Columbus Day White Bass Spree – 117 Fish

CLIENTS: On the morning of Monday, October 12, I welcomed aboard Ian Goodman and his three sons ages 9, 11, and 13. Keller, Anderson, and Luke were on a fall break from the Salado Independent School District.

TODAY’S DATE: 12 October 2026 (AM)


NEXT OPEN MORNING DATES: 20-22 Oct. 2026

NEXT OPEN AFTERNOON DATES: 20-22 Oct. 2026

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Luke, Ian, Anderson, and Keller Goodman with a few of the 125 fish they landed on their Salado ISD Fall Break.

PHOTO CAPTION: Keller, age 9, was quite ready for the ride back in to the boat ramp after a very full morning of catching.

SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:

We are still greatly benefiting from the impact of the cold front which came into Central Texas on October 1 and left northwest winds and steadily dropping water temperatures in its wake through October 9.

This cooldown immediately caused an improvement in the white bass fishing, the positive benefits of which we continued to enjoy this morning.

Although the northwest wind stopped on Saturday and was replaced later that day by a southeast wind, which continued this morning, the fish bit well under the breezy, cloudy conditions we experienced.

Our first hour saw a tapering up of the morning feed, the fish fed strong during the middle two hours, and by 10:30, the bite was back tapering down to just about nil by the four hour mark at 11:40 AM.

We used only two lures, both in the same manner, to catch exactly 117 fish. Those lures were the MAL Dense with silver body and chartreuse tail and the MAL Bridge.

If there is one downside to this fishing right now, it is that there are a lot of small fish in the mix. When I see an area contains mainly small fish, and those fish seem to start hesitating to follow and strike the full-size MAL Dense, I swap out to the MAL Bridge to keep the bite going strong.

Using these two lures with the vertical, smoking tactic, we were able to get fish fired up and keep them fired up for long whiles.

Over the course of our four hours, we’ve made about 10 stops to put this strong catch together, although the majority of the fish were landed at just one of these during that peak, mid-morning time.

Turnover still has not occurred, but the cooldown caused by this recent cold front has caused cooling to occur and has brought oxygen to depths greater than we saw over this hot summer months.

The forecast now calls for yet another cold front to come in Thursday or Friday of this week, and that should only enhance an already good thing.

If you are thinking about fishing with me anytime between now and New Year’s, you need to get a reservation sooner than later.

RESULTS: 117 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:
-Last week’s cold front and associated rains brought water temperatures down significantly and have brought us to the cusp of fantastic fall fishing. I’ve found more fish on bottom in more places than at any time since the thermocline formed earlier this summer and the fish have been very aggressive.

-This was our first day since the 01-09 Oct. cooldown where we had clouds and wind from the SE. The fish continued to feed aggressively under these conditions.

LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE:

Taken on Lake Belton on 07 Oct. 2026, approx. 2:30PM ..

Taken on Lake Belton on 29 Sep. 2026, approx. 6:50AM…