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May 15, 2008: Things got a litttle bumpy here in Zapata yesterday evening, as we had a little disturbance move through town. I have been praying for rain, and I guess I did not be too specific about the type. We had a lot of "hard" rain, in the form of hail, some as big as quarters, most of it was about marble size. But we had a lot of liquid precipatation as well, and looking at the doppler images on the internet it looks like the area surrounding Zapata got about 2-4 inches, depending on your exact location. We are the Official National Weather Service Observation Post here in Zapata, and officially we had 1.36".. But I can tell you that you can't catch horizontal water in a vertical guage. We had wind gusts that made it to 63 miles and hour, and it was a sustained 45 for several minutes. Of course as dry as it has been we got the mud rain first, a real pleasure for contact lens wearers. There was plenty of Mother Earth in the air. I was just wondering what the waves around marker 5 were looking like. But I don't mind not being there personally.

We were just sitting in the shop, minding our own business, smoking a cigar and a couple of briskets, when all this crazyness started. One of the tools that came with the shop when we bought it was this whiskey barrel/smoker/mesquite disposal unit. Works awesome with a minimum ammount of wood.

But we were darn glad to have a rain, no matter the style.. Since before the first of the year we have had a trace, and then a big rain of .29/100ths back in April. A lot of the rain fell in the watershed, so we might see a small influx in the lake level. The Veleno should put some water in the lake, as it rained prettty good all the way to Bustamante. We'll see.. The release rates from Amistad are back at minimal flood stage in Del Rio. They are letting about 7000 cfs out of Falcon, and about 10,500 cfs out of Amistad. I have no idea what the reasoning for the releases are, I just hope the rain will help shut down the outlet rates from Falcon. If you want to see a little Zapata storm video send me an e-mail and I'll send you a clip.

This is supposed to be a fishing report I suppose.. So I will pass along the same old thing I have been saying for weeks. The fish are biting in all areas of the lake. There are shallow fish if you want to flip. There deep fish if you like dragging a Carolina rig. And there are worm fish and crank bait fish all over the lake.. It is very common these days to see a lot of shad busting fish up in the shallows, especially early and late. And some of these are in the five pound class on occasion, but mostly two to four pound fish. And they are fun to catch. Big crankbaits are really doing well on the ends of long points. Bringing your bait with the current/wind is always a good idea. When you feel your bait starting to dig the gravel, or bounce off the rocky bottom, you know you are in the right place. And the same holds true for the worm fishing. Find rocky areas, especially isolated ones, and find fish. These fish will tell you where they are if you keep your eyes open. Here's another tip from one of the local guides.. There are a lot of fish in the brush lines just off the main river channel between the Veleno and marker eight. Give it a try.

Guide Gary Harlan also had a good trip yesterday, and he droppped off a pic of a double they caught. Sorry I missed the fishermans name.

We weighed a couple of good fish for some folks yesterday, but none of them made it to the double didgit club. We do have a certified scale here at FLT so if you ever catch a whopper and want an official weight BEFORE YOU RELEASE HER, we will be glad to meet you at the county ramp and weigh it for you. Just give us a call.

Charlie Haralson guided a group from Chicago yesterday and they caught a boat load of fish also.. What else can I say?? Get here if you can.. This Pic is from the previous day.

We are starting a recycling program here at the shop, and if it were beer....errr...Big Red cans we could keep it full all the time.. But we are wanting you to drop off your used plastics here in our recycle bin. It is good for the enviroment, good for the lake, and the fish don't need to be eating these things off the lake bottom. And we want to play with remelting some of it. So don't throw it in the lake or the trash, throw it at us..

May 13. 2008: The lake is continuing its three inch a day drop, but it seems that it has the fish all turned on. Charlie Haralson stopped by the store the last few days after they got off the water, and they are catching 75-100 fish a day. But every fisherman who comes to Falcon right now is experiencing some of the best fishing ever, anywhere... Good fishermen are catching big numbers of fish, and regular old guys like me are catching lifetime stringers.

The air temps are brutal, as today it was 105 plus.. If you come remember your sunblock.. Good sunblock.. Not water babies 15.. We have a product here called Pre-Sun.. It is alcohol based and it is Falcon tested..

Bring some light colored light cloth long sleeved shirts. Bring a hat that covers your ears. And take a lot of water along. It is really easy to get dehydrated down here, especially if you are not used to the south Texas heat.

And one more thing.. When you handle our fish please do not keep them out of the water for too long. It is very likely that you might catch a lifetime fish here right now. Please don't drag her on your carpet.. Kiss her quickly if you must. Weigh her and take her picture as quickly as possible and get her back in the water..

Your camera and scale should be at the ready.. Not burried somewhere under the fire extinguisher and toilet paper. I figure that keeping a a eight poud fish out of the water for two minutes is akin to holding an eighty year old mans head under the water for two minutes.. The chances are not too good for survival. We need your help to to keep our fishery healthy. And we appreciate your efforts to do the same.. We look forward to seeing you!

May 12, 2008: I know it has bee a few days since I've written, but I have been trying to figure out how to make bailing wire roll off a baitcast reel. I haven't had too much luck as of yet, but I have not broken off a single fish since I started using it on my Doodlesocking rig. I just have it twisted around the end eye on my Falcon "El Toro" and it is a fish fetchin machine.. I did not know it but bailing wire has almost zero stretch and when fished in the trees it looks just like a branch.. It does have a bit of a memory problem though..

I know in the past I have embellished the facts on occasion, but only to improve the "tellability" of a story.. But I always use the facts. Abjectives, pronouns, and descriptive modifiers are my sandbox. Hell I've even invented a noun ot two..

So when I tell you that the fishing is "Sick" I hope you know what I mean.

Every guide in our stable is whacking the fish.. And I mean a lot of fish. And I mean a lot of big freaking fish. Every fisherman in town is whacking the fish like they have been here all their lives.. I heard one catfisherman here today that said he was going to get a guide license.. Cause it has been that easy. Even my brother, who took his wife and son out yesterday, (it was Mother's fishing day) caught a nine, two fives, and had one on that could have eaten that nine, (This is that embellishment thing) from three to five O'clock in the Veleno.. I am not a witness to these fish, but he said it was true and they swore to it.. But like I said... ANYBODY can catch these fish right now.. Get down here! The fish are going nuts..

P.S. I will post some pics tomorrow of all the latest happenings.. I have been at My Moms for a day or two.. Hope you got to hang out with your Mom over the weekend. And a belated Happy Mothers Day to you!

It's not too late to call her!

P. S. S. The lake has dropped SIX INCHES in the last two days.. We are at 276.52 as I write this .. Looks like we'll give up the foot of water we caught last week in a hurry..

May 9, 2008: The fishing is so hot here that it caused the ambient air temperature to exceed 105 degrees yesterday. We had a report from a group of anglers that they had a fourty plus pound stringer yesterday, that included an 11.11 and a 9.5.. And then there was a little eight pounder mixed in. Sounds like a tough day.. Charlie Haralson was in the store this morning with some clients and he said that yesterday they had over a hundred fish between him and his two co-fishermen. And a bunch of good fish mixed in.

The summer pattern is getting into full swing, with fish really starting to stack up on deeper ledges and points, and if you have a brush pile or two in the lake it doesn't hurt either. The old rock piles on the main lake river channel are starting to collect some fish also, just like they always do this time of year. They have been a little spotty, but when they are on there, they are on there.

The Salado is really clearing up, and the fish have responded to the cleaner water. Easy twenty pound limits are catchable most any time of the day, fishing the tailing out points on the north side of the river, and the rocks up around Old Guerrero. The same can be said for most of the lake, if you just find some rocky structure in, or near some deep water. If you are a fan of the Salado, then right now is a great time to get in there and mark a lot of spots that you may not know about. It looks like the Rocky Mountains on the north bank. Maybe slightly smaller..

Most of the guides here are fishing deeper water, fifteen feet or more, and jigs and big worms are the order of the day. Some are Carolina rigging in the open water when the wind allows. But all of them are catching fish.

But with all that being said, there are still a lot of smaller fish in the shallow water, especially early and late. The topwater bite is still pretty slow, but you can catch a few early.

We fished Sugar yesterday, with decent results, but not what I would call great. There were some big fish on, and a few landed, but only one picture fish. We came back on Hwy 2 in Mexico and drove over the Falcon dam. There is no water coming out the flood gates anymore, but there is still a lot of water going through the turbines. We are at 277.34 this morning, or 23.68' low.

May 7, 2008: It's too bad that Benjamin Franklin didn't live in Zapata Texas.. Because as a kid, all he would have had to do was fly a kite, and I am sure he would have discovered electricity much sooner. And kite flying is about all that this weather has been good for down here.. I got my electricity bill yesterday, ($468.00) and I figure that if I had one of them wind turbines like in west Texas I could be getting all my electricity for free..

I guess by now you have figured out that it has been windy down here. And that would be an understatement. We have had a lot customers wondering around the store and talking about fishing. Because actually fishing was an uncomfortable proposition. But if we would have had any 72" trolling motor shafts in stock we could have sold em all.

There were a few brave souls that ventured out, and most of them tried to hide behind what ever you could, but I am sure they got a lot of foam in their Big Red. The wind is forecast to lay down towards this weekend, and it will be a good time for a trip, as there are no clubs coming to town that we know of.

The lake level is staying pretty steady, after catching almost a foot of water in the last two weeks. There were some good rains in Laredo and Eagle Pass, but the river has not really showed any rise that will ammount to anything. I heard that in SanYgnacio the water was running over the curbs.. wait a minute, there are no curbs in San Iggie.. Anyway, the fighting roosters were standing on their lean to roofs.. I called FEMA but the only one that showed up was Colonel Sanders..

And here in Zapata we actually smelled rain.. It was nice..

The lake is at 277.43, or 23.59 feet low. And water temps are running right at 79 degrees in the afternoons. The fishing, wind permitting, has been fantastic. If you can get down here then now is the time. I know that gasoline is crazy expensive, but add a third guy to the trip and get down here. Fishing three out of a big boat is no chore. But put a box of Band-Aids in the boat just in case someones ear invades a Ratletraps air space. It can happen.

We are still hearing of a lot of Rattlesnakes on the lake. This is the first time in a long time that I have heard this many reports of snakes on the water. That 7'11" cranking rod is starting to sound like a good idea.. Maybe they can make a movie about it.. "Snakes on a Boat"... Gotta be as good as 'Snakes on a Plane'..

All right I'm gonna quit this nonsense.. But I did find a neat pic in my FLT archives.. This picture was taken by a Jackrabbit that was carried off by a Mexican Eagle in November of 2002. We found his Brownie Hawkeye near his remains near Salanino. The lake was 34.3 feet low at the time.

May 4, 2008: There are two theories on bass fishin'.. Most of them involve one of two statements.. It's either " The fish are Biting!" Or "The fish just ain't Biting!" But right now the the fish are definately on the prior. And I don't mean maybe..

We had three bass clubs plus a buddy tournament in town this weekend, and we were very busy here at the store. Or at least that is what my brother tells me. I had the pleasure to fish two weekends in a row, which has been pretty uncommon lately.

I know I was talking about catching these monster perch the other day.. And buddy let me tell you these things are just not catchable on four pound test.. I thought the bass were bad here on Falcon.. Pound for pound the perch will kick their butts.. I'll give you more info that later.. Long story short I am still not eating any perch.. But I'm gonna.

The fishing is still incredible here, especially for those who know the lake, with 20 pound stringers coming left and right.. But if you are fishing a tournament, twenty pounds won't keep you in the running very long. I will be updating the tournament page in the AM.. Still missing some results and am working on updating the second days..

Ol Monster in PLUM is absolutely killing the fish right now.. You may have heard this before but this time I really mean it.. Like a Yellow Dog Double Dare mean it. Throw it and catch fish...

With the water rising a little bit the fish are all over the shallow water. And they are all over the deeper water too.. And a few of the bass clubs that were in town filleted the fish that did not survive.. And most of them still had eggs in them. So there is still a spawn going on.. Not unusual.. Just FYI.

May 1, 2008: The fishing is still going strong here on Falcon, and there is a surprising number of fishermen here this week. There are a couple of bass clubs coming to town this weekend, to include SABC and Rebel. There is a also a buddy tournament here, and it sounds like it will be bigger than the other two combined.

The fishing was reported slower yesterday, and the wind was definately a factor. But it has not deterred a single soul from fishing. There were several nine pound plus fish reported yesterday, but most folks said it was a little tougher than Tuesday.

The big Perch are up on the gravel banks spawning right now. I have personally seen some that weigh over a pound, and I have inside info on where they are hanging out. If I get out of the store early enough I am going to go try and catch a few this evening. And if I get a big one I will take a picture and post it. You just cannot believe how big some of them are..

We have added a bunch of wall space in the store, and we have several new items in stock. The Big Bite Kriet Kreature baits in W/M Red and Huisache, and the new Kriet Tail Worm in W/M red.. It is a Half Senko and half ribbon tail outfit an it looks awesome. I'm gonna try it this weekend. Also some new Gene Larew 12" worms that are doing real well. We also have the New Revo reels by Abu-Garcia.. They are selling like crazy and we have them $10 cheaper than the Bass Pro book. Call for more info.

The Lake is actually catching an inch or two of water a day right now, but I don't expect it to last.. The releases from Amistad have been reduced from the last week, but so have the releases from Falcon.. We are at 277.12 or 23.9 feet low. The water temps are right at 80 degrees and the fish are still on the long gravel bars and deeper ledges and humps. If you are fishing a Carolina rig or a big weighted Texas rig, and you feel like you are coming through a bunch of golf balls or marbles, you are fishing in the right place. There are a ton of fish on most all points with this type of bottom.

Deep humps are also producing a lot of fish and a lot of larger fish also. But the bigger fish are not every where. If you catch one, there is a good possibility of finding another in the very same area. If you are in open water mark you spot immediately when you catch a good fish. I usually throw out two so I have some relation to where I was. A single bouy or a GPS mark is good, but it may not have you casting in the right direction after you get through removing fish number one. Many of these groups of bigger fish are in car sized areas and if you are not on them you will not get bit.

I know that Gasoline is high.. But the fish will not bite like this forever! Get down here!

See you on the water! James

Local Bass Pro Luigi Gonzales with a recent Falcon Giant.

April 28, 2008: It has been a crazy month around here, and I am gonna have to say that the tackle business has come a long way from the days of digging worms and catching crickets.. And I can't remember the last time I sat on the front porch whittlin' a plug out of a piece of hardwood. That was probably back before color TV..

But who would have thought it would take four phone lines, five internet connections, four computers, e-fax, paper fax, E-mail, voice mail, Point of Sale software, a credit card machine, an online Fishing License computer, and a plethora of associated items just to sell a bucket of minners.. We don't even sell minners.. Seems like we're creating a lot of work for ourselves.. The other day someone said, "What in the world did we do before computers?" I can tell you one thing.. We fished a lot more.. But if I'm not fishing I can at least write about it.

On behalf of my brother and myself and our families, we would like to thank you for the support you have given us this first couple of months. We can't be here without you. We have added about twenty five thousand dollars worth of inventory to the store, hopefully some of it useful, and we plan on adding another big wall of product soon.. Stay tuned for more details..

By the way.. The fishing is awesome right now.. I don't think the bait really matters so much.(as long as it is Plum) If you get the bait in front of a fish the odds are that he is going to bite it. Everyone who comes in the store is catching fish.. And on a lot of different colors and types of baits. Get down here if you can!

April 27, 2008: There are a couple of tournaments here this week, Bass Champs yesterday, and Bass Federation today. I hope to make it down to the weigh-in for their results.. See tourney Report for Bass Champs results.

But to say that the fishig is good would be a mis-statement. The fishing is awesome.. We had a lot of customers in this morning, and a lot of them reported good results here yesterday. We also had a fellow who caught a lot of fish up the river in some coves off the main river channel. He said the water clarity in the creeks was good, and the fishing was better. I have not been above Beacon lately because of the stained water, but I think I'll have to give it a try.

There is a LOT of water running down the river, but there is still a lot of water headed for the Gulf.. But for the last couple of days the lake has been holding its own. We are at 276.80, or 24.22 feet low. If the water stays at this level, or somewhere close, we are about to experience some of the best fishing in ages. Because as the spawn winds down, and the water heats up, these fish will hang out in the same areas day after day. And these spots will be deeper ledges and whatever provides shade.. Even if the shade is in three feet of water.

I will have to say that Bass Champs did a good job with the fish that were brought in yesterday. They also had the Sure-Life people in to work the fish as needed. They also had someone telling the fishermen coming to weigh in what the cut line was for a payday so many of the fish were not subjected to the process. There are always a few fish that die, but I believe it was kept to a minimum yesterday. And Kudos to the Sure Life Folks that gave all the participants a bottle of their product.

The water temps are right under 80 degrees, and visibility is good on the lower lake, especially south of Marker 7. I'll let you know what happens with the Federation tournament later today. They have ideal conditions this am with cool temps and very little wind before this front gets here..

April 24, 2008: Well even the youngsters were geting in on the big fish action here at Falcon in the last week, as the Misses Kempf and Hagelin were putting the smackdown on a few nice fish. I hear from the ladies that they studied their topo map and found a long point in the Tigers that was holding some nice fish. They had about 20 pounds between them, and were last seen looking for a Bass Champs entry form..

I hope that is not a beer in that Koozie..

I'm gonna have to start checking some ID's..

April 21, 2008: I don't usually read any blog sites, or post any thing on them, except to give a few fishing reports for a site or two and plug my store now and then. But a friend of mine told me to check out a site where the fish kill after BASS was here was "discussed." And one of the reasons I do not go to these sites is because it is like going to a confrence with a bunch of PHD's and kindergardeners.. Some know what they are talking about.. And some are still in diapers..

It seems that a few people are in denial about the number of bass that died here at Falcon after the Elite . It seems they need a "Smoking Gun" to prove that exactly 321.275 fish died.. What did you want.. Did you want me to drop them off in your driveway so YOU could count them?? These people don't believe the Holocost happened either..

I do not have a exact number of fish that died.. I do have pictures of lots of dead floating fish. And the Racoons and Buzzards have done what God put them here to do. It would only inflame matters to post the pics on this site.

But to those who are willing to accept the number of dead fish given out to anyone asking, I say you are very nieve.

I have nothing against Bass or the tournament angler. Hell, I make a living off of them. And I believe that BASS has done a lot to improve the sport of bass fishing.. But if you believe that the impact of these big tournaments ends when they leave town you are sadly mistaken.

Many of the people who do not think that this many fish could die are ignorant about the lake here and our fishery. It is simple math. Fifteen gallons of near eighty degree water.. (I'm being gererous) Thirty plus pounds of very stressed fish.. Four and Five foot waves for an all out run to the scales. Take yourself back to remedial math and plug in the numbers. I would venture a guess that most folks have never had 30 pounds of fish in a live well. Especially those who think they could keep them alive..

If you can't stand the truth then quit reading this site and go bury your head in the sand.

This is the last I will speak on this subject.

April 20, 2008: The lake continues to fall at the rate of about 3" a day.. And the fishing is getting better and better.. Fish are showing up in all the usual summer places. The ends of rocky points are awesome.. And if you are into Carolina rigging the world is your oyster.. Find some deep rocky humps or the ends of long points.. Fish it deep amd let it sleep..

Shane Blocker had his best day ever with over 32 pounds of fish.. Just where remains a secret but he was Carolina rigging a big worm in 20-28 feet of water.. His best was just over 10 pounds.. But he also had an eight and a big seven..

Shane Blocker on Left.. Lawson Fuller on the right..

I took my Nephew fishing yesterday.. And he caught his first limit of Falcon Bass.. So if I can put the kids on fish you can too.. Bring em' fishin!

Every guide in town is whacking a lot of big bass.. If you have time and the ability to get down here, now is the time. The big fish are grouped up and you could catch a fish of a lifetime.. Call us and we'll point you in the right direction..

April 18, 2008: The wind finally quit blowing... Out of the south... And it was replaced with a nice cool north wind.. That gusted to 43 miles an hour when it hit town.. Fortunately it arrived about 5 this morning, and no one but the insomniacs were awake at that hour.. And certainly it was too early to be on the lake.. But the full moon is on Sunday night and you could probably be out there.. Speaking of the full moon, and I know you will think I am crazy, but there is another batch of fish moving very shallow to spawn.. we have had a lot of reports of egg laden fish in two feet of water.. And a lot of them are being caught in the Veleno..

But the most fish are being caught on the ends of long sloping points ending in deep water. Norman DD-22's in a Chart/browny color are really catching a lot of fish.. Root beer is good and any other bait like the SX Shad or lavender or any purpley backed bait is also good. But the big Mag worms and Lizards are also very good. I think you just need to get whatever you are throwing in front of a fish. Cause they are cooperating..

Falcon Lake Tackle is back in the Texas Fishing and Hunting License business.. We have the new broadband system and we can get you a license in quick time.. Larry is probably cussing me as we speak.

The lake has droped to 277.55 or 23.47 feet low. And the stopper is still not in place as over 12,000 CFS of water is still screaming out of the lake. Amistad is releasing about 9000 CFS and the lake is dropping 4" a day.. I guess I can do whatever I want with the promise that they were going to keep Falcon semi level.. I know what they can do with it..

I just realized we sell fillet knives here.. That 12 volt Green Mister fisherman one.. I gotta go.. I need to raise the price on them to $99.99..

April 17 2008: Well if you were wondering if the Elite being here would increase the traffic here on the lake, the answer is definately yes.. We have had people in the store from Alabama, Colorado, California, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee.... Oh hell this is too much typing.. Suffice it to say that we have people here from all over.. Even had a guy fly in from Berlin yesterday to fish today..

Plum Ol Monster worms are still one of the best baits going, and the Watermelon red Ol Monster is right there with the W/M Lizard. We also have some new 14 inch Bayou Giant worms in store.. They have a sorta RippleTail and they are selling like hotcakes.. (I ordered hotcakes here the other day and they came inside a tortilla) We have gotten some good feedback on them and folks are coming back to get some more..

Most of the better fish are coming from ten feet of water or deeper. But we heard from a fellow this afternoon who caught two fish over six pounds in two feet of water, here in the Veleno.. And there are a lot of good fish coming from the deeper water in the Tiger and the Salinias.. And everywhere in between..

There are a lot of folks here prefishing for the Bass Champs tournament next weekend. And we have seen a ton of them thru the store. The Couples CAST tournament is here this weekend, which could bring 50 boats to the lake, and the World Famous Humpie Howie is going on this weekend also.. I think the fish will be safe from most of them..:-) But I guarantee they will have a good time.. We can only guess at how many teams there will be here for Bass Champs. Some of those out of the running may not come with the price of fuel.. But then as hot as the lake is they just might come anyway.. And I know a lot of locals are going to jackpot it..

In any case.. The fish are biting well.. if the wind will let you fish where you want.. It's all good! See you this weekend!

April 14, 2008: I was finally able to spend a long day on the lake yesterday, and I'll have to say that there are still some fish that have not been soremouthed.. But a few more of them are soremouthed today.. We caught a lot of fish at all the stops we made, but did not stay to wear them out at any of the places we stopped. Plum Ol Monster worms are the real deal right now.. I am sorry if you are getting tired of hearing that. But if they keep biting it I'm gonna keep throwing it..

The phone traffic is crazy around here, and I have gotten a ton of e-mails from folks all over the country. We have done multiple phone interviews with newspapers, from California to Virginia. The cat is definately out of the bag.

I read the article in the S.A. Express News about the tournament results, and they talked about the number of fish being caught , and the amazing weights that were brought in to the scales. And they reported that "A total of 158 (11 percent) of the bass weighed at the Shootout died before they could be returned to the lake." They also said that no one, not even locals, expected 7000 pounds of "live" fish to be brought to the scales. They were right.. 7000 pounds of "live" fish did not make it to the scales.. Many Many of the fish that arrived at the weigh-in were DOA.

Now I am not a genius, but I am going to guess that they did not dump the dead fish into the lake. So I will have to speculate that the couple hundred that floated to the top in the forthcoming days were not counted in the 158 confirmed fatalities. Because if they did not weigh over 13 pounds and still had a flipper moving I am sure they went back in the water. On Tuesday, long after the cameras and crowds were gone, there were still fish surfacing in the Veleno..

I never promised to write just about the positive things here on this site. But I did promise to tell the truth.

A hard look needs to be taken at the timing of these events, the size of the events, and the long term implications of what goes on after they are finished. Cause like I said.. The fish can get along without us just fine..

April 12, 2008: It is Saturday evening, and I'm sitting here watching the weigh in at Amistad on the internet. I think I like Falcon best.. I'm not Hatin' on The Big Friendly, I'm just wondering what the Bassmasters circuit thinks of Amistad now versus a year ago. I've got some theories.. But for now I am going to keep them to myself.

To me, the Elite and the FLW coming to Falcon is a double edged sword. I sell Fishing thingies for a living, and of course the more people who come to town to fish, the more thingies I sell.. But the more thingies I sell, the more fish get caught, and the more fish that get caught, the more fish die.. No matter how unintentional it may be.. I have said many times in the past that the fish would get along just fine without us. And I believe it is time that we look at the way we hold our tournaments, and the time of year that we have them.

I have seen all the pictures, and heard all the reports about all the dead fish that showed up in the Veleno immediately following the weigh ins at the Elite tournament. I simply have this to say..

You cannot expect anything less when you have 30 plus pounds of fish in a 15 gallon livewell with 80 plus degree water for several hours. And then beat them to death on the wide open run to weigh-in in a four foot chop. And most of the bigger fish were caught deep and in need of air bladder bleeding that did not occur. I am not sure what the actual mortality rates were, but they were substantial.

I hear that Bass Champs (coming to Falcon on the 26th) is considering a three fish limit. I wholeheartedly back this plan. It is none of my business but I also think that if they are just coming to Falcon once a year on the South Tour, we should be the first stop. We will have water temps in the Mid 80's when they get here.. But at least the fishermen will have two livewells to try to keep their (our) fish alive.

There have been some big Alligator Gar shot lately, including this seven foot, two inch monster.. I have not heard the weight to date.. I hope to have the names of the fishermen and a weight of the fish tomorrow..

Tim Montz caugh this lifetime best 9 lb bass while fishing with guide Tommy Law this week.

We had a fellow with trailer trouble stop by the store today. He had an 11.55 and a 7 plus bass in his livewell that we helped him get back in the water. It stinks when you can't make to weigh in due to mechanical failure. Either on or off the lake..

Fact is that the fish are getting more and more active every day. We heard good reports of big fish caught, and reports of lots of fish being caught. And we got a few reports of not such good luck.. But they were far outnumbered by positive results.

I am going to fish the Salanias tomorrow, God willing, and I will post a report on how we do. I got a tip or two and I plan to check it out.

By the way, the water temperatures are in the 82 degree range, and the lake has dropped to just over 22 feet low.. There is a lot of water coming into the lake, but there is also a lot of water going out. Water quality is excellent below marker 9, and a little murky in areas up the river and in a few spots in the Salado. Baits of choice still seem to be Watermelon Red Brush Hogs, Zoom Baits In Plum, especially the Ol Monster, and DD-22's in a variety of colors fished off the ends of long points. The spinner bait bite has slowed a bit it seems. There are also a lot of fish being caught on 3/4 and 1 oz jigs, tipped with a variety of trailers..

I just can't quit thinking about the story of the goose that laid the golden eggs.. And I hope a year from now we are not wondering where all our fish went..

Let me know what you think..

James@FalconLakeTackle.com

April 10, 2008: Just a quick note.. If you e-mailed me and did not get a response I apologize.. Somehow I managed to delete my new messages for the last two days.. Please resend.. Thanks, James

April 9, 2008: In the midst of total confusion, I have been lax in reporting the accomplishments of anglers from the local area.. I feel oblidged to include a couple of personal bests..

First is Stephanie Cornejo, who was fishing with Tommy Law, and she caught a 7-13. And she is a lot better looking than the guide, let me tell you..

And Then there is the biggest fish We have seen in quite some time.. Problem with it is that we have no official weight.

Wally Watts caught this fish that scared me when I saw the picture. His scale would not weigh it.. We printed the picture, and put the picture on the scale.. It weighed 6.25 pounds.

Actually Wally said he was so nervous and did not want to hurt the fish he just took a couple of pics and put her back in the water.. This fish was over 28 inches long.. I predicted a new lake record would be coming this spring, and I sure would have liked an official weight on this monster..

More to come soon!

April 7, 2008: Well now that all is said and done, I will have to say that the last week was very exciting, and very tiring.. We put in a lot of 15 hour days, and some nights it was well past ten when we turned out the lights. But I would imagine that the fishermen who are now at Amistad are worse for wear than us.

The guys that did not make the final dozen mozeyed through the store yesterday morning, and all of them were dissapointed not to be fishing on Sunday. But none of them were dissapointed with the fishing here at Falcon. In fact, they were amazed with the fishery. And all of them asked if we caught fish like that all the time..

Of course I lied and said that I do it all the time...

The plain fact is that these professionals taught a lot of us locals a lot about how to catch these big fish. Suddenly everybody is dragging a big Carolina rigged bait in 25 feet of water.. Now don't get me wrong, a lot of fish were caught flipping the bushes, and a lot of fish were caught cranking deep diving crank baits. But the lions share of the big fish were caught deep.. Very deep. On a rig..

We have sold a lot of Carolina supplies today..

I would like to thank all of the Professionals that stopped by the store in the last week. You guys are a credit to your trade. We had a store full of people and you had your prep work to do and not one of you declined an autograph request or would not talk to a fan. Thanks from all of us. We enjoyed meeting you and hope yall make it back to Falcon next year or the year after. You are always welcome in our store.

And we really appreciate the way you guys shop.. You make Amelda Marcos in a shoe store look like an amateur.

But my brother and I have a theory on how we can kick your butts.. We're gonna go to the pet store and get us a bucket full of 3" goldfish.

See you on the water..

James@falconlaketackle.com

Congrats Paul Elias!

April 6, 2008: Well I guess you know by now that there is a tournament going on here at Falcon. And these boys have beat these fish like an rented mule. I have attended a couple of the weigh-ins and the results have been incredible.. The top three places going into day four are all over 100 pounds.. And I will be very surprised if several of these anglers don't break the all time total weight record set on Clear Lake in California. I think some of these guys like our little pond..

And after watching the happenings here this week, I have to say that this is the biggest thing to hit town since Rosie drove through. The Dairy Queen is still talking about that one..

On Thursday night, we received a huge shipment of four or five boxes of worms, hooks, lizards, etc, and we had it scatered out over four big tables trying to sort it out. And just about that time most of the fishermen were coming from the weigh in.. It was the closest thing to a Blue Light Special that Zapata has ever seen.

Here's a few pics from this Mornings blast off, with the top twelve fishermen fishing the last day. I have a few videos I am trying to get on the site.. But I have not had time to get it up and running.. Stay tuned!

Here's how it's done!

Mark Davis

Randall Jackson, Co-Angler Champion!

He got some good draws.. But he still had to catch em! Congrats Randall!!

April 4th 2008: The first day is in the books at the Lone Star Shootout here at Falcon, and the weights were quite impressive, although not quite what some may have expected. I personally thought about 37 pounds would be tops, with the way the wind was blowing, and I was pretty close.. I'm gonna gonna go out on a limb here and predict a few stringers over fourty today, as this morning the wind is not blowing, but there is a front due in today, and no one knows exactly when it will hit.. Maybe some of our visiting fishermen will get to sample a little chop out there... Falcon style. Heatwave was just in the store and he says the wind is coming this PM but tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful... Watch out one day record..

I find it very funny that some of the folks were complaining that they only caught twenty seven pounds.. What a terrible problem to have.. But almost everyone who came to the mike said the same thing we already knew about Falcon.. It's Freaking Awesome!

Aaron Martens Had a 42 pound bag for first in the pro division, about seven pounds ahead of Scott Rook, who had 35-12..

On the Co-Angler side it was Randall Jackson who caught 32 pounds, ten ounces of fish out of the back of the boat.. But it was the same boat that brought in the 42 pounds of fish for Martens.. Wouldn't you like to have those coordinates...

Here's a link to the BASS site.. Lonestar Shootout

Here's some pics from the store yesterday evening..

Lawson was having a great day.. Here's a few pics of some of the pros that were thru the store yesterday.. From the Veterans Shaw Grigsby and Gary Klein, to the youngest kid on the block, Corey Waldrop. We have dubbed him The Red Rocket..

April 3, 2008:

Get er' Done!

It is On!

April 2, 2008:If the show started yesterday I guess Act Two was today.. The meet and greet was held at the civic center, and the town turned out to see what all the fuss was about.. And I felt oblidged to get out and do a little Clark Kent thing and take some pics and press the flesh.. And I felt obliged to include them here.

Can anyone tell me what this is??

April 1, 2008: What a week it has been.. And it's only Tuesday. My feet hurt.. But I guess we can rest next week. But before I get into the goings on around here, you should know that the fishing is still fantastic.. We have greeted a lot of happy fishermen coming off the lake, and they are all smiling. They are catching lots of BIG fish throwing BIG baits.. The biggest baits we have.. We heard that one angler caught four over nine pounds yesterday.

Meanwhile Tom and Sherita Law are continuing their assault on the monster fish.. Here is Sheretta with a 12.3 ounce beauty caught two days ago.. Look for da big boys to drag a lot of big fish to the scales..

The "Show" is underway here in Zapata, and the Roadies are in control. It looks like they are setting up a stage for a Grand Funk concert.. I had a flashback to the seventies watching them work.. I could almost smell the dope.. Errr.. Sunblock in the air...

So after all is said and done, It's about down to this..

So if you want to run with the big dogs, you better GO BIG or GO HOME!

See you at the weigh-ins!

March 30, 2008: With the advent of Pre-fishing days upon us, the Elite series anglers are decending on Zapata like a Duck on a Junebug. And I havent seen this many wrappers since I cleaned up after the Moon Pie truck left the Jenny Craig convention..

We have had our share of Professionals through the store, and they are eager to hit the water, to say the least. But the most intense fishermen are definately the Co-Anglers. They're about as pumped up as first year Buck in November.. I do not think the lake will dissapoint.

I fished yesterday, even though we were swamped, as a buddy of mine had just bought a new boat. And he couldn't wait to get it wet of course.. It was just for a few hours but we found the fish very cooperative. Most of the fish we caught were in 7-10 feet of water, but there was some deeper water very near.

I would not leave home without three baits right now.. A watermellon colored brushhog, and some Mag II worms, some Green or Junebug Lizards, all with either red, purple, pepper, or black glitter, and a handfull of Jo-Baby spinner baits, with some Chart/White combinations. Of course I am partial to some brands that work for me, and there are others that will work just as well.

If the wind does not make some parts of the lake unfishable, and that would take a lot for these guys, then they are going to tear up the fish.. Look for some big stringers..

Some of the guys said that the wind won't be any factor.. That reminds me of a time in the past when I was on a Deer Lease in Catarina.. And the Ranch Foreman asked me where I was going to stockpile my spare tires in the pasture. I said "I don't need spares, I have ten ply tires." He just laughed and said.. "Don't matter... We got twelve ply thorns.."

Come See us!

March 28, 2008: The lake is dropping somewhat faster than I would like to see.. But I guess I am not alone in that thought.. We had a little water Pow-Wow here at the store yesterday with the Project Mananger at the International Boundary and Water Commission, Mr. Silverio Garza, Jr, and some of his co workers. We discussed the lake levels and what is planned for the near future, and he said that they are going to try to hold the lake level very near steady, but I 'll believe it when I see it. We talked about all the interests that we have talked about before, from irrigation, to municipal use, and the increasing industrial uses that all affect our water levels here at the lake.

He said that Mexico only owns 33% of the water in the lake, and of course my next question was, "Do you think that matters to them?" His reply was that they are in constant contact with the Mexican officials, and that the two countries are working together to try and mitigate the water loss here at Falcon.. I guess the problem is that we can't mitigate the need for more and more water all the time. And yes I know that fishing is the last consideration when it comes to water levels. The fact is, that without timely rains we are just out of luck.. So I want all of you to put rain back on your prayer list.. Quick..

In any case, the lake has dropped to 280.63 as of this morning, putting us right at 20.38 feet low. The release rate has jumped to 5332 CFS, and I can tell you that much is not coming out of The Big Friendly.. Falcon has dropped four inches this week. Glad to be able to pass on the good news..

You really need to be here next weekend.. And bring your camera..

March 26, 2008: It has been a very interesting day here at the store. We have had a few of the pros come in, and some of them are really characters.. Good thing I had enough BS to hold them off.. Cause some of them can really spread it.. Actually it was hilarious and we really enjoyed it..

It should really be cool to watch the happenings in the next week as the tournament approaches. These guys can't get on the lake till Monday, and I imagine they will be running around town checking out our local Cuisine and massive entertainment choices.. I hope they like bowling..

Nicoas Rocha is still tearing up the big fish in the Tigers, and he sent me two more pics from last weekend as promised.. All I can say is that "When You're Hot.. You're Hot!" Both of these fish were caught on Watermelon Red Brush Hogs..Purchased at FLT of Course.. I think it DOES make a difference.

When you buy a bait here at FLT it is already seasoned to the smells and air quality and adjusted for our elevation above sea-level. When you drag in some baits from Dallas or Houston, or San Antone they just taste different.. I tried it and I still can't get that garlic taste out of my mouth. It's kind of ruined the taste of Lasagne for me...

Eleven pounder on Left.. Eight plus on Right.

March 25, 2008: I'm sorry I have not posted a report lately and it's not cause I ain't trying or that the fish ain't biting.. The fishing has been very good and we have heard a lot of reports of fish being caught on a variety of baits.. Not the least of which is a Zoom Plum colored Ol Monster, and of course Watermelon Pepper and Watermelon Red Mag Lizards.. It seems that the bigger baits are catching a little bigger fish, but some friends of ours caught some seven to ten pound fish last weekend on 6" lizards in Watermelon Red.

But the biggest issue we have had to face the last week is the wind. It has been relentless. And today was no exception as many folks that came thru the store said it was just a pain to fight the waves all day. Most folks have been trailering to Tigre Island or the State Park if they want to fish the lower end of the lake. And I hear that a lot of fish are being caught in the Tigers. A LOT OF FISH. The ramp there is on the point, but I hear that two wheel drive will work fine, especially if the boat driver gives a push to get the rig rolling. They charge $3 a person to put in there but a sore back and foamy Big Red will be prevented if the water is nasty..

The swim bait craze has taken Falcon by storm and we have ordered $500 worth.. But we have only received $50 worth due to Backorders.. I'm getting tired of seeing B/O on invoices..

But we have filled the racks with every bait known to catch fish here at Falcon. And our selection of WM Red is huge.. We have spent thousands bringing the inventory back up to snuff.. Come see..

I have moved two trailers of furniture this week.. My back hurts.. But people who see me say that my front hurts also.. The lake has dropped to exactly 20 feet low, and they are releasing about 4000 CFS of water from Falcon as I write this.. And I can get more water out of my hose than they are letting out ofAmistad.

I'm back in town and ready for action, and I'll try to keep the site updated thru the week.. I'll put a link to the Bassmasters Elite live weigh in site on our front page so you can watch it live if you can't be here.. But it sounds like half the state is coming.. We have talked to alot of the pros about licences etc.. Should be a Circus!

See you on the water..ahhh. Better make that in the store..

James

March 22, 2008: Well things haven't gotten any slower for us around the shop.. We are still in move this, fix that, where does that go, and what the heck are we doing mode..

Actually we are getting a pretty good handle on things and we got a huge order in yesterday. So that means that we spent the day getting it on the shelves. And it was a slow day otherwise as not too many fishermen are in town, with the Easter weekend being here.

The lake is still dropping a little each day, as water releases are increasing to meet irrigation needs down stream. Amistad is releasing about half as much as we are, and a lot of it is being drawn out of the river before it gets here. I'm gonna start praying for a nice gentle hurricaine pretty soon. We are still about six feet above where we were last year at this time.. The water temps are on the rise, and mid-day readings can be in the mid 70's in the right places. And the fish are responding with more schooling activity than in a long time. There are also still alot of fish up shallow spawning, but many of them are done.. Some of the bigger femles are rested up and are on the prowl eating everything in site..

I heard that the gut barrels at the state park are still filling up before noon, and several of our customers have witnesed abuses of the law and good fishing ethics.. Some people are just stupid..

We have received a lot of pics the last few days of some great fish.. (And they are all still alive) I have been neglecting to get them posted as I have been a little stretched thin(I could actually use some of that). But here are a few..

Cale Fulps with a Falcon Whopper That is one long fish!

Wayne Tauer of "The Boat Shop" in San Antonio with a 9-14 bigmouth. He said they killed them on Zoom Watermelon lizards, in Mag size and six inch..

These guys are wearing them out the last two weeks.. Abelaro on left holding a 7-4,and Nicolas center and right holding a 8-0 and a 9-8 respectively.. All the same morning.. They had 32 pounds last Saturday. And 36 pounds today.. Pics of today to follow I hear.. They report that Watermelon and Pumpkin anything is working well.. I'd say so.. These guys are Falcon Lake Regulars and good FLT customers.. Thanks!

We are very well stocked with Watermelon anything.. Stop by the store and we'll fix you up.. Don't forget what Easter is all about..

See you in the store..

March 20th, 2008: Well I guess you could say we have been a little busy around here, and I am not even sure if we sold anything.. We did however transfer the electric service, phone service, sewer service, security service, garbage service, cable TV service, water service and the internet service. We opened two checking accounts, a tax account, a rainy day account, and hired an accountant. We have opened vendor accounts with Rod and Gun, Pitman Supply, Houston Marine, Ellett Brothers, Nichols Baits, Jo-Baby and spoken with a lot of others.. We will be picking up several more lines of baits in the very near future also.We have re-arranged the store fixtures, tore up carpet, revamped the entire work area, cleaned from top to bottom, and still managed to get every order out the same day it came in..

We have made several very large orders for inventory and I think you will be impressed when it all gets on the racks. And our watermelon red supply of everything will be greatly increased. Cause in this town it is a travesty to run out of WM anything..

We have ordered a ton of swimbaits including the Money Minnow, King Shad, Shadalicious, and the I can't remember it's name one with that crazy tail..

And now I am going to bed.. Talk to you soon..

P.S. The fish are still biting.. You might as well come down this weekend as we are having the Easter Bunny for dinner on Sunday.. So he won't be making it to your house.. Some people like him in chocolate.. We like him in Gravy with Taters... :-)

March 19th 2008: Our first customers happened by the store a couple days ago, fresh from a trip to Brazil chasing Peacock Bass. I guess they needed a fishing fix on their way back home. Actually I think they had been home to recoup, but were glad to be down chasing some big Falcon Bass. Hoyt Fincher from Fort Worth, (left) and Nelson Burnell from Ohio stopped in for some essentials and received some Falcon Lake Tackle hats and trinkets just for showing up when they did. Thanks for stopping in guys!

March 18th 2008: The wind has been blowing about 50 miles per hour since 10:00 this morning, and I'm not kidding.. I went to the grocery store, and on the way back I was speeding in a 45 MPH zone... I got passed by a tumbleweed.. I am not kidding about the wind.. It is still howling right now at 9:00 PM. We recorded gusts over 50 miles per hour today, and for two hours we had sustained winds over 34 miles per hour..

I was just glad that I was not at marker 5 headed for the County Ramp. Some customers caught some very nice fish this morning before the big winds came up. Including this 12.02 pounder caught on a Ribit Frog (topwater) by winter Texas Tom Vorachek. He said the fish made a sucking sound like a Hoover.. And then the bait disappeared.. I guess so!

There were also a lot of dusty and wet fishermen that made it by the store today. That might make them Muddy Fishermen. But the truth is that a lot of them were just glad to be off the water safely.. One group was in the Salanias when the wind hit. They said the waves were an easy eight feet tall, and some bigger, on the way back to the state park. I have been in some big water, but I don't think I have been on the big part of the lake with winds like these. And I don't want to either.. I imagine they will watch the weather closely tonight. But they said they caught a lot of fish while they could fish.

Lake at a even 19 feet low.. Water temps in the mid 70's.. Watermelon everything is catching them.. Inventory levels in the the store on the way up!

We had a great first day as Store Owners, and thanks for the nice e-mails.. We'll try not to dissapoint. I'm putting my 15.5 hour day to rest.. Will I ever fish again???

See you on the water.. errr.. In the store..

James

March 17, 2008: To quote an old Willie Nelson song, "It's been rough and rocky traveling" but we're finally standing upright behind the counter at Falcon Lake Tackle. I know many of you who read this page occasionally, have an idea that this was in the works, and of course we have had the pleasure of meeting many of you who have passed through our doors in the last few months. And we have implied that we would be buying the store from Barbara Bridgeman. Well it has finally happened.

We intend to provide the same Customer Oriented service that FLT customers have come to expect. And we also intend to provide some new services and longer hours of operation starting immediately. We hope you will stop by the store on your next visit to Falcon. We'd love to meet you and help you in any way we can.

I have been writing the Flash Report and maintaining the website since Larrys passing last summer, and there will be no big changes there. But there will be a lot of new products added to the E-Store in the near future..

On Behalf of Tom and Myself, our Wives and Families, we would like to thank Barbara and Larry for all their hard work and devotion to Zapata and Falcon Lake. They have left some big shoes to fill and we promise to do our best to carry on in their same tradition of honest customer satisfaction, and to be advocates for the lake and our fishery. We Love it Here!

Thanks for your support! And we hope to see you soon..

Tom and James Bendele

New Owners, Same Great Service..

You can E-Mail us anytime with questions or comments..

March 15, 2008: We are still getting a lot of reports from fishermen that are working the areas from the Tigers to the Dam, saying that the fishing is fantastic. Thirty to fourty fish have been reported by a lot of people fishing two to boat, and there are stories of more.. A lot more.. But 15 to 25 fish per person has been common in the last few days.

The air temps here today were over 100 degrees again, with super low humidity, and light winds. So if you are headed out be sure to take plenty of sunblock, liquids, and a good pair of sunglasses.

Many of the big females are spawned out, but there are still a lot of fish that have not completed their spring duties, and they are up in water shallower than ten feet. But there are a LOT of fish being caught in water in the ten to fifteen foot range. Don't be afraid to fish from the bank to bottom, as fish are in all stages of the spawn. The bite is still very light. So if you are flipping anything in soft plastics, and your line gets tight, set the hook..

Big lizards are doing very well, and the best colors still have a lot of green in them. Big spinner baits are also working well in the areas where the water is less than ten feet deep.. Pick your favorite and throw it. You will not have to wonder if you get a bite on the spinner or crank bait.. And speaking of which, a Baby Bass pattern crankbait in also very good in areas where you see some schooling activity..

We will be stocking the elusive Opti-Max oil in the next week or so.. Plus some bulk Yamalube at a price you can live with. Meanwhile if you need anything except for a a kitchen pass give us a call. We'll be happy to track down anything you are looking for. And we have a big order in for some new swim baits that look great.. Hopefully we can get them off backorder and on the rack pretty quick..

Stay tuned for some big news coming soon about Falcon Lake Tackle.

Meanwhile the big fish just keep on coming.. Here's Cody Johnson with a nice 11.50 caught in Mid Feb. I don't know how many ten pound plus fish I have heard of or seen in the last thirty days.. But it has been phenominal. The only problem I know of is that I did not catch one..

Get here soon!

March 12, 2008: We finally made it on the water yesterday for about two hours and happened on a spot in School Bus where there were a pile of fish.. Hadn't fished there since last spring, and althought the water is about 7 feet deeper than my last trip there, the fish didn't seem to mind.. Yesterday we caught them on Watermelon Red Mag II worms and Watermelon Purple Glitter Brush Hogs. Of coure I tried the same thing today and not a bite.. Having heard that a Carolina rigged Baby Bass Fluke was working for some folks, I decided to give it a try.. First cast produced and 5-8, and the next cast I caught a 6-13.. Somebody needs to get down here and help me with these fish.. Heatwave says it is going to be a hot weekend with very low humidity.. Around 100 degrees on Friday. I love south Texas!

I hate to put pictures of me on the site.. Send me yours!!

The Lake level is at 282.23, or 18.79 feet low, and the water temps are back inthe upper 60's.. With the hot weather coming the water will be back in the 70's real quick... All the guides agree that there is another wave of spawning fish moving up right now... and most of them are below marker eight.. But a lot of big fish are still being caught in about 10-15 feet.. Fact is that you might catch a whopper at any depth you fish.. But if you are cleaning out the Martin houses or mowing the grass you're not going to catch em.. Get down here and get you some!! (The previous comments may not apply to you if you are North of the Mason-Dixon..You folks should be here for sure!)

Stop by and see us at the store!

March 11, 2008: Pat Marley and his friend Bob McCubbin fished with Charlie Haralson for a few days last week, and they had some pretty good results.. If you call one guy catching three fish over ten pounds good.. Poor Bob could only catch fish up to eight while has here but Pat was lucky enough to have his bait in the right place.. Three different times.. Even though these guys are from California they seem likeable enough.. :-) I should add that on this day they had over 38 pounds with a 10, a 9, a 7, and two 6's..

Pat with FLT hat on.. Left 11.51 pounds

I think they had a pretty good trip..

March 10, 2008: The wind here the last few days has been has been constant, and the fishing has been hampered somewhat by concerns over safety and comfort. This morning started out very nice and warm and calm, but by noon things took a turn for the worse.. Even the Wicked Witch of the West was grounded after two O'Clock this afternoon.

We heard some more stories of big fish caught though, and Charlie Haralson caught one over twelve again today. Pics soon to folllow.. He also had some clients that caught several fish over ten the last few days, and I have been lax in getting them on the site.. They're on the way ...

We are setting up a new cash register system in the store, and it requires input of every barcode on every item in the store.. I am seeing fuzzy, squiggly lines in my sleep... But in a day or so we will be able to ring you up in record time. We have over three thousand items in the shop, and this has been some undertaking. What was I thinking??

The Centex Bass Hunters cancelled Sundays final day of their tournament, due to safety concerns over the high winds.. They were probably pretty wise in doing so. We had gusts to near fourty in the PM yesterday, and they did not lay down till this morning. Of course the squall line that went thru south Texas this morning brought then back.

There was also an international tournament on Falcon on Saturday, based out of Guerrero, and I heard a rumor about what it took to win it.. I will not report on it till I am sure.. Sounded too incredible to believe..Even for Falcon..

I will be updating the site on Tuesday with a lot of new information.. See you then..

James

March 9, 2008: There have been a lot of good fish caught this week, and some good stringers were weighed in at yesterdays tournaments. We were able to attend the Cen-Tex weigh in yesterday.. See tournament results..

Tom Law caught a monster yesterday and he sent us a pic of the fish.. It was 26" long and had a 23" girth.. And bottomed out a 13 pound scale.. Youch!

March 7th Update.. I told you they were coming.. And they're finally here.. The two new docks at the county ramp..

O..K.. Just Kidding But It'll keep your feet dry! New Parking coming..

There will be a lot of changes coming to the county ramp in the next few weeks and months..

March 7, 2008: There have been a whole lot of folks thru the store this week, and you won't believe how many boats there were in town during midweek. And we have been really busy, trying to get a lot of loose ends tied up around here, and I am afraid that my updates have been a little on the slow side..

The fishing has ranged from pretty good, to pretty fantastic, depending on where and with who you are fishing. I have spoken to several of our local guides this week, both on and off the water, and they all report good to very good results, but keep in mind they know the lake and they put in a lot of hours on the water. Charlie Haralson was in the store with a couple of his customers yesterday, and they had another good day, till the winds came up and ran them off their water. Their best five fish the last few days have been over 30 pounds. I talked with Tom Law in the store yesterday, and he and a client had big stringers the last couple of days also. I ran into Gary Harlan on the water on Wednesday, and he said that his results have been very good also. All of these guides can be found in our guide link to the left..

But for us common folk, who choose to venture out unassisted, the fishing has been pretty darn good too.. On Wednesday I was in Blanco on the Mexican side of the lake, and boated a dozen fish in a few hours. My best was a 5.8 but caught several chunky fish to go along with it.

The top of the lake is somewhat murky, due to all the high winds we have been having, but the water quality has been fantastic on the lower end of the lake. Big plastics and big spinner baits have been the baits of the day. We have sold a ton of Watermelon Red plastics, and most every type of spinner bait we stock.. But the colors of choice on the blades have still been Chart and White combinations.

Carlos Guerra sent us this picture of a 12 pound plus monster he caught a few days ago. Sorry it took us so long to get it posted!

Carlos with a 12.8 pounder!

We have a couple of club tournaments in town this weekend, and we will try to have their results posted and some pics of their biggest fish.. McAllen Bass club, and group from central Texas are here. Will have details asap.. They should have some nice weather this weekend, but the water temps have definately cooled with the last few fronts.. We'll see how they do! It is windy and 44 degrees right now.. (7 am)

March 4, 2008: We talked with Charlie Haralson today.. He said they had 36 or 37 pounds today for their best five.. Then we talked to a duo from Oklahoma (Texoma area) who fished their first day on Falcon today.. They had a 11.23 and a few other 7's and 6's.. Too bad they didn't know the lake very good.. Said they had an easy 30 pounds.. I am not making this stuff up.. You need to get yourself down here!

Stay tuned for pics tomorrow!

March 3, 2008: In response to my report from the 28th of Feb, I have received a lot e-mails from all over the place.. Thanks for your support..

I have also spoken with several Game Wardens locally and this is what they recommend if any of us witness actual game violations. Call OPERATION GAME THIEF.. When you do this a report is actually filed and a warden Will Respond and investigate. It is different than calling locally and maybe getting an officer that is currently occupied with some other business. Their number is 1-800-792-GAME(4263). Put it in your cell phone..

When I was a kid, we fished most everywhere, and we kept a lot of fish. We didn't know any different.. My Dad and Uncles grew up during the depression, and they went hungry a lot when they were kids.

And this scarcity mentality still permeates much of the the generation that lived through those tough times.

But WE are far removed from that era. I do not condem the folks that are feeding themselves and their family with the fish they take from the lake.. And believe me I know of a few. But those of us who are dragging bass boats around are not in that income bracket.. We must be the ones who lead to preserve the future of fishing for our future generations. One of my favorite sayings is "Turn em loose, So your Grandkids can catch some of theirs!"

I am going to Quote an article I read on the internet written by Dr. Wayne Dyer. He wasn't talking about fishing.. But it works for me..

"It is a simlple procedure to calculate the number of seeds in an apple. But who among us can ever say how many apples are in a seed? No one--and the reason is that the answer is infinite. Endless!"

We need to apply this same lesson to our fishing practices. It's not that we can't eat a few apples.. We just can't destroy the seed!

I'm gonna quit bitching now, and return you to your regularly scheduled fishing report.

The lake has started dropping a little faster than it was a week or so ago, and today it is at 282.80, and I am trying to compensate for the wind in that guess. A north wind like this can raise the lake level at the dam by four or five inches, and I am seeing the guage rise when I know more water is going out than is coming in. That equates to about 18.22 feet low.

The fishing is still good and I heard from a lot of folks this weekend that they think there are a lot of new fish going shallow, especially from the mid lake south. I intend to do a little scouting around mid week, if the winds decide to give us a break. Saturday was breezy.. Sunday we'll just call windy.. And today is; Where is my dog?? Of course mother nature was kind enough to bring all the south wind we had yesterday back today..

Chatter baits and Big plastics are still the order of the day. But the fact is that you can catch fish on whatever you like to throw. Spinner baits and shallow crankbaits are also catching a lot of fish. Throw what you believe will catch fish and it will.. The water on the top of the lake is still murky in a lot of areas from all the winds we have had, but past marker eight to the dam the water quality is very good. Water temps are in the upper sixties to the lower seventies.. Warmer water has had more active fish for sure, and clearer water is certainly out producing the cloudy. Most fish are coming from water less than eight feet deep... But that's where most folks are fishing.. As am I.

Get down here before we soremouth em all!

March 3, 2008: The Chamber Of Commerce sponsored a "fish in" tournament that was held on Saturday, and the two top spots won a berth in the co-angler side of the Bassmasters Elite tournament, coming to town early next month. These places were hard to come by, as I hear that the paid entry side of the event was "Sold Out" in the first hours of elgibility for registration.

On Saturday there were twenty six anglers competing for the two available spots, and when the dust settled, Ricardo Carrillo brought the heavy stringer to the scales, weighing in at 21.64 pounds. That's mighty imppressive, but he did have a big fish that weighed in at 12.10 pounds.. But don't forget.. That total weight is for three fish.. In second place was Roy Burger, and he had a more human type weight of 17.17 pounds.. But good enought to get in.. And the last spot available.. Congrats to the winners!

Carrillo with his big fish.

February 28,2008: It has been brought to our attention once again that the wholesale filleting of big fish is in full swing, especially at the state park fish cleaning ststion. I hear that it looks like a weigh in line in the afternoons, with people waiting to use the butchering facility.

I do not and cannot understand the mentality of people who kill off the lifeblood of our lake, by killing limits of big fish daily, just so they can fill their freezer, and go home and feed the entire neighborhood where they are from. And after they destroy the fishing here they will just move on to another lake that is currently producing a lot of fish, and do the same thing.. There are plenty of examples across the state of Texas.

We have had several people in the store lately, telling us the same thing.. That everyday they see eight and nine pound bass on the cutting board. And not just a few.. And this is happening in the parks all over Zapata also..

I know the law allows us to keep five fish per person per day. And I eat a few fish on occasion too.. But a 15" fish is much better eating than a mature female, especially one that is, or was just on the nest.

This mentality of killing all these big fish is just Stupid.

I am a business man in Zapata.. I depend on customers to keep our doors open. Our customers are fishermen. But if you are fisherman and you are killing all the big fish you catch I prefer it if you just drive on by our store.. We don't sell freezer bags..

February 27, 2008: We have received several more e-mails this week from fishermen who have caught a lot of fish, and a lot of big fish. We have a couple more fish pics to post, and you can look for them soon.

On another note, if you are headed to Falcon this weekend, there is a little tournament you might want to fish. The Zapata County Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a one day tourney this Saturday, the first of March. The two top finishers will receive a guaranteed entry into the Co-Angler division of the Bassmasters Elite series. I know this is sort of short notice, but I did not realize the parameters of the tournament till today. Entry fee will be $100 and there is room for Boaters and Non-Boaters. It is a three fish tournament and the usual rules apply. You can still register till Friday evening, and late registartion will take place from Four till Seven O'Clock at the Holiday restaurant on Hwy 83 in Zapata. Captains meeting will take place at 7:30 at same location. If you are on some fish, this might be an economical way to make it into the Co-Angler bracket. Sorry for the late notice. Call the Chamber at 956-765-4871 for more details..

On days when the wind in not howling, the fishing has been very good. If you have been reading our reports then you already know the methods that are working. But the spawn is moving down the lake.

A few weeks ago the majority of bedding fish were on the North end of the lake. But with the water temps hitting 70 degrees in most areas, the bigger fish are moving shallow, with a lot of reports of big fish in six feet of water or less . And a lot of reports of the bigger fish have come from South of marker eight.

In any case, you can't catch them while you are fertilizing your yard.. Call a lawn service company and get down here! The Bite Is On!

February 26, 2008: Jim Flynn and his buddy Rodney Berger fished last Sunday, and on the fourth cast of the day Rodney nailed this ten pounder in a creek near the State Park. They made a long day of it and caught a lot of fish, on spinner baits, crankbaits, brush hogs, and the big fish was caught on a swim bait, the Magic Shad. Look for a big selection of Swim Baits coming to FLT real soon.. Jim has been around a lot of big fish lately.. I'm gonna have to follow him next time he comes to Falcon..

Rodney Berger 10 lbr

February 25, 2008: I've just got so much to tell you.. So I'll start by posting some pics and comments from some customers and fishermen over the last few days.

Danny Lawrence from Terell Texas and Scotty Wenzel from Point Texas also whacked em on Falcon Last week, and they are already planning a return trip. I think I would too.. According to Scotty they caught both of these big fish On Zoom Ol Monster worms in Plum. (It is now a conspiricy) Both of these fish were caught near the state park, on the south end of the lake. I am telling you that the Plum color is really good on this lake and I have been throwing it for a year.. Try it.. You'll like it..

Scotty on Left..8.90 lbs. Danny on right..9.50 pounds.. They said they caught 40-50 fish per day.. Sounds like a great trip to me!

Joel Pena caught this fish off the bank on Feb 23rd near Bobs Knob on a spinner bait.. It was caught about four feet from the bank.. It weighed in at a whopping 13.77 pounds.. Who needs a boat??

Joel Pena

"Just wanted to take the time to say thanks for the many reports I have viewed. They are spot on from the locations to what they are biting. The 9lber I got on 9 Feb and we enjoyed our trip so much we came back again on 17 Feb where I got the 10lber...well worth the trip from San Antonio...that is truly a great lake. Thanks again for the report and they are always great to read. Hope to see you again soon."

Keith Hunt

9.03 pounds10 pounder

Looks like Keith has em figgured out!

"The fish shown in the attached picture was caught on the Mexican side of Falcon on Feb. 9th, while fishing with guide Carlos Olivares, 9 lbs. 12 oz., and after the picture was taken was released to go lay eggs. Highly recommend Carlos as a guide."

Bob Thompson

The lake level this morning is at 283.06 or just about 18 feet low, as the drop in water level continues slowly downward. The good news is that there is still a lot of flooded timber and brush in the water to protect the fry that is clouding up the water at this very moment.

The fishing reports, as I am sure you have gathered by now, have been extraordinary in nature, with folks sending us e-mails and pics of some beautiful fish. I was able to fish Saturday for a while, and found my fish still holding in the same creek where I caught them last weekend. That would be Chapote Creek on the Texas side. Fish the big flat area in the back of the creek. On Saturday afternoon I caught a six, two fives and a couple of angry four pounders in there in short order.. Fish the bigger trees in there and always fish the Hardwoods with bushes around them. The trees with weeds around them did not produce any fish.

Even My Daddy was able to whack a couple of em in the head. His reel of choice is still a Closed Face Zebco One. It's a twenty year old heavy duty winch that kind of looks like a 33. But I don't recommend it for us amateurs.. I'm sticking with my baitcasters.. But that Zebco really works well with braid and you can sure shoot a bait under low limbs with it. Take your Dad fishing when you can...

Leo Bendele-Five Pounder

February 22, 2008: We have been swamped with people in the store, and you just wouldn't believe the results we have been hearing. We have heard from many customers that they have caught lifetime fish this week. And nothing makes us happier. The big fish are on the beds and it is time to be here..

Jim Belcher from Jefferson City MO stopped by the store this afternoon with his lifetime best bass.. we were obliged to take a pic of it for him.. You can see he is all broken up about it.. We have a ton of stuff to post but right now it is just too busy to type!

Jim Belcher 10.2

February 21, 2008: Got a nice e-mail and pic this AM from an angler who decided to make the drive to Falcon. Guess it was worth the gas!

"Just wanted to say "Thanks" for keeping us all updated with the most current fishing reports I've found anywhere.They actually convinced me to make the 500 mile trip from Lake Charles, La to try to catch the fish of a lifetime. Mission Accomplished! This fish came from the Old Guererro area on a white/chartreuse spinnerbait in about 4 ft. of water. Thanks again, and keep up the good work."

Troy Matte

Troy Matte 10 lb 2oz

February 20, 2008: The fishing here at Falcon continues to be great, for those lucky enough to be here. If you have some time off coming, and can get your kitchen pass validated, then I recommend that you make your way down I-35 to Fishing Nirvana. We have been receiving some incredible reports from all over the lake about the numbers of three to five pound fish being caught. And there are always those few whoppers mixed in. I cannot guarantee that you will catch a monster today or tomorrow... But if you put in a little time right now the odds are very good that you could catch a fish to brag about.

The lake level is at 283.15, or 17.87 feet low, and we have lost just over 2/10 of a foot in the last ten days. The water temps are in the upper 60's in most places, but I did see it at 70 for a while last Saturday. Water releases from Falcon have been increasing slightly over the last couple days, and we could see the lake fall a little more quickly if we do not receive some rainfall in the very near future. Amistad is holding it's own, and they are pulsing some water down the river. But at current rates we will continue to see a slow fall in Falcon levels.

Come On Down!

February 18, 2008: It was quite a weekend at Falcon. I hear that hotel rooms were hard to come by, and all the restaurants were packed. I can attest to the latter..

We heard of and saw a lot of really nice stringers of fish in the last few days. I mentioned in my reports last week that we were on the verge of an incredible stretch of fishing, and for once I was right. And the good thing is that it is going on full bore right now.. As I write this I guarantee you that there are a swarm of big bass on the beds in the backs of creeks.

I was not planning on fishing over the weekend, but darn it the weather just turned out to be too nice. That is all except for Saturday afternoon from about 2:00 till dark. If you were on the water you know what I mean. I ALWAYS watch the forecast for wind and rain before I fish. And on Friday night there was no mention of the North wind showing up on the weather channel, at least not until Sunday morning..

There were some really big waves out there.. And in the store on Saturday evening I took in a lot of wet money.. And I already had some of my own..

We fished the Coyotes on Saturday, and we had good results fishing the Back Middle Left of the creek.. There is a little channel, or something like it in the middle of the brush.. I am sure it used to be the creek channel but it is very silted in, and there are no sharp breaks on the edges.. Just more of a depression that runs back and forth thru the area.. In any case we caught a lot of fish on the edges of the brush. Most of the fish were up against the clumpier huisache bases. The bigger the better.. And if there was a hardwood with some brush up against it the odds were good that there was a fish in it. Our biggest was a 5-10 but we caught a lot of four pound plus fish. We probably had 22 or 23 pounds for the best five., but we both had an easy 20 pound sringer. Just didn't catch any whoppers. I heard that most people who did catch big fish caught them in about 6-8 feet of water.. And I believe that is where most of the biggest fish will spawn.

We were able to take a little of the lake back to the house with us, as I managed to let off the gas at the most in-opportune moment.. When the depthfinder broke off the mount on the dash.. It's good to know that your boat makes a pretty good submarine.. But not to worry, we only dove to about one and a half feet.. And fortunately, only for a short distance..

On Sunday we headed to the Salado, as I have been whacking them in a pocket or two. All of my water was chocolate milk from the Saturday winds, and at 11:00 we did not have one fish in the boat. We headed up the river to a creek on the Texas side, where I believed there would be some protected water. I'll tell you just where after I take my Mom and Dad there this Wednesday.

In any case, I grabbed the trolling motor rope and broke it off when we stopped.. By the time I got the broken end of it cut off the latch my boat partner had two fish caught.. I figgured I could fix the rest on the trailer..

In the next two hours I personally caught 28.70, and we had several good fish on that we never got to see, and a few we did that did not make it to the boat. I had a 7-11, 6-01, and a 5-13 in twenty minutes. My partner had one between 8 and 9 pounds swinging from a giant tree.. He didn't put her there.. That fish went crazy.. Anyway she was hanging in mid air till the hook pulled out.. We just couldn't get to her fast enough..

All these fish were caught in 3-4 feet of water, and most of them came on dark lizards, mostly the Zoom Mag Lizard in Plum. (Yeah, it's back to the Plum again) I put on the darker bait because the water was off color. And it really worked. I have been having great sucess on Watermelon Purple Brush Hogs, and on Saturday I used two bags of em. But the water was very clear in the Coyote..

You better get down here fast.. The Full Moon is on the 20th.. It's gonna be wild!

See you on the water!

February 18, 2008 : Over the weekend there were a lot of folks in town, and a lot of folks, including us caught a lot of fish. We took this picture of Billy Monahan of Austin on Friday, who was prefishing for his club tourney over the weekend.. He fishes with River City Bass club.. One day early Billy! Great Fish!

11.28 LBS

February 17, 2008: We received this e-mail and picture of a nice fish on on Saturday.. It speaks for itself!

Here's a pic of a 10# that Rick Thompson of Liberty Tx caught 2/11 out of flooded mesquites around the mouth of the Salado. We fished 8 days and have never seen the number of 4 to 6 pound fish anywhere. The quality and strength of these falcon bass are simply unbelievable.We caught fish in all stages of the spawn and unfortunately the 10 was already spawned out, maybe we'll get her again next year still full of eggs. My nephew caught his biggest fish ever, an 8 pounder from the Blanco area on a Zoom Ol Monster.

Thanks, Charlie Richardson

Thank you Charlie for the report and the Picture!

We have a lot more things to post today, so check back later!

February 15, 2008: The lake level today is at 283.22, or 17.8 feet low. In the last four weeks we have held water level pretty good, dropping about nine inches. I say that is pretty good, knowing that the lake could have dropped another yard or so this time of year. I am hoping this predicted rain event for the weekend will get the watershed wet and maybe get us a little down in the valley, where our water ends up. They are almost keeping up with the release from Falcon, with water from Amistad.. And Amistad is still just eeking up ever so slightly. We will continue to talk with the powers that be in regards to our water levels, even if it does no good, except to make us feel a little better.

But for now, I will have to commend the watermasters for keeping us where we are.. We are in the middle of what should be a fantastic spawn, and there are already a bunch of babies swimming around in Falcon. If we can stay anywhere close for the next thirty days, we will be in great shape..

The water temps are holding up pretty good also, and and it won't be long till we are in the 70's. The cold air that was predicted for the weekend is supposed to stay north of the Nueces, and I am fine with that.

Look for fish to be caught shallow for the next few weeks, especially if no more cold air arrives. After watching this weeks forecasts, I am not sure if these weathermen can predict yesterdays weather. I think I am going back to the Indian Weather Rock... It never lies..

There will be a bunch of 9 pound plus fish caught this weekend by some happy fishermen.. Why not come down and be one of them..

See you on the water... James

February 14, 2008: Mike Huckabee took time out of his busy campaign to fish Falcon lake last week. He and his partner Mike Hale caught a couple of whoppers.. And they were kind enough to forward us a couple of pics from their trip.. Good Going guys! And Mike my tax deductible donation is on it's way...

Mike Huckabee on left with a 9lb9ozer.. Mike Hale with a 9lb 12ozer.. Sweet..

February 14, 2008: Yesterday was an interesting day at the store. We were told stories of big catches, and rumors of big fish that did not come out of the bushes.. although they had a hook in their mouth.

Tom Law, one of our local guides, stopped by the store with a couple of his clients. They were smiling, and buying reinforcements for their tackle boxes. Tom said that they were catching a LOT of big fish on the lower end of the lake. And last week, one of his clients caught a 12 pounder flipping bushes in 3-5 feet of water. Here's Doug McClure from Abilene with his big fish.

He also caught a ten pounder on Tuesday.. I told him the Guide is not supposed to catch the big fish..

But wherever you go be ready to do battle with some really mean and pumped up fish. When you set the hook on one of these fish they are going ballistic.. Big Fun!

There are no less than seven Bass clubs coming to town over the weekend, plus the American Bass Anglers tournament. From what I saw at Choke Canyon, I don't think they will have more than twenty anglers here at Falcon. But I could be surprised, as Falcon is as hot as it gets.

The following Bass Clubs will be at Falcon this weekend: Atascosa, Ingram, River City, (Austin) Uvalde, Southwest Research, Quality, and Alice, on Sunday only..

We have the hanger rods double stacked so come on by for whatever you need. And maybe some stuff you don't..

Also I want you to check out the RPM rods we have a few of.. I saw a demonstration yesterday that really impressed me. Nobody is giving me any rods, and I don't own one of these, but I'm going to. I'm not saying that they're unbreakable.. But they are close.

We are selling a ton of Spiner baits.. The Jo-Baby Falcon Special in 3/4 ounce is a killer in white tipped with a chartruse Zoom Split Tail trailer. Also the SOB in a similar willowleaf pattern is just as good. Bigger spinners are also good. We hear and observe that big lizards in Watermelon seed and Plum are catching a lot of fish. I personally will not hit the water without a couple of packs of Watermelon Purple Brush Hogs. Barbara has had to order extra just because of me.. I am fishing very shallow, but I hear that fish are being caught at all depths..

And lastly, for a while anyway, my wife and I were having Valentines dinner last night at Mr.Tee's, the restaurant at Oso Blanco Lodge. (You did remember that today is Valentines day, right?) We saw some customers there we recognized, and naturally we were talking fishing. One young fellow was sitting alone at another table and was paying a little attention.. On the way out, me being a natural blabbermouth, I stopped and introduced myself and asked him if he was fishing. I couldn't tell by the sunburn and Mercury visor. He introduced himself and said he was prefishing for the Elite series, and was headed for Amistad on Friday. I said "It must be tough." He said the tough thing was leaving, as he had two over nine and three over seven that day. (Wednesday) Not bad for his third day on the lake. It might be scarry to see what these boys bring to the scales..

Hope to see you on the water soon!

February 13, 2008: Not one person who came thru the store today said they did not catch fish. I caught ten in water shallower than knee deep. And most all the fish we caught were QUALITY FISH.

I fished the Centurion (Blanco) today, and I had not been way back in there since last year. There is a lot of flat water in either creek, to the left or right. And in that flat water there are a lot of fish. Find a hardwood with a bush in or around it, and the odds are good that there is a fish there.. Try it.. You'll like it!

Lots of clubs in town again this weekend.. Hope to see you if you come our way.. The fishing is Great!

February 12, 2008: From all visible signs, the spawn is in full bloom on Falcon Right now. We have seen and heard from so many people that they are catching fish all over the lake. And I mean from top to bottom.

The most often reported method of catching better fish is still on a big spinner bait, at least a 3/4 ounce, with Chart and White skirt, and a Chartruse trailer on it. Zoom makes a split tail trailer that is great. And a good choice for your spinner is a Jo-Baby Falcon Special, with Gold and Gold Willow leafs.. A big one on the bottom. The bigger the better.. And our friend Marvin Hendrix caught a 30.2 pound stringer today on the same color combination. But he said he had a #3 Colorado in Gold above the big willow on the bottom. He caught a set of six pound plus quadruplets, and a big five pounder to go with them. He showed me the Polaroids of them.. Gotta drag him into the digital age.. I'll try to get a scan of them later..

I still had the best luck the last couple days on a watermelon purple brush hog, fished in shallow water.. As shallow as your troller will let you. We caught fish in the same areas as the last few trips, but closer to the bank.. Don't be afraid to to plow the bottom. We have a lot of props for Motorguide and MinnKota.

My brother was throwing a spinner bait most of the time and did manage to catch some fish also. I just got a little luckier today. And for those of you who read down this far, here's a little tip if you like fishing the top of the lake. All the creeks and coves and points on the right side of Salado, are holding a lot of fish. This is probably no secret to most, but if you are new to the lake, it is a good place to start.

We have seen a lot of Elite series folks thru the store, and I assume we will have a lot of prefishing going on till the off limit period starts.. Lots of folks here from all over the country.. Come join us!

February 11, 2008: It was a very busy weekend in town, and on the lake. Unfortunately I was unable to be here enjoying the great weather and fishing. We have heard several reports of ten pounders being caught over the weekend, but as of yet, I do not have pictures of any. There is also a rumor going around town that someone caught a fourteen pounder on Sunday.. I have a little info on the fish but am not comfortable with the who's and where's just yet.. I hope to have a pic of the beast tomorrow along with some details..

I got some e-mails from several people who found the fishing a little tough on Sat and Sun, but I also got some telling me that they caught some great fish.. And I think it's kind of weird that a eight or nine pounder doesn't even get a second thought around here.."How'd yall do today?" "Aw.. we caught one 8-14 and a few fives...Nothing Spectacular.." I think we are all a little spoiled..

I am still trying to collect info on the three bass clubs that were in town over the weekend.. And I'll try to get some info on the tourney page tomorrow.

But in the meanwhile, this town is full of fishermen. And we have been really busy at the store, especially for a Monday.

I know that a lot of shallow fish are coming on Spinnerbaits, and just as many are being caught on soft plastics.

We had a few old salts in the store this evening and they think that we are still in prespawn. I am not so sure about that, and I do know a lot of fish are up doing their thing right now.. And a lot of fish will be heading to the beds for the next few weeks. So the good news is that there will be some going shallow when you get here.. You are on your way, Aren' you??

Water holding pretty steady at 17.75 feet low.. water temps at 66 in the PM on a sunny day..

February 8, 2008: It's been a pretty busy week on the lake, and there are still a lot of folks in town enjoying the warm weather, and the fishing that is heating up. We have received a lot of reports of good fish being caught, and just about every fashion of fishing is working.

The lake level as of this morning is 283.35, or 17.67 feet low. We are down .16 feet in the last seven days. I can live with that.. Water temps are back in the mid sixties in the PM and our nights have not been too cool. That is the secret to getting the water warmed back up.

Much of our spawn is happening right now, and those of you lucky enough to to be here this weekend or next may just catch the fish of a lifetime. Big plastics, and big spiner baits are working well just about anywhere you go. Get your favorite of each tied on and don't quit throwing them. And if you catch a fish in an area, fish the surrounding area thoroughly. The fish we have been finding are usually not alone. But you will find some water that is just not holding fish, although it looks just like some that does.

Our Buddy Jim Flynn from Sinton really whacked them last Saturday, and his partner Rodney Berger caught this 9.5 pounder near the state park. There have been a LOT of big fish caught lately.. Send us your pics. We'll make you famous..Well..Kind of..

February 5, 2008: Sorry it's been so long since I have posted an update, but I have been out doing research. I got got my first sun and windburn of the year, as Sundays temperature got up to 92 degrees. And the weather wasn't the only thing that was hot.

Fishing for most folks has been very good, and for some folks it has been excellent. Even I have managed to squeak out a couple of nice limits over the last few days. We had a house full of visitors over the weekend, And I would say that Saturday was the best for all of us. Out of three boats, we all had stringers of over twenty pounds, and Rick Romaine and his partner George McInvale had over thirty two pounds for their best five fish. And their biggest fish was a 7 1/2 pounder, so you can see the quality I am talking about.. We all caught nice fish that day..

George McInvale 6-10

Rick Romaine 7-7

I won't tell em' Rick that you caught that fish on that crazy Chartruse blade..

I have also spoken to and heard from a plethora of other folks that also had a great day on Saturday. I ran into Charlie Haralson in the Salado and he said a client and he had over thirty pounds on Friday and Saturday. He also said that he caught most of those bigger fish still in deep water, over twenty feet.

I also spoke with Debra Hengst, as she spent the weekend filming a show with the folks at the Bass Zone. She did a interview with them about Falcon, and what she expected to happen when BASS comes to town this April. Click here to read it. Debra also said she will be featured this weekend at 10:00 am on Versus with Shaw Grigbsy fishing Falcon. Check your local listings..

There are a bunch of bass clubs coming to town this weekend, and they should hit it big time.. we look forward to seeing you guys at the store.. Stay Tuned!

February 2, 2008

Got this e-mail from TCEQ today along with the daily water flow charts.. Just so you know where the water ownership stands between Mexico and the US, and this of course includes Amistad and Falcon.

"As of January 26, 2008, the U.S. combined ownership at Amistad/Falcon stands at 102.44% of conservation capacity (3,474.703) acre-feet (AF), up from 74.54% (2,479,151 AF) a year ago at this time. Overall the system is holding 71.87% (4,257,038 AF) of conservation capacity with Amistad at 86.64% (2,838,296 AF) and Falcon at 53.60% (1,418,743 AF). Mexico has 30.91% (782,335 AF) of the water it could store at Amistad/Falcon."

30.91 percent... Are you Kidding me?? But somehow all their interior lakes are full or very near..

See the current hunting report.. At least that will make you smile..

January 31, 2008: Well the first month of 2008 is about in the books, and in the last thirty days we have lost 5.28 feet of water. That's not the best way to start a new year, but it appears that the bleeding has subsided for the last week or so.

Fishing remains a little sporatic, but the results are getting a little better across the board. I spent Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday on the water, and the fishing got better every day. We noted a nine degree increase in water temperatures in the three days we fished. On Tuesday afternoon, most of the areas we were in had water in the 65 degree range, up from 56 on Sunday. And our best fishing was certainly on Tuesday afternoon. I caught five fish in fifteen minutes. Yikes! Hadn't done that in a Month!

We also ran into a lot of folks in town and on the water that were pre fishing for the upcoming BASS event. And on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 there were at least twenty trailers at the county ramp. Kind of unusual for the day and time.

We had our best luck on Texas rigged watermelon purple Brush Hogs. And it also seemed to make a big difference when I went to a light sinker. The slower fall really seemed to get me more bites. Maybe I was just in the right place at the right time.. Or maybe I was dropping the bait by em so fast they couldn't see it..

The flats in the back of the Salado, and the creeks on the Texas side up the river were our best producers of fish. There are some awesome spawning flats off the river channel in the backs of these smaller creeks above Oscars cove. You have to fight your way into some of them but it is worth the effort. We caught some very nice fish in 18" of water on Sunday afternoon in the very back of (Texas side)Chapote creek. And the spawn is traditionally earlier in the river here at Falcon.

They are again calling for some nice weather this weekend, and if this little cool front doesn't take the water temps too low, it should be good.

Hope to see you on the water!

January 28, 2008: The lake level has stabilized for the last few days, but the clear and sunny weather that was promised did not materilaize till this afternoon. But we did fish a few spots today where the water temps were up to 61 degrees. It is currently 77 degrees on my back porch. No wind, and absolutely perfect fishing conditions. So you ask,what the heck are you doing on the back porch? The truth of the matter is that we have fished the last two days, and have had less than spectacular results.

Yesterday we fished the Texas side of Chapote Creek up the river a bit.We caught a fat four and a half pounder immediately on a white chatter bait in 18 inches of water. It is good to get on a pattern early in the day.. too bad that was about the end of it.. we did get two more bites on the same bait, but they were a while inbetween. We also caught a few other fish on Plun Mag Lizards, and that was also our best bait today. We started this morning along the Mexican bank just north of the Diablo. There are a thousand acres of flooded bushes in two feet of water against that bank, but we caught only four fish in the area.. We also fished the sendero edges from two feet to eight feet and our luck was not too much better.. Best fish of the day was at 2:00 and it was a 5-15.

I spoke with Charlie Haralson today and he said he had a good day yesterday with his clients, as they had a eight and a nine pounder. I guess I will have to hire him if I'm going to catch any fish.

Cody Goodman brought this fish in yesterday to be weighed, and we certified it at 10.27 pounds. It was caught on a Chart and White Chatter bait. Chatter baits seem to be the ticket on these shallow water fish.

Cody Goodman 10.27

A lot of other folks we talked to said that they also were finding some fish shallow, and there have been some good reports of decent numbers being caught. But I won't lie.. I'm not catching them.. But tomorrow is another day..And I'm Putting on my Rally Cap..

Tom Bendele 5.15

January 25, 2008: OK Folks.. Here's the deal.. The lake has stayed constant level for the last two days.. Today the air temps are up to about 50, and by Sunday it is supposed to be around 70, and on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we are supposed to be in the Eighties..

If you have a Kitchen Pass then this just might be the time to use it. These bass are just looking for a little warming, and some steady water levels could have these fish tailing by Tuesday.. So Quit your job and get down here.. They'll probably hire you back next week anyway..

Water releases from Falcon have been cut to about 1400 CFS.. Thank God! Similar releases from Amistad and some light rains in the watershed above Falcon should hold the water level for a little while.

COME ON DOWN!

January 23, 2008: Winter Texan Cal Steindl from Bagley, Minnesota caught a good un' this week. This fish weighed 10.2 pounds.. Nice Going Cal!

January 23, 2008: There is some new news on the home front about the forthcoming improvements to the county boat ramp. The local Paper said that the "Commissioners Court approved the purchase of 11.6 additional acres for the Boat Ramp Project.."

Not too sure exactly what this means but I will find out and pass it along asap.. There has long been rumored a new boat dock at the county ramp.. But till I see it with my own eyes it will still be a rumor to me.

I put a link on the front page to a Mexican web site that that says boat permits are NOT required as of January 2008 for sportfishing in Mexico and Mexican waters. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I Can't see them giving up a revenue source for no reason. We'll see...

There are no plans for Falcon to receive any stocking this year except for some possible White Bass Fry, if the hatch is successful. I am sure if there is an abundance of anything we could be the beneficiaries of any overproduction. Here is a link to TPWD with a record of our stocking since the 70's..

Falcon Stocking

The lake is at 283.59, or 17.43' low, and the water temps are in the mid 50's.. Brrrr..

January 21, 2008: The lake level has slowed its fall somewhat, and today it sits at 283.67, or 17.35 feet low, down about 2/10 of a foot in the last two days. The flow from the dam has been decreased to about 3300 CFS, way down from last week. We have had a few showers in the area, and the forecast calls for a few more before next weekend.. Now is not the time to quit praying..

Tuesday is forecast to be a nice day to fish, but after that the weather is supposed to get a lot cooler, and a lot wetter. We have been having a good bit of cloud cover, and the nights have been cool, lots of them in the thirtys and fourties the last few days. The water temps are hovering around 56-58 in the mornings and these fish are a little lethargic. At least for us amateurs. I do not expect a great change in the bite in the next few days. The fish we caught yesterday were in about 6-8 feet of water, and the bite was almost undetectable. So pay good attention to your offering. Our best bait was a watermelon red 6" lizard, and the fish we caught were in the bushes. Not near em'.. In em'.. And letting it soak a while was a good idea.

But don't despair.. Warmer weather is on the horizon, and the fishing will be fantastic in a few weeks..

We look forward to seeing you!

January 18, 2008: Old man winter has made a return trip to Zapata this week, and our highs for today are predicted to be around 45 degrees.. A slight warming trend is in store for the weekend.. If you call low sixties warm.. North winds are in the forecast for Saturday, and a East/Southeast wind for for Sunday.. Both days some gusts can be expected up to 25 mph, according to the NWS site. So plan accordingly.

Water temps as of this morning are back in the mid to upper fifties, depending on your location. And if past performances are any indicator, the odds are that the fish will be a little deeper than they were last week.

And all this just in time for the arrival of five bass clubs for the weekend.. Hopefully the weather will give you guys a bit of a break.

The lake has droped to 283.99, or 17.03 feet low. But some good news is that the release rates have been about cut in half from their highs last week. We'll see how long this lasts.

January 17, 2008: News out of Mexico this week is that Boat Permits are no longer required on International lakes on the Rio Grande. Amistad and Falcon will still require a Personal Mexican Fishing Licence. We were informed of this yesterday by phone and Mexican Authorities promise to follow it up with an official letter in the next few days. We will make it available in a PDF form for printing when we get it.. I have no idea why this has happened.. But we'll let you know what we find out.. Good thing I just bought a new one last week.. :-(

The next thing you know, they'll say that netting is bad for the lake...

But what that means is that you'll have an extra $50 for gear! And We've got it!!

January 16, 2008: I spoke with Charlie Haralson last night, and we cussed and discussed the dropping water levels at Falcon. We also talked about what the fish are doing right now.. He said before the Stren tournament that most of his fish were deep, (10 feet) but by the time the tournament had started, the warmer water had moved the fish up considerably. He caught most of his fish on spinner baits in shallow water. Most of it being less than four feet. He fished with a buddy yesterday and said they had an easy 25 pounds for the best five. The same patterns are still working as during the last week. Shallow plastics, and spinner baits in the bushes in the shallow flats.. It helps if there is a creek or ditch nearby. He also said that he had some open days on