Fly fishing report · Southwest

Colorado River Below Austin

A warmwater report for the Colorado River below Austin, focused on bass, flows, public access planning, fly choices, and heat-aware safety.

Check flow & weather

Today's river scoreHigh source confidence

Caution

Best option: Float.

A float can fit better than wading only if launches, shuttle, boat skill, wind, and local rules all check out.

Updated Jul 13, 11:17 PM UTCUsually refreshes about every 45 minutes

Recommended approachFloat

Mode scores adjust the river-wide score for the risks of wading, bank fishing, or floating.

WadeCheck

This report does not describe this as a primary mode. Verify legal access, depth, launches, and retreat options before planning around it.

Bank / edge41/100

Bank and edge fishing is the safer default when water is high, pushy, or not fully verified.

Float · Best fit53/100

A float can fit better than wading only if launches, shuttle, boat skill, wind, and local rules all check out.

Confirm before you leave

Flow and weather right now.

Use the flow trend to confirm the score before you leave. Weather can change the safest and most productive fishing window.

River strategy

Fish it as a warmwater river, not a trout report.

The Colorado below Austin is a bass and warmwater fly fishing page. Flow, access, heat, and shuttle logistics matter more than a trout-style hatch chart.

Use the Austin and Bastrop USGS gauges to understand release and downstream trend.
Poppers and baitfish patterns make the most sense early, late, and around shade.
Crawfish and hellgrammite-style flies are useful when bright sun pushes fish down.
Use official TPWD access pages and do not assume private banks are open.

Why this score moved

FlowUse caution

USGS shows 299 cfs with a falling about 13% over about 6 hours trend. same-date USGS history (1898-2025, 128 readings) puts normal around 1,740 cfs and the low-water marker near 366 cfs; today's flow is unusually low for the date. Low water can make fish spooky, warm, pressured, or concentrated; check temperature and handling risk.

Short-term weatherUse caution

The forecast has storm or heavy-precipitation risk, so timing and access matter more than the score alone.

Public alertUse caution

A Flood Watch is active near this forecast point, so the score is capped until runoff, clarity, crossings, and road access are checked. NWS alert: Flood Watch issued July 13 at 10:03AM CDT until July 16 at 7:00PM CDT by NWS Austin/San Antonio TX.

Best mode nowUse caution

Float: A float can fit better than wading only if launches, shuttle, boat skill, wind, and local rules all check out.

SeasonHelps score

Summer: Early and late topwater can be good; midday heat is often a safety and comfort problem.

Read the water

What changes the plan.

The best fly fishing plan is a dawn or evening warmwater session with flow, heat, and access already checked. On hot afternoons, fish shade, deeper outside bends, and current breaks or shift to scouting.

Low clear flow

Use smaller streamers, long casts, and focus on deeper shade and current edges.

Moderate stable flow

Float or wade carefully and cover banks, wood, and gravel transitions.

High or stained water

Avoid unsafe wading and use larger dark streamers from secure positions.

Summer heat

Fish early or late, carry water, and protect fish and yourself from heat stress.

Field plan

Fish it with intention.

Best flows

Use USGS 08158000 at Austin for the immediate below-city trend and USGS 08159200 at Bastrop for downstream context. Stable or gently moving warmwater flows are easier to fish than sudden release changes, flood pulses, or low hot water.

When to skip

Skip or shorten the trip when heat index is unsafe, thunderstorms are building, flows are rising, the shuttle is not confirmed, or the only plan depends on crossing or using private banks.

Local plan

Start with the Austin gauge, then compare the Bastrop trend and TPWD access pages. Pick one legal access sequence, fish shade and current early, carry water, and keep a shorter bank plan ready if wind or heat makes a float unattractive.

Backup water

If the lower Colorado is too hot, high, muddy, or access-complicated, compare the Guadalupe River, San Marcos River, or Pedernales River before forcing the same warmwater plan.

Hatches & flies

Bring a flexible box.

TimingWhat to watchUseful flies

March to MayWarming bass water, minnows, crayfish, caddis, and bank insectsClouser, crayfish, swimming nymph, small popper, baitfish streamer

Reviewed pattern · report says “Clouser”Clouser Deep MinnowThe reviewed chartreuse-and-white form uses sparse layered bucktail with flash around lead barbell eyes. The eyes make the fly sink between strips and ride hook point up; color, eye weight, hook, and saltwater materials must remain labeled.See photos & how to fish it

Reviewed family · report says “crayfish”Crayfish and Crawfish PatternsCrayfish patterns differ in claw size, eye placement, shell profile, leg motion, weighting, hook orientation, and snag resistance. Rust, brown, olive, tan, and pale molting colors remain labeled choices rather than aliases for one recipe.See family guide + 3 more reviewed guides in the Fly Box

June to AugustEarly and late topwater windows, cicadas, hoppers, shad, and bluegill forageFoam popper, slider, deer-hair diver, shad streamer, crawdad

Reviewed family · report says “Foam popper”Bass and Panfish Popper PatternsPoppers may use cupped foam, cork, balsa, deer hair, or pencil-shaped heads. Head face, size, buoyancy, tail, legs, and weed guard determine sound and action; a generic popper label does not identify one fly.See family guide

Reviewed family · report says “slider”Warmwater Slider and Diver PatternsA slider has a tapered, flat, or softly shaped head that glides or pushes a small wake with limited noise. A diver has an angled, collared, folded, or otherwise shaped head that pulls below the surface when stripped and rises on the pause. Frog, baitfish, and large-insect profiles can be tied on either idea, so the exact head action, buoyancy, hook orientation, weed guard, and material must stay named.See family guide + 3 more reviewed guides in the Fly Box

September to NovemberCooling water, shad movement, crayfish, and steady streamer fishingBaitfish streamer, crayfish, hellgrammite, olive bugger, soft hackle

Reviewed family · report says “Baitfish streamer”Baitfish and Minnow PatternsBaitfish and minnow wording does not identify one fly. Local forage size and shape, flash, body depth, hook orientation, and weighting distinguish shiner, smelt, dace, sculpin, and general minnow imitations.See family guide

December to FebruarySlow warmwater days, deep pools, midges, and limited trout context on tailwatersSmall streamer, crawfish, midge, zebra midge, soft hackle

Reviewed family · report says “Small streamer”Trout Streamer PatternsStreamer is a method-and-silhouette family, not a recipe. Size, color, weight, and presentation phrases stay visible, while baitfish, leech, sculpin, Woolly Bugger, and articulated identities link to their more specific destinations when known.See family guide

Reviewed family · report says “crawfish”Crayfish and Crawfish PatternsCrayfish patterns differ in claw size, eye placement, shell profile, leg motion, weighting, hook orientation, and snag resistance. Rust, brown, olive, tan, and pale molting colors remain labeled choices rather than aliases for one recipe.See family guide + 3 more reviewed guides in the Fly Box

Start with topwater near shade before the sun gets high.

Switch to baitfish streamers on current edges, bridge shade, wood, and outside bends.

Use crawfish and hellgrammite patterns when fish hold close to bottom.

Plan floats around official access, takeouts, heat, and wind rather than mileage alone.

Do not publish or follow private-bank shortcuts unless access is clearly allowed.

Access & responsibility

Know the entry. Know the exit.

Check TPWD freshwater rules, river access guidance, and any local access terms before fishing or floating.

Below Longhorn Dam context

Use USGS Austin flow and local access rules before launching or wading.

Texas River School River Camp

TPWD lists this leased access downstream from Lady Bird Lake with reservation details.

Bastrop-Wilbarger planning reach

TPWD paddling-trail information helps with put-in, takeout, and float planning.

Transparent sources

Check the facts behind the plan.

Last material review: 2026-07-06

accessTPWD River Fishing in Texas accessTPWD Bastrop-Wilbarger Paddling Trail accessTPWD Texas River School leased access flowUSGS 08158000 Colorado River at Austin flowUSGS 08159200 Colorado River at Bastrop safetyNational Weather Service point below Austin regulationTPWD Outdoor Annual freshwater bag and length limits

Common questions

Before you leave.

What should I check first before fishing Colorado River Below Austin?+

Check USGS Austin and Bastrop gauges, TPWD access pages, weather, heat, and shuttle logistics.

Where should a first-time visitor start on Colorado River Below Austin?+

Start with official TPWD access and paddling information around below-Austin and Bastrop reaches.

Can I wade Colorado River Below Austin?+

Sometimes near access points and low water, but much of the river fishes better from a kayak or boat.

What flies should I bring for Colorado River Below Austin?+

Bring the seasonal fly box, then adjust size, weight, and color to the water level, clarity, temperature, and fishing pressure you find.