to Fayette ? The water looks very similar...

Bastrop has more Hydrilla beds than Fayette. Fayette on the other hand has more stick ups, and coves. To me Fayette is easier to fish and it seems that the fish are more active by the reed beds on Fayette than on Bastrop. As for fish, the quality is the same. As for numbers Fayette by far! The more time you fish a water body the numbers will usually go up. Bastrop is a nice lake and I am sure there are plenty of sunnies there. Just have to find them and learn the lake better!


Gitter: The boat traffic was very light. There was only a few trailers at the ramp when we left!

Thanks Laker! Years back I fished Bastrop for bass and did pretty good. Always love reading post from other water bodies. Brings back memories.

Nice post Curtis. The last time I fished Bastrop did not do all that great!

Going to have send in the Perch Destroyer to do a recon mission on Bastrop around May of 2020.

The perch destroyer on a mission...sounds good..

Great report

Laker, I am glad that you enjoyed your trip to Bastrop. My Wife and I have been fishing Bastrop since around 2007. We probably fish it about 15 times a year. It's a 3 hour-way drive including a stop at Buc-ee's in Giddings. We also fish Fayette. Everyone has different experiences in fishing. We DEFINITELY catch greater numbers of fish consistently at Bastrop. Catching a 50 - 100 fish at certain times is common for Bastrop.That doesn't mean that we haven't caught decent numbers at FCL occasionally but not the amount we catch on Bastrop. We consider FCL a size lake.

Bastrop has much more vegetation than FCL. To me, Bastrop's vegetation has changed over the last 4 or 5 years. It used to be easy to find the fish-holding grass throughout the lake. I am not 100% sure what it is but something else is taking over the lake. I don't think it is hydrilla. I have heard that it is spiny naiad. Whatever it is, the coots eat the small stems and leave the long branches. Being crankbait fishermen, we hate those things. They are a major pain in the backside. I think there is a healthy growth of American Pondweed also. In the past, we would love going on sunny days, where we would fish the fronts of the eel grass lines. I have a hard time finding that eel grass now.

Disclaimer: This disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text above belong solely to the author. Other fishermen may experience results differently than this lowly amateur.

Thanks Rayzor for the report. I do not fish Bastrop all that often but have fished it enough to agree with you that over the last 4 to 5 years the lake has changed and that some sort of grass beds are making it more difficult to fish. Good observation.

Well stated! Thanks for sharing.


Side Note: Love fishing Bastrop! There are some nice fish in that lake and it is a little closer to home!