First 2-Angler Trip to Break 100 this Autumn – 101 Fish
CLIENTS: OnTuesday, October 28. I fished with long-time clients and friends, Gary and Rachel Davidson. Gary is a retired CPA from the Kerrville area, and Rachel still works at that same practice. The two drove in the night before and stayed locally to be fresh for a full morning of white bass fishing on Lake Belton.
TODAY’S DATE: Tuesday, 28 October 2025 (AM)
NEXT OPEN DATE FOR FISHING: Tuesday, 12 November 2025 (AM or PM)
PHOTO CAPTION: Gary and Rachel Davidson of Kerrville were the first two-angler team to eclipse the 100-fish mark since the fall cooldown began. All fish were taken on MAL Heavy Lures worked vertically with a “smoking” tactic.
PHOTO CAPTION: Rachel took this beautiful Lake Belton smallmouth bass as it crashed a white bass party in about 38 feet of water. This was the first smallmouth she’d ever landed, despite fishing her whole life.
FIND THE LURES WE USED HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/
WHERE WE FISHED: Lake Belton
SUMMARY OF HOW WE FISHED:
As I compared notes with the Davidsons the night before the trip, we were all very encouraged by the weather forecast, indicating a dry cold front would be arriving as we began fishing. Unfortunately, that front did not arrive until, literally, the last 10 minutes of our trip, so we did not enjoy the significant bump that such weather routinely provides.
Regardless, we did have wind and cloud cover with breeze blowing from the southwest all morning, and that was more than enough to get the fish in a feeding mood. Although we did move around frequently, and we did encounter some reluctance, the two were able to put together a 101 fish outing which included exactly 100 white bass and 1 quality smallmouth bass.
Because the water is warm and the fish are still moving as they aggressively chase after shad, we did not find any scenarios where casting horizontally would pay off for any length of time. Hence, we spent the vast majority of the morning working MAL Originals and MAL Heavys vertically using a smoking tactic.
Under low light at the beginning of the trip, we found fish in as little as 16 to 18 feet of water. By the end of the trip, around noon, we were catching them in 40 feet of water.
RESULTS: 101 fish, all caught and released
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW “SMOKE” AN MAL LURE VERTICALLY: Click here for tutorial
TUTORIAL VIDEO ON HOW TO FISH AN MAL LURE HORIZONTALLY USING THE SAWTOOTH METHOD: Click here for tutorial
OBSERVATIONS:
-Belton is 0.32′ low with a 0.35 rise in the last 72 hours thanks to rainfall on 24-25 Oct. USACE is releasing 43 CFS.
-Although fishing is much improved, we are still not anywhere near “peak” fall conditions. Perhaps the 28/29 Oct. cold front will help usher that in.
LATEST WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILE: Taken on Lake Belton around 7AM, Monday, 27 October…
0 feet 77F
5 feet 77.1F
10 feet 77.1F
15 feet 77.1F
20 feet 77.1F
25 feet 77.1F
30 feet 77.3F
35 feet 77.1F
40 feet 77.1F
45 feet 76.8F
50 feet 76.7F
55 feet 76.7F
60 feet 76.7F
Compare to temps taken on Lake Belton around 6:40AM, Saturday, 18 October…
0 feet 79.9F
5 feet 79.9F
10 feet 79.9F
15 feet 80.1F
20 feet 80.1F
25 feet 80.1F
30 feet 80.1F
35 feet 79.9F
40 feet 79.9F
45 feet 79.9F
50 feet 79.9F
55 feet 79.9F
60 feet 79.9F
65 feet 79.9F
WEATHER DATA:
Start Time: 7:20A
End Time: 12:00 Noon
Air Temp. @ Trip’s Start: 71F
Elevation: Belton is 0.32′ low with a 0.35 rise in the last 72 hours thanks to rainfall on 24-25 Oct. USACE is releasing 43 CFS.
Water Surface Temp: 77.0F on the surface.
Wind Speed & Direction: SW5-9 all morning until lead edge of cold front came in at 11:40A
Sky Condition: Low, thin, grey cloud cover in the eastern sky for about 40 minutes. This pushed to the east and was replaced by a clear “bluebird” sky with the incoming, dry cold front
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon at 40% illumination.
GT = 55
Wx SNAPSHOT:
N/A
AREAS FISHED WITH MOST SUCCESS:
Area 2273/2107 – 20 whites smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area 1822 – 10 whites smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area vic 788 – 15 whites smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area vic B0104G – 13 whites smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area 2274 – 6 whites smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area vic 1209– 4 whites smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area B0012C – 22 whites/1 smallmouth smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area 2027 – 4 whites smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Area 211 – 6 whites smoking MAL Heavy Lures
Bob Maindelle
Full-time, Professional Fishing Guide and Owner of Holding the Line Guide Service
Belton Lake Fishing Guide, Stillhouse Hollow Fishing Guide
(254) 368 7411 (call or text)
Website: www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
E-mail: Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobmaindelle
Twitter: www.twitter.com/bobmaindelle