Striper Fishing on Lake Buchanan is quickly becoming one of our favorite past times in the Texas Hill Country. Considered one of the better Striper Lake in Texas, Lake Buchanan is a big lake that hold nice stripper bass year round. During the summer time, downriggers are used in the deeper areas closer to the dam. In the Spring time the striper run up Colorado River to the very upper end of the lake, and you can catch these game fish with spoons and swim baits in 20′ of water.
There are plenty of guide services for those without a boat looking to get on the fish. They run year round, with the peak season being in early spring. Lake Buchanan’s striper bass are all stocked, but the fish grow to the 18″ mark quickly, and these are typical the size of keeper fish you can land. The live bait of choice is shad, but this isn’t always easy to come by, and you need a decent air on your bait bucket to keep them ablative for a day of fishing,
Our First Lake Buchanan Striper Fishing Trip of the Season
We got a pair of downriggers with our latest project boat that so far have not made it into the water. With and a trip planned early in the summer we hoped to have an opportunity the check them out, but project boats don’t always work on the first few trips of the season. We now need a few cannon balls, release clips, and run power to the second downrigger mount. Our summer trip ended up turning into more a tubing trip for the kids. So we packed the gear up and planned another trip for early fall.
Last years Striper Fishing Trip.
We decided to head to a cool resort with a downhill mountain bike trail on the North side of the Lake. The Striper are typical not in this part of the Lake in the early fall, so we didn’t have much luck as the boat ride was a little too far from our dock down to the lower part of the Lake.
Gearing Up
- The Boat
- Rod’s and Reels
- Spoons
- Rooster Tails
- Frogs
- Top waters
- Crank Baits
- Live Bait
- Cut Bait
- Jiggs
Downriggers
- Control Arms 1 of 2 Operational, Need power run to the second unit
- Cannon Balls or the like. Nice ones on ebay for $20, 40+ in stores.
- DIY Release Clip
Camping Resorts on Lake Buchanan
The rates and Thunderbird lodge are very reasonable even during the summer. The cabis are decent with a full kitchen and some have a very nice view of the doc. The boat docs and ramps are super nice. It’s located on the upper east side of the lake, next to the Mountain bike park.
One the West side of the lake, they have cabins, kayaks, a pool and other activities.
Affordable Tent and RV Camping on the middle West side of Lake Buchanan
A park run by the Lower Colorado River Authority, they have Tent, RV, cabins, and mini golf. A few of the tent campsite are located right on the shore of the lake. Reservations online available.
A fancy resort with Cabins, RV, and tent camping sites.
Other Places for Striper Fishing in Texas
While Lake Buchanan is near the top of the list for the second best striper fishing lake in Texas. Lake Texoma on the Oklahoma boarders is know as the “The Striper Capital of the World”, and one of the only fresh water lakes anywhere in the world with a reproducing population of Stripers. All the other lake in Texas, and most other places in the region, stock stripper annual. Anyway the other lakes in the Texas Hill Country that hold these tasty and exciting game fish
- Lake Travis
- Lake JBJ
- Canyon Lake
- Inks Lake
- Calaveras Lake
Boat Launches for Striper Fishing on Lake Buchanan
Most of the resorts and campgrounds have decent boat ramps on site. If you going for a day trip options inlcude:
- Buchanan Dam Park (Near the Dam, East Side)
- Burnet County Park Public Boat Ramp (Upper End East Side)
- Llano County Park Public Boat Ramp (Near the Dam, West Side)
Check out all the public ramps on TPWD”s website – Click Here
Check out our Lake Travis Fishing Video – Click Here