Country music blaring out from the radio stations, monster trucks cruising the I-35 and neon signs lighting the way. Welcome to Texas, home of HUGE carp!

About 3 hours drive from Dallas and serviced by Austin-Bergstrom airport, Austin is the capital city of Texas, the 4 th largest city in the state and the sixteenth most populous in the nation. Lying in Travis County, it is only 230 miles from Mexico and has a population rapidly approaching 700,000. Every year more than 12 million people travel here to experience its unforgettable blend of natural beauty and live entertainment. Over the years it has quite rightly has established a reputation as the ‘live music capital of the world’.

Austin is situated on the magnificent Colorado River, which in this area has been dammed to form a series of huge lakes. It is seen by many to be the lifeline to the Southwest. Stretching 1,450 miles it supplies water to in excess of 25 million people and more water is exported from here than any other river basin in the world.

Boasting 300 sunshine days per annum, the climate is ideal for the growth of carp and the end result is a river oozing with specimens including more 20’s and 30’s than you can shake a stick at. It is for this reason that Austin has become the latest carp fishing mecca in North America and it is rapidly marking its place on the worldwide map as one of THE places to visit for consistent quality action.

I was first introduced to Austin several years ago when an email arrived containing shots of some of the most beautiful common carp I had ever seen. Conversations that followed with a good friend of mine David Moore backed up these images and he also told me of a number of notable catches made by pioneering US carp anglers including fish to upper 40’s. Since it’s 'discovery' in 2001 around thirty known 40’s plus hundreds of 30’s and 20’s have been caught, and this by only a relative handful of visitors.

The Colorado around Austin is split into three main areas, Austin Lake, Town Lake and Travis Lake, each separated by dams. Town Lake is where the biggest fish have been caught but it is no co-incidence that this is the most accessible and most frequented area by carp anglers. Personally I believe it is more than likely that both the other lakes and other sections of the Colorado are capable of holding really big specimens.

The official record for the Austin area now stands at 46lb 14oz caught by Al St Cyr in June 2002, though I am positive bigger fish do exist and it is only a matter of time until they get caught. People are already talking of the new St Lawrence.

Town Lake
Town Lake is the most fished area of the Colorado in Austin. The vast majority of the fishable area is grassy banks, thanks largely to the huge amount of parkland and hiking / bike trails that run almost the entire length of this part of the river. Although it may feel a little surreal fishing in the shadow of high rise buildings and bridges the quality of the sport more than makes up for this it is a truly fantastic experience.

Much of this area has now been explored by visiting anglers and most swims have produced quality fish over 30lb. Although some areas are proven to hold bigger fish than others, in reality you can almost pick any swim you want and have a good chance of catching something good. With a little research and narrowing down your choice of swims it can pay profit with bigger average weights and more consistent action.

When most people visit Austin they book in at the excellent Wellesley Inn which sits right above some of the best spots in the area. They are very competitively priced, conveniently located and offer excellent quality rooms with each including a mini kitchen. In the past people have actually rolled right out of their rooms and caught carp to over 30lb from the near margins!

Some of the best swims to target can be found by crossing the river outside the Wellesley Inn. Go back over the river on the I35 and take the first right exit before the petrol station. Follow this road round to the right, back under the I35 towards the Holiday Inn. Follow the jogging trail and you will find any number of quality swims, many of which have produced fish over 40lb. It’s one of the first choices for big fish for most people. Fishing from here in March myself and Andy accounting for 10 x 30’s and a 40 plus many other fish over 20lb. One thing to note is the parks in Austin have official opening hours of 6am to 10pm. Fishing outside of those hours is at your own risk.

Traveling left and up river from the Wellesley Inn you come across a large number of bridges that carry most of the traffic to and from the city centre. These bridges are a haven for carp which can reliably be found on most days. Although the average size of fish is generally lower than in the deeper water, fishing sweetcorn and pellet we have had catches of more than 20 fish in the day with many of them in the 20’s. Congress Bridge is a good bet and worth a look.

Down river from the Wellesley Town Lake eventually widens by the dam wall has a small island at the entrance. The island and dam swims are also great areas and are one of the top choices of people fishing the Austin Team Championship which is held every March. Large areas of Town lake are pegged for the ATC and many fish over 30lb are caught over the two days making it a great competition to enter if you like a bend in your rod.

Emma Long Metropolitan Park
Heading away from Austin on the RR 2222 you come across the largest city owned park covering an area of approximately 1,200 acres. It is a haven for all kinds of wildlife and includes a considerable stretch of Austin Lake. Excellent roads run right down the waters edge offering many grassy swims to fish from and it is even possible to night fish from the camp grounds if you book up at the gate when you enter.

Emma Long is where many people head at the start of their trip and it is also popular prior to the ATC as it offers very consistent and easy action. This makes it the ideal place to check out your tactics, sort out tackle and get into the swing of things. You can catch from most swims in the park with fish in the 20’s common. I have heard of one 40 being caught from here. It also is well known for its big head of Buffalo Carp which exceed 50lb. In fact I was lucky enough to catch one of 52lb from here last year.

Tactics
Fishing in and around Austin is relatively easy going. Although you are fishing a river there is very little flow which makes pre-baiting and fish / feature location fairly straight forward. The marginal drop off can be quite quick and close in areas and the river has a maximum depth of around 35 – 40 feet by the Town Lake dam.

Take a marker and spod rod with you as you’ll use both quite extensively. Productive areas tend to be the deeper water during the day and hot summers, but the fish do come up into the margins and plateaus during the hours of darkness to feed.

There are not many snags and weed has not been a major problem when I have been out there. People tell me it gets worse during the summer with beds of water hyacinth but it is nothing to be concerned with.

A boat and echo sounder is always a benefit on any new water you choose to fish. I realise this is not an option available to everyone however it does make fish finding and pre-baiting easier and give you the extra options of fishing areas you might not necessarily be able to reach. Fish finders are significantly cheaper to buy in the USA than they are in the UK and some people even choose to purchase inflatable boats. Personally all my fish location is done from the bank. The carp here show themselves a lot and it is always worth casting to jumping or bubbling fish.

Carp are slowly getting weaned onto boilies, especially in the more popular swims on Town Lake. Our best success has been fishing spodded maize and ground bait, then gradually increasing the amount of boilies we put in each day. Be prepared to spod in quite a lot of maize – they love it! Popped up maize is a proven winner, however I have had great success with fruity baits, especially Mainlines excellent readymades. Yellow Fruit Burst was the most successful last year.

You can source maize, some other particles and pellets at very good prices locally in Austin from most animal feed stores and even from the bigger sporting outlets. At the moment it is not possible to source boilies, though this may change in the future.

The best times of year to visit Austin tend to be spring and autumn. March, April, October and November seem to be most popular and productive, though this is not a hard and fast rule.

Getting There and About
It is easy to get to Austin from the UK. Many airlines operate direct flights to Dallas and Houston with connections then on to Austin-Bergstrom airport. Last time we actually flew to and drove from Dallas, however it is more time and cost effective to go connect to Austin itself. Check out www.ebookers.co.uk for competitive prices. Somewhere in the region of £300 - £350 is about right.

Once in Austin I recommend hiring a suitable vehicle to get you around. You can hire MPV’s or minivans for sensible money and petrol is very cheap. 4 people with all their tackle and baggage to an MPV is about right, 5 at a squeeze.

More Information
For more information on fishing the Austin area and Town Lake I recommend taking a look at www.carpanglersgroup.com and www.americancarpsociety.com both have information on fishing not only this area but many of the others I will be covering in the articles to come. Also watch this space for exciting news from Angling Lines holidays who in conjunction with American Carp Society will be soon running organised trips to Austin.

Finally, some excellent news from my good friends Dave Moore, Wayne Boon and Sean Manning at The American Carp Society. Filming is currently underway on a series of fantastic new DVD/Videos whose aim will be to provide anglers with a comprehensive guide to carp fishing in the USA. Titles will include a number of specialist DVD’s on a variety of lakes and rivers around North America including Town Lake. The American Carp Society will be launched in the first quarter of 2004 at www.americancarpsociety.com and will also be offering everything from tackle to guiding services for visiting overseas anglers."

For more information on fishing in next years ATC or general queries on carp fishing around Austin the US you can also contact me by email on intcarper@ultimateangling.com or by phone on 01908 234523

The name Texas originates from a word used by Caddo Indians meaning ‘friends’. I can’t think of a better way to describe it myself.

"First appeared in International Carper & reproduced here with their kind permission"