Built from anglers' and guides' own Facebook and Instagram posts dated October 20–26, 2026, across the Texas Highland Lakes.
Lake Buchanan
Quiet week on Buchanan in our feeds.
Canyon Lake
- Activity: Bass, in numbers. Tyler Stanley of Game On Guide Service called October 21 a perfect day on the lake — more little fish than they could count, and a few good ones for the camera. This Canyon Lake Texas fishing report, October 26, 2026, has Canyon as a numbers lake this week rather than a big-fish lake.
- Guide highlight: Tyler Stanley of Game On Guide Service, on October 21.
- Weekend game plan: Go for numbers — expect plenty of smaller bass with a few good ones mixed in.
Lake Calaveras
- Activity: The hottest lake of the week. Catching red drum at Calaveras Lake this week meant big fish: Mario L. opened October 24 with a redfish of about thirty-four inches, the first fish of the day, and finished with four large redfish at the cleaning station. Jeff B. posted a very large red drum on October 26. And the CMO Big Fish Derby, held October 23–25, turned Calaveras into a catfish story too.
- Guide highlights: Albert Soto of Kat-Mars Fishing Charters worked the derby on October 24 and October 25 — a twenty-seven point five two pound Big Cat topped the board, and the cleaning table stayed full of catfish with a redfish mixed in. Raymond Esckilsen of Bones Fishing Guide Service landed a twenty-seven pound catfish on shrimp in open water on October 24, and held up a large redfish on October 25. Matthew Gomez of The Reelest Fishing posted multiple large redfish plus a large catfish on October 24.
- What's working: Shrimp in open water for the big derby catfish; red drum are simply big and active right now.
- Weekend game plan: Go. This Calaveras Lake redfish report for San Antonio anglers says red drum are the surest bet, with catfish still riding along after the derby.
Granger Lake
- Activity: Crappie, and lots of them. Melissa C. posted a tailgate haul of about thirty crappie on October 21, fishing the standing dead trees. Bob Jenkins of Bob's Tail Guide Service put clients on crappie in shallow timber on October 23, with a cooler of ten to twelve fish and a live-scope lesson along the way.
- Guide highlight: Bob Jenkins of Bob's Tail Guide Service, on October 22 — clients demolished a two-man limit by lunch, fishing open-water roamers and shallow timber with twelve-foot crappie poles bent all morning, in water below seventy degrees. He called it the most target-rich water he has seen over there in a good while, and the table held thirty to forty crappie.
- What's working: Shallow timber and open-water roamers, with long crappie poles; water below seventy degrees.
- Weekend game plan: Crappie in the timber — this Granger Lake crappie report, October 26, 2026, points straight at shallow timber and roaming schools.
Lake Travis
- Activity: Bass on topwater. A Lake Travis fishing report for the week of October 26, 2026 starts with an afternoon of more than twenty fish on October 25, almost all on topwater, fishing brush along shallow points and pockets with a Sixth Sense CatWalk. Jackson E. fished Lago Vista on October 25 too — largemouth from a night dock and a sunset kayak, with a yellow lure, a white topwater lure, and a green frog lure in play. A separate Travis report covering the previous Friday put thirty-seven bass in the boat, in water of seventy-two to seventy-six degrees at near-full level.
- What's working: Topwater over brush on shallow points and pockets; swimbaits, a fluke-style bait, and a square-bill crankbait around brush and ledges, on a ten-to-twenty-pound fluorocarbon leader over braid. The word from that Friday report: wait for the first cold front to target shallow big fish.
- Weekend game plan: Topwater first, over shallow brush — then swimbaits and fluke-style baits along the ledges.
Overall summary
Calaveras is the headline — red drum up to about thirty-four inches, plus a derby week of big catfish topped by a twenty-seven point five two pounder. Granger is the crappie answer, with thirty-fish hauls in shallow timber. Travis bass are eating topwater on shallow brush. Canyon is a numbers game for bass. Buchanan is quiet in our feeds this week.
Weekend weather (Austin area)
- Friday, October 30: Showers, high 75. Wind from the east-southeast at 8 miles an hour. The wettest day of the weekend — plan around the showers.
- Saturday, October 31: Morning clouds giving way to afternoon sun, high 83. Wind from the south at 5 miles an hour.
- Sunday, November 1: Partly cloudy, high 87. Wind from the south at 7 miles an hour.
The wind is a factor Friday and Sunday: an east-southeast breeze at 8 miles an hour Friday and a south breeze at 7 on Sunday will put a chop on open water, but both are well within fishable range. Saturday is the calmest day of the three, and the driest window of the weekend.