Lady Bird Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, Northern Pike

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Redbreast, Bluegill

The lake

Lady Bird Lake covers 459 acres in Texas, across Travis County. It is a lake: 92.1% of it is 20 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is ≈35.4 feet (10.8 m). Our records hold 15 species for this water.

Sunrise Over Lady Bird Lake (190416553).jpeg
James Kerr · CC0

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Striped Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Redbreast — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Redear, Channel Catfish, Spotted Bass, Sunshine Bass, Common Carp, Grass Carp, Goldfish, Inland Silverside.

One Eleven Congress and recreational watercraft on Lady Bird Lake at sunset.jpg
Oleg Yunakov · CC BY-SA 4.0

Stocking: 1,895,610 fish, 1966–2025

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department records list 1,895,610 fish released into this water from 1966 to 2025.

Sunset on Capital Cruises docks of Lady Bird Lake.jpg
Oleg Yunakov · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Walleye: 1,014,000 in 1974–1975
  • Channel Catfish: 211,211 in 1966–2018
  • Striped Bass: 114,132 in 1977–1983
  • Largemouth Bass: 107,400 in 1966–1973
  • Northern Pike: 39,776 in 1974–1981
  • Smallmouth Bass: 15,301 in 1975–1978
  • Spotted Bass: 14,400 in 1974

9 more species on the stocking list.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: ≈35.4 ft (10.8 m). 92.1% of the water is 20 feet or shallower. We hold 80 depth contours for this water, drawn from 28,017 soundings.

  • 0–2 ft: 3.1% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 2.5% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 6.4% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 12.3% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 16% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 15.8% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 11.2% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 10.1% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 6.8% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 4.4% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 2% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 1.5% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 76°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2017–2023.

Where this data comes from

  • Texas Water Development Board — Texas Water Development Board: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.

Part of these depths rest on an averaged water level, so they are approximate (≈).