Crappie Fishing Guide Lake Austin

Currently I only guide on Lake Austin in the Fall and Winter months only due to the heavy boat traffic on this lake.

With an abundant population of Crappie, black bass and catfish Lake Austin is a good lake to fish when not being heavily used for recreation due to its proximity to Austin, Texas. The lake is approx. 6 miles long and used to be called Lake McDonald. The lake was created by damming up the Colorado River in 1939. There are lots of large Crappie in this lake if you know where to find them.

Captain Jess Rotherham has been a pro Crappie fishing guide on Lake Austin for well over 10 years, and he is ready to take you and your fishing buddies or family on an excellent fishing whenever you are ready to go. Many Lake Austin fisherman think the Crappie have left town so to speak during the Winter months, but Captain Jess knows where they like to hang out and feed.

If you wish to learn some of Capt. Jess’s Crappie fishing methods, setup a guided fishing charter on Lake Austin with him and find out for yourself why he is recognized as one of the best Crappie fishing guides in Central Texas.

Boats & Gear – Crappie Fishing Guide Lake Austin

Captain Jess Rotherham’s Crappie fishing guide service offers comfortable fishing from his 2001 18ft Shallow Sport fishing boat equipped with a 2015 Yamaha SHO 115 HP motor. This boat will comfortably fish four fishermen, however if you have a larger group, we can arrange for an additional guide.

We use Pro Angler Crappie rods equipped with Shimano reels. You can trust the fishing gear to perform correctly when you have that trophy Crappie on it. We have both 4-foot and 8-foot rods, so that everyone can fish wish confidence.

During the Spring, we use corks and jigs in the shallower waters to catch Crappie. In the Fall months, we fish brush piles using either minnows or jigs, depending on the disposition of the fish. During the Winter, we use a specialized technique that is called spider rigging. It can work really well IF you know where to find the Crappie.

Some Words About Spider Rigging

When going after Crappie that are suspended, and/or roaming over vast areas of the lake, spider rigging is an efficient way to find the Crappie and make sure the fishing action stays fast. This is a relatively new Crappie technique, but one that Captain Jess has mastered.

Spider rigging is slow trolling a number of rods fanned out on the bow of the boat. A really slow trolling speed is maintained using a Motor Guide X15 trolling motor, which is mandatory when spider rigging on Lake Austin.

Winter Crappie are well known for schooling in open water to feed on baitfish and doing so at all different depths. When we locate a school of Crappie, the action is fast and furious. What makes Winter Crappie fishing extra exciting is that fish are usually very aggressive as well as being at the peak of their of their life cycle. Winter is the time when we can catch the biggest Crappie

Choose Captain Jess – Crappie Fishing Guide Lake Austin

With over 25 years of Crappie fishing experience, Captain Jess is still perfecting all of his techniques to catch more and larger fish and will continue to learn more. Jess is the holder of lake records on multiple Highland Lakes, and he has proven he is the Crappie Whisperer in Central Texas and the Highland Lakes chain.

At Texas Crappie Fishing Service we take pride in catering to fishermen with any level of experience, whether you are young or old. Our family-friendly approach guarantees you’ll have a really good time, and if you’re a serious Crappie fisherman, you may learn a useful trick or two.

Contact Capt. Jess today and come and join us for some world-class Crappie fishing on Lake Austin, and take a shot at a lake record of your own.