Fishing Lake Georgetown and the Blue Hole, and where to eat after

Twenty-eight miles north of the Capitol there is a free city park on the South San Gabriel where the state dumps 1,500 rainbow trout every January, and four miles west of it a Corps of Engineers lake that Texas Parks and Wildlife rates Excellent for white bass, with $5 parks and ramps open 6 to 10. Lake Georgetown is 1,297 acres and 85 feet deep, the white bass run up its North Fork starting in February, and the catfish eat stinkbait and cut bait off the limestone all summer. This is the fishing half of a day north of town. The eating half is at the end, on the Georgetown courthouse square, on the road home.

I write the guides on Smells Like Fish, a bait and tackle site, and I am a guest here. Top of ATX asked for the water. They supplied the tables.

The day, in order

Leave the Capitol in the dark and take I-35 north. Be at Cedar Breaks Park on Lake Georgetown when the gate opens at 6 with cut bait on the bottom for the catfish and, from late February on, small jigs and spinners for the white bass moving up the North Fork. Fish the morning, then drive four miles into Georgetown for lunch on the square. If it is January, walk from the square to the Blue Hole, the free swimming hole on the South San Gabriel a block west of Austin Avenue, where TPWD stocked 1,500 trout last winter and the crowd fishes the bank the swimmers are not using. Dinner is back on the square before the drive home.

What is in the water

White bass are Lake Georgetown’s Excellent-rated fish. TPWD says “starting in February, white bass begin their annual spawning run up the North Fork,” and the same run happens on Lake Travis up the creeks and the Pedernales in late February and March and on Buchanan from Beaver Creek into the Colorado. Small spinners, jigs, and crankbaits. Catfish are rated Good on Georgetown, on “stinkbaits and cutbaits” for the blues and channels, and Excellent on Granger Lake, the other Corps lake 20 miles east, which is also the only crappie lake in the region TPWD rates Excellent. Largemouth on Georgetown are Good, spring and fall, and hybrids Good.

Rainbow trout are the January bonus. TPWD stocked the Blue Hole with 1,500 on January 30 last season and San Gabriel Park with 1,000 in December, both free Georgetown city parks. Closer to home, Onion Creek at McKinney Falls State Park got 2,900 over two January dates, with no licence needed inside the park, and the two Neighborhood Fishin’ ponds at Travis County East Metro Park in Manor are stocked every two to four weeks from late November to March.

The lake you drove past: Lady Bird Lake, the dammed Colorado through downtown Austin, is rated Excellent for largemouth by TPWD, bans outboard motors, and fishes at night. A mile from the Capitol, free, bank or kayak, 14 to 21 inch slot.

Where to fish from shore

• Cedar Breaks Park, Lake Georgetown, 32 miles: Corps park, $5 a vehicle, ramp open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., limestone shoreline.
• Russell Park, Lake Georgetown, 39 miles: Corps park, $5, ramp and camping, the North Fork side.
• Blue Hole Park, Georgetown, 28 miles: free, no gate, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., parking at 3rd and Rock, trout in January.
• Lady Bird Lake, Auditorium Shores, 1 mile: free, bank and kayak, no outboards, Excellent largemouth, night fishing.
• McKinney Falls State Park, 11 miles: Onion Creek, $6, no licence needed, 2,900 trout last January.
• Mansfield Dam Park, Lake Travis, 19 miles: $5 a person, cash only, shoreline angling and a 24-hour four-lane ramp; blue catfish dominate the lake per TPWD.

Licences, fees, and the rule that saves Austin families money

Anyone 17 or older needs a Texas licence. The one-day all-water licence is $11 for a resident and $16 for a nonresident, needs no endorsement, and is sold online through the Texas License Connection with a $5 fee or at about 1,700 stores. An annual resident freshwater package is $30. The rule that saves money is the state-park exemption: TPWD says “a fishing license and endorsement are not required if fishing on state park property,” which covers McKinney Falls and Inks Lake. From a park pier it is pole-and-line only, two poles per person, and the bag limits still apply. Under 17 fishes free everywhere. The Corps parks on Georgetown are not state parks, so the licence applies there; the day-use fee is $5 a vehicle and the ramps run 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The gear side

Which jig for the North Fork run, how to cut a shad so it stays on a circle hook, which stink bait for summer channel cats and why a night on Lady Bird Lake needs a red headlamp: that is my beat, and it does not belong on a restaurant site. The full Austin fishing guide on Smells Like Fish has the map of all 13 spots with drive times from the Capitol, the live Lake Travis level and Colorado River flow, every park fee and payment rule, the licence links, the ramp table, the slot limits lake by lake, and the tackle list.

Where to eat after

Lake Georgetown sits on the west edge of town and the square is the road home. These three are on the Top of ATX Georgetown list. The scores are theirs, not mine.