A planning edition for Friday October 30 – Sunday November 1, 2026, built from verified catch posts dated October 23–29, 2026. Every post below carries a logged source URL + full date in the run's research notes.
The week so far (rolling window, October 23–29)
- Calaveras — still the headline, and still fresh. Red drum and catfish have posted every part of the window. Albert Soto (Kat-Mars Fishing Charters) ran derby catfish trips on October 24 (a 27.52-pound "Big Cat" topping the board, cleaning tables full of catfish plus one redfish) and October 25, and was back on the water on October 29 with a late-afternoon boat trip that fought and netted a large redfish while the cooler already held several fish. Raymond Esckilsen (Bones Fishing Guide Service) landed a 27-pound catfish on shrimp in open water on October 24 and a large redfish on October 25. Matthew Gomez (The Reelest Fishing) posted multiple large redfish plus a large catfish on October 24. Mario L. opened October 24 with a roughly 34-inch redfish and four large redfish total at the cleaning station. Jeff B. posted a very large red drum on October 26, and Joseph C. landed a redfish from a kayak on October 27 along a rocky shoreline and dam area.
- Belton — the week's surprise, and it's a night bite. A Belton page posted a nighttime trip on October 24 with about a dozen hybrid stripers on the deck, and James B. posted a nighttime boat trip on October 25 with several large striped bass. Wendell K. posted a Belton table on October 25 with about twenty fish, including a measured large striped bass, plus crappie. And a Belton post on October 29 worked a white bass hole for crappie and white bass. Two separate night trips plus a fresh white bass hole post make Belton real this week, not a one-post wonder.
- Travis — largemouth, and topwater is still the story. A youth tournament big fish on October 23 was a 21.5-inch largemouth taken on a six-inch Roma Trout swimbait, long-lined in a cove and released. A Travis report posted October 23 put 37 bass on a Friday trip in 72–76-degree water at near-full level, on swimbaits, a fluke-style bait, and a square-bill crankbait around brush and ledges, with a note to wait for the first cold front before targeting shallow big fish. Jackson E. fished a night dock and a sunset kayak on October 25, with a yellow lure, a white topwater lure, and a green frog lure in play. A Lago Vista page reported more than twenty fish in a single October 25 afternoon, almost all on topwater, working brush along shallow points and pockets with a 6th Sense CatWalk.
- Granger — crappie, two ways. Bob Jenkins (Bob's Tail Guide Service) ran a live-scope lesson in shallow timber on October 23 for about ten to twelve crappie, and a Granger post on October 27 worked the dam and spillway for speckled crappie and white bass.
- Whitney — thin, but the striper evidence is specific. A striped bass came off the rocky shore at Steele Creek Park on October 23, and an October 24 trip found a school on sonar at about 30 feet and hooked fish slabbing at dawn.
- Buchanan: Quiet week on Buchanan in our feeds.
- Canyon: Quiet week on Canyon in our feeds.
The weekend plan, lake by lake
- Buchanan: Saturday traffic is the story here. Saturday, October 31 brings the Texas High School Bass Association Hill Country event to the lake, weigh-in at Llano County Park, with a trailered takeoff, first cast at 7:30 AM, lines out at 3:00 PM, and weigh-in by 4:30 PM — expect ramp pressure and boat traffic all day Saturday. Friday and Sunday are the quieter days on the ramps. Wind caveat: Friday's east breeze at 6 miles an hour is a factor on Buchanan's open water; Saturday and Sunday winds are light.
- Canyon: Quiet week on Canyon in our feeds. Winds are light all weekend, and Saturday is the driest day of the three.
- Calaveras: Go. The pattern is red drum plus catfish riding along, posted October 24, 25, 26, 27, and 29. Fish the late afternoon — that is when the October 29 guided trip put a large redfish in the net — and work rocky shoreline and dam-area water the way the October 27 kayak trip did. Catfish are the backup on every one of those days: shrimp in open water produced the 27-pound fish on October 24. Wind caveat: Friday's 6-mile-an-hour east breeze is a factor on open water; Saturday and Sunday are lighter.
- Granger: Go for crappie, with white bass as the bonus. Work shallow timber with a live-scope approach the way the October 23 guided trip did, and check the dam and spillway, where the October 27 post found speckled crappie and white bass. Winds are light all weekend.
- Travis: Make it a topwater and swimbait trip. Work brush along shallow points and pockets with a topwater walking bait — that pattern produced more than twenty fish in one October 25 afternoon — and keep a swimbait tied on for cove work, the way the October 23 tournament fish was taken. Night docks and sunset kayak water are also in play: Jackson E.'s October 25 fish came from a night dock and a sunset kayak on topwater and frog-style lures. The week's broader report says the water is 72–76 degrees at near-full level, with brush and ledges holding fish, and shallow big fish still waiting on the first cold front. Winds are light all weekend.
- Belton: Fish at night. Both of the week's hybrid striper trips were nighttime boat trips (October 24 and 25), so be on the water after dark, and check white bass holes — the October 29 post worked one for crappie and white bass. Winds are light all weekend, so night boat handling is straightforward.
- Whitney: Fish the dawn window and the deep school. The October 24 trip found fish on sonar at about 30 feet and hooked them slabbing at sunrise, and the October 23 fish came off the rocky shore at Steele Creek Park. Start at the shore and the deep school at first light, then follow the sonar. Winds are light all weekend.
Weekend weather (weather.com Austin, retrieved October 29)
- Friday, October 30: Afternoon and evening showers, high 71, low 66. Rain 60% by day, 50% at night. Wind east at 6 miles an hour by day, easing to 4 from the east-northeast at night. Sunrise 7:43 AM, sunset 6:45 PM. Moon: waning gibbous, about 83% illuminated.
- Saturday, October 31: Cloudy, high 80, low 68. Rain 20% by day, 10% at night. Wind southeast at 3 miles an hour by day, east-northeast at 3 at night. Sunrise 7:44 AM, sunset 6:44 PM. Moon: waning gibbous, about 72% illuminated.
- Sunday, November 1: Cloudy, high 84, low 69. Rain 20%. Wind east-southeast at 4 miles an hour by day, south-southeast at 4 at night. Sunrise 6:45 AM, sunset 5:43 PM — Sunday's times reflect the overnight clock change. Moon: last quarter, about 50% illuminated, reached Sunday afternoon.
Planning read: Friday is the wet day and the only day the wind tops 5 miles an hour — showers in the afternoon and evening, with a 6-mile-an-hour east breeze that will put a chop on open water. Saturday is the pick for a dry, calm day: cloudy, 20% rain, wind just 3 miles an hour. Sunday is the warmest at 84, still calm and mostly dry, with the shortest evening after the clock change — plan a morning or midday trip rather than counting on a long sunset window.
One-trip pick
Calaveras Lake, red drum, late afternoon. It is the rolling window's strongest verified pattern — reds posted on October 24, 25, 26, 27, and 29, with catfish on every one of those days. Fish rocky shoreline and dam-area water in the late afternoon the way the October 29 trip did, and keep shrimp ready for the catfish that keep showing up alongside the reds. Any of the three days works; Saturday gives you the calmest, driest conditions.