Oh, Deer — Happy Birthday — 97 Fish

CLIENTS: This morning, Saturday, November 7, I fished with first-time guests, the father-and-daughter team of Will Alley and Jessica Brey. Will booked this trip back in August in celebration of Jessica‘s birthday, but we held off until fishing at this time of year when results tend to be much better and the fishing much more predictable.

Will has made taking Jessica on a birthday fishing trip a tradition since she was a girl. This morning, we were all treated to a bit of a rare sight — we saw, on two separate occasions, deer swimming across the entirety of Lake Belton. I’ve seen this before, and always in the fall, when the bucks begin to aggressively pursue does.

TODAY’S DATE: 07 November 2026 (AM)


NEXT OPEN MORNING DATES: 17, 24, 30 Nov., 3, 4 Dec. 2026

PHOTO CAPTION: Will Alley has made a lasting family tradition of treating his daughter, Jessica Brey, to a fishing trip. This began when she was still a girl. The pair landed 97 fish during their 4-hour morning trip on Lake Belton.

PHOTO CAPTION: One fringe benefit of starting your days earlier than most is getting to see things many don’t. This was one of those mornings as Venus (brighter) and Jupiter shone along with the waning crescent moon.

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

With the cold front that came in two nights ago now in the rearview mirror, we began to deal with post-frontal conditions, which are a good bit more difficult than in the hours immediately following a front’s passage.

Winds had died back since yesterday, although still blowing from the northeast, the velocity had backed off to 8 to 10 mph. Also, a low pressure system immediately began filling in behind this cold front and is actually supposed to bring rain later today and into tomorrow. This meant we had some thick cloud cover this morning.

Fishing started off strong and built through 9 AM. From 9 AM until we wrapped up around 10:45 AM, the fishing got increasingly difficult. Prior to 9 AM, fish were moving quickly from one side of the sonar screen to another, they were suspending routinely, they were chasing baits aggressively, and competing to be the first one to our presentations. By nine, most of these indicators of aggression had begun to fade away.

We used only one lure with one presentation all morning to account for the 97 fish Will and Jessica landed. They used the MAL Dense with silver body and chartreuse tail with the vertical “smoking“ tactic to tempt these bottom-oriented white bass. Prior to 9 AM, we did not find it necessary to fish in water deeper than 30 feet, however, once the fish began to slow down, and the skies brightened through the cloud cover, the fish that were up shallow got very reluctant, thus forcing us into 40+ feet of water in the last part of the trip.

Of the 97 fish landed, 4 were short hybrid, striped bass, with the remaining 93 fish all being white bass.

RESULTS: 97 fish, all caught and released

WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton

FIND LURES HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/

SEE THE “SMOKING TACTIC” TUTORIAL HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3FMEQHOMQ

OBSERVATIONS: We enjoyed a second cold front in the space of 4 days this week and, as they typically do, this bolstered the fishing even more. Fish are beginning to coalesce into larger schools and are using the bottom almost exclusively now.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Taken on Lake Belton on 04 Nov. 2026, approx. 6:10AM…

Taken on Lake Belton on 27 Oct. 2026, approx. 7:00AM…