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FLT Flash Fishing Report!

Not your Daddy's fishing report...

E-mail James

March 23, 2023: The Good: Fish are biting like crazy. The Bad: The wind is beating us like a tenderizing hammer..

The Ugly: Lake is dropping like panties at Mardi Gras..

Irrigation is in full swing and the lake is down to 256.98. That's 44.22 feet low. That's ridiculous.. That's preposterous.. That should be criminal..

We are just four feet higher than we were last summer when we got down to about forty eight feet low..

It is March.. Where we headed? I don't know.. But they damn sure should be putting some pressure on the Mexicans to turn some water out of the lakes in northern Mexico.. They got a lot.. But ain't releasing shit.. Except from Falcon.. And so are we..

Amistad is releasing about half as much as we are, and of course they are sucking water out of the river in-between us as well.. That means we are dropping several inches a day.

More Bad: The butterfly launching area at the state park is no longer useable for any boat unless it is very small or a kayak. We are back to launching out on the point past the conventional boat ramp. Here in Zapata the main ramp is still working fine, but for how long I don't know.. A couple of more feet and we will putting in on the point ramp here.. Guess you could call that Ugly as well..

The Good: The shad spawn is going again after the last bad ass cold front backed em off.. They are back shallow, but maybe not in the force they were a week ago.. We had a few mornings in the forties..

The fish are right there with em and I heard that yesterday the fish were in ankle deep water, on rock, eating chatterbaits and squarebills.

In a very aggressive manner..

The soft plastic bite is still good as well, but if you like chunking and winding your ship has come in.

Almost any rocky point, hump, or bank can have fish on them. Fish the wind when you can.. Old house foundations also have been putting out good numbers.

In short, fishing has been very good.. Best we have seen in years.. And better than anything in Texas..

And that is Good.. Just not many people down here chasing them.

Yeah you gotta put up with some crappy launching conditions.. But that lasts five minutes..

More Bad: The Mexican netters are all over the lake and all over the Texas side. The TPWD is not patrolling the lake and they know it. And could give a fuck. Both of em.. Evidently..

It is ridiculous that we can't get any enforcement on the water.. Maybe this summer.. When the new class graduates..

What a crock of shit.. Talk about taxation without representation.. I've been fed more excuses than I heard running a thirty man construction crew..

Maybe in your part of the state they do their job.. Down here they suck..

They won't do a thing about the cormorants.. Unless you kill one of the motherfuckers..

We get a pittance of stocking.. And the only law they enforce is if you are fishing off the bank without a license..

While the netters take thousands of fish out of Texas waters a day.. It's mind-boggling..

We would be better off if PAW just said "Fuck it.. You guys are on your own down there.."

Well basically the only difference would be that they said it..

I invite anyone that works for PAW to call me and discuss the matters at hand. Bring your ammo, cause I'm bringing mine..

You might be thinking that, "He's in a pretty foul mood today.."

Not really.. But our government agencies are not doing us any good.. Whether it is IBWC or TPWD.

Or the border patrol that watches the netters on our side as well.. They have no fear of enforcement at all..

But then, why would they?

Before long the city will be talking about dredging the river again so we can provide water to the people who live here.. Two feet of water in the river at the pick up station..

Yeah but last year we caught eight feet and the problem disappeared..

No use worrying about a fire till you have one right?

This lake needs to be held at a minimum of 270. Either that or they can just blow up the fuckin' dam and we will just river fish..

Just like the good old days.. In 1950..

March 13, 2023: While the rest of the country, and much of the state, deals with the remnants of winter, we have been blessed with warm air, and temperatures more akin to summer.. Which is what we are famous for after all..

And I will be the first to bitch about the cold, and the last to bitch about the hot. And trust me the fish are not bitching about the hot either. Falcon fish love warm water and we got it, with water temps on the right days in the upper seventies.

The shad spawn has been raging for two weeks, and anywhere you see egrets lined up on the banks like illegal's along the border, you know you are fishing near a lot of eating fish.

And this has greatly simplified the game plan for catching bass.. A month ago the lake was fishing pretty small, with a ton of boats stacked up in the Tigers, especially on the north bank of the big body before you go back to any of the three arms of the creek.

Most any rocky wind blown bank can have a bunch of fish on it at any given minute. Those birds are a good indicator.

A plethora of baits have been reported catching fish up shallow when the bait is there.. Not all spots are created equal, but if you hop around a bit and keep your bait in the water something good is going to happen.

The chatterbait is as good a choice as any on these shallow fish. But squarebills and rattletraps have caught a shit ton of fish lately as well.

A senko is still an excellent choice if you prefer soft plastics. Something with a little sparkle in it is best. Especially on the sunny days. Creature baits are also good flipping certain hardwoods. Hardwoods with a hard bottom under them is a must. Silty, muddy bottoms are not nearly as good.

So what that means is hardwoods in open water, not near the influence of nearby creeks, that silted up the bottom, are are infinitely better if you want to flip up some fish.

And the flipping bite has been the best we have seen in years.

Of course fishing in general has been the best we have seen in years. Like I been telling you..

The south end of the lake is still fishing better than anywhere north of marker seven. That has not changed. Water clarity is immensely better from mid-lake south. And the fish certainly prefer it..

We are loosing a lot of water as I type, and we have lost about 18" in the last couple of weeks.

This is starting to affect the launching locations at the state park. It is still possible to launch at the Butterfly beach down there, but in quick order we will be back to launching around the cove out past the concrete ramp on the point. If you are familiar then it is no big deal. If you have questions stop in and ask.

Several folks I know are going to launch out there today and get back to me with details.. Boy I am sure glad they put in that low water ramp down there.. (sarc)

Like I have told you we are the red headed stepchild of PAW, and we get shit.. Or maybe I should say we don't get shit.. We really don't use Pesos down here, and you would think that we are part of Texas.

We spend our money on licenses and use fees just like everybody else. Seems a little discriminatory to me..

We have to beg for enforcement and support.. While other lakes take it for granted.

I will say, that after a bunch of bitching and phone calls to certain individuals, by myself and a lot of others, we have seen a few game wardens on the lake working the illegal netting that is so prevalent on the Texas side..

But we shouldn't have to beg..

Launching on the upper end of the lake here in Zapata is no sweat. We are still on concrete and will be for several more feet. Use the left center of the ramp here at the county park.

But with irrigation in full swing, and Amistad letting out half of what we are, it looks like we will be dropping for the foreseeable future.

Status quo..

You can certainly see and feel the current in many areas.. The fish don't mind it, it appears.

After three years of this Whoohan shit going around, I finally contracted the crap a couple of weeks ago.. I thought I was going to skate..

And I will have to admit it kicked my ass and for about a week I barely had enough power to blow my nose.. And I was doing the minimum and trying to stay away from people. Which is not my style..

I might even change socks tomorrow.. I think I am going to make it..

In any case, we still have a few spawning fish, but more and more fish are finishing up the deed.. And they are hungry and ready for a cigarette..

Get your ass down here and catch em while they are piggin' out.

Cause they are shallow and pretty easy most days.. See you in Zapata..

February 28, 2023: Here we are sticking a fork in the shortest month of the year.. And the best month we have seen here on Falcon in years. And it is not at all uncommon for a plethora of big fish to be caught in February.

February and March are certainly big fish months here on Falcon. It is a little different that we have had an elongated warm stretch with no real cold fronts in the last two weeks, more or less. And this has allowed our water to warm to the seventy degree range in the PM.

The fish are up.. And I believe they are committed. And they ain't heading back out till they're done spawning..

Reports of a lot of very light colored fish have been plentiful, and it is obvious that these fish have come from their deep water haunts to join the festivities in the shallows..

You cannot fish too shallow right now.. Lots of fish reported coming from three feet of water.. On rocks.. Go figure..

That is not to say that there are not fish out to the twelve foot range. There is. But these fish are coming and going as we speak, and bloody bottoms and pissin males are the order of the day..

The spawn is on..

While the Tigers is certainly garnering its share of attention, and for good reason, I am hearing stories about more and more locations holding fish. But still most of it is from Marker 7 south.

I'm not sure why the upper end of the lake is so different, other than water color in a lot of places.. I had a friend fish the Diablo, just south of the Veleno on the Mexican side, and he said the water was beautiful. But no fish. Go figure..

The Veleno itself, with it's great rock structure, has been a disappointment all spring.. Maybe there is just not enough deep water nearby..

School Bus, not too far away, has put out a few fish but nothing to write home about.. Pierces at marker 7 is not what it should be, but it has awesome structure and shallow rock.. But no one I know has done any bragging about it.

Senkos are still catching a lot of fish. And here's a blast from the past.. The Magnum Fluke is making a comeback.. And why wouldn't it.. Watermelon red as good as any.

Squarebills are also catching fish.. And loosing some.. I swear that crankbaits are witchcraft.. You never know if the fucker is going to stay stuck or not.. There is always that shaking fish with a mouthfull of hooks to contend with. Cause the mouth is the only handle built on the fish.

You can take ten minutes getting the bait out of the net if you have the wrong one.. And on occasion the bait will pull out of the fish and come flying at you like a Bumble Bee with six stingers..

Dangerous stuff indeed.. But sometimes you gotta put some chips at risk if you want to win..

I'm gonna include a few fish pics.. No names. Guess cause I don't have em all and I'm lazy.. But you'll get the point. Some caught with guides.. Some not..

A couple of those fish look like they been shot by the Pufferizer 5000..

We have a few windy days to contend with. Yesterday was nice.. Sunday sucked. Today is awesome and I expect to hear about a lot of caught fish as conditions are near perfect and there will be a lot of boats on the water..

Well, for Falcon..

We do have a windy day on Thursday scheduled. Over a hunnert on Wednesday and Thursday.. Ain't it great.. Of course some of the Yankees spending the winter down here ain't too happy with it. I tell em it builds character..

The lake is holding steady with releases from Amistad holding off the drop as we release water for irrigation down below.

Launching is no sweat.. Same as it has been for the last two months.. Or longer..

Water temps around 70°.

And a note to all of you northern folks.. Feel free to keep the rest of winter north of the Red River. We got no use for that shit.. But if you can spare a little rain, we'll gladly take the day off to re spool..

Well what else is happening.. I hear Mayor Pete was on his way to the scene of the train wreck in Ohio.. But his limo got rear-ended by the Weinermobile.. Well.. That's what I heard..

In other news.. Biden has taken time off from shooting down balloons and other stuff floating around the atmosphere.. But I'm wondering.. What the fuck happened to Pluto.. That orbiting collection of space rock used to be a planet.. Did we shoot that motherfucker down?

If yall ain't thinking about this kind of shit, then maybe I am doing something wrong.. Maybe it's the alcohol.. Although it is not yet nine am and I am still stone sober..

I believe that alcohol dulls the mind but tends to sharpen the tongue.. Well for sure it loosens the connection between the two.. As a matter of fact.. Most of the bar fights I have witnessed had alcohol involved..

Ah... Probably just a coincidence..

And I do have to admit I get much of my material from TV commercials..

When I see something truly good, I text myself a reminder while sitting in the Lazy Boy.. My wife looks at me and says, "You're not going to write about that, are you." She knows better, but she try's anyway.

Did you ever wonder why all pawn shops have burglar bars on the windows and doors? It's a simple answer really..

The shit in there has already been stolen once..

Well I better GTFOH cause I got more irons in the fire than roundup time at the Yellowstone..

I like being busy.. Or at least occupied..

Thanks to all of you who have ventured down and stopped in.

Hope to see you soon as well.. And if I don't , it's you that's missing out on some really good fishing..

See you when we do!

February 21, 2023: Well we're sailing right thru February, and it looks like we are finally getting some warm days lined up.. At least a weeks worth and the water temps are responding well, with daytime temps heading back into the middle sixties.

That's water temps.. And air temps are supposed to be in the middle eighties and low nineties this week.

And if you were lucky enough to have your Falcon trip scheduled for this week you get two gold stars on your report card.

As far as the report card on the fishing goes, I'm going to give it a solid B+.. There have been a lot of quality fish boated in the six to eight pound range. With a few other whoppers mixed in.. Like this 12.47 caught a few days back by Kelly Chase.

Best one I have seen lately.. Here's a few pics of some recent catches..

A different Kelly caught this porker..

I'm drawing a blank on this anglers name.. Old age is real..

And Glenda caught this one last weekend as well. Falcon is always good to the ladies. That is a long fish..

That's just a smattering of the fish pics I have seen lately.. Lots of good fish have been caught, but there have been a lot of folks on the water no doubt. I heard there were 24 within sight in the Tigers on Saturday..

It is so weird that so many fish are concentrated in a half square mile. Same as last spring.. And there are lots of other areas that have almost the same structure and rocky bottoms.. Go figure..

That is not the only place that is holding fish, and those with less patience for close quarters fishing have found fish from Bobs Knob south. I heard some good reports of fish on the deeper rockpiles on the main lake on crankbaits..

Last weekend there were three bass clubs in town, and we have not had this many people in Zapata (fishing) in a couple of years.

Ingram Bass club fished two, one day tourneys.. On Saturday Tommy Moose had 21 something for first place. There were two over seven weighed in. On a short day Sunday, Ronny Gazaway won with eight something.. Big bass on Sunday was a five plus..

SAPD and Alamo were also in town, but I have no results from either of them.

There is no doubt that the fish are going to spawn.. The Huisache trees are blooming and that means bass on the beds at Falcon. This week should see a lot of aqua sex taking place..

I heard a couple of reports of fish as white as snow being caught.. These are deep water fish moving up to do the deed. Probably see more of that as the week progresses.

I am sure some fish will wait a while.. They ain't all coming at once..

There are always those females that are penile resistant and they might take a little more warming up to join the party..

But it's gonna happen..

Senkos and Spros.. Seem to be the best baits going.. And some really shallow fish are falling to both. Three feet ain't too shallow. Chatterbaits have also caught a few..

But a 5" senko on a C-rig has been very effective according to many accounts. You can put that senko on a shakey head as well and catch some fish.

The lake level is holding steady, and we have wavered a few inches either way the last ten days.. They are releasing some water for the valley farmers, but Amistad is releasing about the same and a bit more to keep us level.. Where we're headed who knows..

Launching is no sweat.. No changes. Read posts below if you have questions about ramps or call me with any questions. I'm full of answers.. And a few other things I am told..

If you are coming to Falcon this spring, the next couple of weeks could really be good.. February is a fickle motherfucker, and it could freeze in two weeks. But the long term is looking good for now..

I hate it when they start talking about this chunk of Arctic air that might break off and bum rush the southern tier.. That shit makes me crazy.. But right now I don't hear any such thing. I'd be fine calling this winter good, and just move along to the good stuff..

I hear there are fish being caught on a few other lakes.. But not many. And if you want to get away from the BIG crowds then get your ass down here.. Especially during the week if you can.

For the next forty five days, any writing about anything but Falcon is a waste of ink..

Of course I could also be considered a Falcon homer.. Go figure..

Come see us and let me know if you need anything Falcon related..

See you on the water..

February 13, 2023: To say I have been busy might be inaccurate.. But I have certainly been more than occupied..

Like a one legged man in an ass kickin contest.. Cept I was the one gettin my ass kicked.

But it is February and I am a bit busier here in the store, as we have our annual migration of cold country fishermen down here. Because for a lot of them their water is too hard.. Gives a whole new meaning to surface baits..

And as February always is, the weather has been as moody as a fourteen year old trying to figure out which pronoun to use. We have had winds from all quadrants, temps from freezing to eighty five, and a finicky bite with spurts of Vesuvius to something more akin to a glacier.

This morning the water temp is around 61°. Two and a half weeks ago it was mid to upper sixties, and the bite was fairly consistent. Today; not so much.

But one thing that has remained consistent is that some really nice fish have been caught. Numbers have been lacking for the most part. But I have heard of a multiple of double digit fish being caught.. Even on the shitty days.

We seem to have a good population of fish in the eight pound range, because I have heard of a bunch of them and seen pics of a lot of them.

Like these two caught yesterday by James Kosub of Universal City Bass Club. Both over eight..

But it was not enough to win the two day event.. David Glenny topped all fishermen with a two day weight of 37.54. Second place was in the mid twenties.

There were three fish over eight caught in the two days.

Of course there were a lot of folks that struggled. Overall it was tough and only two five fish limits were caught in two days by twenty fishermen. They were somewhat hampered by wind both days.

It appears to be a tossup as to what the fish want, and a mixture of soft plastics and crankbaits thrown from shallow to twelve feet seems to be best. Throw one till you get tired of it.. Switch.. Repeat.

A shakey head with a senko on it is as good as anything, or Texas rig a senko or worm. I did not hear too much about squarebills this weekend.

In slightly deeper diving hard baits, the Spro's in the 60 or 70 series seem to be working best.. I reckon you can get by with a 5 or 6 XD.. But here lately the Spro seems to be best.

I can't say that the spawn is truly on.. I've seen too many pics of fish still really bellied up. I am sure there are some doing it and done with it. But I am not going to say the birth spasm has begun..

The crappie are deep and shallow, with some folks catching them dipping the hardwoods, and some folks catching them on brushpiles. Try Monkey Milk or Electric Chicken..

There are some on the rip-rap on the dam as well.

We are getting some water from Amistad, and it is holding us steady at the moment. I hear rumors and conjecture, but I really have no idea what IBWC and TCEQ are planning. We are sitting at 260.07 as I write, up and inch or so in the last couple of days.

Launching is still no problem. See previous posts for details or call if you have questions.

I had to get my binoculars out in the last few days. To assist the feds in watching the skies for inanimate objects..

Back to the days of the DEW line..

I think I am suffering some eye strain as I was sure I spotted a balloon over Zapata. But it was just the Goodyear blimp hovering over the Superbowl.. Or some fat gassed up bitch that floated off the set of a talk show..

These binocs are some bad Mo-Fo's..

Is it possible that we are living out a skit from a bad SNL show? Maybe I'm being redundant.. All the SNL skits suck till you get back to the days of the Land Shark..

If you are a jet pilot, and shoot down a balloon.. Do you get to paint a balloon on your fuselage? Does the missile blow up on contact with the Balloon or do they just go thru it like a good boner thru a Chinese made condom?

Where did the missile land?

Just like in, "There's Something About Mary," you ever know where a wild shot may end up..

(Don't google it if you don't know..)

These are questions that need answers. Maybe you'll get an answer on that question but they ain't going to tell you shit about the real deal..

Don't worry.. We got it all under control..

This admin scares the shit out of me.. In more ways than one.. I ain't seen Ol Joe this excited since last April when he was playing pin the tail on the Easter Bunny..

Well come see us when you can.. You don't need no augers and tip-ups down here.. And on the right day you can work on your tan.

We're still fishing bettern anywhere else in Texas.. Come get you some.

January 31, 2023: It has started.. Three days of miserable shit that will see highs in the forties and drizzle and mist and basically just bullshit weather..

Cause we don't actually get rain in January in Zapata. We get this shit..

I did say the other day that February always has some nasty for us down here. And I am sure this year will be no different. And it ain't February till tomorrow..

And like every year, we have some warming trends, that get the fish into the biting spirit.. And then we are subjugated to several days of this.. Which runs the fish back into a state of hibernation..

Kinda like when the giant toad frog put Han Solo into the giant frozen chocolate bar.. He ain't doing shit till he thaws out.. And neither are the fish..

But.. A few days ago the fishing was really good.. And a good number of really big fish were caught.. Including a twelve and an eleven. Caught by the same guy..

That's a pretty good weekend..

But a lot of folks are catching decent numbers, and there are always a few good fish mixed in, from to six to eight pounds.

But I will say that very few folks are catching twenty fish, but it does happen.

Seems that reports mention more soft plastics the last couple of weeks, and creature baits and senkos appear to be the most popular. I ain't saying that you can't catch em on something else..

Carolina and Texas rigs have been talked about the most. Some shaky heads, and a few spinnerbaits.

The north shore of the Tigers main bay is once again a very popular spot, and those gravel ridges and shell beds on the flats are holding fish.

And it don't take a brain surgeon to figure that one out. You may need to tie some tires on the sides of your boat on nice days..

Mid diving crankbaits are also catching some fish, and you can get away with fishing them shallow on a lot of the gravel humps.. As long as it ain't too chunky.. Raking them rocks around will often get the attention of nearby fish.. One of my favorite things to do..

There are also some fish coming on main lake rockpiles, and a lot of them have four to eight feet of water over them. There are some shallower as well, and some days they are good.

But ends of points that taper off, like in the Tigers, and say, state park cove, can have fish on them at any time.. These fish are in a transition to go spawn..

And I am quite sure there are a few doing it. But very little evidence of spawned out fish has been seen..

The hard part is consistent warm water for any duration.. We ain't had it..

And we have this same conversation every year.. Mother nature is a creature of habit..

No matter where you are on the lake, think about rock or gravel, and the slopes from deep to shallow. I would be fishing from zero the ten or twelve feet right now. No deeper.. You are going to find them somewhere in that range. And there are tons of places you can cover that range without moving your boat..

There are a few fish coming form the hardwoods, and try a rage Craw or a spinnerbait between the limbs.. Don't fish it too fast.. I also heard of a senko working there as well.

Water levels are still dropping ever so slowly, and releases have slowed some.. No help from Amistad as of yet, and I wouldn't be surprised in nothing shows up for a while.

But if it doesn't rain soon, and I mean an inch or two, the real irrigation will commence in the next thirty days..

Status quo..

Launching is still no problem, on concrete here in the Veleno, and off the shore down at the state park. Look where everyone else has been putting in.. At the Butterfly Blvd. beach of course.. Ask if you don't know..

Folks are also putting in at the Tigers as well.. If you don't mind three miles of gravel.. But a good choice on a windy day.

It's true that February and Falcon go together like Moonpods and the Kama Sutra.. All you need is the females to cooperate..

With all the bullshit going on in the world today, I think it is time to take fishing a little more seriously. As we flirt with international catastrophe, with the most cavalier of attitudes, things could turn to shit overnight.

I wonder how many people were fishing a lot during WWII.. Maybe a lot. Maybe out of necessity to feed the family..

Maybe I'm crazy.. It is, of course, at least a fifty-fifty chance..

I guess it has always been this way, but I wonder how it has come to the fact that there are just a couple of hundred people in the world that control the destiny of the rest of us..

When the rest of us just want to be left the fuck alone to pursue our interests and take care of ourselves and family's.

We didn't get get here overnight.. And we ain't gonna change things overnight. And maybe you think the path we are on as a nation is no big deal..

But it scares me to think about what future generations of Americans may have to go thru because of their apathy and "ignorance is bliss" attitude.

I am appalled at how ignorant the younger generations are. They have had it so good their entire spoiled lives that they think all this is just a natural occurrence. That there are no threats in the world, and that we are the guilty ones for making their lives so easy..

With no respect or reverence for the country that has provided them the opportunity to survive with little or no effort on their part..

I know I am painting with a 4' roller on this one, and that not all kids are in this category.. But it is scary to see the ignorance on display in today's American society..

And it ain't all just the Millennial's and post generations..

There's an old saying that we usually get what we deserve.. And I am afraid it is true. And if a whole bunch of the younger generations don't get themselves un-ignorant in the not too distant future, they are going to wake up someday and wonder what the fuck happened..

As they slowly discover what Socialism truly is..

The shared misery of all..

I know I am pretty much preaching to the choir on this one.. But there is no doubt in my mind that we are being led down a path to destruction.

And if you think things are better today than they were two years ago, ten years ago, twenty years ago..

Please seek professional help..

Or go fishing.. Some of the best therapy on the market today..

Come see us.. I'll be waiting..

January 24, 2023: It's been a while since I wrote, and in my defense I have had a full plate. But honestly I am not sure what to say about the fishing.. But I'm getting a better idea..

The last two weeks saw days of really good results, and some that left you scratching your head.

Weekend before last Uvalde Bass Club was in town, and they fished two one day, three fish tournies. On Saturday, it took nineteen pounds and there was a nine pounder in that sack..

There were about twenty fishermen competing, and there were several one fish, two fish stringers as well.. And a couple of no fish..

I did not hear the Sunday results as I was fucking off..

Last week and weekend, a lot of really nice fish, from six to tem pounds were caught, and some stringers in the thirties were reported by several boats.. But it wadn't everybody..

Over the weekend we had a mix of weather, with some north winds and slack periods, and some folks did really well.

The secret? Landing on the right rock pile or gravel bar at the right time.. And lately timing has been a lot of it.

Afternoons appear to be best, and most folks in the know don't go out till ten or so.. Some mornings it has been so foggy that you couldn't see the end of your rod till then.

Water temps are in the middle and even upper sixties on a lot of days, and we are certainly seeing signs of a spawn trying to get started..

I have seen lots of pics of bloody fins and tails the last five days, but cannot say that I have seen a pic of a fish that was spawned out.. And no one thinks they have caught a fish that was through with it either, from the folks I have talked to..

But I am sure there are some fish doing it right now.

I had a friend catch 23 on Saturday, and about thirteen on Sunday in half a day.. The had several sevens and a handful of sixes..

Mixed reports from across the Snowbird camps say that the fish are biting.. Sporadically..

But some really good days have been reported.

All I can say is that it is time, the water is warm, and it is only going to get better for the next sixty days.. If you are planning a trip down here, and you can come when you want, watch for the next extended warm trend, pack your shit, and hit the road..

We have had a unprecedented number of ducks on the lake this year, and with that, we have had a few duck hunters. They have reported good success on the upper end of the lake.

We also have an unprecedented number of cormorants on the lake.. And these motherfuckers are so thick that sometimes you have to stop in the middle of the lake to let the thousands of them take off..

Or risk running over one of the precious little bastards..

I cannot understand what the fuck is so important about these pieces of shit that we can't control the population to some degree.

Have I conveyed my disdain of these vile son of a bitches yet?

Let's say that there are only twenty thousand of them on the lake.. And depending on who you talk to, they eat from a half pound, to a pound of fish a day each. Lets go with the former..

That's ten thousand pounds of fish a day being consumed.

I am sure they eat a lot of trash fish like tilapia, but you can bet your ass that they eat a shit ton of shad, white bass, black bass, and crappie, anytime their size suits their diet.

And then they convert 95% of that fish into a beautiful white stream of shit that kills every bit of foliage they roost on, poisons the ground, and pollutes our only source of drinking water here in Zapata.

But they're a magnificent bird!!

The EPA doesn't even know they exist down here, and TPWD has done absolutely nothing to try and remedy the situation. Other than feeding me a line of bullshit saying we are working on it.. My ass..

And I have heard not one thing in well over a year about the subject..

PAW has zero game wardens on the lake, and right now the netting on the Texas side is rampant..

Because the netters know there is zero enforcement on the water..

We've known for years that Falcon is the stepchild of PAW, but it has never seemed as apparent as it is now.

So I guess you don't even need a license to fish down here. Nobody going to check you.. At least not in a boat..

We are supposed to get a real north wind today, and it has commenced.. But it is supposed to lay down by tomorrow afternoon..

I'm sure I'll hear more about the fishing when the small craft advisory has been dropped.

If you need anything, or have any questions about what is going on, give me a call..

And bring me some steel shot and some trash bags.

January 10, 2023: Two questions are being asked a lot around here.. And on the phone..

What are the fish doing? And what are they going to do?

Well I can answer the first.. At least in regards to some of the fish..

A lot of them are biting. But more are not.. And maybe that is less than accurate.. Some of the fish are biting, and a good number of those that are are quality fish.

But no one I know is going out there and catching twenty fish.. And that is the cold, hard truth.

Most of the stories I am hearing is that four to a dozen fish are being caught on the average outing.

But usually in that outing there are a couple of really nice fish landed.. And of course there is the daily stories of the one that was not seen or came off just out of reach.

Seems that you can fish for a long period and catch nothing, and all of a sudden you are at the right place at the right time, and you catch a handfull..

What are the fish going to do? Little tougher question.. But.

The water is still on a slow warming trend, and water in the Tigers is middle sixties in the PM. In front of the dam it is high fifties in the AM, and warms slightly later in the day.

We are releasing some water and maybe that is keeping the deeper water stirred up in that area. And we are releasing more than we are getting and we are slowly dropping, currently sitting at about 261.06. But still within a few inches of where we have been for months.

If we stay on this warm water pattern, and it looks good for the short term, we should see some spawning fish any time. But I'll remind you, and me, that we are only in the second week of January.. What some folks would consider winter..

And odds are that we will still have a few considerable fronts make it down here before we put up the long britches.

Best baits still appear to be crankbaits, in the eight to twelve foot range. But there is nothing wrong with raking the rocks with this same bait in the shallow rocks on their way to deeper water.. I have caught a ton of fish on a 5XD in two or three feet of water in years past..

Some spinnerbait fish have been landed back in the trees, and yesterday I spoke to some fellows from Laredo who caught several males back in the hardwoods. Not any real numbers, but maybe an indication of things to come..

One thing to keep in mind, is that back in the shallow creeks, like all three Tiger arms, or State Park Cove, or any flat bottomed creek, which most of them we have are at this level, is that they are mostly silted in and there are few areas with rocky or hard bottoms.

And it has been my experience that fish do not like to spawn on a mud bottom. And rarely do.

And maybe that is the reason we have not caught many fish off the hardwoods.. Now, or in the last couple of years.. Even summertime. There just aren't that many places where there are woods with gravel bottoms. Being that is where the trees grew/grow, and also where situation is the most prevalent.

So it is my recommendation that you fish rocky bottomed areas.. For what it's worth.

There are several areas, but not a lot, out in the main lake that are on rocky ridges. Might be a good place to look. especially if there are some woods on them.

I am positive that fish like some sort of cover to nest near.. And the thicker the better..

Now go find it..

A few fish are also being caught on shakey heads and assorted soft plastics.. But nothing to beat your chest about.

But like with the rest of it, there is still a lot of hit and miss..

Uvalde bass club will be in town this weekend, and I am sure I will get some feedback from them. And it will give some insight to what the short term visiting angler might expect.. And I'll report of course..

Well.. Old Uncle Joe visited the border last weekend.. But the old fart did not stop at Falcon Lake Tackle.. I did prepare for his visit, but I will have to admit that I did not sanitize the shop like they did with the whole town of El Paso before Brandon got there..

It probably did need a good cleaning, and I doubt that if they toured him through the illegal's camps, he'd see anything but ice cream shop signs thru those rose colored aviators.

This administration is a fucking joke.. Top to bottom..

We'll see if the new House actually does anything to thwart the damage done and in progress as we watch this clown show.

But I have my doubts as I think the whole DC crowd (with few exceptions) are pretty inter-changeable.

I'm not holding my breath.

I have been watching some college football, and therefore watching a lot of commercials.. What the fuck is Dr. Pepper going to do now that football season is over? Will State have a good recruiting year? Will there be a new sheriff in town?

And I see that Dominoe's Pizza is now delivering your pie with electric vehicles.. Big fuckin' deal.. Will it make the pizza better?

Now if they wanted to impress me, being they have an electric car, why don't they bake the pizza in the fuckin' car while it's on the way to my house.. Then you'd get a fresh pizza.

I used to complain that commercials were not realistic, in their portrayal of actual customers.. Their actors had perfect skin, hair, teeth, and were skinny and attractive..

After seeing the general population on TV commercials these days, I must recant my old opinion..

It's freak show out there.

One other commercial of note, and I promise I stop after this one, cause it is hard to top, is for these new super absorbent underwear for women.. I'm not talking Depends, or even, "Oops I've crapped my pants," of SNL fame..

Here I am sitting on my couch, eating my supper, and on comes this commercial for panties that absorb more than seven tampons..

Now I've never worn/used a tampon.. But I can only guess what carrying seven tampons worth of sloshy goo in your underbritches would feel like..

But there's a picture of it in my mind that made put my sandwich down and reach for the remote..

Maybe I'll put seven or eight pumps of hand lotion in a ziplock, warm it in the microwave, shove it down there between the boys, and go for a walk.. Or do some somersaults. Like those big girls in the commercial..

And see how it feels..

Yeah I'll get back to you on this one. Gotta do a risk assessment first..

I have a bunch of fish pics to post.. But you seen a bass before..

And if you come down here maybe you can take one of your own..

Here's picturing you, Kid.. We'll always have Falcon..

January 3, 2023: Well we're off and running in the new year.. And a lot of you guys have been screwing the pooch for the last two weeks.. I know because I haven't been able to get a damn thing delivered or done..

Back to work you slackers! Oh yeah.. And Happy New Year! May she be a damn sight bettern' the last one..

Well.. After a cold snap that knocked our water temps back into the ice tray, we are finally seeing water temps climb back up into the middle sixties.. But that has been in the late afternoon and not a consistent day and night temperature.

Which is what I believe is needed to get the fish into spawn mode.

I know.. I know.. You're thinking that fucker is crazy.. It's the first week of January..

But this happens every year.. Some of these fish are going to go do the deed..

And there is no doubt that our water temps will be up and down like hookers panties in the next month. And we will see this cycle several times in the coming sixty days..

But between these fluctuations, there will be spawning fish when the water warms..

And I think we are on the verge of it happening, but the last few days have been poor when it comes to catching any numbers of fish.

I spoke with several groups of fishermen yesterday, and nobody was bragging.. Reports of two to five fish were the norm. And in my book that sucks.

Evidently that sucks in their books as well.. And I did not hear of any whoppers caught either..

So what's my recommendation?

If I had to drive any distance, I might wait a bit.. But this Friday and Saturday may be really good as we are supposed to have highs in the eighties all week with warmer nights, and of course the full moon is on Friday..

I know some of you don't believe in moon phases and spawning having any correlation..

But I do.. And when the warming water and the two intersect some good shit can happen..

Will it for sure? Hell if I know.. But you cain't catch em on the couch..

But the fact of the matter for now. Or as of yesterday evening.. Fishing was slow.. I'm never going to lie to you..

I will report as soon as I hear anything from off the water..

Stay tuned!

December 27, 2022: Well the brutal, cold assed, arctic air that sat on us for three days has moderated a bit.. We got up close to 70 degrees yesterday afternoon, and it felt good to stand in the sun. But it wadn't a sun beatdown.. Just sun feeling good on your face..

It was a cold 70..

This morning it was middle forties for the low, but we have low winds, sunshine, and a predicted high back around seventy again..

Lows for the rest of the week are supposed to be around the middle fifties and highs heading towards the eighties for the weekend. And a warming trend will do nothing but help the fishing as the week progresses..

But how far back this last cold shit knocked the fish we are still trying to ascertain.

I spoke to one boat of fishermen that fished yesterday so far today.. They said the water temps were around 55° when they put in yesterday morning, and almost 60 when they loaded the boat at 5:00..

They caught three fish.. Doesn't really surprise me. I've told you before that when the water here gets in the middle fifties that you might as well stay home and make babies.. Or watch Captain Kangaroo.. If you already have babies..

But I have also told you that when the water warms up into the middle sixties for a few days, to leave Mama home with Sancho, and get your ass on the water..

Cause weird things can happen in a short window..

Now I AM NOT saying that the spawn is imminent and that you need to be here immediately.. And I am not sure what the long term temps are going to do after this weekend. I don't hardly trust the fuckers to predict yesterdays highs..

But you can bet your ass that we will be watching the water temps this week and watching the fishing reports to see if there is some activity that looks like a spawn could commence..

I have received several e-mails from folks that are headed here now and later this week to see what the warmer weather might bring. And that will certainly help figure out what it going on. Because seriously, there have just not been many/any fishermen on the water the last five days..

Between the holidays and the cold, few people have been out.. But I am sure you already had that figured out.

The lake is holding pretty steady, and we are sitting at 261.32, and we have not fluctuated more than a couple of inches either up or down in the last month..

That equates to about forty feet low..

Launching conditions have not changed in two months.. Five lanes of concrete here in the Veleno, and on the bank down at Butterfly Boulevard at the state park..

Four wheel drive is a help, but not a must down south. Some boys that were in here this morning with a big boat did it with two wheel drive yesterday. Also said it did not hurt to have the fellow in the boat give a little push to get her moving.. But I have heard no reports of anyone not getting their boat out with two wheel drive..

You can also launch in the Tigers if you desire.. But with low winds I'd just choose an end of the lake and run it..

Well this report is pretty much some anticipatory bullshit ain't it? Talking about what might be later this week? If the water warms into the sixties.. And I think it will..

But if a bunch of big fish, or any fish get caught, it would not surprise me.. Them fuckers are in here. And they are gonna spawn and they are gonna bite sooner or later.. I'm just not sure which one.. Or in which order..

Here's a couple of fish pics from the day before the temps went south.. Both over ten..

You just gotta get your ass out there and show it to em'..

And hopefully a bunch of people will this week..

Well I hope you and yours had a good Christmas.. There were a dozen kiddos at the ranch opening tons of plastic Chinese shit and loving it on Christmas eve.. And the noise level was excruciating..

But it is always fun to see.. I am absolutely positive that we are spoiling the little buggers to the n'th degree..

That horse is out of the barn around our place, and probably at yours as well..

I tell my people not to buy me anything for Christmas.. For a simple reason.

I hate getting a gift that I have no use for, or already have five of.. Just seems wasteful. Practical I am..

I guess you're thinking, "He's a real fuckin joy at Christmas."

But truth is, that if my kids or wife can afford it, and I want it, I already have it..

I love Christmas.. And I love capitalism. And there is no doubt that the former is good for the latter..

But I'd personally like to see a little more emphasis put on the non-secular aspect of Christmas..

But like I said, that horse is done out of the barn..

Well I'll keep you abreast of the happenings down here on the water.. Fuck if I know what's going to happen.. But when I do, so will you.

See you when we do!

December 20, 2022: Guess the hell what.. Just when the fish are getting a little more active, we have a giant shit-storm of cold air headed for us.. Oh fuckin' boy..

Lows on Friday and Saturday night are supposed to be in the middle twenties.. And we ain't set up for that kinda shit. And my back already hurts thinking about moving all my plants into the garage..

I hate this shit..

But till then.. We are on a decent streak of weather, and on Thursday before the front gets here, we are supposed to be in the seventies. Yesterday was tough with some north wind; not a gale but enough to make it no fun out in open water. As was attested to by several customers..

The last week has seen a bunch of real quality fish caught, and some mid thirty and even a forty pound sack put in the boat. If you are at the right spot at the right time some magic can happen.. Not everyone is whacking em, but most folks are catching fish, and some dandies mixed in..

For example:

These fish range from seven to over ten pounds.

And I got a lot of other good fish pics as well but I ain't posting em all.. Several folks caught three or four really nice ones..

And the snowbirds that fish every day are catching some quality fish as well.

Big crankbaits deep, some squarebillin', and deeper soft plastics in the eight to fifteen foot range have all produced some fish.

Timing is everything and you gotta be there when they there and biting. So time on the water makes all the difference. Afternoons seem to be a bit better, but I have heard of several streaks in the AM where some bigguns were caught..

Can you go anywhere and whack em? No.. But if you get out there and show it to em you just might put the smack down on em..

Well Christmas is upon us.. And I mean upon us.. T minus five days.. Hope you got all your shopping done..

And I also hope you stop for a minute or two and remember that there is a lot more to this holiday than wrapping paper and eggnog..

We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and affirming that he is our savior and path to heaven.. And I hope you do not need a holiday to keep that in mind.

I don't want to get too preachy on you, but once a year, (or maybe two) I will reiterate that no man can be truly and independently happy without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

And I hope you take time to consider what I just typed..

Merry Christmas to you and yours. And I hope you and your family get to share some quality time together..

See you when we do!

December 13, 2022: I'm not gonna say that the fish are jumping in the boats down here, but I will say that the fishing is much improved from a couple of weeks ago..

Although not all fishermen are knocking them dead, including me.. I fished for a few hours on Sunday and only caught a few fish, and most of them were little bastards.

But hey.. They were fish..

Better fishermen, or at least fishermen with better timing have done a lot better.. I fished a favorite rockpile for twenty minutes.. And had zero bites. And a buddy of mine caught a five and a seven off of it after three o'clock.. Of course by then I was in the Lazy Boy..

Water temps were in the low seventies early Sunday afternoon.. That was in the Tigers. But I hear the water is cooler nearer the dam. I am sure this front that will be blowing in tonight will cool the water off a bit.. But it is not gonna be one of them mosquito killers.. Highs in the 60 degree range for a few days..

The last five days have been awesome.. High in the eighties and low winds..

Here's a few pics of some fish from the last week..

10.24

8+

9 something I think..

10.41

There have been a lot more six to eight pound fish caught, and some folks are having a really good time while others struggle a bit. That's fishing..

But these fish are the shortest and fattest and meanest motherfuckers you will catch anywhere.. They are so healthy and full of groceries.. We are gonna see some whoppers the next two years.. There's just so much to eat..

Maybe that's why it is hard to get a bite sometime..

The crappie look a lot the same.. So fat and sassy.. And tasty.. If you get on the right ones, you can't fit a limit in a five gallon bucket..

And the catfish are still very good on the upper end of the lake..

No white bass in the river as of yet.. But it won't be long..

Launching is no sweat at either end of the lake..

The bass are so freakin fat, that I want to cut open a five pounder and see what's in there. I know they're building eggs, and could be spawning in the next thirty days.. But I know a lot of it is food.. They are just gorged with bait.. Or Blue Bell.. Or something..

There are also a group of eight to ten inch fish out there. No doubt born this last summer. Yes last summer. It happens all the time.. Remember that when conditions are right, we grow keeper fish here in one year..

And as far as eating goes.. They's plenty of it out there.. More tilapia than I have ever seen..

Go turn your forward looking sonar on out there.. Anywhere. It's incredible.. That's why I think we are going to see a bunch of DD fish in the next two years..

Like a Baskin Robbins truck crashing in front of Rosie's house.. They's gonna be some piggin' out goin on..

Christmas is less than two weeks away.. This year has gone by quicker than a cat can lick his ass..

And 2022 has not necessarily been one of my favorites.. So I'll be glad to welcome in the new one.

And I certainly hope I will see you in it..

Come see us. The fishing is better than where you're at..

And so is the weather..

See you on the water..

December 6, 2022: It's been a couple of weeks since I have sat down in front of this computer, and honestly I have not had too much to talk about. At least when it comes to fishing.

Basically cause nobody was doing it, and those that were, were struggling to catch many fish.

The weather the last two weeks has been atrocious, with little sunshine and wet soggy weather for the most part. Just the kind of shit that I hate.. Couple that with the fact that the sun sets at 5:45 and that can put me in a really foul mood.

However..

We have been dealing with early morning fog the last two days, but by noon or earlier it has burned off and the temps have risen into the eighties.. And we are supposed to be in the eighties for the next seven days.. Allegedly..

Water temps that dipped down to sixty are certainly on the rise, with reports yesterday afternoon seeing the upper sixties mark. Should make seventy by the weekend if the forecast is accurate.

And for the first time in six weeks I am hearing of good numbers of fish being caught.

Yesterday a fellow I know had right at thirty pounds, with an eight mixed in, and Matt Reed and his clients had right at thirty fish, with a bunch of three to five pounders.

And at 10:30 this am they already had ten..

So something is happening out there. I also heard several other good reports the last few days.

A lot of these fish have been shallow, and a square bill has been the shit.

Rocks of course, concentrating on points and shallow ridges.. Typical stuff.. A bait with some chartreuse on it is a good idea.. More Falcon typical stuff..

I don't see why you couldn't catch em on a spinner or a chatter bait.. But if you got something going I reckon it is best not to mess with it..

We'll see how long this stuff will last.

The lake has actually caught about four inches of water in the last ten days, as the valley is as wet as we are and we are just not letting much out. Releases from Amistad have remained the same for two weeks.. It ain't much but it is more than we are releasing.. We'll take what we can get.

It was a little squishy launching down at the state park, but after this afternoon it should not be a problem at all.. Here in Z-town we are still in great shape on the county ramp all the way across.. And yes you can put in at the Tigers if you fear no dirt roads..

The lakes on the Conchos in Mexico are still at pool or above for the most part. But this is not the time of year that we good any real rain in that hood.. But it is good to know that there is more water in the pipeline that we have had in years, and the bastards should have no reason to withhold water that we are owed..

But I am sure they will come up with some bullshit reason not to. Of course I am hoping there will be more good rains over there this spring and summer that get us some water here in Falcon. We're a damn sight closer that if all the lakes were dry.. Like they've been for years..

You will remember.. These lakes, and ours are located in a desert.. The Chihuahuan desert.. And big rains here are the exception, not the rule.. And the lakes were built to catch the rain when it does.. And often it don't..

We are actually a little above our average yearly rainfall down here, which is about 18".. Hopefully we can keep this streak alive..

Grass is so tall in some pastures it is hard to see a pig, and quail hunters are having to struggle to walk some areas. The cows are fat.. Deer have good horns..

And the second half of dove season opens on the 17th..

And the fish are biting..

I guess things are alright.. Come see us when you can..

November 21, 2022: Well it's a miserable weather pattern that has been sitting on us for four days.. And as I type it is in the forties with mist and drizzle and it just basically sucks..

I hate winter..

We have accumulated over an inch of precipitation in the last few days.. I'm not gonna call it rain.. Just misty, drizzly, bullshit that makes doing anything outside no fun. And the north wind mixed in makes for some really pleasant outdoor ventures.. Not..

We are supposed to be in the seventies this time of year.. Global warming my ass..

Back in the seventies I would have said this is good weather for holing up with a $20 hooker in the Three Dollar Motel on Fredericksburg road for a few days..

I'm sure the prices on both have gone up considerably..

When you work construction there are always a few rainout days.. I used to go see this same gal for a few years when we got rained out..

Last I talked to her, via e-mail a few years ago, she said she still gets horny every time she takes a shower..

Ah, memories of days gone by..

I better get off that thought as today is my 43rd anniversary.. Same woman..

One of us is a saint..

As you can imagine, fishing here has been a challenge the last few days. And only a couple of boats have ventured out.. And it makes me wonder about their sanity.. Of course we all know fishermen are crazy..

Matt Reed had clients that he couldn't talk out of going yesterday.. They caught one nice fish.

And he just sent me this pic of their first cast fish this am..

So evidently these motherfuckers (the fish) have not all frozen to death..

I ain't got that much "want to" in me..

Water temps have dropped all the way from the mid seventies down to about 62° this morning.. In a five day period.. But if you don't get out of the forties or fifties, with no sunshine and a cold north wind..

Maybe we'll have an early spawn this year.. Cause we're certainly cooling the water off a lot earlier than usual..

Remember two years ago, when we like to froze to death down here.. And a shit load of tilapia died off..

Well don't feel too bad for em cause they have made a tremendous comeback. There are schools of em everywhere on the lake. From two inches long to four pounds.. In some places you can hardly pull your cast net out of the water..

And heard the same story several times..

There is just not a lot to talk about around here.. No one is fishing, with the exception of a few snowbirds, but even they have taken the last few days off.

The lake is kinda holding steady, but we have lost about six inches of water from our high.. We are sitting at 260.89, down about an inch in the last ten days..

The launching conditions have not changed at either end of the lake.. No problems.. Might be a little muddy down at the state park for a day or so..

Thanksgiving is only a few of days away, and it is hard to believe that the year is almost over already. Seems like I had a turkey sandwich yesterday..

Maybe that is not such a bad thing, and I am looking forward to getting together with the family at the ranch. And speaking of which, I will not be here on Thursday or Friday. But I'll be here on Saturday bright and early..

Early anyway..

I hope you and yours have a great day and that you are able to get together with family, and/or those you have made family.

God Bless you all and Thanks! to all of you who have made Falcon Lake Tackle possible..

I look forward to seeing you when I do..

And hopefully it will be warmer than it is now..

See you soon..

November 8, 2022: It's the second week of November, and turkeys everywhere are nervously waiting to see what their future will bring.

And I ain't talking about a bunch of corn eatin, feathered fowl walking around in their own shit..

I'm talking about a bunch of Senators, Congressmen, Governors, and Mayors..

But they do have something in common with our tasty feathered friends.. They are also walking around in shit.. Mostly of their own making..

Only bad part about that is that we have to walk around in it as well..

More on that later..

The lake is sitting at 261.01 this morning, and we have been holding more or less steady for the last six weeks, within a few inches plus or minus.

We have not been passed any level changing water from Amistad, just enough to keep us kinda steady. Which can almost be considered a win.

I wish I could tell you what the next few months will bring, but I honestly have no freaking idea..

Launching here is no problem, and the county ramp is four or five wide on concrete. Down at the state park we are launching off the bank at the Butterfly beach.. Which is no problem at all. It does not hurt to have a four wheel drive, but no one I have heard from has had any problem with a two wheel drive vehicle.

There are a few more people fishing these days, mostly due to an influx of Winter Texans. Although I am only talking about a half dozen or so.

I am sure a bigger migration will take place after Thanksgiving.

But if there are eight or ten boats on the lake weekdays, I'd consider it a heavy traffic day.

Reports have been mixed, and frankly I have not had many. But it does sound like the shallow bite is picking up.

Square bill and some spinnerbait fish are being caught, in the usual places. Rocky points and on the rip-rap on the dam, like I have typed a thousand times.

Mainlake points from the dam to marker three have produced some fish. And I am talking about the shallow shorelines from the north corner of State Park cove to the number three marker.

This area, as most of you know, has the river channel not far from the bank, and the fish move up and down with the groceries.

The bait has been thick in the shallows, and in some places your graph will almost be entirely filled with bait.. Or tilapa.. Or white bass.. Or something..

Just a shitload of fish beyond description.. And identification..

Some deeper fish are also being caught on ledges and rockpiles. And a few select brushpiles..

Crappie are still a little elusive.. Some newer brushpiles have em on em pretty good, but it has been tough to catch a bunch off any one brushpile. School Bus pattern..

Catfish have been excellent on river channel edges and in standing timber.. I'd try around marker eight to nine.. Good reports on rod and reel.. Stinkbait and cut shad.. Cast-netting bait is as easy as it gets lately..

The Veleno also has some small fish in good numbers on stinkbait as well.. We have a shit ton of eight to ten inch fish in the lake right now.. Blues of course..

Hadn't heard anything about gar here lately.. But we still got plenty of em..

Still no new word on a low water ramp at the state park.. Or the improvements that were promised here at the county park..

Government... Yeah.

Speaking of which, today is election day as you can't possibly have missed..

As a TV watcher, I can't possibly explain to you how glad I will be when today is over.. I think I have gotten the message.. This guy sucks. This guy is great..

If you have read this column a time or two, I don't need to explain to you my political beliefs..

And if you think the democrats are doing a good job, then you and I don't ever need to have a conversation.. Cause you are just too ignorant to have a conversation with.

And please don't confuse ignorant with stupid. Ignorant means uninformed..

Stupid means... Well.. Stupid..

If you ain't voted, get your ass out there and get it done.

If you don't vote, then I don't want to hear you bitch.

And what fun would life be if you weren't allowed to bitch..

Deer season is open, so send me some pics of your big buck.. I need something to look at..

Till you get down here and I can look at you..

And I hope to do that soon..

November 4, 2022: It's been a long time coming, but it appears that the fish are finally starting to wake up a little bit..

I'm not saying that you have to hide behind a tree to bait your hook, but this week more fish were caught than I have heard of in a long time.

And several reports (yes I have actually had a few) indicated that the fish have been showing up shallow.. In water in the six foot range. Which certainly doesn't piss me off..

And correspondingly shallow crankbaits have been working to catch some of these fish.

A buddy of mine caught them on the rip-rap at the dam yesterday, on a shallow sexy shad pattern crankbait.. Including a one that got away story.. I hate crankbaits.. Freaking witchcraft..

But I still throw them all the time.. Guess cause I get bit on em.. But I loose a lot of fish on em too..

I also heard of a few fish on smaller plastics, and basically in the same areas.

Maybe the greenery in the shallows is starting to get past the "stinky" stage and the fish are returning. There is certainly a shit ton of bait shallow. And one would think that the fish are going to go where the groceries are..

There was a local throwing a cast net here in the Veleno just left of the boat ramp.. I'm not saying he couldn't pull the net on the bank.. But I will say that he did not need to throw it again.. He had enough shad to fish for days..

It is November and the bait is supposed to be back up the creeks. Not sure if they are everywhere else on the lake. But they're sure in here..

The crappie are hit and miss as of late.. With a lot of miss.. Most of them are still out deep, in twenty feet of water or so.. But they ain't been chomping..

The catfish are still very good. From the Veleno to Marker eight anywhere near trees or the channel edge.. Stink bait and cut bait are good.. And bait is easy to catch..

There are a few snowbirds starting to show up, and hopefully we will have more to report as more folks start fishing..

I'll try to be more diligent about posting, but there has not been a lot of fishing to talk about..

Get your ass out there and vote.. And run these stupid bastards out of office..

Go Astros!

See you soon..

October 25, 2022: If idle hands are the devils workshop, then it is abundantly clear that I own a giant factory with potential for deeds unbecoming..

There is just very little going on around here and almost no one on the lake. And that being said, I have little to pass along, other than fishing is still fair at best.

The few people that I have talked to are catching some fish, but it as been a while since anybody told me they caught twenty. Four to ten is more like the truth, and some days that's optimistic.

But when there are only two or three bass boats on a lake twenty five miles long, that doesn't give me too many folks to interview.

The crappie have been decent, with the Tigers being best. Bout twenty feet seems to be the magic number.

The catfish are still very good, with most fishing from the Veleno to marker eight.. Fairly shallow around hardwoods or right off the river channel edge..

White bass have been all over the top on some days.. Mostly at the south end of the lake and right at the dam on some days.

Water levels have remained about the same for the last month, so that means we are easily on the concrete ramp here in the Veleno, and we are still launching at the Butterfly beach down at the state park.

It is hard packed and with good slope it is no problem, even with two wheel drive.

You can also launch at the Tigers if you desire. BTW there is a new entrance to get to that ramp, just a mile south of the old entrance. There's a big sign on the gate and you can't miss it.. Well.. Maybe if you're a democrat..

We have had a couple of chances to really get some water in the lake.. But neither has worked out.. The Mexican lakes on the Conchos are still full or over, for the most part.

Two Pacific storms failed to drop much rain on the watershed.. And the last one really had potential. Just went a little too far east.. And at this time of year, we are quickly running out of chances.

Dove season has been good down here this year, and there are still a shitload of whitewings in the area. And deer season for real kicks off in about two weeks.. No offense to you MLD and bow hunters.. I know you guys are already out there after em.

Thanksgiving is only a month away, and before you know it we'll be freezing our ass off and drinking eggnog..

And I don't like either..

If you have any questions about anything Falcon, give me a call.. Or shit, just give me a call to keep me awake..

Get your ass out there and vote. If we don't put an end to this clown show, there might not be much left to save come 2024..

What America has become is downright embarrassing..

October 5, 2022: I guess you could say that fall has officially arrived.. We have been in the sixties for lows for the last week or so, and the highs have barely been making it into the nineties if they do at all.. Especially when we have had some cloud cover..

Yes it is nice.. But I know what's coming.. Cold and windy shit.. I hate winter..

The lake has kinda held steady, but the last two days we have started releasing a bit more water.. What for? Who the hell knows.. Is it a trend? Who the hell knows.. We have dropped about a tenth of a foot in the last three days.

We are sitting at 261.66, still right around 39.5 feet low.. Which sounds bad.. But I was on the lake on Sunday around the dam and it looks great with a lot of green shit in the water.

I did not take a bass pole with me.. We just chased a few crappie and never went north of State Park Cove.. We probably should have as the bite was slow for us, but some buddies tore em up in the Tigers.. Typical..

Launching down there is a piece of cake with pretty much a perfect slope to launch on, and the ground is like packed crushed granite.. Two wheel drive with any rig should be no problem.

Here in Zapata we are four or five lanes wide on concrete.. Depending on the backing abilities of the boaters..

And let me tell you some folks really need some practice.. You may have noticed this yourself at one time or another..

Although when there are only three boats in a days time launching it has not been a problem as of late.

Traffic is still light, to say the least, and weekdays you might see two or three boats on the lake.. Weekends there have been a few more folks out of course..

The fishing remains decent, but it is not what I would call really good. Those that spend a few days here are having decent results, but it is not a go out and whack em fest every day.

You have to put in a little time and keep fishing, and sooner or later you are going to end up at a place where they're biting. And the PM bite has been best lately it appears.

Rock has been the name of the game lately according to most.. The brushpiles are not producing like they were a month ago.. Ledges and drops in the twenty foot range are best.. Not to say you cannot catch some shallow fish.

There is a ton of flooded grass up shallow, but it appears to be in that stage of decay where it is a bit stinky as the vegetation breaks down.. And sometimes the fish just don't like it for a while during the process.

There are a few spawning fish out there like there are every October when the water has come up.. It happens.. Trust me.. And at least the fry will have something to hide in for now..

Last week I was hopeful that the hurricane over in the Pacific would hold together as it hit land at about Mazatlan, but alas the piece of shit fell apart like a fuckin' Yugo..

It was the perfect scenario as all the lakes on the Conchos are full or damn close.. And a good rain could have forced Mexico to dump more water in the Rio Grande..

I'm still hopeful that a storm will develop or a low will sit over the area and drop some rain that will be beneficial to us..

Amistad is still rising slowly, but releases from Luis Leon have been reduced, although the lake is still at 118% as of yesterday. Amistad has caught 23 feet or more of water.. Haven't done the math lately.. Hope they will at least hold us steady..

It is hard getting treated like the red headed stepchild down here.. We're used to it.. But that don't mean we like it..

And like I have always said, Amistad will have to be full before we ever will be. I have never ever seen Falcon catch a huge amount of water from rains between us and Amistad.. Yeah may be fifteen or twenty feet from a freak storm.. But it will have to rain twenty inches all along the river from us to Del Rio.. And that ain't happening..

It's gotta come out of Mexico.. At least there is no fuckin' reason for Mexico not to fulfill its water obligations for the next couple of years.. But we'll see..

Do you watch any TV? I do.. And damn I'll be glad when the mid-term elections are over.. I don't know what both sides are spending on commercials, but it has to be astronomical..

I'll admit that I can recite the entire dialog of Tombstone.. But the bad part now is that I can also do a verbatim resuscitation of several political ads.. They need to make some new ones.. And don't we know by now that the other guy/gal is a dick?

I'm not about to tell you who you should vote for. I figure we are on the same page or you are too fuckin' stupid to have a conversation with.

I got a call from a pollster the other day.. Seems that lately some folks are starting to take notice of what the populous of south Texas thinks about what is going on in Texas, specifically on the border..

After all, the river counties have been taken for granted for a hundred years..

And like I said, it is slow around here, and I didn't have shit to do..

We didn't make it to the end of the questions before the interview ended.. And I don't know who they hire to make these calls.. I guess some unemployed Poly-Sci majors who just can't seem to hold a job..

I guess those Karen's need something to do when they're not at a march somewhere..

And if you can't answer either A or B during the interrogation, well it just ain't going to work.. I thought they wanted my opinion.. Guess not.

Granted, my delivery of responses probably did not fit the parameters of their questioning, and they were not sure which box to check after hearing my reply.

Yeah well, it entertained me for ten minutes of my day.. She might now need to seek counseling.. But I'm good.

Speaking of commercials.. Have you seen the one for Lume deodorant?

Yeah you rub this shit in your butt crack and you won't have a stinky ass..

I'm not making this up.

Unless you are around someone with a lot of flatulence, do you really smell their ass? And I have a very keen sense of smell..

I've been on some three or four day camping trips, where we were all getting pretty rank..

But I would think that most folks are gonna clean up every day or two.. And if they don't, well I'm not apt to hang out with em..

There are a lot of nasty looking mutants running the streets out there though. Maybe they'll buy it. Or their Mommie will..

Hygiene doesn't seem to be a priority to a lot of today's youth. Or maybe that is just me..

If you now me you know I am always working on new inventions and products, many of which are in use all across America today.. Like the Shadnick Satellite system.. The battery powered cottontail skinner.. My GPS enabled marker buoys.. And the self licking lollypop.. Just to name a few..

But this time I think I've got one that will put me on easy street..

You know everything in support wear is copper infused these days..

Socks.. Knee braces.. Elbow pads.. Back braces..

Well I have invented the first ever, copper infused, chastity belt.. For young girls twelve and under..

I figure I'll buy a used taco truck.. And set up at places all across America where Joe Biden is holding a rally or whatever..

As Americans, it is our duty to keep our kids safe..

Thinking of marketing it as the "Hymen Helper".

Still working with the marketing department team on it though..

And if it works out I'll probably be selling some franchises.. Get in early...

Well things in this country are surely degrading. And so is this report..

I'll try to do better next time..

See you on the water..

September 27, 2022: Three days left in September.. Three quarters of the year already in the books..

TV is shoving pumpkins and goblins up our ass with a slight emphasis on Christmas.. Capitalism baby..

And before you can eat all your Skittles and Reece's you'll be bombarded with commercials for electronics, jewelry, computer games, and condoms with Rudolph embossed on the sides..

And depending on the user of course, ol' Rudolph could score from 150 class to Boone and Crockett numbers..

The month of September did leave us with eight plus feet of new water in the lake. Amistad has caught over twenty two feet of water as well.. And still rising.. And will for a while..

Till the Mexicans decide to cut it off.. Six of the seven lakes on the Conchos chain are full or a little over pool.. We just need a little event over there to put us in some real water..

We still have time...

And I'm going out on a limb here but I don't think we'll see any Amistad water till they think we have to flush our toilets with bottled water.. Which we were doing about six weeks ago..

I was using the blue Gatorade cause it looked like Tidy-Bowl..

We are sitting at 261.78, which is still 39.42 feet low. It has still been raining around us, and Sunday night we got 1.5 inches, and another short downpour yesterday evening. And the valley below us has been getting good rains so I hope they don't need any water for a while.

No one is fishing.. Other than catfishermen up on this end of the lake.. A few out shooting gar..

Matt Reed and clients had 35 pounds on Sunday.. Haven't talked to anyone else in two days.. That's bass fishing anyway..

Launching is fine at both ends of the lake and even in theTigers..

Bored to tears.. TTYL.

September 21, 2022: Well I can't tell you too much about the fishing that I didn't yesterday.. But I did talk to Matt Reed's clients this am..

They had over thirty pounds yesterday and got off the lake by 1:00. Thunderstorm blew up down south.. And made it up here eventually..

When it started here the drops were as big as chicken eggs.. But it didn't last long..

They said the fish were deeper, in twenty feet more or less.. Matt seems to think the fish really did not move with the new water.. Still in the same places they were before the rise..

They also said that there was one other bass boat on the lake..

As mentioned yesterday, I have a whole lot of thoughts about what is going on in our country today. And most of those thoughts are not ones of great admiration for behaviors I am seeing reported on a daily basis.

And besides all the political bullshit, which we'll get to in a minute, what really pisses me off is man's inhumanity toward man.

Now don't go thinking that I have gone soft, and have suddenly decided that I (we) need to care for and support all the downtrodden of the world.

Firstly, it is not even in the realm of possibility, and secondly it is not wise, just, or prudent, to forcibly take from those willing to work, and give to those who would not.

Just like Granny in Josey Wales said.. "Round here if you don't work, you don't eat.."

I guess the times have changed a lot from the era of the timeframe that picture represented.

And I will never understand the mindset that predisposes someone to expect that they should be taken care of all their lives with no effort on their part.

Unless someone/something planted that thought in their minds.. And fertilized and watered it till the plant took root, flourished, and filled the entire skull of the individual and pushed out all free thought, guilt, remorse, ambition, and compassion.

And yes compassion is in that list because when you are the one seeking it you are rarely one giving it out.

And if you hear the government talking about compassion for the needy, you can bet your ass the compassion that they are going to be handing out costs them exactly zero..

But you know who it is costing.. And you get no credit for it.

When is the last time you heard a politician say we are going to be giving out millions of dollars for whatever cause, and say, "This is entirely due to the voluntary generosity of the American taxpayer.."

That, my friends, is something you will never hear said..

Americans are the most generous people in the world. In spite of being taxed to death, we still find a way to give to those in need.

And all we expect in return is that the people we are trying to help make an effort, to make that help make a difference.. Not just a bridge till the next bailout..

But much of the US population has become dependent on the government to provide for them.. Housing, food, phones. You name it..

Why does this happen? Because that's the way the government, or at least a lot of members of it, want it.

No other reason.. They have built a dependent sub-society they depend on to keep them in control.

While they throw you a few crumbs.. Enough to keep you from revolting, while they brainwash you into thinking you can't survive without them.

And that is exactly what is happening, and has been happening for years, in our biggest cities..

Where are most of the freebies dispensed in this country? Mostly in the biggest of cities.

Where are most of the murder numbers off the charts.. Mostly in the biggest of cities.

Where are crime rates exploding? Mostly in the biggest of cities..

Why? Because mostly these assholes committing the crime got nothing better to do.. And I guess in a lot of cases, it is easier to steal shit and sell it than to go to work.. And you even get to work (steal shit) your own hours..

And with the geniuses we have in control of these big cities, and some in congress, reducing and some wanting to eliminate the police..

Well all I can say is that there are going to be a lot of openings at the coroners office..

And if I were you I'd find out who makes the chalk they use to outline dead bodies.. And buy some stock in that company..

And most of this anarchy takes place year after year in the same paces.. I'll name a few..

Detroit. Chicago. New York. New Orleans. Cleveland. St Louis. Atlanta.. Houston..

What do all these towns have in common? They are all Democrat run shithole's..

Too broad a brush? I'm listening.. Explain it to me..

The same people you elect year after year that promise you free shit and safety are barely providing a piece of the former.. Yet you send em back year after year...

That's just ignorance.. And it is on full display..

I know not all parts of all the towns I mentioned above are shit holes.. Ask our local cops and they'll say we have a couple here in Zapata..

But it is a lot easier for a rat to hide in a jungle than in a terrarium on the back porch..

And rats like living with other rats..

Next time we'll talk about the border.. That'll be fun..

September 20, 2022: Not much going on around here.. Maybe less than that..

And I haven't had any trouble slipping in a cat nap or two during the day.. And at my age I just gotta hope I wake up from em..

The lake has leveled off at 261.60, and that is only about 2/10ths higher than we were a week ago. And I don't think there is any immediate water coming for us.

Amistad is still catching water at a decent rate, catching a foot every two or three days.. And I am guessing that they will be getting some for a while longer..

After releasing water for over a week at a good clip, Luis Leon on the Conchos is still at 150% today.. But they have slowed the releases some and are currently letting out about 6000 cubic feet a second.

That should get the Rio Grande thru Big Bend out of flood stage, or close. But it will take a day or few..

And who knows what levels they'll take their lakes down to.. Six of of the seven lakes on the Conchos chain are at pool or over.

Now we need a turd floater to put us over the top.. But nothing I see in that neck of the woods that looks imminently promising..

But we'll keep an eye on er..

There is basically no one on the lake, and you might see two or three rigs at the county ramp.. Maybe..

At the state park, you might see a couple more during the week.. But not many more..

Maybe everyone went to Queen Elizabeth's funeral..

Kamala must have cause she sure ain't been here.. Border Czar my ass..

The guides are reporting decent catches, with high twenty and some thirty pound bags most days. Most of them say that numbers are not super, but they seem to run into a flurry or two each day.

Some shallow.. Some deep.. Scattered a bit.. Typical for having eight new feet of water..

The locals have been tearing the catfish and gar up on the upper end of the lake. We got another little impulse of water in the Veleno last week from a 3" downpour on Thursday, that sat out highway 16 east of town.. It took two days for the water to get here, but the gar run up the creek every time it does..

They whacked em. Again.

Launching on either end of the lake is still fine.. No problems..

I went to the ranch last weekend and hauled hay and shot doves.. Good to get out of here for a day and a half.. I only broke about half the equipment I messed with, so it wasn't too bad..

We call it three trip ranch.. If you bust something, it is going to take you three trips to town to get it fixed..

I don't care if you buy the whole fuckin' hardware store on the first trip.. You're still going back..

I'm kinda settling into a rhythm of sorts around here.. Getting a lot of things worked out..

I now have my brothers house up for sale if any of you are looking for something substantial in Zapata..

Or maybe you're looking for a nice building on main street.. Right across from the county ramp..

You've got my number..

There's just not a lot going on around here.. Maybe tomorrow I'll bring a bottle of whisky to work, and get worked up and motherfuck a bunch of politicians.. And maybe TPWD for opening up dove season in such a fucked up manner..

We'll see.. And hopefully we'll see you one of these days..

September 12, 2022: We have dried up some around here, and in the last week the rain as halted. Although we have had a few scattered showers in the neighborhood. But none of any consequence.

The Rio Grande has returned to what we have become used to calling normal. Amistad is releasing little water, but we are releasing little water as well.. I do believe we caught a little water out of the Salado, but there are no gauges on that river to substantiate my theory.

Currently we are sitting at 261.43, up 8.32 feet from our low water level. Amistad is up a shade over thirteen feet since this rain event started..

There is currently a lot of water in the pipeline headed for Amistad, and it should start hitting the lake in the next couple of days.

I look forward to seeing the water level at Luis Leon this afternoon. Last Friday it had climbed to 154% of conservation capacity.. Or in other words it was 54% overfull..

It has had three days to do what it has been doing since the last report I have gotten. The government don't work on weekends.. At least not this part..

In any case, Amistad is going to catch several more feet of water in my estimation. Maybe a good bit more depending on what Mexico decides to do with the lake levels on the Conchos. Who knows if they will let the lakes down some below pool, to help mitigate a possible near future rain event. But in the past they have been reluctant to turn loose any water they do not have to..

We'll just have to wait and see what happens.. But as Tom Petty said, "The waiting is the hardest part."

Fishing has remained steady here on Falcon, and the south end of the lake is still the best area to fish.. For bass anyway..

Here in the Veleno the catfish have gone crazy and the Gar moved into the rising water to spawn. In the creek behind Oso Blanco they caught the shit out of the gar over the last week.

The smell of hot oil was in the air..

The bass are being caught on rock and brush of course, but some fish have moved shallow to the flooded grass and quick growing bushes that line the banks.

The Laredo bass club had their championship on Saturday, and it took 29, 27, and 17 pounds respectively for the top three places.

We are back on the big ramp here in Zapata, and have been for a couple of weeks. And down at the state park we are back to launching at the Butterfly launch (local vernacular) and it s a breeze I hear. Lotsa parking and a great slope.. But not on concrete.. We need about four feet to get back on concrete down there.. Hope springs eternal..

Big worms, crankbaits, and some spinnerbaits and a few topwater baits in the shallow weeds have been best.. We have water over inundated weeds and grass out to at least six or seven feet in a lot of areas.

Spinnerbait heaven.. And the weeds and bushes should help clear up the water a bit on the entire lake.

It's about the middle of September, the peak of the storm season.. And I am hoping and praying that we get another shot of the H2O before we head into winter..

It is hard to believe that not one big storm has it the mainland this year.. And of course all the doom and gloom hurricane predictors are having to eat some crow.. I'd like to shove that crow up the Global Warming alarmist's ass.

Mother Nature is going to do what she does, and there is no way that man can predict what is down the pike.

I might give the meteorologists a pass on the seven day guess, but anything after that is just that.

Meanwhile I'll just keep an eye on what develops, and I am sure you will too.. We've still got a good month of possible storm development window. Or one more low sitting over west Texas or northern Mexico that gets run into by a stalling front could do it. The water in the Conchos now did not come from a hurricane..

It could happen!!

Someone was in the store the other day, and of course we were talking about old times on Falcon, and whackin the shit outta fish. And of course the conversation devolved into a dick measuring contest..

Don't it always.. And there is no doubt that the older I get, the better I was..

Of course back in the day, Ray Charles could have caught thirty pounds sight fishing.. (No offense meant to Ray..)

And these days there is no doubt that I am better at talking about it than doing it. But even a blind hog's nose bumps into a watermelon once in a while..

Two sightless jokes in two paragraphs.. How visionary. Anyway..

After the zippers were pulled up, we started talking about the talking about Falcon. And of course I have always been a Falcon Homer, and I biasly still think it is the best lake on the planet with immeasurable potential.

Sure, it can kick your ass on any given day. So can any lake..

But if you come here, and put in a little time, you might think similarly.

But back to talking about talking about Falcon.

Someone asked me the other day how long I have been doing the Flash Fishing Report!

I had to stop and think about it for a bit, but I think the first time I wrote something for this site was back in 2005 or 6, and Larry Bridgeman posted it.

And after his death in 2007, I started maintaining the site for his wife Barbara, a year before we bought the store..

When I look back to the first postings I wrote, I can see my style has changed a bit.. Some fifteen years later..

I never used bad language or talked politics.. Much..

But I can't tell you how many e-mails I have received over the years that said, "Screw the fishing.. Talk about them fuckin' Democrats!"

And man it has been easy.. Hard to go wrong when you've got good material..

Whether you are talking about the fishing on Falcon.. Or them fuckin Democrats..

Well I better git before I devolve into something more political.. Not that there aren't a shitload of idiots in the current administration who need to be called out..

They're all batshit crazy..

But you can watch Fox News for that..

Come see our new water!

September 7, 2022: It is amazing how a little rain can change your whole outlook on life.. Or maybe I should say it can change your current outlook anyway..

Last Saturday when I got to the ranch at about five o'clock, it was raining straight freakin down dashing my hopes for sitting under a mesquite tree and shooting some birds..

Which made my outlook worse..

But as I watched the radar and river levels from Mexico and west Texas, it made me feel much better.. And I am still smiling about what is going on..

And as you have probably already guessed, this will probably be more about water than fishing. But you cain't have one without the other..

Falcon is currently sitting at 260.02, or exactly forty one feet low. That's up 6.91 feet in the last month, and we still have a little bit of water in the river above us.. Not a lot more currently on the way.. But there is a chance we might get some out of Amistad if the Rio Grande above it gets too unruly..

But I am not gong to say it is just yet.. Projections are that there will be some pretty big volumes coming down it to Amistad for the next week..

A bunch of the smaller lakes on the Conchos watershed are overflowing, and they all culminate in the reservoir known as Luis Leon.. Once the water leaves there, it can't be stopped before it hits the Rio Grande west of Presidio.

Yesterday Luis Leon was at 132%.. Today it is at 142%. And the release rate is 12,148 CFS..

That's a lot of water..

There are too many factors to figure in for a simpleton like me to make a decent guess on what is going to happen..

And some more water could be added to the equation if Hurricane Kay throws some rain bands far enough east to impact the watershed of La Boquilla, which is sitting at 71% today, up from 19% just a couple of weeks ago..

And that takes some doin'.. Because as I have told you in the past, Boquilla is a big SOB by volume, and holds 88% of the volume Falcon does when full..

And what I can't figure at this point is zackly how much water we're dealing with..

Anyway.. I been working on this all day but can't seem to get finished.. I gotta go..

Fishing is decent.. Lake rising.. More BS and predictions tomorrow!

August 30, 2022: Another month about shot in the ass, and it has been a hot one.. Of course August is usually considered summer around here.. Along with about eight other months of the year..

I do believe the extreme temps are past, and I don't think we'll see any more of the 105 to 108 temps..

Cold fronts are starting to push their way farther and farther south, and I am sure before too long I'll be bitching that it is too damn cold..

Of course it's all relative as some folks like it hot, some like it cold.. And I'll have to admit that you don't see women wearing Minks much around Zapata..

And believe me there are plenty of em that could afford em.. Reckon we're more of a hoodie and sweat pants type of town..

But I for one think that Spandex should be ranked right up there with the cotton gin.. That is a great invention..

Speaking of cooler, there is another front draped across the San Antonio to Del Rio corridor, (that's highway 90 for you Yankees) and as I type there are some flood warnings out west that might put a little water in the Rio Grande.

And believe it or not, last Tuesday night we got another 2.6" of rain here in Zapata.. Didn't do much for the lake level, but it certainly helped with the psyche around here..

I hope those storms hang in there around Eagle Pass and the rocky creeks that feed the river and give er hell..

Problem with most of the rain falling right now is that it is headed east of the watershed that is probably only about fifteen miles wide east of Eagle Pass.. See map below..

But a lot of rain has fallen on both sides of the river and we'll just have to wait a bit to see what happens. It just so happens that I have time to write right in the middle of this event.. (11:00 am) River gauges are just starting to show a little rise around Eagle Pass.

As you can see there is just not a huge watershed in Texas or New Mexico. But when the right system comes, neither Amistad or Falcon or the two together can hold all the water Mother Nature can produce..

But she has been pretty stingy lately.. And neither dam has earned their money as of late..

Back in 2010, most of the water came from Mexico, and a shit ton of it came out of the Conchos..

And speaking of the Conchos, some of the lakes have caught some water as of late, as a lot of storms have sat on the mountains and the eastern side of them in northern Mexico. Which is a good thing..

My last info from TCEQ and the Rio Grande water masters has not been since last Thursday.. I guess they are fucking off somewhere..

But at last report, Lake Boquilla, which is a big son of a bitch, was up from 19% to 30%.. That's a start.. But I am very curious to see how much it has come up (or not) in the last five days..

Of course it is on the Conchos River in Mexico.. But one of the places from where good things come..

If only our government would have made all these illegal motherfuckers bring a five gallon bucket of water from Central America with em. At least we could have gotten something out of the deal..

Well this is supposed to be a fishing report but there ain't nobody I've talked to fishing Falcon.. Except Matt Reed.. And he has been whacking the shit out of em this week.. Thirty plus pound stringers most every day..

Same old pattern.. Which is get out there and show it to the for eight hours, and sooner or later you are gonna land on them.

He said yesterday they caught 30 pounds in half an hour right before quitting time.. Don't believe me?

Check out his Facebook page..

Of course he has put in his time on the lake and has a pattern or two working. He is fishing from the Tigers south, and a lot time nearer the dam than Tigers..

And according to his customer yesterday, who is still wearing a big shit eating grin, they caught all their fish on OL Monster worms..

Go fuckin' figure..

I did talk to a couple of fellows I know well at Stripes on Sunday morning.. And they said they struggled on Saturday, fishing from the Veleno to the Tigers.

They said launching here was not any trouble, but it is still shallow getting out of the Veleno to the main river channel. Or at least they didn't find the deeper cut..

You'd think that if we caught three feet it wouldn't be a problem.. I wish I could tell you exactly where to run going out, but alas, I have not been on the water..

So just use caution going out to the river if you launch in Zapata.

Launching down at the state park is gravy according to all reports .. Drive past the concrete ramp.. Follow the dirt road out to the point and launch where everyone else is.

Hey TPWD.. How's that low water ramp study coming.. Ridiculous..

Well I can't catch the motherfuckers for you. Hell lately I can't even get out on the lake.. And this weekend I have another distraction..

Dove season.. The reward for all good boys and girls that suffered thru the hot summer.. And now we get to sit under a mesquite tree, in rather cool air temperatures of only about the mid nineties, swilling cold beer and watching for approaching specks in the sky..

Of course there is a lot more to it than killing the international bird of peace.. Although it appears that I like killing shit.. Hell I get excited when a bug hits the windshield..

There will be a fire burring all day, and all my buddies will take all the freezer burnt shit out of their freezers, and we will cook it and start all over again..

The bullshit will flow.. And all will be well with the world.. At least for that precious time we get to spend with good friends and family, something we have been doing at the same place for the last forty six years..

Thanks for your vision, Pops.. Gonna miss you.. And Tommy..

Yes, it's Dove Season.. It's like a rebirth..

And I know a lot of you don't hunt and that's cool.. It's all good..

But if I were you, I'd turn around quick.. Here comes a whole flock right down the creek!!

Over You!!

See you on the water.. Or under a mesquite tree..

August 24, 2022: Well WTF do you know..

The tech wizards at my hosting company were finally able to fix what I had screwed up, which is still a mystery to me.. But my Dad always said I could screw up a ball bearing..

And in my younger days, I screwed up many a ball bearing.. Most of which were attached to cars, dune buggy's, or motorcycles..

I once tried to jump a bulldozer across the big creek at the ranch.. I had even filled the tracks with helium.. Still didn't make it..

I used to try and jump over everything..

When I was sixteen, I could scissor jump a four foot chain link fence.. No sweat..

When I was fifty I could jump a five wire fence with my dick in my hand.. And now I can trip over a crack in the sidewalk..

Getting old sucks. But like Papillon said at the end of the movie, "I'm still here you bastards!"

But I digress..

Big news, or really old news now, to anybody that follows Falcon water levels, is that we have gained over three feet of water in the last two weeks. All this water came from rains in Laredo and points east, and just a bit of it fell north of Laredo.

Of course since then we missed out on what could have been a really beneficial rain, but that system that came across the Yucatan last week turned out to be a bigger dud than the raid on Mar-a-Largo..

We have talked about those storms that come from The Bay of Campeche a dozen times.. If they head towards the northern coast of Mexico below Brownsville, you'd have a better chance of gettin wet in the Sahara.

Of course I would love to be proven wrong..

Speaking of rain.. Last Sunday evening we got 3/4" of rain at my house.. Over by Beacon Lodge.. It did not rain a drop here in Zapata..

But two nights ago, we had a storm pop up and our entire village got 1.6".. And it made more noise coming than Madonna.. I guarantee you the entire town of Zapata was awake at 1:45 am..

What that water from Laredo did do, was put us back on the main concrete ramp here in Zapata. No sweat.. But do know that we are still 45 feet low more or less, and you should still exercise caution till you are out in the river channel..

Down at the state park, it also improved launching conditions, but we are still putting in out on the point out past the official boat ramp.. Not back to the butterfly garden area just yet..

Reports have been few, but I have heard some really good ones from the guides on certain days. And some really nice fish in the seven to nine pound range have been reported.

I have seen a lot of pics of some of these fish and they are so fat and full of food you would swear they are full of eggs.

And crazy as it sounds, we always have a few fish spawn in the summer down here.. Ain't no fish born in Falcon back in January or February that is still six or eight inches long in October or November. And we see em every year..

It happens .. Trust me.. I don't know of any species on earth, that when Mama says it is time to get it on, that she can't find a willing partner to do it with..

Big Texas rigged worms have been the best thing going around here, with the Plum Apple and Plum Ol Monsters leading the way.. Probably any dark colored bait would work, but when I tell you something I ain't making this shit up.

Crankbaits are also catching some fish, and some fish have been really shallow. Won't hurt you to start on the bank early and move out some after a bit.

A buddy of mine caught a handfull of fish on a top water popper last weekend. That is not something I often tell you.. But you might give one a try.. Right on the bank..

Later in the day, brushpiles situated in about ten to twelve feet of water can have a bunch of fish around them. Throw that big worm in there on a light weight.. Hop it.. Don't drag it I hear..

The catfish are still decent. Crappie are not being pursued by too many folks around here right now, but I have heard of a few caught.

White bass are anywhere on the south end of the lake. Look for schooling action and the birds..

As I have said lately, traffic on the lake is minimal, and during the week you may only see two or three other boats. Weekends get a little busier of course, but still there are just not many folks around.

While I am here let me tell you that I am no longer opening the store on Sunday mornings. And I am currently opening the other six days of the week at seven.

If you are coming down here and need anything that does not fit that time frame just let me know and I will go out of my way to accommodate you.

If you need a Mexican fishing license give me a call and I can fix you up..

Thank you to all of you who have supported me spiritually, emotionally, and financially during the last month.

I am getting things sorted out around here and it seems I am making decent progress dealing with all the BS that is associated with the seemingly endless details.

It will never be the same for me around here without my brother, and there are days that really suck.

But nothing has changed when it comes to the way I think about doing business, and I am here to help you if I can.

Hope to see you down here this fall. Or before..

And keep them storms coming. One of these days the right one is gonna land on us and it will be game on. I promise..

See you when we do!

August 24, 2022: I have been having hell with my server, surely due to something I have screwed up, deleted, dragged and dropped, or generally just did something above my pay grade..

Why? Because I am a dumbass I would reckon..

Below is a test pic.. If it's there.. I got it fixed. If not.. Well it is still F'd up and I got more work to do.. But I am about out of hair..

August 11, 2022: Like the old saying goes, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Our water level has changed a bit, and not for the better.. Today we are sitting at 253.11, down .42 from the level the last I wrote on the 3rd.

And we are not trending upwards just yet.. But I could have said that for the last few years in the big picture.

I have had my hands full, and have not made it out on the lake, and neither have very many others.

Fishing is still good down south, and the Laredo boys had another tournament two weeks ago and it still took about 28 pounds to win.

There is no pressure on these fish and if you head out around the dam up to Tigers and fish rock, you're going to catch some fish. Of course there is little else to fish.. Brushpiles on rocky slopes or on flat ground are holding fish.. Some of them have lots of fish on them.

As you know this is all hearsay..

Launching is still the biggest issue, and I understand that is a big concern to a lot of you.. Me too.. It has kept me from going a time or two when I could, because I didn't want to do it by myself..

But with two people it is no sweat.. At either end of the lake.

Here is a pic of the main ramp here in Zapata; of course it is not the one we are using up here. There is the alternate ramp out closer to the creek channel that is on concrete and is still fine.. Little bumpy getting down there. But nothing like going to launch at the Tigers.. Which is still closed to the public.

And here is a pic of what was the river ramp over at Beacon Lodge.. Both pics taken four days ago.

That's marker 13 that is probably in about two feet of water. Looks like a river, but you could probably walk across it and not get your balls wet.. If it was a hard bottom. But I got a feeling you'd bottom out at about your balls sinking in the mud..

Catfishing has still been very good, and you don't have to go far to find em.. And some local kids have been whacking the crappie right here in the Veleno off the bank, especially late evening and into the dark. Rocky banks around the old bridge..

Speaking of the old bridge; you can't go under it yet. But it may be coming..

I remember back in 2002 I took my windshield off the console so we could get out of the creek. Of course that was before they dug out openings at the ends of the bridge to allow passage.

I hope we don't get back to that, and surely time will tell.

We were about six feet lower back in 02.. But how much we have silted in since then I just don't know..

But I damn sure remember a lot of spots where we whacked em back then.. I just gotta get my ass out there..

Like a lot of Texas we have finally got a chance at some rain this week, but it won't be the kind we need. But at this point we'll take anything.. We did smell some on Monday.. And it was awesome..

Some spots around us got good showers.. Especially east of town..

Our time is a coming..

Here at the store, I have modified our hours a bit. I am no longer open on Sunday mornings, and I am not opening the shop till 7:00 in the mornings..

But if you need anything please just let me know and I'll make arrangements to get you what you need. When you need it.. My philosophy has not changed when it comes to business..

You need something down here, I'll do my best to accommodate..

Dove season is only about two weeks away, and I am looking forward to it in a big way.. Last year sucked around here.. This year there are a lot more birds flying around..

And that means that your fishing/hunting license is about to croak.. Well for most of you..

You can start buying them on the 15th of course for the new year.. That's just four days from now..

I better find my soft soled shoes for that first weekend. We usually spend a lot of time standing in front of hat machine..

Of course it is pretty simple to go to PAW's Outdoor Annual site on your phone and get legal.. I know I'm hard on PAW on a few things, but this is one thing they have done well with.

This year I hear you can even tag your deer online.. Pretty neat..

I have a lot of things to say about what is going on in politics these days. But honestly right now I just don't feel like motherfuckin' anybody..

I told a friend of mine that the other day, and he said I need to seek help..

I'll check out with this note.. From John Adams and I am sure you have heard it before..

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Personally I fear the people he was referring to are in short supply..

See you when we do..

August 3, 2022: There will be no getting back to normal around here.. There might be a new normal, but it certainly won't be what it once was..

And for the meanwhile you will just be stuck with me..

I want to thank all of you who have called, texted, e-mailed, stopped in, sent cards and flowers, food, and attended the services for Tommy last week.

From the entire Bendele family, we want to say "Thank You" for the overwhelming support and compassion that you showered us with during this difficult time.

Special thanks to those who gave their time and resources to make things easier for us during this hectic period..

You had our backs and you know I got yours..

I'm not sure how to describe the feeling around here.. And I am rarely short on words..

But there is definitely a hole around here that I am trying to fill..

My task list has expanded, and I am trying to fill in my time by taking care of business.

Both of us had tasks that we took care of.. How it came to that I don't know, as it was never discussed, it just seemed to work out naturally..

And I am finding that Tommy's filing system was similar to Max Klingers.. He's got it all, but it is not exactly stored like I would do it..

It'll all work out..

It is still hotter than we like it around here.. And it probably is in your neck of the woods as well..

Rain is a distant memory and we haven't had any since May 23rd. We have had .1" since that date..

The lake is down to 253.53, and we have not been this low since April of 2002. And for those of you with long memories, 2002 is when Falcon reached its lowest level since the first time it filled up in 1954..

We got down to 246 and change back then, and it was not a pretty sight..

So if you're one that likes to know just how low is it, right low we are at 47.67 below pool.

Despite low water levels, you can still put in a boat at either end of the lake. You do need to have a bit of a sense of humor though..

We are still launching on the concrete here in Zapata, on the ramp down the hill at the county park.

If you launch here take it easy going out the Veleno till you get to the river channel.. Then run the river channel as you proceed south.

The Border Patrol is still putting in their big boats there so it is not hard to launch a bass rig there as well..

Launching at the state park is a bit of a rodeo, but with two people it is not bad at all.. If you are single sticking it you re going to get your feet wet..

You would think the State of Texas could be working on some low water ramps down at the state park.. Now would be the perfect time to concrete a few areas that we have been using for months.. Another opportunity missed..

We are still putting in out on the point that is past the official boat ramp.. Stop in or call if you need more info..

Tiger Island is discouraging boats from coming there to put in.. They have had a few folks get stuck there I hear..

Once you're on the water down south, what you see is what you get..

This is not rocket science.. The lake is low, so use appropriate precautions when running in the flats or heading back into creeks that you are unfamiliar with..

The fishing has still been good, but there have been few fishermen on the water.

Lately the catfishing up here on this end of the lake has been excellent. Lots of big fish shallow, especially at night.

And some sink bait will always get you bit by some smaller fish.

Crappie have been a little scattered I hear, and a buddy of mine that was down about ten days ago said he had to do some brush pile hopping, and of course the brush we have out is shallower than it needs to be to hold a lot of fish.

And he also said he caught eight bass while crappie fishing.

Yes the bass are really relating to the brush piles right now. And as previously stated the brush is shallower than intended when it was put in..

But these Falcon fish don't mind shallow or hot water. I have heard several reports about the fish being super shallow early and a square bill or a chaterbait will catch em..

A little later crankbaits off ledges and humps will catch you some fish. Also a C-rig with a worm on it can get the job done..

The white bass are all over.. And you can watch for schooling fish in open water. And pay attention to the birds.. The sea gulls will tell you where they are a lot of the time..

You can throw a pickle in there and catch them when they are up on top.. But I'd throw a rattle trap or a Little George in there for faster results.

There are also a LOT of whites down by the dam off the rip-rap most days..

I'm gonna close for now, but I'll be back before too long.

Pray for rain, God knows we need it..

And hopefully we will see you one of these days..

And holler if you have any questions about these low water conditions..

July 23, 2022: I guess after my last post, you might think that I am/was a little depressed with the way things are going around here.. And it is pretty easy to be with the current state of affairs.

If you know me, you know that I am not a person that thinks negatively. (Other than the things, mostly in government that I like to bitch about)

And when I write about them, it is usually just me blowing off steam, and hopefully you get a little bit of entertainment out of it.. And hopefully a chuckle or two..

Either that or you say to yourself, "This guy is a freakin idiot.. I'll never click on that link again.."

Well today I bring you news, if you haven't heard already, that I can only classify as bad.

My Brother, Tommy, passed away in the early morning hours on Thursday, the 21st.

Of course our family is devastated and I also am still in a state of shock and denial. I keep expecting him to walk thru the back door..

The quiet here is deafening..

To the dozens and dozens that have called, texted, emailed, stopped in, and offered assistance and prayers and condolences, my family and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Believe me when I say, we love you all, and we have loved serving you here in the store and running FLT..

We'll see where this new road leads.. I'll still be here, but we will surely be closed a few days next week.

July 19, 2022: I don't have to tell you it is hot and dry.. But I'm telling you; it's hot and dry.

And while the lake is not in free fall, it is surely is loosing a tenth or so a day.. We are currently sitting at 255.55, which is down 1.12 feet since I last wrote six days ago..

I take it back.. We are in free fall..

No rain, or even a cloud on the horizon.. And we will continue our 100° streak for the foreseeable future. With a few of the upcoming days topping 105..

According to all reports, and that's up to three of them, fishing is still pretty good on the south end of the lake. John Adami had a trip out yesterday and the caught a good number of fish with the best one going over eight pounds..

Crankbaits and Texas rigged worms. Rocks. Brushpiles.. SOS..

Launching is still doable, on both ends of the lake. The ramp here at the Veleno is still on concrete, and even the big Border Patrol boats are still using it.. So no sweat..

BUT.. You need to pay close attention going out of the creek till you are out in the river channel. There are a lot of hardwoods in the Veleno and even past the bridge before you hit the river. And the channel is probably west of where you are thinking as you leave the ramp..

Go easy till you get out of the creek..

Launching at the state park is still no problem, but you need to have a sense of humor about it.. If you haven't launched there lately, look closely where the other boats are launching.. There is a sweet spot where it is painless, but if you are off to the sides you can have problems..

Of course we are launching out on the point past the official boat ramp.. Stop in and ask here if you have questions.

Stop in anyway and keep us awake.. And we'll show you what you need to catch fish..

The crappie fishing has improved, with lots of little fish showing up. Guess we had a decent spawn and survival this year.

More fish are moving back to the brushpiles.. With our dropping water, there are not near as many piles in the deeper water.. And right now the fish want to be in at least twelve feet deep.. Find some brush in that range and deeper drop a jig on it..

The catfish are gar are still biting, and cut bait will work for both. Catfish in the smaller sizes can be caught pretty easily on stink bait. Anywhere off creek channels or near timber.. Right here in the Veleno, or better yet at the mouth of it..

The last two years have sucked out loud, and I don't remember a time when it was so slow around here.

Maybe this is how the Eagles felt when they set out on their farewell tour..

On second thought, they were making lots of money. So I guess that analogy is somewhat flawed,,

Two years of the Whoohan bullshit, government shutdowns, national and local, the border crisis with the invasion of illegal's, outrageous gas prices, and the low water conditions have managed to keep most of you away from Falcon.

And of course most folks buy all their gear online these days.. I get it..

We have survived it all up to this point.. But I am not sure how much longer that will go on..

I truly believe that about thirty feet of water would cure our ills.. And I am sure it is going to happen.. But I don't know when..

If your business needs a good distribution point or south Texas branch of whatever it is you do.. Give me a call.

We have a hell of a facility here with living quarters, extra lots, and I'll make you a deal on it..

Or if you want a turn key tackle store, I'm your huckleberry..

Hopefully I will be in a better mood next time I turn this thing on..

We'll see.. And we'll see you on the water.. What there is left..

July 13, 2022: The streak of hot days continue, and it appears that we are in for some more in the coming week.. We actually hit 110° a couple of days ago, which even for is unusual. But it is certainly not unheard of.

And while I despise cold, I am really no a fan of this shit either. Hard to get motivated to much of anything outside after eleven or twelve..

Water levels at the lake continue to drop, but I reckon that goes without saying.. We are at 256.67 this morning, and we have lost about six inches in the last week. That equates to 44.53 feet low.

I know that doesn't jive with last weeks reported level, but the gauge at the dam was out of whack and it has been corrected..

You'll have to go back nineteen (19) years to June of 2003 to find the lake at a lower level than we are sitting at right now.

Back then I could still jump a five wire fence with my dick in my hand.. My how the times have changed.

Low water has not translated to poor fishing, and those that have met the challenges of heat and marginal launching conditions have still caught fish. And granted we have them in a lot smaller aquarium than in recent years.

And for that reason the lake is fishing somewhat smaller than usual. Most say it has been fishing small for months.

And as flat as the topography is down here, we are starting to loose a lot of surface acres every week.

Good for arrowhead hunting I presume..

Best baits are still soft plastics and deeper crankbaits, targeting the tops of brushpiles and rocky edges and ledges.. The same damn thing I told you last week and the week before.

Last weekend the Laredo Bass circuit was back on Falcon, and the winners had twenty pounds, and third was seventeen and change.

It's been a little hit and miss. On Monday Matt Reed and his clients had forty pounds in a couple of hours..

You just gotta be there when they are.

And these days staying out for the afternoon bite is tough. Especially if you are not used to the heat.. But hell ain't nobody used to this kind of shit.

So do I blame you for not being down here.. No I really can't.. But if you are tired of fishing in a crowd, you might want to give it a try. It ain't no cooler where you are.. Not if you're in Texas.. At least not much..

If you have fished the area around the dam lately, or ever, you are probably aware to the big hump that is out in front of the dam on the Texas side, just west of the gates, about a hundred yards or so out from the rip-rap.

Well that hump, that has not been exposed to sunlight in nineteen years, is now crowning out of the water. I know I have an ariel pic of it somewhere, but I can't find it.. Sure it is on some CD in the pile of thousands of images I have collected over the years.. But this pic should give you an idea of where and what I'm talking about.

This pic was taken circa 2002.. Not sure exactly when I took it.. But somewhere in there.. And what you see is a picture of a Polaroid that we used to carry all the time..

So make yourself a mental picture of this and you will have a better understanding of what is down there..

Of course most folks that fish that area have drug a sinker or scraped the bill of a crankbait over every rock on that hump.

And truthfully, this kind of structure exists all over the lake on the lower half, and a shit ton of similar contours exist in the Tigers.. And we have been fishing them all year..

Speaking of the Tigers, and most creeks, it is a good idea to keep a close eye on your map screen if you are running the lake in unfamiliar areas at this water level.

As I always say, the river channel, especially on the upper end of the lake, is lined with giant mud flats, and on the edges of the channel there are some pretty significant hardwoods..

I have turned some of that old Huisache on the lathe, and let me tell you that shit is like cutting granite.. And you don't want to try and reshape it with your prop.

The water supply around here is getting a bit brutal, and I hear that the county is considering a limiting measure on what we can use water for.. You know the typical stuff like no swimming pools and yard sprinklers..

There is only about two feet of water over our pumps at the intake for the water supply.. And I hear that the county has mobilized some big ass trailer pumps from the old days in preparation for the anticipated continued drop in water levels.

Of course this is all hearsay. But it would make sense. I certainly hope there is a plan..

When will they cut off water for the farmers in the valley? I don't know.. Water wars have been going on down here for decades.. And I reckon they will for decades more..

They need water to make a living.. People need food to eat.. And water to drink.. And I am not sure what the rights of farmers and municipalities are.. But we might be hearing more about this subject soon..

Of course my business is in jeopardy as a result of the current situation as well.. Of course low water levels are just one factor in the problems that plague our business.

But I am going to stay out of politics for today..

Well come see us if you get the notion.. But I understand if you don't.

And bring us a hurricane while you're at it.

I'll be waiting on both of you..

July 6, 2022: It is still hot and dry down here.. But I guess you had that figured out.. It is summer, and maybe this year we can make a run at most days over a hundred degrees.

We're off to a good start. And this week we should add seven more days to the composite..

Of course we got this big ass high pressure sitting on us, which ain't unusual. And we need a storm or something of the sort to push this thing off on someplace else. Maybe it can go to a town near you.. I don't care where it goes.. As long as it goes elsewhere..

But it don't look like it is going to be any time soon..

Falcon is down to 256.45, the lowest it has been since we have been running the store. That's forty four feet plus low..

I have seen it ten feet lower, back in 2002, but most folks ain't.. And it don't look like the ride is over yet.

If you haven't been on the water here in a while, stop in and we'll discuss launching and running the lake. You can still run the lake from top to bottom, but you must stay close to the river channel. There are plenty of big hardwoods out there on the flats off the river..

Pay attention to your GPS, especially on the top half of the lake.

Despite the low water, we are still able to get on the lake, and the lake is still 25 miles long.. And there is still a lot of water down south. And that is where I recommend you fish.

You can still put in at the state park, but we have changed locations as to where we take the boat off the trailer.

Launching over at the Butterfly Garden was great for a long while, but we have had to relocate out to the point which is past the official boat ramp.

If you turn left just past the concrete ramp, you can follow the "road" out to the end of the big point and put in there.. There is a ledge out there that drops off nicely. But if you have not put in there lately, get out of your truck and look at the place were everyone is putting in. Before you back blindly into the water..

It ain't rocket science, but going easy and slowly is a good idea..

Of course there is the other train of thought.. Back up quickly and hammer the brakes and slide that puppy off the trailer without getting the tires wet..

I'd go with option one..

Very little has changed when it comes to the fishing.. And I don't expect it to any time soon. You can still catch some fish on moving baits up shallow early and late. Look for the bait moving on windblown points and chunky rock banks. There are still huge schools of shad out there..

A bit later, fishing some more rock, with deeper water immediately adjacent, or deeper water on ledges with brush piles near is a good idea.

Texas rigged big worms are a good choice. The Ol Monster or a Power Worm in Plum are good choices. Keep in mind that you are fishing deeper, and darker colors are more visible to the fish where there is low light.

Fishing ten feet or less, watermelon or green pumpkin is fine..

Some days it don't make a shit.. Some days it really does..

The rip-rap on the dam is still putting out some fish as usual.. And during the middle of the week you will have damn little company. A square bill right along the edge can put some fish in the boat. And a 5 XD will catch em out a bit deeper.. Also a lightly rigged soft plastic will catch some fish if you can keep it out of the rocks..

I'm still hearing good things about the ledges from marker three to the mouth of state park cove. All along the Texas side. It's a good mile long stretch to spend the morning..

PAW planted about 250,000 Florida bass in the lake yesterday, and so far there are 125,000 left..

Yeah, I am being a asshole, but frankly there is just not a lot for a two inch fish to hide behind around here. They have been stocking lakes across the state for six weeks, and it just seems like it would make more sense to stock Falcon as early as possible before we get our perennial drawdown.

We had a shitload of shallow cover until very recently that would have given the fish a place to grow an inch or two before being thrown to the wolves.. And between the white bass and the cormorants, we got em.

Of course bass think bass are tasty too.. When you're two inches long around here, you're pretty much on the bottom of the food chain.

Last weekend was attached to the 4th of July as you well know, and it seemed a bit muted this year with all the political unrest from both sides of the isle, and of course the asshole that shot up a parade put a damper on the celebration nationwide. Not sure how he was taken alive..

This piece of shit needs to be deactivated at the earliest opportunity.. But I know it won't be..

But Friday would be as good a day as any..

And thanks to the current administration, which is a fuckin' joke from top to bottom, we now celebrate the 4th of July every day. Because about all we commoners can afford to eat are hot dogs.. I really do not believe you could purposefully collect such a bunch of unqualified personnel..

Must have been pure luck..

Looking at his cabinet reminds me of the bar room scene when Han Solo was drug in to see Jaba.. A true freak show..

Maybe we'd be better off frozen in carbonite..

And then we have a sect of zealots screaming about women's health and reproductive rights.

And calling it those two things is in itself disingenuous..

Nobody is telling you you can not reproduce..

And nobody is saying that we don't want women to be healthy.

Call it what it is.. You want to be able to kill an unborn child that you (In the super, giant, enormous amount of times) were too lazy to prevent.

How about taking a little fuckin' personal responsibility for yourself..

I mean truthfully.. Who WANTS to get an abortion?

And finally, what in the hell are we going to do with our border? Nothing, is the answer apparently.

Is there no limit to what amount of people we will just let in? This is truly outrageous..

Maybe PAW needs to set up along our border with Mexico and spray for invasive species..

Just a suggestion.. And while they're at it spray any invasive species that come in from Cali or New York as well..

Maybe it is actually time to get these secession talks going.. It sounds like a lot of other states don't like Texas.. So I say fuck em.. I think we can make it on our own..

Could it be much worse than what we are living thru now? At least it wouldn't be so embarrassing.. I think from now on out I am going to just identify as a Texan.. And I don't need any descriptive modifiers with that title..

Dammit I just put up three new US flags this am.. I might have to wait a month..

And that's one cabinet I'll volunteer for.. I think I could handle the Immigration Czar job.

Oh, and the tequila import Czar..

That is something we can still import from Mexico..

See you on the water.. What we have left of it..

June 27, 2022: I think we're twenty something days into 100° highs.. In a row.. Which ain't really that unusual..

It is summer in Zapata after all.. An area located within the Chihuahuan desert..

That's desert with sand.. Not cherries.

Down here there is more money spent on Home Warranty Insurance than life insurance..

Funerals can cost ten thousand dollars or more according to the commercials..

So can fucking air conditioners..

And if you're still alive and your a/c goes out.. It could lead to your death..

The water temps are not that hot, and most days will see water in the low to mid eighties.. Falcon fish don't mind the warm surface temps, but they have moved out a bit deeper and I assume the water is a bit cooler down a few feet.

Not sure though as I lost my Color-C-Lector with the built in water temp gauge.. Probably in the same place as my Hydrowave..

And probably in the what the hell did I buy that for drawer in my workshop.. Under a few packs of Flying Lures, Lateral Perch's, and some helicopter baits from Ronco..

Two things you do need right now is a spotlock trolling motor and a good crankbait rod..

I'd probably put on a 5 or 6 XD in citrus shad, or Chartruse blue and fish those edges as thoroughly as possible..

Across em.. Over em.. Along em.. Repeated casts to money areas can produce some nice fish. But often you have to show it to em a few times.

And while some soft plastics have produced some fish, the crankbait still appears to be best from all reports, and certainly is what we have been selling most of.

But let me qualify that by saying we are seeing damn few people down here. Today at the county boat ramp there were zero bass rigs launched..

And speaking of the county boat ramp, we are down to using the ramp back out on the point.. You may be able to use the main ramp, but it is a bit sketchy with some silt on the end of it..

Down at the state park I highly recommend that you have four wheel drive. We have lost a couple feet of water and the bank is a bit soft on waters edge.. Probably going to be launching on the point past the official ramp pretty soon..

I have not put in down there in a couple of weeks.. But lots of people are.. Well, not lots..

There have been a few small tournies the last couple of weekends out of the state park, and their results have been pretty good.. Weekend before last a three fish tournament took twenty pounds to win. And the weekend before it took 28 pounds for a five fish event..

And from most reports crankbaits and shakey heads were best..

We're still releasing quite a bit of water, and yesterday we were releasing 2850 CFS and Amistad was releasing about 1850..

And of course there is a lot of water sucked out of the stream before it gets here..

Seems like if we can send lots of Billions to Ukraine, we could spend a few billion building a ditch from northeast of here to the Pecos..

And maybe a ditch from the Yellowstone to the Colorado..

Just sayin'.

With the weird weather across the country, maybe this will be the year for us..

There is a storm down below Mexico, but it too is headed west, just like the last one. I'm hoping for a couple to head up the Sea of Cortez. Just like I did last year.

It's very early in the season..

Kyle Morris and one of his buddies made their annual pilgrimage to Zapata last week, and they fished three or four days and caught a lot of fish, including these two nine pound plus beasties.

He said one came on a citrus shad crank, and the other on a C-rig.. Sounds about right..

The fish are biting if you can stand the heat..

I started this report a few days ago.. But I got busy.. Or lazy I dunno..

Not a lot has changed, as we are still loosing water, it's still hot..

But Shazam! we have a chance for rain in the next few days and we are supposed to break our consecutive 100° day streak..

I'm in.. There is also a little low pressure in the gulf I am watching.. We'll see.. And a couple of disturbances nearing the Caribbean.. We'll see some more.

Well the news cycle has certainly been full the last week. With a couple of Supreme Court decisions that have the extreme left wing (Is there any other wing of the left?) shook up. Including those at the top of the batshit crazy totem pole..

Nancy's nipples were harder than a glass cutter as she stood at the podium and blasted the Supreme Court.. Good to see the Ol Gal fired up..

And I swear Shiff's neck looked longer than ever.. Looks like human Pez dispenser to me..

Wonder if he had those rings around his neck as a child..

And while I would like to celebrate the decision on R v W, it didn't really change a lot.. You will still be able to kill your baby if you really want to..

And regarding the ruling on gun possession in New York.. Congrats to the folks up there as it looks like you may soon have the same rights as most Americans.. Call me if you need ammo..

It will be nice to be on the same playing field as the rapists, murderers, carjackers, and all around assholes..

I think a good firearms training facility and indoor gun range might be a good investment on the Island.. Coming soon...

I read this AM that more than a million democrats switched parties in the last year, registering as Republican.

Hmmm.. Wonder what that means.. Most of the converts were rural or suburban voters according to the report..

I am not sure how many R's changed to D's..

But you can bet the D's will beat this issue (R v W) to death in the coming electoral cycle..

I can't recall a time in my life when there was such a glaring difference between the sides.. And who the hell decided on the sides anyway?

We're all supposed to be Americans. We are all suppose to live under the laws and rules that were set forth by the founders.. And ratified by the voters.. And we have the power to change and add things to our rules and rights.. And we have..

But just because you perceive your side as loosing, or not getting your way.. Doesn't mean you can intimidate your way into control of the situation

Get off your ass.. Quit crying like a little bitch.. And get enough people on your side to change things. If your way is obviously the best, it will be easy to get the support you need to make change..

Other than that, Shut the Fuck Up..

Ok I'm done..

Pray for rain, and get down here and do some hot weather fishing..

You'll not be crowded, I guarantee..

See you on the soapbox.. errr.. Water.

June 13, 2022: It has been hottern' the vibrator batteries at an after party for a gay pride parade around here, and today the wind is howling. But the good thing is that we are supposed to be back down to about a hunnert for the rest of the week. We'll see..

But hot is hot, and a hunnert' is still hot.. Most folks that are fishing are quitting about one.. And lately that has been ninety to mid nineties..

And with the official start of summer only eight days away, we got a lot of good weather to look forward to.

There are a couple areas of interest I am watching, as hurricane season is starting up.. One down below southern Mexico, and one in the Caribbean that may work itself up into the gulf..

Currently neither one is creating a stir.. But hope springs eternal.. One of these days we are going to catch some water.. And it's gotta come from somewhere.

Not a thing has changed in the fishing report since I last wrote.. We are still catching, but not slaying the fish. If anything it has gotten a little tougher according to some. But then again, not to others..

You just gotta get out there and show it to em.. And if you're showing them a crankbait your chances are going to be better..

So we been talking about fishing a lot lately, and not a whole lot else. But man there are a lot of things that need to be talked about. And this might not be the right place to talk about em.. But I talked to the guy who runs the site and he said he don't give a shit..

It's gay pride month and I gave them a shout out in the opening stanza. And I'll have to admit that they're spending as much money as political candidates on TV ads and commercials.

And it certainly appears that every mainstream company in the US is also giving them a shout out in all of their advertising campaigns.

And while their banner is the same color as a bag of Skittles, I reckon that their money is as green as mine..

That's capitalism baby, don't piss off a revenue stream..

On the other hand, you might be pissing off another segment of your customer base..

But I reckon they got bean counters doing the calculating on what is the most profitable..

And I find it funny watching the contest being held by corporate America to see who can make their logo look the most gay.

Probably a good month to be selling candles and condoms..

But let's pull out of this subject and work on another..

Speaking of condoms, here's a story that should have involved one.

A woman sued Geico, the insurance company, the one with the green lizard, because she got a case of the clap while having unprotected sex in a Hyundai.. That was covered by the lizard insurance company..

The court awarded her 5.2 million dollars. No shit...

This could have been predictable being the guy was driving a Hyundai.. I mean think about it..

Didn't she hear that Subaru means love?

Well with that 5.2 next time she can at least contract clamidia in a Mercedes..

Do you get a lot of spam e-mails? I sure do. I do quickly peruse them, because I get a lot of e-mails from vendors that get kicked into my spam folder because of their e-mail address..

And I get some doosies..

Of course there are the get hard, stay hard messages..

Secrets of African tribesmen for elongation..

Investment opportunities from Nigeria of course..

Refinancing offers because rates are at record lows.. (Guess those will be cooling off..)

A credit card I can't afford to do without..

VRBO offers from around the world..

Russian women who are dying to meet me..

Latina women who are dying to meet me..

Girls looking for action right here in my hometown. (Seems like I'da known about em..)

And the list goes on and on..

But without doubt the majority of spam e-mails I get are for weight loss programs..

And I have seen a lot of subject lines that make me laugh out loud.

Eat this.. Lose weight..

Do this .. Loose weight..

Don't do this.. Loose weight..

But this week I saw a good one.. Wash your hair with this shampoo... Loose weight..

Evidently this shit has come a long way from, "Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific!"

Must be a modern miracle of science..

Yeah I'll believe that when Mike Lindell starts selling pillow cases striped with the gay pride flag..

You know there has been shortages of everything here lately.. From eggs to oil to water to baby formula..

Mostly because our leaders have to move their heads to take a shit..

And now I hear there is a tampon shortage.. They couldn't predict this?

Something there should have raised a red flag..

Yes the world is certainly a fucked up place.. I always said that my generation would fix shit when we got into power.. Of course I said that when I was eighteen.. Like every other eighteen year old that ever lived..

I think we pretty much screwed the pooch when we trained Gen X and certainly Millenials..

Of course I am painting with a broad brush.. There are lots of X's and M's with their head on straight..

But there are a bunch of them that are as fucked up as Hogan's Goat..

I don't really know where that came from but my Dad used to say it all the time..

And while I might not know its origin, I certainly get the gist..

And if my Dad was still alive today, I think he'd say, "These kids are as fucked up as Hogan's Goat!"

Why is it that lots of kids these days don't want to get a drivers license?

I reckon a lot of it is that their helicopter parents have hauled their ass all over the place and continue to do so..

I'm not sure who was happier when I got my license the day I turned sixteen.. Me or my parents..

Of course a few years later I am not so sure they still were.. (Eighteen moving violations before I was twenty..)

We certainly do have a generation or two of pussies running around out there.

And sorry, Huey. It's no longer 'Hip to be Square..'

June 9, 2022: We're in the middle of a hot stretch this week, and I ain't talking about the fishing.. We're supposed to be around 105° in the afternoons all week..

If the Wicked Witch of the West was around here she'd probably sweat so much she'd melt herself.. Lucky she is in San Francisco..

It really ain't too bad till about two O'clock, but about then it is time to put it on the trailer..

This time of year it definitely about sunblock, sunglasses, sombreros, and some water.. A lot of water..

It is ultimately important to stay hydrated out there.. Especially if you ain't used to this south Texas shit..

Fishing has remained decent this week, but truthfully there haven't been a lot of folks out. And if you read last weeks report not a lot has changed..

Water levels have dropped a couple of inches, and we are releasing some water, which usually improves the fishing, especially on the south end of the lake.

Talked to a buddy that fished the dam on Tuesday morning, and he caught ten bass, four crappie, and a few giant perch.. (That's a brem for you Yankees..)

And another couple of fellers that are here this week have reported good success with five and six XD's in Powder Blue Back Chartruse crankbaits in the areas of the dam and mainlake points on the Texas side around marker three..

I have had some decent luck in those areas as well the last couple of times I have been out..

White bass are schooling up on the south end of the lake.. Some giant schools have been reported around the mouth of State Park Cove and some of the big pockets north of there, all the way up to the Tigers.

There are still a lot of them on the rip-rap of the dam as well.

Them fuckers are everywhere..

Catfish are still excellent on the top of the lake.. Water still a little off color.. And they like it..

The Alligator gar are all over the place, and a lot of them have been seen and taken by the locals as of late.. I hear the back of Opec is loaded with little ones, and a few grandes are mixed in as well.. We must have a hell of a year class from a couple of years ago, because three footers are reported to be thick out there..

And with the water rise we had two weeks ago, there is no doubt that a giant spawn took place.. And probably some is still going on..

Come get you some..

I guess that hurricane season is officially underway, or at least the National Weather Service hurricane site is up and running..

Nothing out there right now.. But I'm like a crack addict and I gotta look at it every day.

I know hurricanes can cause billions in damage.. And they do.. And if you live on the gulf or the east coast they are just a fact of life.. Sooner or later one of them is going to wreak havoc on your hood..

And anyone with a lick of sense should know that when they choose to live or work there. Accepted risk I reckon..

I personally prefer storms that run up the Sea of Cortez, make landfall around Mazatlan, and cross the mountains and dump a shit load of water on the Conchos watershed in northern Mexico..

But they are about as rare as a democrat with rational thinking skills..

We can get some water out of a gulf storm, but it will never be enough to fill the lake on its own.

We could catch ten feet or so from a properly placed one.. But man it has been a while.

We seem to do better with a low that stalls out between us and Del Rio, and sits there for a few days..

But for right now we have this high pressure sitting on or just west of us, and it is dragging the desert air from Mexico over us and it is hotter than a three peckered billy goat..

It'll change, but for right now it is summer down here..

If you want to fish where it AIN'T crowded..

Come on down..

June 1, 2022: As we enter the sixth month of the year, we find ourselves in a similar water situation in comparison to last year. We are basically at the same level we were at twelve months ago, give or take a few inches. And fortunately, we caught over two feet of water in the last two weeks.

Things are not looking as wet, or wet at all, for the near future, and we are basically in a holding pattern for right now.

Releases are very low from Falcon, and Amistad as we speak, and hopefully the rains the valley received last week will hold off water demand for a few more weeks.

We are sitting at 261.07 this morning, which equates to forty feet low, give or take a few points. For a point of reference, the rails on the old Veleno bridge are about halfway out of the water..

The top of the lake is still pretty murky, as it as been for a while. Influx from the Veleno has muddied up the main lake here at marker eleven, and there is still a bit of water running in the creek, albeit not a lot more than the output from a few garden hoses.

But last week the water was four feet deep under the Highway 83 bridge, and rolling pretty good. It is amazing how much water the Veleno gathers and how long it can run.

The Tigers, especially the Little Tiger, was running hard for about 24 hours as well. Some areas got up to six inches of rain in our local area, and parts of Zapata were flooded as well.

There was a decent influx of water in the river also, but it has returned to its demure self, with water releases from Amistad being greatly reduced.

But of course, we are appreciative of every drop that gets here, no matter the source.

While all this water was flowing, the catfish went batshit crazy, and the locals were, and still are whacking em.. You can still catch a box full right here in the Veleno according to several folks I talked to.

And like always, when the big creeks flow, the alligator gar head up the tributaries to spawn.. And boy did they here in the Veleno.

There were dozens of folks that were wading, and boating where possible, here in the home creek and whacking the shit out of them.

The folks in Zapata are "Catan" crazy.. And the smell of hot oil in the "discos" filed the air last weekend. It was Memorial Day weekend of course, and free fish to fry probably cut down on the sales of hot dogs and hamburger meat last weekend.

I stuck with the hamburgers.. Although Catan is fine eating when properly prepared.

On the subject of Memorial day, I hope you took the time to remember what it is all about. And say a prayer or two in thanks for the sacrifices that so many have made to give you the freedoms that most of us take for granted every day.

It is easy to get caught up in the day to day and take for granted the things we enjoy living in America. I am guilty of it myself.

But to those who died for their beliefs, and for me and you, I say thank you, knowing full well that I cannot ever repay their gift.

And thanks to all who are currently serving, knowing full well that your ass could be put on the line at any given moment.

This is supposed to be a fishing report, and on occasion you might glean a bit of knowledge about what is going on with the fish, so lets give it a try.

The bass are still pretty cooperative, but some days can be a bit of a challenge. We have been fighting some windy conditions, and high temperatures can make it a bit tough on us old folks.

While the rising water has made the carp charge the bank, the bass are still out in deeper water, with the better number of fish out in the ten to fifteen foot range. Especially the bigger fish.

I fished with a buddy on Saturday, and we struggled to put any real pattern together. If I had to describe it, I would say the country school bus pattern was in effect.

Pick one up.. Go along a ways and pick up another one.. We never did find that street corner where there were a passel of em waiting to get on the bus.

We caught a few on Crankbaits.. Some on a shakey head, which has been pretty damn popular. And I managed a couple on a Chatterbait, over the tops of some rocky windblown shallow rocks, down by marker three.

And I highly recommend trying those ledges from marker three to the dam.

We also caught a couple on old rock houses.

There are also a few flipping fish to be caught, if that is your cup of tea. They certainly are not on every tree.. But if you keep flippin', you'll do some catchin'. Try the five to seven foot range. And rockpile tops about the same if you're fishing them.. That Rage Craw is a good choice..

And then we went and picked on some crappie, cause my freezer was empty.. And tomorrow I am going to stink up the Disco..

Crappie are best in about the fifteen foot range on brushpiles. We never found one loaded but we hopped around enough to get it done.

Also got our ass kicked by a couple of bass in the brushpiles. Crappie tackle with those fish is takin a knife to a gunfight.. Course I ain't no Stephen Segal..

There are a lot of small white bass on shallow windblown points, and they were absolutely stacked up on the rip-rap on the dam.. Clouds of em..If you go there and throw a 5XD in Citrus Shad you are gonna catch a bunch of em.. Scared to think what a little jigging spoon would do.. Or a Little George..

Fish of all species are biting..

And of course the carp I mentioned earlier that have every foot of the grassy banks lined, would be a target rich environment for bowfishers..

Come get you some..

I know times are tough in the country right now, and for us too, believe me. And for working stiffs that have to support a family and buy gas and groceries on a paycheck that is shrinking, it's hard to go fishing. Or do anything recreational at all for that matter..

It baffles the mind, what the current administration is doing to our people.. To their people..

I could write a litany of specific things that the Feds have done in the last year that have adversely affected or harmed the people of the United States.

I am sure most of you could too.. It is hard to come up with something that could be worse than what we have experienced.

But what pisses me off most is the hypocrisy of the leftists. And one thing in particular this last week really pisses me off..

After the unthinkable murders in Uvalde, all the talking heads across national government, leapt in front of the pulpits to tell us all to pray for the victims and family's and friends of those directly affected.

While standing in front of a school where prayer is strictly prohibited.

Prohibited by the same government that has taken God out of all government.

I don't think that is what our Founding Fathers intended.. Not at all..

I believe the writings of the bible were divinely inspired..

And second to them I believe the founding documents of our country were written by divinely inspired men..

Documents both, that transcend time..

And the farther we remove ourselves from both of them, the worse it is going to get for us all..

I'll guarantee it..

May 23, 2022: Something shocking happened in Zapata yesterday.. It rained.. And I mean it rained.. One of them good old south Texas thunderstorm downpours that you couldn't see thru..

It don't happen often but when it does, I have seen it rain as hard here and be as violent as any place I have ever been..

It was one of them..

We got a shade over two inches in less than an hour.. And of course that means we had some serious erosion at the parking area at the county ramp.. And I am sure all up and down the lake is wet as this storm tracked right down the Texas side of the river..

And it is probably a good idea to launch on the concrete ramp out on the point here at the county ramp.. Till we get the silt off the main ramp..

Got the ground wet.. That's a good start.. And supposedly we are going to get more this afternoon. I'm all ears..

The Valley got some good rain as the storm progressed to the south.. We'll see if they close the spigot at the dam..

Fishing has still been good, with some folks whacking the crap out of em.. And the majority of quality fish are still out in that ten to fifteen foot range..

The fish are not all over the banks like they were a few weeks ago, but you can still catch a few on windblown points and banks with a squarebill or a shad imitator of some kind.

But the better fish are surely out a bit deeper. And maybe not too far from those shallow areas where they were.

Deep diving crankbaits, and larger soft plastics have been doing pretty good. I would recommend that you start with your favorite bait that will work in that range.

A flat bottom is not preferred, as is usual, but concentrating on edges and ledges , especially with brushpiles near is a good idea.

And truth be told, you probably cannot fish too deep. I just hate that shit..

And if you are thinking a jig should kill em.. Well I hear it ain't.. But it should..

If you can catch em on a craw, like the Rage Craw, why the hell don't a jig work..

Main lake from Tigers to the dam has been good, with a lot of folks fishing the ledges off the river on the Texas side. There are miles of rock that can be explored.. And should be..

The dam is always putting out some fish, and a lightly weighted senko will get you bit without hanging up every ten seconds.. Maybe twenty.. And have a spinnerbait on as well to tickle along the rock in about eight feet..

Of course the Tigers is still a very popular spot, and for good reason.. Still fish on the north side gravel and shell bars, and the deeper guts run all thru there.. Along with a hunnert brush piles..

The crappie are still pretty catchable.. Sometimes you have to do some hopping around to land on a pile of em.. And the vast majority of them have returned to the brushpiles, mostly in twelve to twenty feet of water.

Small tube jigs and minnow imitators are best.. I like an 1/8 oz jig head.. And don't be surprised when you hook a big ass bass while fishing for crappie as well.. I hooked one the other day that took my shit and went home with it.. It happens.. But once in a while you get lucky and land em..

Catfishing is still excellent.. The locals have been fishing here in the Veleno at night with big cut shad and whacking the bigguns.. Lots of twenty pound plus fish..

Lots of smaller fish on stinkbait most anywhere.. This lake is loaded with blues..

The last month or so, Inland Fisheries division of TPWD has been down here on weekends doing creel surveys which they do every other year or so. You might have run into them if you have been down here lately..

Last weekend our regional biologist, Randy Myers had the duty, and during his off time we talked for a couple of hours about everything Falcon.

We have known each other for about fifteen years, and have worked on a lot of projects together.. He was instrumental in getting me on the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Advisory Committee.. Where I learned a lot about the inner workings of the TPWD..

Unfortunately, I learned a lot about the inner workings of TPWD..

And I assume they learned a lot about me..

We worked on a huge livewell study back in about 2010. And fish mortality studies after being subjected to long days in the livewell.

This is where the PAW recommended oxygen system for livewells was developed. Best thing that ever happened to fish survival..

We worked collecting fin clips from 100 ten pound and up bass for genetic testing. Lots of guides chipped in with the collection.. Was a pain in the ass at the time..

Probably most famously we did a four year study on alligator gar in Falcon. We netted over four hundred gar.. We debunked the belief that they are dinosaurs and that hundred pounders were 75 years old. We caught a LOT of them down here that were a hundred pounds and were ten years old. And younger..

And we got the statewide blanket law that limited to one a day the number of gar that could be taken by an angler, to five per day here on Falcon.

And truth be told, the same thing should be done on Choke Canyon..

I've been with them on habitat studies.. Fish stockings.. Countless fish shockings.. Trammel netting for Crappie..

Jug lining for Gar..

Counting and identifying those fucking Cormorants.. (Which PAW has done nothing about.. Still)

All in the name of science of course..

I am sure I got him in plenty of hot water for my views on Sharelunker.. Which were/are all based on facts.. And I am sure you would have to agree.. Unless you, like Joe Biden choose truth over facts.. (He said it. I didn't..)

It's not easy to fight city hall.. But hell I have had a lot of time..

And I am sure here are a lot of other things we have done that I have not mentioned..

Don't know how I got off on this tangent.. Other than talking about the things that Randy has been involved in while caring for and managing our lake.

In any case he is in the middle of a water study that has been ordered by the legislature in an attempt to figure out how we can keep more water in Falcon.

Which seems like an easy answer.. Quit letting it out..

But it is far from that simple..

I was looking at his work, and he has modeled everything from rainfall, to Mexican water releases, US water releases, to population growth, to evaporation, to water sales from individuals with rights, and a whole lot of irrigation.

And he has made a graph that is pretty amazing, that shows projected water levels in Falcon, over the last ten years with a 5% water release reduction. And the level grows exponentially as the years wore on.

Interesting indeed.. For now this is all hypothetical.. But possible. But no one is ever going to be happy with a water budget cut in the Valley.. I can promise you..

Recreation has a much bigger impact on the economy than it did back in 1944.. And these priorities need to be addressed.. And revised. The water treaty with Mexico does mention fishing as a benefit of the lakes construction, although it is down about number five or six.. It might be time to move it up a bit..

But until they build my ditch from the flood crazy Mississippi to Del Rio, I ain't got a better idea..

Fifty Four Billion for fucking Ukraine.. Just sayin..

Another thing we talked about is the fish here in Falcon.. Which is what all this shit is about anyway..

And when they did their shock survey a couple of months ago, they retained some fish (more than I liked) to take to the lab to do DNA studies on..

(At least it wadn't bats and I better not hear about no Chinese involved.)

In any case, the bass sampled showed to be of high Florida influence, with alleles showing to be right at 82%..

That does not mean 82% of the bass are pure Florida's, but that physical composition is 82% Florida..

Which BTW is the exact same as O.H. Ivie..

PAW has done an excellent job of increasing the Florida strain influence across the state. Which is where big bass come from.. Not Sharelunker.. (Had to throw that in there..)

What does Ivie have that Falcon don't? Cover.. Habitat.. A place to hide..

But I can guarantee you that when we do catch some water, and we will.. This place is going to go apeshit once again..

Hope my knees holdout..

Randy is going to retire this summer, and he is going to be sorely missed.. He has been a great ally for Falcon, and a source of help and information that I have come to rely on..

And Randy I hope I haven't gotten you into too much trouble, and I always kept my mouth shut when you told me to..

Well.. Most of the time..

Thanks for being a friend, and looking at things objectively.. And explaining to me when I am full of shit.

Especially when politics rule the day..

May 17, 2022: Hot and windy.. And few fishermen.. I think we're stuck in a temporal time loop..

But I know things are changing cause every day the gas prices go up..

Weekend before last the Laredo group that fishes Falcon monthly, had their little tournament.

I hear that weights for the top three spots were 28, 26, and 16 pounds respectively.. I omitted the fractions of course..

And those bold enough to brave the wind and fuel costs are still doing pretty good..

Water temps are in the middle eighties, and the summer pattern is setting up early this year..

Of course you can always catch a few fish shallow, but the offshore bite, in water deeper than ten feet, is quickly becoming the most consistent way to catch quality fish.

Crankbaits are catching some nice fish off ledges and deeper water break lines..

You gotta pick it up, and stick with it.

Of course if that kicks your ass in a bit, a Texas or Carolina rigged bait can also get it done.. But the moving bait seems to be working as good as anything..

The lake is slowly dropping, and we have lost about eight inches in the last two weeks. Amistad is helping out as much as they can, but their lake level sucks ass as well as ours..

This drought has been, and still is a motherfucker.. And I don't know what we are going to do if something big doesn't happen this year..

Been saying that for the last few..

We are still launching on the concrete ramp here in Zapata, and still off the bank down at the state park. Nothing has changed..

Running the lake from top to bottom is still no problem, and won't be for the foreseeable future.

Water color is still a little off on the top of the lake, but it gets pretty good as you get past marker nine.. And as is typical, once you get to marker seven, it looks great.

If you have any questions about anything Falcon, give us a call.. And let it ring a few times.. We might be asleep..

May 4, 2022: The wind has given few reprieves the last couple of weeks, but when it has, the fishing has been very good.. Unfortunately, there have been few folks down here to enjoy it.

Your loss.

I fished with a old buddy last Saturday, and we boated eighteen fish, fishing from eight till one. And a lot of folks that stayed out there and beat on em caught lots of numbers and very nice quality fish.

We did not catch anything over four pounds, but a nice collection of mean fish that pull like a Cummins.

Here's a couple of whoppers caught by Mack Davis and B. D. Weyler.

9.70

10.11

The said they had 45 fish on Saturday, and really smoked them on a couple of spots. They also did good on Sunday morning before lunch.

Most of their fish were caught on Texas and C-rigs, sitting in about fifteen feet casting shallower on drops.

The Plum Apple and Plum Ol Monster were their best baits.

I personally have never thrown any POM on this lake..

That is some good shit, I don't care where you go..

We caught our fish on Senkos and super flukes, and we left them biting due to age limitations.. (Not mine..) But I am going to give em hell tomorrow, wind willing.. And I need some crappie for the skillet so we are going to go out there and catch a bunch of them too..

The crappie have pretty much returned to the brush piles, but I have been getting pinchers pulled off my Rage Craws left and right on some rock piles, and I know it is them fuckers..

I'll know for sure tomorrow.. As I have not had a crappie pole in the boat lately with the bass being so cooperative.

The catfish have also been very cooperative as well, especially on the top of the lake and in the river above Zapata. Of course if you are river fishing you better have some knowledge of where and how. There has been a lot of current lately, with releases from Amistad. And the whisker fish love it..

We have not held on to too much water, but we did catch about six inches in the last two weeks.

On the 26th of April, we got a half inch of rain here in Zapata, but points south of us, including the dam and McAllen got three inches plus.

The water on the top end of the lake is still off color down to about marker nine.. And it gets better as you go south. Condition normal for the last few years. I have not seen pretty, clean water across from the Veleno in several years..

So that closed the spigot at the dam for a bit and we are still just gaining a few hundreth's every day.. But I won't bet either way on what the near future brings. Hopefully this slightly wetter pattern prevails, and at the minimum we won't have a big drop any time soon.

For a reference, the water on the Old Veleno bridge is just even with the road deck. But no problems launching at either end of the lake.

All I can tell you is that the fish are biting. Whether you come or not is up to you..

But if you are tired of fishing with dozens of your closest friends, you might want to drive a little farther south and you might catch some really big fish.

This year we have seen a plethora of quality fish and it seems that we have a heck of a year class of fish in the seven to eight pound range. Not to mention a good number of DD's that have been caught as well.

This fall and into the spring we are likely to see a big crop of tens and bigger..

Well if you have been paying any attention to US and world events, I think you'll have to admit that things are about as fucked up as anyone could imagine. And it appears that those in power think all is well and pretty much going as planned.

I don't think I would have planned it this way.

Of course the war in Ukraine rages on, as the news cycle shows signs of tiring of the repidity of reporting on the absolutely inexcusable bullshit that is happening.

Very few people in America can even imagine what is happening as we speak. And in today's world, in supposed civilized countries, it is hard to understand what could bring this on. I have my theories of course, and I am sure you do as well.

I don't know much about Ukraine, but I have learned a lot about it in the last couple of months. As I am sure many of you have as well.

And I don't especially have any affection for the Ukrainians.. But unprovoked aggression by Russia or by any other country, in the name of expansionism is not really something I thought we would see. In these "modern" times.

We certainly have no room to brag when it comes to current events.

We are being overrun by illegal's crossing our border. With the approval of our own government.

Inflation is at levels we haven't seen since the peanut farmer..

Fuel prices are at record highs.

Murder rates in our biggest cities are out of control. It's almost like they are having a competition.

Evidently there has never been a bigger divide between the races..

The left is trying to shove green policies up our ass, and we are no where ready for what they have in mind. And honestly, the left is about as ill informed about what it takes to produce the batteries and to keep them charged for all the cars and devices they want to run on electricity as a fuckin third grader.

But they are busy brainwashing the third graders about how they can be any sex they want to be and that men can become pregnant.

Never see such a crock of shit.. And I think that finally mainstream America is becoming a little more aware of what is going on.. And I don't think they like it..

I pray that is true.

Of course abortion is the hot topic of the day, with the leaked opinion of the Supreme Court that infers that they may be poised to overture R v W..

But in all honesty, this ruling will do nothing to change the laws of your state. It will simply put the power back in the states hands as to what will or will not be allowed.

You want to kill babies; stay in your blue shithole or move to one..

Or maybe better yet, how about taking a little personal responsibility for your sex life.

God knows there are plenty of ways to prevent pregnancy.. Yall probably heard of some of them.

Evidently these idiots have not. And birth control is free to millions of Americans.

I personally cannot believe the Zealots for abortion that scream on the steps of whatever building seems prudent at the time.

And I can't believe the thought process of saying,"Oh shit, I'm pregnant again."

And then head to the (insert clinic name here) to have an abortion like it is no bigger deal than getting treated for a case of the clap.

Is there a woman out there that "wants" to have an abortion?

Anyway.. Makes no sense to me.. But a lot of shit don't these days..

Come and get you some. Fishin' is good..

And don't be silly. Wrap that willie..

April 25, 2022: Well it has been a while since I wrote.. But as far a fishing history goes.. The last week basically did not exist.. It has been so windy that hubcaps have been blowing off parked cars.

Several days there have been about zero boats on the water. And none launched here in Zapata.

Last Sunday (Easter) is the last day I was on the water, and I'll say the same about most of the people I know.

I did catch em pretty good fishing alone for about five hours, with several fours and a handful of nice mean fish in the three pound range..

I did have a buddy down over the weekend, and them crazy bastards put in in the Tigers and managed 17 fish on Friday, and about a dozen Saturday till lunch.. So I am sure they are still biting pretty good, if you got the cahones to get out there.. They said all they could fish was the south bank of the Tigers where there was a little protection.

Chatterbaits and crankbaits were best. Of course I don't see how anybody could fish a worm unless you were using a Die-Hard for a weight.

There have been fish showing up in the hardwoods, and I caught several nice fish flipping trees the last two times I was out.

But my best fishing has been on several rockpiles on the main lake, but there has been just too much wind for me to even attempt to fish out there.

We have a front on our doorstep, and the promise of rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days. We got a sprinkle last night, and five days ago we got a nice half inch shower here at the shop.

The lake is wavering around 259 plus, and they have been passing a lot of water through us from Amistad to the valley. On Saturday they cut the Amistad releases in half, and I am not sure what the near future will bring. There is still water in the pipeline, and I am not sure if they have curtailed releases from Falcon or not. Will know more soon, and it is rare that they slow releases in anticipation of rainfall in the valley.. We'll see soon.

Launching remains a non-issue at either end of the lake. Same as it has been for several months.

There have been a few folks launching in San Ygnacio and fishing the river, primarily for catfish, and they have been having good results with the river flowing some decent water..

But that is about the only folks that have been fishing for the most part..

The wind has laid a bit today, and a few folks are back out at it. I'm hoping for a reprieve from the gales we have had later in the week and I am itching to get back out there.

But for right now, I have shared all the info I have.

I didn't realize that I had posts going back over two years on this page.. But I did notice that it was loading a bit slower. So I whacked a few feet off the bottom and got rid of a bunch of genius composition and a whole lot more bullshit..

But some of the bullshit was at least hopefully a little entertaining. And after reading a lot of what I wrote I realize there was a whole lot about the Whoohan and what our government did to us during the last two years.

And most of what the government did to us is what the government made us do. And forbade us to do.. From quarantines to vaccinations to masks to business shutdowns and to most nearly making us ignore any other heath issue except for the Whoohan.

And I'll have to say that the last two years have been the most fucked up time in my 66 years on the planet.

Is it getting any better?

Well the Whoohan may have subsided, but the bullshit goes on within our government like never before..

And if you think Uncle Joe is actually calling the shots.. Well then you have finally gotten the government you deserve.

Fuel prices are at an all time high.. Which affects the cost of every single thing on the planet except for the air we breathe.

So in turn inflation is tracking to make history.. 10% my ass..

The housing market is fixing to bust.. (I have seen this twice before..)

The southern border is a open gate.. Illegal immigration is welcomed..

The people in this country are more divided than any time in history.

Murder rates are breaking records.

They are trying to shove a non-fossil fuel society up our ass; which in no way are we any where close to ready for.

And the possibility of a third world war is a serious consideration..

Ah, I'd say the Democrats have it well in hand..

But don't worry.. We're working on the next round of stimulus checks..

Say tuned.. It's just getting good..

April 13, 2022: The last ten days have been hard on this old man.. But if I had the chance I would probably sign up to do it again next week.. I spent a lot of time fishing.. A lot of time eating.. And imbibing.. And traveling..

More on that later..

Well believe it or not, we had a rogue thunderstorm pop up on Zapata yesterday morning at about 5am.. It had been so long that I got out of bed and went outside an watched it for a few minutes.. I was not sure it could still happen around here.

It only rained .3 at my house, and a bit less here at the shop, but it was most welcome and we needed the air cleared around here for a long time..

Of course it made zero impact on the lake, but it sure smelled good and the bushes an trees finally got their leaves rinsed off.

We are sitting at 259.48, or 41.72 feet low. We are down about six inches in the last ten days, but recent releases from Amistad are holding us steady for today.. No telling what tomorrow brings..

Of course irrigation season has set in down below us in the valley.. And it is so dry in our area you can soak a cigar in a bowl of water and light it ten minutes later..

My fifteen year old cat has a eight inch water bowl about three inches deep. And it will be bone dry every two days.. Of course my cat has been known to drink a lot.. Not sure where she gets it..

But I'm telling you that the evaporation rate down here is incredible.. I can only imagine how much water turns to air every day on the lake..

Fishing remains very good down in this locale.. Some really nice fish have been caught lately with a lot of nice sized critters from four to eight pounds being caught. And some days the numbers can be quite impressive..

Some buddy's of mine caught sixty eight last Thursday.. And in the thirties two days before that.

Of course they live here and they got em dialed in.. Your results may vary..

I fished with a buddy yesterday, in an early morning gale that went flat at ten and then blew again from eleven thirty till three..

The big numbers of fish I was catching two weeks ago in the Tigers on shallow points were not there like they were.. We still caught a few.. And a few nice ones..

So we flipped some main lake trees in about eight feet of water and we caught a few.. And a few nice ones.. Nothing over five..

Then we went out on the main lake and fished some old house rockpiles, and did pretty darn good.. But spent a lot of time getting un hung and retying.. Them big square ended rocks can eat some tackle..

We did really good on Rage Craws in the Falcon Lake Craw color.. I tried Candy and W/M red but hands down the FLC was the best..

I reckon there are some crawdaddys on the rock piles..

While I was out of town there was a lot of good fishing here as well from what I heard. Numbers were very good, and several whoppers were caught.

Like this one that went 10.7 caught by Brian Linford. Said they had a five on at the same time.. Chatterbait..

I also caught a couple on the chatterbait yesterday morning, but my partner did better on a C/W spinner bait.. I ain't giving up on it.. They did not seem to like the lipless much either.. But day to day, who knows..

We still caught two fish that had not spawned yet. They were on shallow rock and their tails were on fire. I also missed a fish in the same area twice.. I think the SOB was just moving it and not trying to eat it.. Happens a lot..

I am sure the spawn is winding down, but it surely is not over..

There are several areas that have held more fish than others over the last two months.. And the Tigers is certainly one of them. But the dam, the Texas side right at marker three, state park cove, and and widely varied rockpiles scattered along the main river channel have been lights out on certain days.

You name the bait on some days, and others you might have to try a few different things till you figure them out.. Or till you land on them.

I still ain't going out there without a chatterbait tied on. And the Rage Craw is going to get some more use from me..

The crappie are still good, and they are some hosses.. We looked at some deep isolated trees with the Livescope yesterday, and a couple of them were loaded.. We did not pursue any of them.. But they are out there.. Still crappie spawning on the dam I hear..

Catfish are still good shallow.. Ain't heard much about the white bass.. If you are a bowfisher and you like to shoot carp.. Get your ass down here last week.. They are still all over the bank..

The Gar are starting to roll a lot in open water, especially in the Tigers..

If you are a habitual reader of this report, then I reckon you know that I went down, or really over, to western Mexico last week..

Cause what does a guy who owns a tackle store and lives and fishes on one of the best lakes in the country do when he goes on vacation..

He goes fishing of course..

And like most April's we headed to one of Ron Speed Jr's camps, this time the one on Lake Picachos. And I was certainly no virgin there as this was my fifth or sixth trip on that body of water..

And as usual it did not disappoint.

The sheer number of fish in that lake is incredible.. It is like fishing a farm pond that has never seen a bait..

OK it is not like every place you stop you catch a hunnert.. But you can..

On days one and two we easily caught over a hundred fish in each boat, with a good number of three to four pound fish mixed in. Some spots you stop are just loaded with 12" fish.. But we don't hang around there long when you catch a shit ton of them in a row.

"Otra Logar.."

On day three my partner and I landed 174 fish, with the best day for quality, with a bunch of four to five pound fish, including this 6.48 pounder.

Beauty and the beast.. Which is which.. You make the call..

We fished a LOT of deep water this trip, and we caught better quality out there.. We even fished some fifty plus but I did not like what it was doing to the fish so we did not do it long.. But there are fish in all levels of the water column.

And Ron has added some decent Lowrance Hook units to the boats and we were able to see a lot of the fish we caught. They actually really draw a nice pic.. I was impressed, with not being around those units before..

On day four, the morning was pretty good, and we would not let the guide take us to the backs of creeks.. Main lake and secondary points were best for us and certainly held bigger fish..

So I had the guide out of his comfort zone, but we found some decent fish on Looong points out to thirty feet of water..

After lunch, and the daily nap, we headed back out, and drove straight to the back of a long creek..

Yeah I wasn't all that excited about it.. And we fished for ten minutes and did not have a bite.. So I said, "Vamanos" and we preceded to move out of the back of the creek.

He had to trolling motor over a few nets and we went about a hundred yards along a steep bank and he was pulling the trolling motor up. I had cast in front of the boat, and I got a peck and set the hook.. Missed him.. And I told the guide, "One more cast!"

I chunked it out there and set the hook on a fat three pounder.. My partner cast to the same spot and caught a four pounder.. We kinda looked at each other.. We sat in the same spot, tied to a rock on the bank, for an hour and a half, and caught 86 fish without moving the boat.

Some Jackleg came down the creek and drove over our fish and it was like flipping a switch.. But I reckon we got the honey out of that spot..

But that folks is Picachos in a nutshell. The freakin fish are everywhere.. They might not be biting everywhere.. But them fuckers are still there..

And in the course of the day you are going to land on a big pile of them bastards.. That are eating..

We caught them on most everything, including crankbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and soft plastics. And a five or six inch senko was probably the top bait. An 8" lizard a close second..

If you took a hundred pack of 5" and a hundred pack of 6" senkos, a shitload of hooks and half ounce sinkers, you'd be golden..

Of course I took half the store in case there might be some special shit we might need.. Naw.. Don 't over think this lake.. But you CAN catch em your way..

Some of that shit in my big tackle bag must have a 100,000 miles on it..

In the past I have posted a lot of pics of the mountains, the lodge, the restaurant, the accommodations, and the food..

All I can say is that you have to see the area to appreciate the beauty of fishing in a Mexican mountain lake. It is easy to get caught up in the scenery while fishing.. But the fish will jerk you back to reality pretty quick.

If you are lacking for anything while staying at Ron's camp, it is because you haven't asked.. If you ever had to..

More food and drink that one should intake.. But this trip is all about gluttony..

There were some kids there at the same time we were. And they didn't really have an affinity for lobster.. So I ate three..

If you have any questions about anything Picachos or Salto, drop me an e-mail.. Or call anytime..

I'll be glad to give you the skinny on what and where and how much and how long.

But for now I'll have to fish someplace not quite so exotic..

But I got no problem with that..

See you on the water!! Falcon Water!

April 1, 2022: Well it's April first.. A day to celebrate our Washington DC hierarchy..

Because no bigger gaggle of fools has ever been collected all in one place.. Barnum and Bailey could have never collected, what we have elected..

A true clown show.. April Fools indeed..

It's a downright fuckin embarrassment..

But at least here in Z town the wind has backed off a little, and yesterday boats were back on the water after a three day blow job that filled the skies with dust and brought a tear to the eye of Monica Lowinski..

She is one of the few that took more knees than Collin Kapernick..

But I digress..

There was a lot of pent up frustration with a lot of the local anglers due to the high winds.. The fish are biting, and a lot of the Snowbirds are short.. Many of them have already left for cooler climes, and the rest of them are making preparations to evacuate for the summer..

And with few days left to fish, the wind took a lot of them out of the action.. More drama than the last few days of Bluefin season on Wicked Tuna..

But for the sort term, we're back on the water after being well rested..

Jim Cody went out yesterday morning and caught this 9.17 the first rattle out of the box.

Last weekend SAPD bass Club was in town, and they caught good numbers of fish. Mostly in the Tigers and mostly on rock and mostly on moving baits but surely some on plastics.

There have been a few fish caught off the hardwoods, but it has been spotty as hell.. And it seems like you'll do better in isolated patches of wood than you'll do in a forest of standing timber.

Sometimes you gotta flip the tree several times to get bit.. Sometimes it seems like they are sitting there watching you waiting for your bait to hit the water..

If I was fishing today I would still be throwing a chatterbait and a lipless in a shad pattern.

The last day I fished (last Friday) we caught them good on one rocky point in the Tigers. The wind was blowing across it just right and the shad were thick.. Which has been happening a lot on the breezy days as they are spawning on the edges of the gravel/rock.

And most anywhere you find the wind on the banks with shad flipping around, it's likely that you will catch some fish on moving baits as described above.. A squarebill won't hurt you either..

Find some rock.. Cover some ground.. And it's likely that you will end up on a pile of fish sooner or later..

Launching conditions have not changed.. It's all good.

In the last six weeks we have caught about 15-18 inches of water.. Which has now probably come to an end.. Amistad has slowed releases.. And we have increased ours..

Of course we all knew it was coming as irrigation in the valley is getting under way. We are sitting at 260.12 this morning.. We'll see what happens in the next week or two.. It was nice to see water up in the shoreline weeds.. That will probably be a passing fad soon.. But boy the carp are lousy up there spawning right now..

If you like bowfishing trash fish.. Come get you some..

Catfishing in the shallows is good on rod and reel.. Stinkbait or shad will work under a cork..

The crappie have been stacked up on the dam and they have been pretty easy.. Some on brushpiles and we are starting to see some spawned out females. They are fat and sassy..

It's all been good.. When the galdurn wind ain't howling..

I am heading out to the west coast of Mexico on Monday, to spend a few days at Ron Speed's camp down on Pichachos. If you ain't ever been there.. Well you're missing out..

This will be the fifth or sixth time I have been there, and I have never had a bad trip. And you certainly will not have anything but excellent service.. And I usually gain eight or more pounds due to the enormous amount of food and drink.. I always leave most of my self control at home..

And I fully expect that we will catch hundreds of fish in the four days we are there.. And like usual, I have half the store packed to take along..

I will give a detailed report when I get back on the 10th or so..

So I'll see you when I get back..

Here online.. Or on the water..

March 22, 2022: They say March is a windy month, and I reckon this year is no different than most years. And I can attest that we have had our share of it.. From both directions..

Because basically around here the only two directions we have is north and south. And today we are getting it from the north.. Again.. But not enough to dissuade the most hard core of fishermen..

Last weekend we had a couple of decent days, and there were a lot of fishermen on the water by Falcon standards.

The Tigers and the dam are still very popular areas, and for good reason.

Good fish, and sometimes, really good numbers have been showing up.

I fished three days last week, and had decent luck on all three, in three different areas.. But repeating the same thing in the same place has been hard for me to do. So I keep hopping around like the Easter Bunny and sooner or later I seem to land on some.

There is a stand of trees in the Tigers I have flipped five or six different occasions.. Because I know it is one of the few places that have a gravel bottom with hardwoods on it.

And after I fished a shallow ridge that I have been whacking them on, with only one bite, I tried those trees again..

And Lo and Behold there was a fish on most all of the trees.. Problem is that there are only about twenty trees or less in this particular area.

But it sure was fun to pitch to a tree and get bit.. Jimmie like..

Best one was about a five and a half, and several three pounders. Reminded me of the old days.. Almost brought a tear to my eye..

These fish were in between the bark and the sap, so you really had to put your bait in the middle of the tree..

These fish are in full spawn mode.. None of the fish I caught were spawned out. Several folks I have talked to said they have caught some some flabby bellied big fish. Loose skin and wrinkly..

Kinda like Rosie after two months on weight watchers and a colon cleanse..

And I am sure more and more fish will be looking that way in the near future. And I reckon they will be doing some eating to recharge after the spawning event.

We have a couple of good days coming on Thursday and Friday the way it looks, and I think I'll wait out this north wind till then to get back after em...

Last week a couple of boys from Oklahoma made their annual trek to Falcon, and after beating around a couple of days, they landed on the mother lode on their last afternoon of fishing.

They said they had forty two plus for their best five, with these two whoppers in the bag.

Stuart Hart caught this 10.60..

And a few minutes later Mike Vaughn caught this 11.06..

They caught these fish after five O'clock in the evening.. And a mess of other good ones as well.

Like I said, when you land on the mother lode it can get fun in a hurry..

There have been lots of quality fish by lots of anglers this last week.. But who wants to see pictures of boring seven and eight pounders...

Fish have been caught on a wide variety of baits, from squarebills, lipless baits, soft plastics like lizards and senkos, and I am personally still in love with the chatterbait. Although I did catch those fish in the trees on lizards..

Shallow is still better than deep, and most fish are being caught on gravel flats and ridges and sloping banks with deeper water nearby. Move those soft plastics slowly..

And if you pitch some trees pay close attention to your shit as the fish have been been biting very light. If your bait don't seem to be where you left it, you need to be jerking.. Cause something done got a hold of your bait Junior!

And these Mo-Fo's are pissed off when you stick em..

Gas is all the way down to $3.94 here in Zapata. And it has caused me to cruise at about 4000 RPM, instead of at Mach II with my hair on fire.. So launching at the county ramp and fishing the Tigers costs about $40.. If you run around a bit..

And I can't catch too much north of Pierce's cove, at marker seven..

Quite a change from filling up the old Cruise-a-Day with fifty cent gas back when I was a kid. Of course you had to add a quart of Quaker State 30 weight to the tank.. That was another fifty cents..

The cost of fishing these days has gotten a little bit out of hand.. $18 chatterbaits.. Come on Man.. But I'm still throwing em.. On heavier line than I used to.. And I'll damn sure work a little harder to get em back when I get hung up..

I reckon that if I never fished or hunted I could retire pretty good about now.. But it wouldn't have been much fun getting here..

Yes life is still pretty good in the states.. And currently there aren't any bombs raining down on our heads.

So don't forget to thank God you were born here..

Of course there are plenty of things to bitch about.. And I am good at it..

Why?

Because I know how much better it could be, and how much better it has been. And I ain't talking about very long ago.

I know I am a spoiled brat, growing up and living in one of the best eras in American History. And none of it thanks to me.. Well I do work my ass off and pay my taxes..

But not much of a sacrifice compared to millions of others.. You know what I am talking about..

Today's politicians are mostly a spoiled and privileged bunch of assholes.. With little regard for the common man, although they will speak for hours telling you about how they care for you.

They'll tell you they will fix everything if you'll keep em in power.. And they're the ones who fucked it up in the first place..

Maybe it is time for the great reset.. But not the one they are talking about..

I better quit as I am about to delve off into saying something that the elected might take as offensive.

What I want to know is why do we keep electing the same motherfuckers?

Well get your ass down here if you get the chance. You just might hook the fish of a lifetime..

I'm still trying.. See you on the water!

March 16, 2022: The Ides of March has brought some beautiful weather to Zapata, with cool mornings and absolutely gorgeous afternoons.

And believe it or not, there are actually a few folks out on the water using some high dollar fuel and catching some fish. And why the hell not.. I think we are fishing as good as any lake in the state right now.. And your chances at a big fish are really good.

I should be out there, but here I am sitting in front of this machine wasting a perfectly good day when I know I could be catching some fish. And at my age I should not be wasting any good days.. Maybe after lunch..

I fished Tuesday, and man I got off to a good start.. My second cast I caught a three pound plus fish, and I hadn't even put the trolling motor in the water yet..

About five minutes later, I caught a 7-2.. And five minutes later I caught a 7-6..

Things were looking up.. I was throwing a chatter bait again, and let me tell you lately I have been in love with that thing.

Anyway, I made a few more casts and had back to back hits with no hookup.. So I chunked a senko in the same place and caught a two and a half..

Shit.. This stuff is easy..

Well I didn't want to burn this spot down as I have some friends coming to fish, so I left and decided to hit some rockpiles on the main lake close to Bob's Knob.

But I saw some trees and for me it's something like yelling "Squirrel" and I immediately got side tracked..

And I ventured across the lake to the Mexican side by marker six into that big stand of trees.. And I flipped about twenty of them without a bite.

I decided that these particular trees had no fish on em and I headed back across the lake..

Everything was going good till this point. But that is when it turned to shit as I balled up a gill net in the big motor.... But not too bad just about the size of a fuckin bushel basket..

I hadn't done that in years..

After getting free of the main line I headed to the Texas bank via trolling motor about 3/4 of a mile across..

Lucky for me, Jay Grieshaw was in sight and he helped me remove my prop and clear the disaster. Yes it did involve both of us getting our nuts wet..

Thanks Jay, I owe you one..

That 64° water took the fire out of me and I never liked fishing with a wet sack.. Wet jeans do not dry out too fast.. So I put it on the trailer..

Lots of other folks have been doing good as well, but some folks have struggled.. I'm trying to concentrate on wind blown points, especially if I see a bunch of shad flipping about..

The shad are pretty thick on the warm afternoons and they are trying to spawn up there as well. If you get lucky you might run into a pack of hungry fish and catch a good number in short order..

Water temps have been hitting about 67 in the afternoons, and truthfully the warmer the better. So you don't have to rush out there in the cold to catch fish. And with the time change to can fish till damn near eight if you are really mad at them.

I'm basically throwing four baits. A chatterbait and a spinner bait, both in Chart/White.. A senko, and a Carolina rig with a lizard on it.. I know other folks have had luck with flukes, trick worms, and shakey heads..

You just gotta get around the fish. Like always..

The flipping bite is improving by many accounts, and more than one person has told me they are catching fish in the trees.. I still ain't.. But I am not giving up on it.. Not in the least. The warmer it gets the better it should get..

Spoken by someone who loves flipping trees.. And I'm overdue...

But the predominant bite is still on rocks.. Shallow..

Here's a couple of fish caught this week..

Our old buddy Gary Harlan caught this 9-6 flipping trees..

And Brian Cooper caught this 10-4. But I am not sure of the methodology..

There have been a bunch of six to ten pound fish caught lately.. And you can't bitch about that..

We are catching a bit of water the last week with releases from Amistad. Don't get too excited as I am sure it will be headed down the river for irrigation before to long. Who the hell knows what the future brings, but it has certainly been drier than a popcorn fart..

Maybe this'll be the year..

Launching is no issue.. Ramp in Veleno is primo and the state park is still off the bank.. But no sweat..

If you are a Falcon veteran you know this shit ain't nothing to be afraid of..

And if you're a Newbie down here, just stop in and we'll give you the skinny on what is happening and some navigation tips..

Bring your sunblock.. And bring me a cigar.. I ain't been outta town in a month!

See you in here.. Or on the water!

March 9, 2022: If there is such a thing as global warming, you can't prove it by me.. I have been a giant goose bump for months. It's just been freakin cold.. One front after another.. It's freakin March and we are still getting attacked by polar blasts that are cooling the water off every time it gets to the point where the fish are going nuts..

And then it backs them off again.. Tomorrow looks like a decent day, but on Friday he we go again..

Water temps this AM are about 60°, after two days of cold and clouds and north wind. Today is fishable with sunny skies.. But too cold for me..

If it sounds like I am bitching.. Well I am.. But just wait a few minutes..

Over the weekend, before Monday mornings gale blew in, the fish were on the bite and we were catching some really nice fish. Lots of quality fish were up shallow, and so were the shad..

And lots of big ass shad, attempting to get up there and spawn as well.

Which I assume will continue for a while if the water ever warms up and stays there..

And I assume that is the reason that the spinnerbait and chatterbait bite was going so well..

For the last couple of weeks, it has been plastics, plastics, plastics..

But the moving baits have really come on as of late..

I'm not saying a C-rig won't catch fish.. I'm not leaving home without one.. But I ain't leaving home without a spinnerbait or chatterbait tied on either..

Last weekend Ingram bass club had their tournament down here, and while there weren't many of them, most all of them caught some fish. And a few good ones mixed in.

Raymond Holloway had a 7 something for big bass, but there were several other nice fish caught as well.

Charles Parchman caught a 9.70 ..

Tony Coatney caught this 11-2 since my last posting..

And Crawford Brantley caught this 10-4 as well..

Most of the locals and winter Texans don't even bother with sending me pics anymore, but I have seen pics of a lot of really nice fish as of late.. It is March after all and the spawn, although sporadic, is surely underway.

We still are not catching much off the hardwoods, and my theory is still that these fish don't want to spawn on the muddy bottoms that that mostly surround the trees that are in creeks. At this level most of the creek bottoms are silted in for the most part.

Gravel bars still appear to be best, and the shallower the better. The Tigers has put out the lions share of fish, but it is not the only place to catch fish. Just keep shallow and rock in your plans.

Crappie, on the other hand, have been pretty good in the hardwoods, and folks with Livescope have been targeting them with pretty good results. But you can just go and dip trees like we did in the old days and still catch a nice mess these days.. These fish are egged up and are spawning as we speak..

White bass are still stacked up on the river channel on the top end of the lake, and anywhere from marker nine to the Veleno you might run into a big school of them.

The catfish are going really good for most folks, and rod and reel fishermen and the jug and trotline boys are doing good as well..

Cut bait is best, the bloodier and fresher the better. A big shad or perch freshly cut is hard to beat.

Gas prices in Zapata are nearing $4 a gallon, and hell might be more by the time you read this. And it certainly makes it hard on the wallet to fill the boat and the truck for a day of fishing.

Matter of fact it makes a lot of folks rethink fishing as they choose between habits that might be a little less expensive.

Like eating or paying the electric bill.

It's hard for me to watch the callousness of the president and a lot of our idiot leaders at the top of the food chain when they say that this might be painful for a little while.. For you common folks..

And nothing is their fault.. While they squeeze the lifeblood out of millions of small businesses across the country.. Us included..

I do not think that they give a shit about five or seven dollar gas.. They probably actually like the idea as they want you all to buy an electric car.. To stop the evil fossil fuel industry from ruining the planet..

The average electric vehicle price is about 55K I understand.

That's a little pricey for common folks.. What if you need two?

Do you think that America is ready to go to an all electric fleet? How the fuck are we going to charge all these batteries.. Do you think that wind and solar can produce enough electricity to do it? We barely have enough power to keep all the lights burning and homes heated and cooled..

We are destroying the rest of the planet mining the materials to make batteries..You don't see that on the news everyday..

What are we going to do with all the batteries when they wear out? Do you know what a replacement set of batteries cost for a car when they are done? You don't see that on the news everyday either..

What do you honestly think the bulk of the power it takes to charge al these batteries will be generated with?

You know fuckin what. Fossil fuels..

This administration has single handedly done more to damage America than any other group of assholes that have ever occupied the White House..

I know I am preaching to the choir..

I could type for an hour about all the things they have fucked up.. And are continuing to fuck up..

It is amazing that they actually think they are making America better, when the majority of Americans think we have gone off the cliff..

I know we'll get these assholes out of office.. But I hope irreparable harm has not been done by the time we do..

The democrats say the clock is ticking.. And boy are they right..

On that happy note I will close with best wishes for you and America..

Hang in there..

Cause we really have no other choice.. Unless we take it to the streets..

And I don't think we are there just yet.. But it appears that we are getting closer..

March 4, 2022: Fourteen years ago today I cleaned out my desk at my real estate office in NW San Antonio, and walked out the door for the last time. We were scheduled to close the next day in Zapata on the store known as Falcon Lake Tackle.

I pulled into the HEB gas station and the price for regular unleaded was $3.69 a gallon.. And I said to myself, you must be a stupid motherfucker for buying a tackle store in the middle of nowhere with gas prices this outrageous..

Of course the fishing went batshit crazy, the lake filled up and it was on..

And people came from every state in the nation to get in on the fishing.. No matter the cost of fuel..

And as I drove thru town on the way here this morning, I saw gas prices that reminded me of those days..

And yes I do think these prices are crazy.. No reason for them to be this high.. Except for the idiots in charge in Washington.. And believe me I am being polite..

In any case, a lot has changed in these fourteen years, and certainly not all of it was for the better..

But one thing that is better right now, is the fishing.. I'm in no way comparing it to 2008.. But it has been good.. Somedays, at the right time in the right spot, damn good. Reminding me of 2008..

Here's a few pics of a few fish from the last week or so. And believe me there have been a lot of quality fish caught.

Here's Coeta Butcher, with two fish caught three casts apart.. A ten something and a 9-8..

Ain't that something...

Here is Chris Calkins with an eleven something..

And then there is Matt Reed who has caught a bunch of big fish lately.

Here's John Mireles with a cold day beauty..

And Craig Rich came all the way from Georgia to catch this whopper..

I couldn't post all the pics I have seen lately.. And not all of them are DD's.. Buts lots of six to ten pound fish have been caught, but not one twelve pound fish have I heard of lately..

There seems to be a class of fish in the eight pound range that have dominated the big fish action.. And I got no problem with that..

I took a buddy fishing on Tuesday, Robert from Amigo guide service.. We didn't start early and we didn't stay late. Probably fished from 9:30 till 3..

And while we started out catching one here and two there, things got a little slow about three.. We were fishing up a gravel bank with C-rigs, and getting bit rarely for the last hour.

So I said I'm gonna throw a chatter bait for a few casts.. Which turned into twenty.. And we rounded a corner on a point and I hooked up with what turned out to be an 8-2. Beautiful full bellied fish. Cast back in the same general vicinity and caught a five..

I looked at Robert and he said "Hell I've got a chatter bait tied on.."

He chunked up there and caught another one about five.. Holy shit..

I cast back up there and had a decent one come off.. Shit.. I threw back right between two big rocks in about 10" of water, and got bit before the bait got wet.. This son of a bitch gabbed my bait, made my drag go zitt-zitt, and it sounded like a 22 went off when my line snapped..

Sure would like to have seen that motherfucker..

Of course that was the one and only chatterbait I had in my bag.. But Robert made several more casts without catching a fish, I missed one on a senko.. And it was over.. As quickly as it started..

This fishing is a crazy game..

So I went back out the next day (Wed) cause I knew I had em figured out..

And it sucked out loud as I fished the same areas and a lot that looked like em without boating a single fish..

WTF..

And then yesterday, Robert and his wife went out in the PM, and fished fifty yards from where we whacked em two days before, and caught 28 fish in two hours with the best two going over eight pounds each, with a bunch of three to fives mixed in.

Said he had back to back fish four times..

He also said the shad had moved up there on the two foot flat and they were thick.

Reckon that's why the chaterbait put the smackdown on em.. I'm only pissed that I wasn't in the boat..

But that's fishing.. And you ain't gonna run into that kind of shit sitting on your couch..

Water temps are back up in that magical middle sixties, when things start to happen.. And the afternoons have usually been better.. Sometimes three to five o'clock is the bewitching hour..

I can't stress enough how shallow these fish can be.. If your boat is sitting in three foot of water, and you're casting at the bank, you are not doing wrong.. As long as there is rock, and preferably gravel on the bottom..

The dam is still putting out fish, but the Tigers are probably getting the most activity. Some fish are coming off of old rockpiles and isolated rock..

If you are throwing a C-rig, I recommend a lizard or creature bait or a senko .. Crankbaits are catching fish as well, especially on the rockpiles..

But I ain't going out there without a motherfuckin catterbait tied on.. And a couple of more in the boat..

Anyway, this is some of the best fishing we have had in a while, although it can be a little streaky from day to day. I really believe you need to be in the right place at the right time.. But if you get after em, you and the right time are going to collide where the fish are chowing down..

Thanks to the all seeing fools in control of most things American, you might have to add a third in your boat to help out on the fuel costs..

Remember to cast across the boat.. None of your buddies need any more piercing's..

Stop in and we'll discuss the how's and where's..

And if I ain't in here, I'll see you on the water...

February 23, 2022: The old saying about the weather in Texas has never rung truer as can be attested to by the stark difference in the last 24..

Yesterday it was 98, beautiful sunshine, with very light winds in the PM.. This morning it is about 60 and falling with a stiff north wind.

And yesterday the water temperature got up in the high sixties, in some shallow places seventy, and the big fish were shallow and a bunch of folks whacked a bunch of really nice fish.

Several over ten were reported at the ramp yesterday, and I heard of a eleven plus this morning before the front attacked..

But a shitload of really good quality fish have been caught this week..

And if this front hadn't blown in, I'da told you to "Get in your fuckin truck.."

You still might.. Depending on how far you have to come..

I will tell you that if it looks like warming trend anytime soon, it would be a good idea to get down here..

I believe these fish are committed to spawning, and I don't think they will go far from the very shallow water we have been catching them in.

Shallow gravel has been key to getting on any numbers of these fish, and the areas that are holding fish are in water inside six feet deep for the most part.

Think rock..

Not hardwoods..

We have very few creek channel bottoms with rocky surfaces, and the fish are just not holding on the hardwoods that are available.. Believe me I have tried.. They do not want to spawn on the muddy surfaces..

So it is gravel bars and banks.. Gravel seems to me to be better than areas with a lot of big chunk rock. I ain't saying you can't catch one there, but numbers are better on smaller rock.. Rock you can clank your Carolina rig over without hanging up.

And for whatever reason a C-Rig seems to be working best.. Prolonged contact with the bottom.. Fish slow..

And pay fuckin attention cause these fish are not hammering the bait.. If you just feel pressure, your line goes slack, or it just feels mushy, you best be swinging for the bleachers..

I have heard of some Texas rigged fish, a few crankbait fish, but hands down the bulk of the fish are coming on the rig..

And no, not a freakin A rig..

Stop in on your way to the water and we'll talk about the latest on locations and techniques..

The crappie are moving shallow, and while I was wasting my time flipping some trees yesterday, I observed some senior citizens catching some whoppers out of the standing timber.

There are still fish on the brushpiles, but you can catch them up shallow in the trees right now as well.

The catfish have been excellent on jug lines and rod and reel.. Cut bait is best.. Stink bait and shad will get you bit more often, but more often by smaller fish.

The white bass are thick on the river channel, and in the river up above Zapata if you have river access..

I DO NOT recommend running up the river past Beacon Lodge.

Look around School Bus or the area off the river channel for big schools of fish on your graph.. They's out there..

I could post you some pictures of big fish, and I will soon, but you know what they look like..

Get down here and take a pic of your own..

They's some big motherfuckers biting..

February 18, 2022: After a respite of the cold for a few days, we have a north wind blowing again.. But it is supposed to be short lived and we have some days in the nineties predicted..

But for the here and now, we still have water at sixty or maybe slightly above. But not a lot above..

But the last couple of days have been warm with a stout south wind. Better temps.. But worse wind.. Hard for a man to get a break around here..

There have been a few good fish caught lately, like these two.

Here is James Chaney with a nine something he caught fishing with Tony Coatney.. Good pic taking skills..

And here is Matt Reed with a whopper he caught on Wednesday..

And truth is, a few more of these Rosies are being caught every day.. I just got off the phone with Matt, and he said despite the blowing north wind, they have a nine, a seven, and a six so far today.. It's 1:41 PM. But he says they ain't everywhere..

But they are getting shallower.. The females are getting up there to spawn, inside six feet in places.. They are ready.. But damn the water is still cold..

Reports are that rocky banks and point edges are the place to look,, We do not have much for defined creek channels at this level. But there are lots of ups and downs out there and fishing the edges are a good place to start..

All the pics of females I have seen look like they're going to pop.. And if they don't lay em soon they are going to leak em..

Senkos are a good choice, and lizards are working as well. The soft plastic bite appears to be the best thing going. Of course on any given day things could change. A square bill might not be a bad choice to have tied on either..

The warming of next week might actually get these fish off high center and make me tell you to "Get in the fucking truck.."

But I'm not there yet..

I will keep you posted..

In non fishing news..

Football season is over and boy it couldn't have come at a better time.. How in the world could they have had time for all the political commercials if that shit was still going on..

This shit is making me crazy..

But back to football.. There are a couple of 'ends of an era' events going on..

Foremost on most folks minds of course, is the retirement of a legend in the sport..

No, not Tom Brady. Ray Charles could have seen that coming..

I'm talking about the retirement of sideline reporting legend, Michelle Tafoya..

Truly an icon in football.. Well not actually in football..

I could never figure out why women had a place on the sideline in football.. And certainly not on the playing field..

Call me an old sexist..

Until you have had your ribs separated by a linebacker or a pulling guard, or had your nuts about de-sacked in a violent high speed collision of bodies, I just don't think you belong..

If you want the real skinny, go to the pros.. Someone who has been there..

Like Biden does.. Picking his cabinet members. But I digress..

That last line was sarcasm by the way.. In case you are reading this whatever this thing is for the first time..

I always found it funny to see the female reporters, or the male ones for that matter, run up to the coach at halftime, flip over that list of questions they have velcrowed to their wrists, and ask question number three: Or whatever number Al Michael's calls down to her..

"Coach.. It looks like your defense is really taking it in the shorts, especially the left side of the line.. What are you gonna do about it in the second half?"

"Well Michelle.. (Pregnant pause..) I think I'm gonna go in the locker room, pull down their pants, and give em a few whacks across the ass with my whistle string.. Yeah, that ought to do it.."

"Thanks for your time coach, and good luck in the second half.. Back to you guys upstairs.."

While it may be true that Michelle was to football, as Vanna White is to Wheel of Fortune, me thinks that both or either job was not too tough.. Nor necessary..

You may disagree..

On yet another note, not fishing related, youse guys might know that our governor has thousands of Guardsmen stationed along the border from Brownsville to El Paso. And when those guys are off, they are bored to death here in Zapata, as we have little to do unless you are working.. Or Fishing. Or you got a lot of money for hookers..

So in their spare time they wonder thru the shop trying to deal with the boredom, shooting the shit and talking about bank fishing.. And we really enjoy it..

And a lot of the guard here are installing a ten foot high chain link fence along the river between Zapata and Laredo..

And it is keeping illegals out about as good as it is mosquitoes.. I hear they cut holes in it all the time and they spend a lot of time patching it.. Whooda thunk it..

But I guess not all illegals carry a pair of nine inch Klines in their back pocket..

But I got this new idea for keeping them out, and catching them..

You know how they make those sticky mouse traps?

Lets get them to make a few hundred miles of them about six feet wide and lay them alongside the fences and walls..

Wouldn't even need BP out there at night.. Just come back in the morning and run your trap line.. Just like in the old days.

They'd be stuck on there all weird like they were playing a game of twister..

Just an idea..

Well I better go as things are getting a little weird here as well..

Get your oil changed and air up the tires.. You never know when the alert might go out..

See you when we do..

February 15, 2022: Patience is not necessarily one of my better virtues.. And the older I get the more impatient I am becoming it appears..

When I am ready to do something, I'm ready to do it now.. Get in the truck motherfucker... Lets go..

Dammit I didn't mean to use such vulgarity right off the bat.. But it seemed to fit..

But anyway.. I am sick and tired of waiting for the water to warm up.. And I'm not talking about the time it takes to get from the water heater to the shower..

Our water temps here are still struggling to break sixty, and several folks told me that yesterday the water started out in the fifty-five degree range..

These Falcon fish do not like swimming between ice cubes and for the most part they are not interested in eating.

A few fish are being caught, and some real fatties are in the mix. But can I say that the spawn is underway and the fish are lining the shallows..

Absolutely not..

Most fish are still deeper it appears, and around ten feet, give or take, is a good place to start..

Of course fishing any good looking shallow water is still a must, just in case some big ol fattie moved up there..

But it has been slow going for most folks.

I don't know how many times I have written about how the cold water affects these fish. But I am telling you that until the water gets in the middle sixties, and stays there for several days, things are not going to improve by any measurable percentage.

Why are these fish so particular? When fish in other lakes seem a bit more friendly? I can't answer that. Not that I hear that fishing is off the hook anywhere right now.

There has certainly been a lot of big fish caught across the state this year, and it is good to see that they do still exist. Good conditions at several reservoirs across the state have led to several good year classes maturing when food and cover have been in place.

And we all know that habitat.. Habitat dammit.. Is everything.

When you put Florida bass, in a lake with tons of cover, tons of easy forage, and do that for consecutive years.. Well the results can be astounding..

And try as we might, mortal men can do no more than have some high percentage Florida strain fish in place, and hope and pray that Mother Nature cooperates by providing the aforementioned habitat..

Here on Falcon, we have everything we need.. Except water..

I'm waiting. Impatiently..

And when you get my age, you start to wonder how many more years you'll have to fish. Some days ain't so good now..

And I really would like a couple of years after we have been full for a while..

I know it is going to happen.. You young bucks will be down here whacking em long after I'm gone..

That is if the Democrats don't fucking implode the American way of life in the not too distant future..

All things cycle, but evidently we are not on a microwave type of deal.. Not sure what megahertz we are on.. But I think somebody bumped the dial.

And it is damn sure time we start back up the wave..

The lake is holding steady, with a very slight rise for the last few weeks. And as stated before, the water temps are holding pretty steady as well. Which still sucks as bad as it did a few paragraphs ago..

We do have a slight warming trend going on, and hopefully in the next week or so we will see water temps start to rise. Wish I could tell you when for sure.. But till then we'll both have to be patient..

But it will happen, and when it does, I'll tell you; "Get in the truck, motherfucker.."

And we'll see you when you get out..

February 7, 2022: It's been a cold, damp, cloudy, nasty couple of weeks down here, and nobody I know is liking it.. Including the fish.. Well most of em anyway..

If they have scales and a big mouth they have been particularly inconsistent according to most all that have been pursuing them. And with water temps doing a yo-yo of sorts that does not let the spinning orb to make it very far back up the string.

We have had a couple of days where the temps have made it back up over sixty, but certainly not enough to get the fish to think it's time to spawn, much less eat.

I'm not saying that there are no fish being caught, but the numbers have been quite dismal. Some good quality fish have been brought to net, but DD's are few and far between.

And the same old story still holds true.. Till the water gets back over sixty degrees and camps out there for a few days, I do not anticipate a lot of change.

These cloudy and cool days are doing nothing to help the situation.

We have had a few rain drops the last couple of weeks, but more than anything it has just been a cold sprinkle and gloom.. The kind of shit I really like..

In total we have had about a half inch of rain. And the bulk of that was on one night.

You gotta stare at the rain gauge like those cross eyed lab workers to see what's in the test tube.. Mostly dust..

No offense meant to lab workers.. But I keep seeing this file footage of this guy staring at this specimen in a lab and he looks pretty perplexed as what to name the next variant of the Whoohan..

I'm sure they'll come up with some catchy shit for the next go round.. Maybe Lethal ese.. Or Corpseonic..

Ah shit.. They probably got a long list in the que..

Like PAW naming different sized fish..

More coming I'm sure..

But I digress..

Other species down here don't seem to mind the cold. The white bass are piling up a bit on the top of the lake, and some folks staying at Beacon are bank fishing them pretty good.

Getting to that area by boat should be dealt with carefully as there is not a lot of water in the river above the Veleno. But I would think that the rocks on the Texas side from the Veleno up to Paradise Point and the water pump should be doable.. And I bet you can catch some fish there.

The locals in San Ygnacio have been whacking them in the river, but it is bank access only up that way.

This has been a banner fall and winter for the whisker fish. And catfishing is still excellent from all reports.

We have a ton of Texas Guard folks down here right now, and a bunch of them have been entertaining themselves when off duty catching fish here in the Veleno.. And wherever they can get access to the water.

The crappie are still good in the brushpiles, but the bite might not be as strong as it was just a while back when the water was warmer. And these fish are ready to spawn as well. Egg development appears complete to my eye.

They too are probably just waiting for a warming trend. And not being the crappie expert, I am not sure where they are going to spawn. But it is usually shallower than most of the brush we have put out.. But dipping shallow weeds and stickups ain't going to be happening this year..

The lake is actually up a few inches in the last couple of weeks. Not enough to write about but I did anyway. But the ramps are still fine at the county on concrete, and of course we are still launching on the bank down at the state park. With no real problems there either.

I hear thru the grapevine there has been funding approved for the state park (75K) to do a low water ramp feasibility study..

Jeez.. Give me twenty five K and I'll have one built in a couple of weeks..

PAW is no different than any other part of the government.. Slow to react.. And are seldom proactive..

Not sure why we wait to fix things instead of preventing them from happening in the first place.. Who would have thought that the water could ever get down this low?

Answer: Everybody that has been around Falcon for over thirty minutes..

Just bitching I guess.. But I'm good at it..

Yall watching the Olympics? Me Either.. And from the reports I hear a lot of folks are not watching..

Which is a damn shame..

But Me, personally, I have a grudge against the communist fuckers.. And if you actually pursue the facts about most things Chinese, you probably don't like them fuckers either..

I guess a lot of folks say live and let live.. Not the Chinese.. Unless you want to live their way..

I think most people don't..

Anyway. Fuck em.. I'm forced to consume a lot of their crap just to survive..

It's a shame our government is filled with so many pussies.. Afraid to offend anyone, no matter how fucked up their beliefs are..

But that's alright.. In a few generations we'll have the same shit they have now.. Minus the great economy..

There's something to look forward to.. Glad I'll be dead and gone.. But it ain't people with my attitudes that have led us down the road we're on..

Well that was certainly was cheery..

We're not beyond redemption.. But we need Americans to pull their heads out of their asses and see what is actually happening.. Not just worrying about if their Amazon package arrived..

Well hopefully it will warm up and I'll feel better.. And you'll feel better..

And the fish will bite better.

And when they do I'll see you on the water.

January 22, 2022: It's been cold and gloomy here, and it doesn't look like we are going to break out of this shit for a few more days. I ain't in favor of it.. Like I may have stated before, I hate winter..

But being it is what it is, we'll just have to deal with it for a while longer.. February is always hit and miss down here when it comes to decent fishing weather. And this ain't it.

We have had a lot of folks wondering around the shop, looking at their feet, grumbling and bitching about the cold. Can't say I blame them.. We're all tired of this crap..

Not a lot of folks on the water.. Of course we have a few of them Noreasters that say that this is balmy compared to home..

Yeah.. Them fuckers ain't fishing either..

Of course the fish have decided that they don't like it either.. Water in the fifties is not conducive to the feeding habits of Florida bass. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that this morning the water is in the middle upper fifties, depending on where you toss your cork. My cork is here in the shop.. And will be for the next few..

If you, like me, think that these fish should be snuggled up to the base of some hardwoods, well then we would both be wrong..

I fished Wednesday and decided that I would do nothing but fish trees. And I turned about two hundred six inch diameter trees into four inch diameters beating the bark off of them..

And ain't caught the first fish yet..

I went all the way to the back of Pierce's, and flipped a bunch of very shallow woods, plowing up mud, and found my flipping skills to be awesome.. Nada..

Then I went right past marker seven where that creek runs a few hundred yards to the east, with beautiful water in the eight to four foot range.. Nada.. Oh I had one whack a lizard but that was the highlight for that hour..

Then I went directly across to the hardwoods on the river channel out in front of Coyote.. Looked so good I spent an hour and a half there.. Fished from ten feet to three feet.. Nada..

Long and short of the story is that if there were any fish there, them motherfuckers had lockjaw..

Rarely has the Plum Ol Monster left me not smelling like fish.. All I got was a good sunburn on my ears.

Reports from that day were poor according to most I talked to, but the few that caught fish caught them on rocks.. Still out deeper..

And a few reported off the dam.. Newsflash..

The crappie are still good.. And a lot of really nice fish. Thicker than a 2X4.. Brushpiles in ten feet or deeper and some fish on sharp breaks and little ledges. Pay attention to that fish finder..

Catfish have been most excellent according to Bill and Ted.. Shrimp and cut shad are both catching a lot of great eating size fish and the occasional 10 or 20 pound "Oh Shit" fish..

The white bass, which should be congregating in the upper end of the lake, have been hard to come by in any numbers.. Of course we have very little water flow in the river, and fishing north of the water intake near Beacon is pretty dicey as there just ain't much water in there.

And I definitely do not recommend trying to get much north of there as you are just looking to end up stuck in the mud.

I am sure there are some whites up the river in the deeper holes below rocky rapids. But you ain't getting there without land access or a jet drive or airboat.

Now that I have told you about the stellar fishing, don't forget that there will be a Bass tournament here next weekend put on by Fishers of Men. First time here for them and registration will be at Beacon Lodge next Friday evening from four till seven O'clock. And you can still pre-register I do believe. Weigh in will be at the county ramp on Saturday afternoon.

I hear thru the grapevine that there are about twenty teams already signed up..

And I just got off the phone with tourney director Harry Stanley and he says he has gotten lots and lots of calls so it looks like we will have a decent turnout. You can call him for all the details at 361-237-0947.

Long term forecast looks a little better heading into next weekend.. I hope so..

Other than that, things remain status-quo around here, with water levels holding steady more or less. Nothing has changed with the launching procedures and we're still on the concrete ramp in Zapata.

We had .2 inches of rain yesterday, which has about brought us up to Zapata standards for February. At least for the last few years.

I am sure that as soon as the water warms a bit, these fish are going to spawn. When that is going to happen I do not know. But it will be soon I am sure..

I am sure a few have already, but it ain't many..

These fish are egged up and mean when you do catch one..

So get your ass down here when you can. We look forward to seeing you. And as always, if you have any questions about anything Falcon, give us a call..

See you on the water!

January 17, 2021: January has come and lit, and like usual, our weather has turned to shit.. Well someday's anyway..

Not that it has rained, but it has blew.. And Blew.. And them winds ain't been from the south..

High winds, high pressure, and blue bird skies when it quits.. Not the best of conditions down here where the bass like the water hot..

Water temps this week are not cold by most standards, but temps in the high fifties to start and warming to the low sixties is what we are dealing with..

And no doubt the fish know that it is winter.. And they also know that when the water temps rebound into the middle sixties it's time to get to makin babies.. And there is no doubt that on most any day you could find a big ass bass in the skinny water lookin for love.. Or something close..

We have three days here of warming air temps, with middle seventies today and the middle eighties on Tuesday and Wednesday. And we're also sitting on a full moon..

I'm thinking that there a few fish spawning as we speak.. But I don't think that we are anywhere near optimal conditions just yet.

But it is coming..

And so is another pretty cool air mass on Wednesday night.. But this is so typical for this time of year.. Just gotta enjoy the good days when we have em..

A few good fish were caught last week before this front blew through, but the last two days were not conductive for fishing. It was a no-go on Saturday with gusts to 40.. And yesterday was pretty calm and cold.. And reports I heard this morning were none too exciting..

I saw a few pics of fish with bloody tails last week, caught in less than six feet of water. You could catch a monster anytime. Or not..

Soft plastics are probably still best, but a slow rolled spinnerbait has caught some nice fish lately. And any bait could catch one in the right place at the right time.

It's your job to make the two intersect.

We don't have much for cover in the lake again this year. And fishing creek channel edges lined with brush and hardwoods is what I prefer when the spawn gets going..

But being we don't have much of that going on.. I'm looking for some creeks with some definition and some hardwoods. Being there is not a lot else in the form of cover for the fish to bed in and up against.

These fish will and do spawn up against the bases of standing wood and laydowns, and sometimes on the hard edges of rock with a foot or two of a miniature bluff.

How I long for the days of huisache and retama infested creeks.. It's coming.. I just don't know when..

Just hope I am still able to get my ass out there when it happens..

Two soft plastics to have rigged up are a five or six inch senko and a watermelon red lizard. Don't hurt any to have a little chartreuse dip on the tails..

A chartreuse and white spinner bait, and a square bill of your choice in a shad or perch pattern should also be laying on your deck..

Fish slow.. And then slow down.. At least till the water warms back up..

The crappie and catfish are still very good.. Same old places.. Crappie have been a bit spotty and sometimes you have to hop from brushpile to brushpile to get it done.. But man we have a class of fatties right now.. Pound and a half fish are very common with some up to two pounds mixed in.. Of course they are egg laden and not far from spawning either..

If you want to catch some whisker fish it is as easy as it has been in a while with lots of good eating size fish in the mix. Shrimp and stink bait have been very good on the river channel edges, and if you want to try for some bigger fish I recommend you catch some big ass shad or perch in a castnet, cut their heads off, and bait em hooked right thru the eyes with a circle hook.. Some really nice ones have been caught as of late..

Our water level has been hovering in the same four inch area, up and down for a long time.. Nothing has changed in launching conditions on either end of the lake..

If you are coming down and are not sure of the protocol, stop in and we'll give you the skinny on what and where.. But it is no sweat.

I reckon of course, that some folks are afraid to stick their head out of their shell these days. The government and news media certainly are going Chicken Little on us about the latest version of the Whoohan.

I am sick and tired of this shit and I am done with all of it..

What the fuck is the point of testing millions of non-symptomatic folks.. Unless you are using that as a reason to keep all of society scared of their own shadow and to keep more businesses from operating..

I have heard that there is a shortage of tampons due to the major outbreak of people being diagnosed as pussies..

You know, I might get this shit and die.. But I don't think so Tim..

And why wouldn't there be a surge in positive tests for this shit. Millions of people that have it, show no, or next to no symptoms.. But they're getting tested.. Cause Big Brother said so..

I've got an idea.. Since lots and lots of teachers don't want to go back to work, or their union doesn't want em to, and they all want to do virtual teaching..

Why don't we get rid of all of the teachers except for about fifty in each state.. All kids at all schools could stay at home and learn on a state run website. All sixth grade kids could have the same math teacher.. All the trig students could have the same teacher.. Yada Yada Yada..

Send each kid a new laptop every two years..

Then we could quit building these Taj Mahal schools, get rid of 99% of teachers salaries, most administrative salaries, school police forces, buses and drivers, street crossing guards, school zone flashing lights, cafeteria workers, custodians, and all of the retirement plans.

And that's just a start..

We could also cut school taxes by 90%..

Think of the possibilities..

You and I both know that is never going to happen.. "Education" is an industry.. And often times an industry that does not turn out a very good product.. And these days it appears to be just as much an indoctrination..

But what government controlled entity is efficiently run and good at what it does?

Please e-mail that list to me at the address above..

I'm not hatin on teachers.. Got a few in the family including my daughter.

But the system is about as fucked up as a milenial's checkbook..

OK I'm done with that for now..

Gonna hit the water the next couple of days I hope, and I'll report..

And I'm gonna teach them fish a thing or two..

See you on the water..

January 7, 2022: It's a week into the new year and the new year has brought us come cooler weather and a reminder that we are a long way from being through with winter.

Matter of fact the son of a bitch just started last Sunday.. And yes the wind blew and the shit flew... And it took us a few days to get back to some more reasonable weather. Just in time for yesterday's front to roll thru..

But.. Tuesday was a so-so day on the water with bluebird skies and cooler water.. And Wednesday and yesterday were much improved according to a few folks I talked to.

And this shit is so typical for this time of year.. Bout the time the fish get going another front blows in and who the hell knows what is going to happen.

That's about the way it goes, and tomorrow is going to be much warmer and on Sunday we are supposed to be back in the low eighties..

Till Sunday night when the next motherfucker rolls in..

If you live here it is easy to cherry pick your days.. But if you're headed here from out of town, and it has been scheduled for a while, you just never know what you are going to get..

No pattern change that I know of since I last wrote. But senkos have been selling good.. Like I said last week.. Mardi Gras or something with gold in it is a good choice..

Fishing a little slower when the water cools is a good idea, and yesterday morning saw water temps in the lower sixties, getting up to about 66 by late afternoon.

And I will go out on a limb and say that with the two fronts we are dealing with this week we will see temps in the low and mid sixties for the next week for sure.. I don't see any extremes mentioned in any forecast one way or the other in the near future..

Best fishing has been in the later afternoons this week I hear. So sleep in and have a big breakfast and I doubt it will cost you too many fish.

The lake level has stayed about that this week.. We are sitting at 258.43 as I type.. No change in the launching procedures at either end of the lake..

It's all good..

Hey don't forget that there is an open tournament coming up here later in the month. Fishers of Men will open their southern swing in Texas on January 29th. It is a team tourney and for more info you can call the director for our area, Harry Stanley, at 361-237-0947.

There will be five tournies in the division, with two at Falcon, two at Choke, and one at Amistad. Check out their website for info and membership info. Might be something you want to consider..

Registration will be at Beacon Lodge on Friday evening before the event..

Weigh in will be at the county ramp.. Come join the fun..

Do any of yall need any cats? I am having a cat problem around my house.. I have a cat.. I love cats.. But a half dozen extras, fightin', fuckin', eating all my cats food, and pissing on everything I own is getting a little out of hand..

And these bastards are wilder than a shithouse rat..

And I am wondering if I can get any Kitty Credits.. You know.. Like Carbon Credits..

Like when Al Gorithim flies from one of his mansions to another on his private jet.. But then washes his underwear in the sink to offset the energy he used in the jet by not using the washing machine..

You see it is a trade out thing..

And I am thinking I can whack a few of these motherfuckers, and leave the wild sombitches alone out at the ranch that live around the barns.. That should be a good trade out.. They are not an endangered species at either location..

Matter of fact I think I have some credits stored up cause I ain't put the smackdown on any of em in...

We don't have much for animal control down here in our parts.. Mostly we don't have any.. No money for it and it can open a can of worms when it comes to irresponsible animal owners and their critters..

You can pass all the laws and restrictions you want.. But some folks just don't give a shit..

I don't want to get in any trouble for relocating cats.. Cause if you harm an animal in today's world you can go to prison for life..

Seems strange that you can kill a baby in the womb, but if you kill a cat or a dog, then that's it motherfucker, up the river you go..

Wonder if I can learn to give a cat a coat hanger abortion like all the liberals talk about that humans are being forced into because of the restrictive over-reaching hand of government in our state..

But I digress.. All I want is less feral cats messing up my property and waking me up at night with their nocturnal battle cry's..

Maybe a big bowl of Gato Guisada..

What are cat skins bringing these days?

Anyway.. Just wondering..

Well it is Friday afternoon and this is where the fun begins.. Least I hope so..

Come see us. You won't see any cats on the water.. Except a few Basscats..

And damn few of those.. Plenty of room for you fish in un crowded waters..

See you on the water..

January 3, 2022: Yeah.. I typed 2021 the first time.. I'm sure that won't be the last time the backspace key gets used..

I use mine so much anyway it just says _ _ _ce.. But it is one I can land on without looking..

Happy new year to you and welcome to 2022.. I just hope it in not 2021 2.0

We ended the year with biting fish the last ten days, and I mean a drastic improvement over what was happening. What changed I have no idea.. All I know is that the fish were biting and I wasn't about to question it.

And they were still biting good on Saturday and I even got in on a piece of the action.. Although my fishing buddy kicked my ass..

To include a seven pounder.. But I did catch the last two..

We caught a good number of fish on the dam.. Along with about eight other boats of our closest friends.. And some were really close.. And a couple of them really had no manners.. Which is kinda unusual down here..

And while we fished we saw a lot of the other fishermen catch fish as well..

We caught em on a spinnerbait, a crankbait, a lizard, and a senko.. And on a last cast scenario in the Tigers I caught one on a Chatterbait..

The dam is certainly holding some quality fish. I have heard of at least a dozen fish over six pounds down there this last week, to include several eights and a 9-8.. Caught the same day I was out.. Just two hours later.. Same spot..

If I was from out of town I would fish that thing all day long.. Sooner or later... You gonna stick a good one..

These fish are in a foul mood as well.. You cannot believe how hard they pull.. It ain't over till they're out of the water and I think they can pull drag in mid-air.. Even the little bastards..

We had our first real cold front blow in yesterday, and I mean it blew.. We went from about 90 degrees on Saturday to a low of about 26 this morning. My tomatoes that carried over from the spring, which were loaded with beauties.. No more.. Dammit..

Until the deep freeze we had last year, we hadn't had a real freeze in three years..

Water temps were 68-70 degrees on Saturday, but I am sure this took six or eight degrees off the top.. We'll see..

And we'll see what it does to the fish..

We had had no semblance of winter down here till this weekend.. Well maybe now the bass will at least get the idea that it is winter time.. And the thought of spawning won't be far away..

Of course once again we do not have any real cover for the prodigy to hide in.. Other than man made brush piles that are fairly prevalent.. But nothing like having the shoreline covered with flooded bushes.. Which we ain't seen in a few years..

We should cut down every tree and bush within 100 yards of the bank and throw it into the lake.. They'll grow back in a year..

If the water won't come to the bushes, we need to take the bushes to the water..

Same difference..

In any case, I can promise you that it will not be very long till there are some bass up shallow doing their thing.. Might be some already.. But I can't say that I have seen much evidence of fish on the nest.. Yet..

The crappie and catfish are still excellent, for those in the know.. Catfish are easy.. If you have locations on brushpiles so are the crappie.. Of course Livescope or the like makes it much simpler.. But anyone who can read a good side imaging unit should have no trouble finding some brushpiles.

Most of us who put out brush, tend to put it on drops or the end of points or hard breaks.. You will shortcut your search if you watch your map and start on those..

Of course I have found brushpiles on wide open deep flats.. And they hold fish as well.. More crappie than bass I believe.. And sometimes the white bass and catfish will take em over..

It's good to have a bunch of freckles on your GPS.. Gives you a lot of options when things are slow..

In any case, fishing has been as good as it has been in months, if the weather don't fuck it up..

We do have another front coming later this week, but it is not as severe as the one that just passed..

These fish DO NOT like cold water, but we ain't there yet..

And we'll see if we are going to have a real winter that just started late, or if we are just going to skip it this year.. And I'm all for that..

I promise to be back before the end of the week to let you know what this front has done to the fishing.. But there just ain't nobody out today.. We'll see..

And we'll see you then..

December 17, 2021: Two weeks left in the year. Hard to believe.. The older I get the faster they seem to go by..

And once you get to my age, you gotta admit that if I ain't in the fourth quarter, I'm damn sure late in the third..

But we'll take it one day at a time. Cause that's the way they give em out..

It's been 4,016 days since we have been at full pool.. Give or take a few days.. Sounds like a hell of a long time when you put it in that perspective.. I guess cause it is!

But we all know it takes a hell of a disaster to fill this baby up.. I'd settle for a half of a disaster and give us twenty feet..

We have however held steady for the last month, and today we are still sitting at 258.79. Bout the same as last month, just about a tenth of a foot higher now.. At least we ain't had to move the dock out anymore..

So putting your boat in has not changed any.. Still on concrete here in Zapata and off the bank at a couple of very workable spots down at the state park.

Bass fishing has been pretty spotty as of late. Some decent days and some shitty days.. There is so much bait in the water I am surprised you can get a bite at all.

Most fish lately have been on sloping rocky points or on sloping humps in the three to fifteen foot range..

Crankbaits you can crank down em have been decent, and dragging a Carolina rig in the same areas can also get you bit.. But we are not going out and catching thirty fish. It just ain't happening.

This week there were damn few fishermen on the water. But I did hear of a nine and a few sevens caught. But if you averaged it out.. Well I am not sure of the man hours it would take to catch a whopper..

Could be ten minutes or never.. But that is fishing I reckon..

The pattern here has not really changed in the last two months.. Rocks and brushpiles... Rocks and brushpiles...

The water temp yesterday was 72°, and you would think that the fish should be pretty active. Maybe they are.. Eating anything with scales..

I'm telling you with Livescope you can see clouds of fish and bait everywhere.. What the hell they all are is a good question..

I'm waiting for the new Species ID units to come out. So I can be really freaking frustrated when I still can't catch em..

You would think with all the advancements in technology they would come out with a DNA scanner that could discern all the fish types..

They could call it the DNA Ray.. Coming to a store near you soon.. Probably before we get that Star Trek transporter thingy working..

Till then I guess we'll just have to stick to the ol' frogman on a rope trick..

I have heard of a few jig fish lately, and that might be something I need to try. I don't know why I hate throwing one.. I must own a couple of hundred.. And I ain't got one wet in a year..

Maybe it is because these rocks eat them like a fat kid eats candy.. (Can you say 'fat kid' anymore?) Please excuse me if I am not politically correct.. Or not..

Long and short of it is that you can still catch some quality fish.. But you got to put in the time..

Status Quo..

Christmas is only eight days away.. If any of us live that long.. And the pandemicrats are certainly pushing the latest version of the Whoohan virus as the Omicron wave sweeps the planet.

We are already up to one life lost in Brittany I hear.. Make sure your will is up to date..

And not to belittle the death of anyone.. But this shit is ridiculous..

And you're telling me that they are testing everybody for this new variant? Horseshit..

"Confirming that a suspected case is Omicron requires a full genetic analysis which takes between four and five days."

(Credit BBC news)

You think if Jimmie Bendele goes to the local test facility of his choice they are going to dedicate that kind of time and effort for me?

I don't think so Tim..

I may get the shit and die tomorrow.. If that is the divine plan then so be it. I am not going to run to get a booster shot every two months when the next panic warning is issued.. I got two.. If that don't do it then I don't think the next go round will either..

Of course this is still America and to each his own..

Oh shit I forgot.. Now the rule in America is that some of you could lose your way of providing for your family if you decide to end the pincushion routine..

While thousands of invaders are welcomed into our country and shipped all over the states at your expense without ever asking them if they have been vaccinated..

But you better not try to get on an airplane without shots or a face blanket motherfucker..

Ok Ok enough hostility.. It is Christmas time after all..

And We wish you and yours a Merry Christmas..

I hope you get to spend some quality time with those you wish to..

And keep in mind the reason for the season as they say..

Jesus Christ came, and lived, and died.. For You..

And I hope you will join me with him after this time on earth is done..

Ain't none of us getting out of here alive..

But if you are a believer in Christ, you know that you will live forever after our time here on earth is done.

Amen..

December 7, 2021: December 7th.. A day that is still living in infamy. Eighty years ago and I think in another eighty this day will still be remembered as one of the saddest days in American history..

But sometimes I think with the way American society is going these days we might just re-write that day as well.

God I hope not.. I'm still pissed at the Japs.. You might take some time today to remember the men and women who lost their lives that day.

I have had the fortune to visit Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial a couple of times, and it is one of the most somber places I have ever been.. Mixed in with all the beauty of Hawaii it is easy to forget what happened there eighty years ago..

I hope we never do. God rest their souls and all that have ever laid their lives down for their fellow Americans..

It is a debt we can never repay..

Meanwhile, here in Zapata, eighty years later, we are enjoying what those folks died for..

Fishing is excellent.. Catching can be a little challenging on some days..

There are still damn few fishermen down here, and on an average day we are seeing five or ten boats at the county ramp, and more or less that same at the state park. So fishing in a crowd is pretty much unheard of.

Of course the Tigers are still attracting the lions share of fishermen. The rocky banks and ledges still seem to be holding some decent numbers of fish, but finding them grouped up is a challenge. If you catch two or three fish off a single spot you are doing pretty good. Occasionally you will land on a school of similar sized fish.. But it ain't been real common..

Keep moving if you ain't gettin bit and don't be afraid to throw some different baits.

I fished last Thursday and most of the fish I caught were around brushpiles. I only caught a handful and then I caught some whopper crappie in the same piles of brush.

And I think I caught as many bass as I did crappie when I was using the spinning pole.. Seems the bass are liking the tiny baits bettern' the bigguns..

I still did best on a 5" Senko.. But a few folks are fishing a drop shot and a Ned rig and doing better than me.. I however am pretty hard headed and have been throwing a Carolina rig and a crankbait..

I did catch a nice fish out of a big hardwood.. Unfortunately it was a blue cat.. But for a minute there I really thought I had something going..

The lake is pretty much holding steady, and water temps are hovering around 70°.

Water clarity on the upper end of the lake is still off color, but certainly not too the point of being un fishable. Around marker nine it looks a lot better, and some decent bass are coming off rockpiles and ledges here on this end of the lake. One of my buddies is still catching fish here in the Veleno by throwing a squarebill or a mid-runner along the rocky ledges near the boat ramp..

Water clarity from Pierce's south is good. Tigers looks awesome, as does the water on the rest of the lake towards the dam.

I fished Pierce's the last two times I have been out, but it has not been too good to me as of late.. Looks awesome.. But ain't fishing that way.

Crappie fishing has been excellent, and the guys that are chasing them daily or often are catching some really nice fish.

I took some to an old man that can't really fish anymore last Thursday and he said, "Man. These fish have really growed up!"

Lots of nice fatties out there..

Of course most of these fish are living around the brushpiles. I have caught some lately on sharp ledges and you can see them there on your electronics if you pay good attention.. Most of them I have just stumbled over while looking for brush on same..

Had some guys down last weekend who put out jug lines for catfish, and they really smacked em. Some forty plus sized fish as well. And a lot of fish in the ten pound range.

They used fresh cut carp which is always a good bet. You can buy all you want from the Mexican netters.. Just find a boat in the middle of the lake and they will be glad to fix you up.. A twenty will get you a bunch of bait..

Christmas is only a few weeks away, and I can't believe that we have another year shot in the ass..

And I ain't going to say that it has been a good year.. Some folks might say that it has but I reckon it is all relative.

But somehow we are still here.. Despite the Whoohan.. Despite an American government that seems hell bent on destroying the economy, and scaring you into hiding in your house.

I wonder if they have already got names for the next three or four of the Whoohan variants..

You gotta scratch your head when you see what some states and local governments are letting pass as acceptable behavior.

Like taking ten of your best buddies and ransacking a store of your choice..

And these sumbitches ain't stealing bread and baloney..

Makes you wonder why any one would want to try to do business there.. Many stores have been closed due to selective law enforcement and the fact that the government is paying people to sit on their ass..

Hard to operate if you can't get help.. Hard to operate when your store is being looted during normal business hours..

What does that say about America..

To these brazen motherfuckers who have no fear of reprisal? No consequences.. No deterrent..

And what about the shitheads, some in government, that say this is just a part of doing business in America today..

I don't fuckin think so, Skippy..

I'm pretty sure that the policy here at Falcon Lake Tackle is not to just let people walk out of here with a bag full of shit without paying for it.. I'm pretty sure there will be consequences..

I was talking about incrementalism the other day.. And we did not get to this point overnight.

The first thing we changed was the language we used.. We didn't want to hurt any little snowflake's feelings..

We used to say Third World Countries.. AKA shitholes.. Now we call them developing countries..

I have been in a few darkrooms.. And I think you better dip them back in the solution cause what is coming to light sucks..

Have you seen our congress in action?

Instead of calling a fellow member a fucking liar, they say he used "A lack of candor.."

No.. He's a fucking liar..

What now qualifies as a misdemeanor is appalling.. People let out of jail to re-offend time after time..

We used to call it Grand Theft Auto..

Guess what it is called now? Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle..

What the fuck is that? You stole my fuckin' car..

Are we going to start calling rape the unauthorized use of a vagina?

Words have meaning, and dammit some folks need to get a dictionary.. Call a spade a spade so maybe people will understand what someone else is trying to tell them..

And then maybe someone might understand the seriousness of the situation..

There are asses that need to be kicked.. But as a society of pussies I guess we just don't do that anymore..

And therein lies our problem..

And till we put some teeth back in the dog, we're going to be just all bark..

Pull your head out of your ass America.. There's still time.. But it's running out..

If we don't do something soon, instead of calling other countries third world, we'll be one of them..

Promising indeed...

See you on the water..

November 27, 2021: Not much left of the turkey around here, and that ain't a bad thing.. They got them big tomahawk pork chops on sale down here and I see a diet change a commin' for me..

I already eat enough chicken to keep Tyson in the black.. And now my once a year contribution to Butterball is over..

Back to normal levels of consumption, and a kinda gout friendly diet..

Some folks look at girlie magazines and lust.. I just look at the Omaha Steaks website..

We had our pretty much normal family gathering.. Thirty something people in Mama's kitchen.. Or it seemed like it.. I'm sure we weren't all in there.. But there were times it seemed like it..

Calorie and noise levels were high..

But back here in Z town things kinda remain the same. No big influx of fishermen for the long holiday weekend, but we did see a few.. But overall it is very quiet down here..

It has been kinda breezy and cool the last few days, and this AM we have a few sprinkles around, making it less than a perfect day for fishing.. But we have some good days coming this week..

Most folks around here are more interested in finding a box of 243 shells than a bag of worms..

The lake level is sitting at 258.84, and that ain't much different than it was last week.. Maybe up a hair.. But not enough to change anything.. Launching and running the lake has not changed..

Still easy to do.. With a good attitude..

Several good fish have been caught lately, but the numbers of fish are varying widely.. Some folks are catching good numbers of fish on the nice days, and others are struggling. And usually there are a few five to six or seven pound fish mixed in. And an occasional whopper..

Like this 9.84 Matt Reed caught this week..

We have this phenomena that occurs down here once in a while.. And I have seen it a few times over the years. We go thru a stretch where a lot of the fish's fins, and shading on their bodies, is orange tinted and sometimes strikingly so..

This fish was caught last week as were several others with fin color we'll call Sunny Delight..

Lotsa times we catch deep or dirty water fish that are as white as a paper towel. And sometimes we catch fish that have a really yellow hue to their fins.. But this orangy color is kinda cool..

Maybe all the orange trees that froze last year that got turned into brush piles... Nah.. Hell if I know..

Mother nature does some weird things, and this is another one of them..

Crankbaits in the ten or twelve foot range are still good.. As are drop shotted small plastics like a trick worm or a fluke.. Or a wacky rigged senko.

Man I could copy and paste this report for the last month..

Get out there and fish rocks.. And rocks with brushpiles on them.. You're gonna catch em sooner or later..

We don't have much for vegetation in the water these days.. Unless we put it there. Hardwoods and brushpiles and man made structures, which I have stumbled over here and there, are about the only cover in the lake.

And I can't say enough about the effectiveness of the brushpiles to concentrate the fish.

And I can't say enough about the brushpiles effectiveness in protecting a lot of the little fish. Which I personally really believe has helped with survival of a lot of small bass.

Right now we are not catching a lot of little fish, but this last summer there were days in the Tigers when you could sit on a point and catch a ten incher every cast with a squarebill.

Where them little bastards are right now I have no clue.. But I am pretty sure they are now about legal size and cormorant proof..

Speaking of which.. Still not a fucking thing has been done about these vermin, and we have a very healthy population of them here right now..

You know, every year or so I raise a stink about them, and I am fed a bunch of shit about how we (TPWD) are working on it.. Just be patient..

I'll probably go to my grave with these son-of -a-bitches thicker than ever..

I don't think there are any aspects of government I have any faith in any longer..

And now I find out that Sharelunker ain't working either..

Dammit.. I had so much hope for that program.. If Hollywood can turn a Volkswagen into a twelve foot tall robot, PAW should be able to turn a perch into a twenty pound piranasaurus..

And they won't need any grease zerks..

Just stir them gene thingies around a little bit, scare the small genes out of the petri dish, and bing bang you got yourself a brand new species of bass that will all weigh over twenty pounds..

Should be simple.. Now that AI is running the world.

Hey, I seen the commercials..

While I am on the subject, how can AI be smarter than man, if man created it? Or maybe it is just smarter than a lot of men?

But not smarter than our smartest men.. Or a collaboration of our smartest men?

But looking around, and you don't have to look too far, a moldy banana is smarter than a lot of men..

And a lot of those men.. Well they ain't really men..

Well we covered a lot of subjects there pretty quickly.. And there are a lot of inferences you can read into that last little bit..

And there is no doubt that the world is now being run by computers, idiots, communists, and pussies..

How did it get this way?

Incrementalism..

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

And that is the way our country is being destroyed.. One bite at a time..

And if we don't make it taste bad pretty soon, we will be devoured completely as the bites get bigger and bigger.

Your choice America..

Inform yourself..

Speak up..

Vote..

Get involved..

Or maybe you like the way our country is headed..

Naw. Probably not.. Or you wouldn't be reading this motherfucker..

Well get you ass down here and do some fishing.. We have more law enforcement here than you can imagine.. So don't speed.. And don't worry..

Couldn't be safer in your mothers arms.. (well mostly..)

See you on the water!

November 19, 2021: Fall has begun across the state of Texas, and here in Zapata it has arrived as well. Albeit we are about last on the schedule when it comes to actually feeling like fall.. But it has happened here as well..

We are seeing water temps in the middle to high seventies on warm afternoons, and the fish have noticed it as well.

We still have few fishermen to talk to, but the report over all is that the fish have become more active and a decent number of quality fish have been brought to the boat as of late. Five and six pound fish are pretty common with an occasional whopper mixed in.

Larry Shadrick has been whacking them pretty good, and last week he caught this 11.35 fattie..

He is one of our winter Texans that whacks em every year and if you frequent this site you have seen his smiling face before.. I'd be smiling too! Next time we'll get the camera in the same zip code as the fish!

We have several snowbirds that have been spending a lot of time on the water and their results have been pretty decent on a daily basis.. Of course they have been hitting it pretty hard and done their homework.

But it is nothing you can't do as well.

Some big fish have come on crankbaits that run in the ten to twelve foot range, fished on rocky edges and over humps. Like usual, rock is the key.

There is scads of bait hanging around these drop offs, and if you have one of them newfangled Livescope dealies it is amazing how much bait, and fish are roaming around out in the deeper water..

I am surprised you can even get a bite.

Soft plastics are also catching some fish, and truthfully a smaller bait on a shakey head or a drop shot is a damn good choice on those rocky edges and worked across the tops of humps and down their slopes.

I of course start on the bank and drag em out to that ten to fifteen foot depth. Somewhere in there you are going to figure out what depth they prefer on that particular day.

Last time I was out I caught as many shallow as I did deep.. So hell if I know but it does sound like the better fish are out a bit.

I am an admitted bank beater of course, and I always start there.. Fish in the trees are scattered, but it sounds like some fish have started to hold on a few hardwoods.. But not tons of em..

And this year overall the fish just did not relate to the trees.. Much to my disdain..

The lake has held steady for the last ten days, maybe coming up a few hundreth's.. We got missed by some good rain just to the east of us yesterday, but the valley got whacked in places and that should help us hold onto what we have for a while at least..

Release rates are low the last few days and should remain so.. But you never know with these folks..

Launching at the state park remains the same, with a couple of good spots to put in.. Both are off the bank, but it is no step for a stepper.. Here in Zapata the big ramp is working for smaller boats, but if you putting in a big bass boat it is best to launch on the ramp on the point to the west of the main ramp. It is concrete and you can launch any boat there.. We are working on getting the dock moved out there.. Will advise, when and if it happens..

The crappie in the brushpiles have been very good, mostly in water twelve to twenty feet deep. Small plastic jigs in Monkey Milk or Devils Grin have been good.. You can catch em on most anything, but those two colors are always good.

Matt Reed has been doing some half and half trips and tearing them a new asshole.. But any of the guides can also put you on some crappie if you ask..

I crappie fished a bit the other day and caught as many bass out of them brushpiles as as I did Sac-a-lait. So when you're sneaking up on that brush it is a good idea to drag a craw worm or a senko thru it first..

Also lends creedence to the theory that a bass will eat anything no matter how small.. If it's easy and he or she is in the mood anyway..

But somedays you cain't get em to eat anything..

If you're looking for a tournament or two to fish down here this spring, I am happy to tell you that the Fishers of Men will be hosting two tourneys here after the first of the year.

They will be team events and entry fees will be $150 per team. You and your partner will have to become a member like most all trails. I think it is forty dollars a head to join..

But these two contests will be part of the South Texas division which is new for this year. It was supposed to start last year but like with a lot of things Covid messed it up..

There will be five tourneys in the series, with two being held at Falcon, two at Choke, and one at Amistad..

Falcon is first on the schedule with January 29th being the opener.. Second Falcon tourney is on April 30th.

Their website will will be updated shortly with details but I have heard that there will be a meal served at registration on Friday before the tournament and Beacon Lodge will be hosting..

For more info contact Harry Stanley at 361-237-0947

Or e-mail him at Hstanley@fomntt.com

Heck this could get me out of retirement..

Thanksgiving is only six days away, and we are already being inundated with Christmas commercials and dogs and candy playing Jingle Bells.

I'll be 66 on Thanksgiving day, and out of the 66 that I have crawled or walked on this earth, this has been about the most shit covered collection of months that I can remember.

And it ain't over yet.. And currently I have about more on my plate than I can say grace over. But I'll make it through.

And I will remember that a lot of folks have it a lot worse than me..

And I hope that you are not one of them..

And I will continue to be Thankful, for all that I do have.. And do not have..

And I hope that you and your family have a great Thanksgiving as well!!

We'll be closed on Thanksgiving day, but I'll be here bright and early on Friday morning to help you in any way I can..

We look forward to seeing you soon!

November 4, 2021: Things are looking up around here, as we made a major discovery last night.

It CAN rain in Zapata County.. And it did.. And while it is not a lake level changer per se, we did get 2.75 inches of wonderful wetness last night.. And man were we overdue..

I can't recall the last time we had any rain of consequence, at least without looking, but it has been months..

That's it. I gotta go look..

Ok. We got 2.60 on the 7th of July.. Few little sprinkles that disappeared by noon the next day in between..

Thank you Lord for every drop..

Of course this rain came in with a frontal boundary, and today looks like the beginning of winter around here.. I'm wearing jeans and I just hate this shit..

I'm already cold..

I fished yesterday, after not being on the water in weeks.. And it was good to get out and it was about the most pleasant day you could imagine.. Warm and low winds.. No foam in your Big Red..

I started out chunking a crankbait here in the Veleno because I heard from several folks that they have been catching them pretty regular in there..

After about 45 minutes I had one come unbuttoned and and foul hooked a Plecostomis..

Maybe I fell for the hype..

This is what the old Bridge looks like for your reference..

Still about eight feet deep right beside the end of the bridge.. Run close to it as there is a rock pile directly behind me where this pic was taken.

So I headed south cause I wanted to see what the lake looked like running from the north end. And while the lake is a little skinny up here on top, it is no problem getting from one end to the other.

Run the channel and be on the the lookout for misplaced trees.. But no sweat..

I fished in Pierce's for a bit, and headed to Tigers after about a thirty minute stint in there..

I fished mostly rocks, and a few trees.. Not shallow, not deep, but I did catch a couple in Tigers that were in less than two feet of water.. So yeah I guess you could say that I did fish shallow but I concentrated on the eight to ten foot stuff..

Throwing a crankbait and a senko..

I caught two fish flipping hardwoods real close to each other.. Which cost me another hour fishing trees cause I knew they were in em..

Not..

I fished from 8:30 till 1:00 and I boated five or six bass, two crappie, a white bass, and a plecostomus. And had a couple come unhooked off a square bill and missed a couple on the Texas rigged senko..

I think my reaction time on the soft plastics sucked.. First fish I actually caught was about to shit the bait out already..

And I distinctly remember saying to myself, "That was a fish, you idiot.."

Anyway.. Old and out of practice..

But I can still hang a door quicker than a cat can lick his ass.. Almost complete on my building project..

In any case it was good to get out on the water and enjoy a beautiful day..

There are a couple groups in town fishing this week, and they said the PM bite is certainly the best. And one group of guys said that yesterday evening the bass went crazy for about two hours till it was dark.

They were down by Government cove. They said not a lot of big fish but some every cast action for a while..

I ain't been in on any of that in a long time..

Most of those guys were throwing mid-running crankbaits like a 5XD or a Norman Deep Little N.

Tigers south is still the best.. And of course there is a lot more water down south, and the clarity is day and night difference compared to the top of the lake.

Young Rhyse here got to come to Falcon for his tenth birthday, and like usual, Mother Falcon is good to the younguns'.. He caught this fat 7.60 and you cain't get that smile off his face with a Brillo Pad..

I have seen several pics of eight pounders lately, but no DD's have been claimed by any fishermen I have talked to in several weeks.. But it won't be long till they get up and get busy..

I, like a lot of you, remember the days a few years back when a ten pounder was as common as a hickie on a high school chick.. They were everywhere..

But it has been several years since I have boated one, and I just count myself as one of the lucky ones that got to fish here a lot when it was full of big fish..

And I know it will be again.. But I am getting old.. I'd sure like to get in on another cycle or two. And honestly.. The sooner the better..

I don't know how many DD fish I caught. Truthfully I have no idea.. But just in one four year period I remember thinking that If I didn't catch one every two weeks or so, I was sure I was loosing my Mo-Jo..

Only once did I catch two weighed tens on the same day. But I can't count the number of days when fishing alone or with a partner or two, when we had six or eight fish over seven pounds..

It was that ridiculous..

And I took it all for granted..

I look back and tell myself I should have fished more..

But I don't think I could have.. And kept the door open at the store..

Now I have the same problem at the store.. But for a different reason..

Ah, the good old days.. Like the story goes.. The older I get, the better I was..

Not all things get better with time.. Typically things ebb and flow with a few peaks and valleys mixed in..We're certainly in a valley down here but one of these days we are going to be on the long end of the checkmark..

And you better have your shit ready when it happens..

I guess I wouldn't think it was this bad if I hadn't been spoiled by the holy fuckin' shit days..

Speaking of Holy Fuckin' Shit days, we might just be living in them..

Of course there are other ways to express it..

Here are some sentences that have been commonly heard in the store the last nine months..

Like, "Can you believe this fuckin shit?"

"Have you ever seen any fuckin shit like this?"

"This is the most fucked up shit I have ever seen.."

"Who would do some fuckin shit like this?"

"What stupid motherfucker came up with this shit?"

You get the idea.. And I think you'll have to agree we are firmly planted in the middle of a shit show developed by idiots with America the last name on the benefactor list..

I don't think we are on it at all..

I was glad to see the outcomes of the Governor's elections and down ballot results as well in Virginia and New Joisey..

Maybe a bit of a wake up call for the left.. But I doubt it.. And I would bet they continue their bullet train path to hell they are on. With zero peripheral vision..

Unaware and uncaring of what is probably now 60% of the populations opinion..

I think things are starting to change.. But as Conservatives we need to get everyone off their ass and out to vote at every opportunity.. And stomp a mudhole in these motherfuckers ass..

I hope this last Tuesdays results are only the beginning of things to come..

I have faith in you America!!

And one more thing.. Who in the fuck makes the absentee voting rules? Why in the fuck would an absentee vote be allowed to count if it comes in after the day of the election..

Don't give me no horseshit reason that I hadn't made up my mind till election day and I'm scared of my shadow and I don't want to come to the polling place.

If you hadn't made up your mind till then then you are too stupid to vote..

The reason Mail in ballots were started was for the old folks or people out of their state or country..

And we all know old folks don't fuck around and leave the vote laying on the kitchen table.. They mail it in.. Military and folks working abroad should have plenty of time to get votes in a week before the election..

Allowing votes that don't come in till tomorrow (this Friday) to count is ludicrous..

If I made the rules.. All absentee votes would have to be in and counted three days before the day of the election. We're already doing you a favor letting you vote absentee.. So you be so kind as to get off your ass and get it in early..

Leaving things as they are just sets the stage for cheating and the assertion of cheating..

This ain't rocket science... Fix it.. Fix it now.. No excuses..

Cause I ain't never seen no fuckin' shit like this...

But I hope to see you on the water..