2 SMAS HAD AN NMAC NEAR A MAJOR ARPT.

Narrative

VFR LOW LEVEL FLT (LESS THAN 2000 AGL) FROM SEQUIN; TX; TO BURNET; TX; REMAINING CLR OF AUS ARSA USING PILOTAGE ONLY (SAT SECTIONAL). MONITORING AUS DEP FREQ (119.0 MHZ) FROM APPROX WSW AUS TO APPROX OVERHEAD T88 ARPT (APPROX 3 MINS BEFORE INCIDENT). MOMENTS AFTER XING OVER T88 (WHERE I WAS LOOKING FOR ACFT BELOW ME IN THE PATTERN); I LOOKED UP BRIEFLY FROM SECTIONAL TO ATTEMPT TO IDENT MY EXACT POS BY COMPARING LAKE TRAVIS CONTOURS TO THOSE ON SECTIONAL. AT THIS POINT; I SAW A FLASH OF BEIGE IN MY L EYE'S PERIPHERAL VISION. OBJECT WAS BELOW AND SLIGHTLY L OF ME. I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO REACT BEFORE IT DISAPPEARED BELOW AND BEHIND MY ACFT. LOOKING BACK AND R OF MY ACFT; I SAW A BEIGE SMA Y IN A SLIGHT CLBING L TURN. SMA Y'S DIRECTION OF FLT WAS APPROX ESE AT THE TIME. I WAS EXCESSIVELY CONCERNED WITH DETERMINING MY EXACT POS OVER THE GND AT ALL TIMES; THUS KEEPING MY EYES 'IN' THE COCKPIT LOOKING AT SECTIONAL TOO MUCH. I ALSO RELIED ON THE BELIEF THAT I WAS TOO LOW TO INTERFERE WITH TFC ON V76 BTWN AUS AND LLO (I CALCULATED MY ALT WAS 1570 FT AGL AT THE TIME OF INCIDENT). I FURTHER RELIED ON BELIEF THAT THERE WAS NO OTHER TFC NEAR ME BECAUSE I HAD NOT HEARD AUS TRACON CALL MY TARGET AS TFC TO ANYBODY FOR APPROX 15-20 MINS PRIOR TO INCIDENT. THE THOUGHT THAT ANOTHER ACFT MIGHT NOT BE TALKING TO AUS EITHER DID NOT OCCUR TO ME. I ASSUME SMA Y WAS NOT ON THE AIRWAY PROPER; BUT RATHER DOING LOW SIGHTSEEING OVER THE LAKE. I AM GLAD THAT HE LOOKED OUT WHEN HE DID. IN FUTURE; I WILL BE LESS CONCERNED WITH EXACT POS AWARENESS; AND MORE CONCERNED WITH LOOKING FOR CONFLICTING TFC. I WILL ALSO USE FLT FOLLOWING WHEN IN VICINITY OF MAJOR ARPTS.