Bank Fishing Holes in the Austin Area by Randy Rowley
ByBelow is information on some local fishing holes. It is from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/cfl.phtml?r=6.
Community Fishing Lakes
| County | Name | Location/Directions |
| Travis | Bullfrog Pond | East Metropolitan Park in Austin. Going East on US 290 from I-35 take the FM 973 exit proceeding through Manor. After crossing the railroad tracks turn left on to Blake-Manor Road. Stay on Blake-Manor Road and the Park Entrance will be located on the rig. |
| Travis | Kingfisher Lake | East Metropolitan Park in Austin. Going East on US 290 from I-35 take the FM 973 exit proceeding through Manor. After crossing the railroad tracks turn left on to Blake-Manor Road. Stay on Blake-Manor Road and the Park Entrance will be located on the rig. |
| Travis | Northwest Park | From I-35 take HWY 183 /Research Blvd. Exit, from Research Blvd., from Research Blvd., exit onto Anderson Lane and head west, from Anderson Lane turn left onto Shoal Creek Blvd., Shoal Creek Blvd. runs adjacent to the park, turn left into park. |
| Travis | Searight Park Lake #1 | From I-35 Austin take the Slaughter Lane exit, head west on Slaughter and turn left onto Billbrook Place, from Billbrook Place turn right onto Watchful Fox Drive, from Watchful Fox Drive turn left onto Decker Prairie Drive and follow into park. |
| Travis | Southeast Metropolitan Park Pond 1 | From the intersection of Highway 71 and FM 973 take Highway 71 East approximately 1.5 miles. The park entrance is on the left. Pond #1 is located in the northwest corner of the park. |
| Travis | Southeast Metropolitan Park Pond 2 | From the intersection of Highway 71 and FM 973 take Highway 71 East approximately 1.5 miles. The park entrance is on the left. Pond #2 is located on the north side of the park along the back perimeter. |
| Travis | Southeast Metropolitan Park Pond 3 | From the intersection of Highway 71 and FM 973 take Highway 71 East approximately 1.5 miles. The park entrance is on the left. Pond #3 is located in the northeast corner of the park. |
| Travis | Southeast Metropolitan Park Pond 4 | From the intersection of Highway 71 and FM 973 take Highway 71 East approximately 1.5 miles. The park entrance is on the left. Pond #4 is located at the front entrance of the park between the soccer fields and the main road. |
| Travis | Tadpole Pond | East Metropolitan Park in Austin. Going East on US 290 from I-35 take the FM 973 exit proceeding through Manor. After crossing the railroad tracks turn left on to Blake-Manor Road. Stay on Blake-Manor Road and the Park Entrance will be located on the rig. |
| Williamson | Berry Springs Mill Pond | In Berry Springs Park and Preserve. |
| Williamson | Blue Hole Park Lake | From I-35 take the FM 2338/Williams Drive exit, head east and turn right onto Austin Ave., from Austin Ave. turn right onto 2nd St., from 2nd St. turn right onto Scenic Dr. and follow into park. |
| Williamson | Bright Lake | From I-35 take the HWY 79 exit, head east on HWY 79 and turn left into Old Settlers Park approximately 3 miles from I-35. |
| Williamson | Brushy Creek Reservoir | From I-35 take exit 245 toward FM 734/Parmer Lane. Turn left onto West Parmer Lane/FM 734 until you come to the intersection of Parmer Lane and Brushy Creek Road (CR 174). Turn right onto Brushy Creek Rd. Go approximately 200 yards and turn right into Brushy Creek Park. |
| Williamson | Devine Lake | From I-35 merge onto HWY 183 until you reach Leander. Exit HWY 183 at FM 2243. Go west on FM 2243 approximately 2 miles and turn right onto CR 279 (Baghdad Road ). The lake will be located on the left side. |
| Williamson | Meadow Lake (Round Rock) | From I-35 take the FM 3406 exit, FM 3406 exit is just north of HWY 79, go east on FM 3406 (Old Settlers Blvd.), go to Sunrise Street which has a stop sign, one block past Sunrise Street turn left, lake is about ¼ mile on the right side of the road. |
| Williamson | Round Rock City | From I-35 take the McNeil Road/HWY 171 exit, head west on McNeil Road and turn right onto Round Rock West Drive and follow to park entrance. |
| Williamson | San Gabriel Park | From I-35 take the FM 2338/Williams Drive exit, head east and turn left onto Austin Ave. , from Austin Ave. turn right onto Stadium Lane and follow into park. |
| Williamson | Shirley McDonald Park Pond | From I-35 take the FM 620 exit, go west on FM 620 turn right onto Great Oaks Drive, from Great Oaks Drive turn left onto Hairy Man Road, park is located on the left (park on corner of Great Oaks and Hairy Man). |
| Williamson | Taylor City #1 | From I-35 take HWY 79 exit to Taylor, follow into Taylor (will change name to 2nd Street), turn left onto HWY 95, from HWY 95 turn left onto Lake Drive. |
| Williamson | Taylor City #2 | From I-35 take HWY 79 exit to Taylor, follow into Taylor (will change name to 2nd Street), turn left onto HWY 95, from HWY 95 turn left onto Lake Drive. |
| Williamson | Taylor City #3 | From I-35 take HWY 79 exit to Taylor, follow into Taylor (will change name to 2nd Street), turn left onto HWY 95, from HWY 95 turn left onto Lake Drive. |
| Williamson | Taylor City #4 | From I-35 take HWY 79 exit to Taylor, follow into Taylor (will change name to 2nd Street), turn left onto HWY 95, from HWY 95 turn left onto Lake Drive. |
There are also community fishing lakes in other nearby counties, such as Burnet and Blanco. I grew up near Northwest Park. The pond there is very small and I never heard of anyone catching fish from it. Brushy Creek Reservoir is a nice place to fish and has other things to do other than fish. They do not allow power boats on the Reservoir. It’s the only park listed above that I have fished at. I read a Texas Fish & Gamearticle that included Bullfrog Pond. Here is more information on it: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20080512b.
Here is the map to the Quarries: http://www.superpages.com/bp/Austin-TX/Hyde-Park-Baptist-Church-the-Quarries-L0080347436.htm. The best way to get into the park usually is to take the entrance off Duval. They charge $30 for a year-round permit. You do not have to be a member of the church to go to their park. They allow power boats on Quarry Lake, but they can only use their trolling motors.
Here is the link to the South Shore Park on Lake Bastrop: http://www.lcra.org/parks/developed_parks/southshore.html. It has a boat slip/fishing dock. I fished it in 2008 and caught about five bass. It has a lot of grass in it, so you’ll need bobbers to keep your hooks from getting tangled up in the grass. Avoid the weekends, as there will be a lot of boats coming in and out of the slips.
Here is a link to Reimer’s Ranch, a popular spot Southwest of Austin: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/TNR/parks/reimers_ranch.asp. This park borders the Pedernales River. Successful fishing is dependent on having enough water in the river in which to fish. It is a good place to fish for white bass during their spring run.
There are several county parks located along Lake Austin and Lake Travis. The Lake Travis ones, include but are not limited to, Cypress Creek, Sandy Creek, Pace Bend, Mansfield Dam, and Aransas Bend. Here is a link: http://www.lcra.org/parks/parks_travis_county.html. There are also a lot of marinas where you can fish. I’ve fished Rock Marina on the West Side of Lake Travis before.
Lake Decker (also known as Walter E. Long Lake ) in East Austin is also a very popular fishing spot. There is a county park and lots of people fish from the banks inside of the park. The lake has a slot limit. Only one fish larger than 21? can be retained. Up to five fish under 14? can be retained. If you keep a 21+” inch fish you can only keep four under 14? (Texas has a five bass per day limit).
Lake Pflugerville is a nice place to fish. It’s a 180 acre lake that is surrounded by a walking trail. The banks, therefore, are clean. They do not allow gasoline motors to be used. See http://www.pflugervilletx.gov/index.aspx?NID=824.
Lake Georgetown also has some nice parks, including Cedar Breaks Park, Jim Hogg Park, Russell Park, and Tejas Camp. Russell Park is predominant a swimmers park and gets a lot of traffic. Here is a link: http://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/georgetown/Recreation/index.asp.
You can fish at City Park along Lake Austin you will probably be frustrated on the weekends during warm months due to all the pleasure boaters and water skiers.
There are multiple places on Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake ) where you can bank fish. However, many people do not eat the fish caught from there due to pollution concerns.
The great thing about the Austin area is you could spend a life time checking out all of these fishing holes!
Out of all the parks listed above, the three that I recommend that you try first are:
- South Shore Park on Lake Bastrop (during weekdays)
- Brushy Creek Reservoir
- The Quarries
The primarily reason that I recommend them is due to lack of people (which translates to solitude and lack of noise/disturbance).
Happy fishing!
