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FLT Flash! Fishing Report

E-mail James

Argentina Dove Trip 2012

May 22, 2013: There are not a lot of people in town this week, and windy conditions have hampered the fishermen that are here, when it comes to running around and fishing much open water.

And the humidity and the hanging smoke, courtesy of the Mexican farmers on the Yucatan, has been heavy duty in the mornings..

How come everything the Americans do, except for the good things, is world headlines, and we are ruining the planet for everyone else. But if the Mexicans or the Argentineans put out more smoke than Mount Saint Helens, no body says a word about it..

They're starting fires.. And we're trying to put em out.. Go figure..

But those that have fished have been doing pretty good. No record breakers, but damn decent fishing..

Nothing has changed with the ramps.. Still sucks launching at the state park.. Zapata is fine..

Big crankbaits are still the ticket for the best stringers I reckon. A Carolina rig is a close second. People are putting everything from 6" lizards to dishwashers on the C-rig.. And catching fish..

Seems like all baits go thru stages, and right now the 6-XD is still king. Citrus Shad and Powder Blue Back Chartreuse are the two hottest baits going it appears. I guess you can't argue with success..

With all this talk about crankbaits, there has not been a lot said about the flipping bite.. But it is still there, and it is still good. Not every batch of trees have fish in them. But a lot of them do. And I do not think you can fish too shallow.. So don't be afraid to stir up some mud with your trolling motor..

The water on the south end of the lake is gorgeous, but it starts to get a little stained around marker eight.. As stated in the last report, there is some nice looking water in the backs of creeks on the north end of the lake.

I have not heard from one person that they went into the Salado.. There has to be enough water to get into it, but I am sure there is not over six to seven feet of water in the main ditch.. But it probably needs to get checked out.. Might have to put that on my to-do list..

Young Will Wisenhunt is now ruined, as he caught a new PB last week on Falcon. This one went 7-12..

Another Rosie from last week..

Kenneth Clements caught this ten pounder last week..

And there has been a lot of this stuff going on here lately. Big blue cats with a liplock on each other. It has been reported by several folks that have come in the store.. Not sure if this is some kind of mating ritual or what.. I'd throw some water on em but...

If I could make the wind quit blowing everything would be fine..

It sounds like there are going to be quite a few folks in town over the weekend. Most colleges are done for the year, and only another couple of weeks for government schools..

So I guess we better stock up on 33 Combos and worms.. It is about that time of year. We have a decent population of kids here in Zapata that have recently become active fishing from the banks during the summer.. And they catch on quick. And a lot of times they will give me some really good info about what is going on here in the Veleno. And it is always funny to hear their stories about the big one that kicked their ass. Especially when it is told by a twelve year old.. They are a special kind of excited..

And believe me, there are a bunch of big fish in the Veleno that can kick your ass..

And they are whacking the catfish and alligator gar as I speak.. Well maybe not today, but they will be this weekend. Just because they ain't hittin from the blacks don't mean they ain't in the game..

And there ain't a lot of things for kids to do in Zapata during the summer..

I was looking at the Sharelunker web page the other day, checking up on my buddies at Athens.. And while I was perusing the data from last season, I saw this link to the Sharelunker facebook page. Well I clicked on it, but it wouldn't let me look at the page unless I "Liked" the page..

What the hell is that? Where is the link to click on if you if don't like the page..

This is America dammit and equality is the rule.. There should surely be a "Hate" link to click on as well..

And speaking of facebook, which I think is a total waste of time, what makes everybody think any of the rest of us give a crap if your dog had kittens.. All you are doing is eating up a lot of my bandwidth when I am trying to download the latest pics of Rosie from the web.. And these are large files...

Where's the old fashioned personal touch of forwarding an e-mail..

Ah well.. I guess it is a good site for the predators and thieves to track you..

I think it is a worse idea than reusing a condom..

But evidently I am in the minority.. My wife loves to send me crap from facebook.. I tell her if I wanted to see it I would go see it..

I never went in the dark tent at the carnival to see the Bearded Lady either.. To scary for me.. I have a vivid imagination.. Where might his beard be growing??

I dated a French girl once.. And while she had some neat features, I just couldn't get past her leaving hair on my stick deodorant.. There are some things better left alone..

And I hear that the bearded lady has a facebook page...

See you on the water...

May 18, 2013: Fishing continues to be pretty good around these parts, and there are actually a few folks in town this weekend. The Deep Crankbait bite remains strong, and we have been having trouble keeping some colors in stock.. But it ain't cause I ain't ordering em..

The 6XD in Citrus Shad and the Norman in Tropical Shad or Chart/Blue have been really popular.. All of these are deep water baits, and the jig is starting to catch a few bass as well as the fish are kind of getting set up in their summer pattern.

This has been the first week where water temps have stayed over eighty degrees from start to finish. And I do think that the fish are liking it.. If you are fishing a tourney down here please take the warm water temps into consideration. It will take some extra care to keep your fish healthy..

Why haven't you installed an oxygen system in your boat yet?

Has your club gone to a three fish limit on Falcon Yet?

Or a paper or weigh em' in your boat tourney?

You can weigh ten fish in a paper tourney.. Just like the old days..

If you're keeping fish then move your weigh ins to 2:30 or 3:00.. Nine hours is plenty.. It's too damn hot down here this time of year anyway..

So please take care of your fish..

Make that "Our" fish..

I was out on the lake yesterday, and the water is starting to clear up a bit in the river.. But just a bit.. If you get off the river channel it looks pretty good.. The small pockets up here on the north end are pretty fishable.. And a week ago the Diablo was solid mud, now it looks pretty damn good.. Same for School Bus.. Even the little pockets, like the one just across from the mouth of the Veleno, look good.. But you got to get in the back..

The bait fish and shad were thick in the Diablo.. Throw a 1.5 in there on them rocks.. There are fish in there.. Pierces Cove also has square bill fish on them rocks.. Fish the old foundations on the river channel when you can as well..

Netters are thick in the midlake area.. They are pretty bold right now, and they seem to have no fear in setting on the Texas side. So be on the lookout for them when you are in shallow water. Even on the Texas side.. Law enforcement is not keeping up for sure.. We need more wardens on the water and less on land.. And less in the office..

Even if they ain't catching em, their presence is a deterrent..

Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend.. And there will be a lot of folks with an extra day off in observance of the holiday. And I hope that some time over the weekend you will take the time to remember what the holiday is all about. And make an effort, every day, to thank a veteran, or an active duty service man or woman, for the work they do.. Just tell then you appreciate their service.. And they'll appreciate that, I guarantee..

Like I said before, a lot of better guys than you and me gave their lives so we can live in the best and freest country that ever existed on this planet. Let's hope we can keep these bastards from screwing it up..

It's been a hot week here in Zapata, and with the ground wet from last weeks rains, it has been brutal the last couple of days.. Heat indexes in the 110 range.. Not what we are used to.. Humidity may be good for cigars, but it sucks when the temps are 100 plus.. Next week looks a little better..

But I don't want you thinking that I am bitching about the rain..

We are still creeping up. And I mean creeping.. And I don't think we have enough push to get the concrete ramp back in operation at the State Park. Another couple of feet would do it.. But not yet.. We need a little more water out of Amistad..

I am sure there will be some kids tagging along next weekend, so don't forget some good sunblock and shade accessories for the kids.

I remember my Dad taking me out of school now and then for a fishing trip that encroached on a school day. And the teachers never minded if there was some learning going on on these field trips..

And boy was there..

The biggest thing I learned was a lot of new vocabulary.. And when I got home and used some of it at the dinner table, I got another lesson.. In Hygiene.. As my mother washed out my mouth with a bar of Zest..

Nothing like farting bubbles..

Of course a biology lesson was always in store back then. Cause we gutted and gilled every thing we caught.. Well most of it.. And I am sure that the first innards I ever saw were that of a fish..

Well maybe not.. There was that time we shoved a Black Cat up a horny toads ass..

But I digress..

Of course I learned a lot of other things.. Like how to assemble an Army cot.. Not to touch the glass on a Coleman Lantern.. How to cook bacon and eggs on coals in a cast iron skillet.. How to get the top off a bottle of soda water with your teeth.. How to tie an improved clinch knot.. And to leave your campsite cleaner than it was when you got there.. (We did a lot of camping back then..)

These days I think a Holiday Inn Express is roughing it..

And I learned that when an uncle tells you not to tell your Mom.. You didn't. That could lead to reduced privileges in the future..

Yeah.. It was the good old boy system.. And I loved it..

And along the way I learned to love the outdoors.. And just being outside.. I am sure a lot of you did too..

And there is not much more important, that a parent can do for his kids, than to teach them respect for nature, and appreciation of its awesome beauty and power.. And along the way that kid will learn respect for himself, and others..

Holy crap.. For a minute there I thought I was writing for some yuppie magazine. .

But that's where I grew up.. In the woods and on or in the water..

Which reminds me of a commercial I have been seeing on TV.. And it just don't sit right with me..

There's a Subaru commercial where this lady is talking about her daughter.. And about how her daughter grew up in the back seat of her Subaru.. That just don't sound right..

Now I'll admit I am a bit old school, but that is not something that would have been used back in the seventies.. Me and several girls I knew grew up in the back seat of my Chevy..

But somehow I don't think this gal is talking about the same thing..

But from personal experience, I can tell you that drive in movies, a station wagon with a fold down tailgate and back seat, a sleeping bag and a large popcorn was something good that this generation will never know.. And it's their loss..

I guess these days you can just park in the back yard, put a movie in the DVD player that has a screen in the headrest, and do a reenactment.. As long as you have some Orville Reddinbacker and a microwave..

Don't forget to hang the speaker back on the post before you leave..

See you on the water.. And don't forget to thank a Vet!

May 16, 2013: Well it never fails.. I went to the ranch for Mothers Day.. And ended up working like a slave.. We had a big storm go thru last week that tore up a bunch of tin roof on an old barn, and kind of rearranged its shape.. That took a while.. And the well motor went out so we pulled that and replaced the pump while we we were it..

And then there is the never ending fight with the fresh growth of baby mesquites in the coastal fields..

If it involves a ladder, or anything with a handle, I am getting less and less infatuated with it..

Like Danny Glover said.. "I'm getting too old for this shit.."

Anyway, I got back just in time yesterday to go out with the boys from TPWD's Inland fisheries, and turn loose some 200,000 Florida Bass fingerlings.. Hell I guess they're Floridas.. But with PAW's recent epiphany about their genome mapping, who really knows.. But they were baby bass..

And they were in great condition. Fewest dead bass that I have ever seen in a delivery.. Not a dozen.. And these fish came from the hatchery in Athens.. That's a long way from Falcon..

These fish were scattered on the north end of the lake. We have another 300,000 coming in a few weeks, and they will be distributed on the south end of the lake. And I plan to make some special deliveries using my boat, just to help spread them a little farther..

I hear we are also going to get some Sharelunker fry pretty quick as well.. Maybe next week..

Thanks for the fish, Boys!

And speaking of fish, there have been a bunch caught here lately.. And it appears that Falcon has gown out of its funk from the last few months..

And as I was on the lake yesterday, I thought I heard it say.. "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.." Credit Mark Twain..

And TPWD.. And catch and release anglers.. And Mother Nature.. And God..

We have received over five inches of rain in the last seven days, and more than that has been recorded in a lot of areas above and below us. We have gained over three feet of water in the last two weeks.. And we are still on a very slow rise.. If we catch another foot or so, small boats may launch at the state park concrete ramp.. Water is up on it.. But barely.. So now that we have the ground wet, let's all pray for a turd floater..

San Antonio Bass Club is going to be in town this weekend, along with the anglers from C.A.S.T. So we will have a few folks around. And of course next weekend is Memorial Day, and I hear a lot of chatter about folks being in town on the long weekend.

Water on the top of the lake is still quite dirty, but the Veleno looks pretty good.. You have to get down to marker nine or so before it starts to clear much.. Looks a lot better at seven of course..

Rocks, rocks, rocks.. What else can I say.. Fish the rocks.. Of course there are always some flipping fish on Falcon.. But I am one of the few chasing them.. Throw that lizard or a baby brush hog in there.. And hold on to your panties..

And the report is getting a little redundant, but deep divers and square bills are both catching a lot of fish. And a lizard on a C-rig has been money on any gravel bar in the Tigers. Similar structure in other areas is working as well.. I hate a carolina rig.. But I am throwing it along with a lot of other folks..

Paul caught this 10.64 fishing with Jay Grieshaw last week.. He said they have had a bunch of giants on lately, but have had little luck at getting them in the boat.. These bastards are mean..

And I need to give credit where credit is due.. In my last post I posted a couple of pics of that were caught while fishing with Jim Behnken. The young boy and the young lady.. Kids and women get special privileges here at FLT.. Who says chivalry is dead..

All of the guides have been stroking them pretty good, and Tommy Law has been whacking them pretty good as well.. See his site for pics.. And Jays site as well..

Here's a pic of a fish that is pretty uncommon here lately..

Ray Westmoreland caught this white bass in the Tigers last weekend.. Second one I have heard of this last couple of months.. And hell.. If they can make a comeback, maybe there is even hope for the Republicans..

And not that I would ever get political in this independent blog, but the Dimocrats seem to be trying to hang themselves the last week or so.. Or at least a lot of gallows building has been uncovered and disclosed..

But you know that the truth is that whether your a flaming liberal or a staunch evil conservative, neither party gives a crap about you and me.. All they care about is getting re-elected..

If they gave a crap, then we would not have the mess we are in.. They can fix it.. But they have no balls.. 538 Americans, and the president control our debt and our future in their hands..

And have no fear, they are right behind us.. I think they are right behind us.. And here lately it feels like their hands are on our hips..

But like Hillary said.. "Does it really matter?"

The current administration needs a courtesy flush.. The water in the bowl still looks a little off color, even after a lot of the rats jumped off the burning ship..

I think the new Star Trek movie took their title for their new movie from from the Obamma administration.. "Into Darkness"

"Dammit Jim, I'm a community organizer, not a president!"

Oh well.. Three more years.. What could they possibly do to hurt us in just three more years..

What time does that Doomsday Preppers show come on?

May 12, 2013: Happy Mothers Day! It has been raining off and on since about 4:30 this morning.. And some of the rain in the early morning hours was heavy duty.. I just checked the gauge and we have received 1.5" since midnight..

And Friday night, we got 1.4 here at the shop, and it also fell in a hurry.. Yesterday was a decent day to fish, with some wind and some periods of calm mixed in.. Today looks to be the same..

And fishing was decent I hear.. But there is almost nobody in town.. I hope you're all at your Mamas..

The lake rose about six inches in the last twenty four, and we are up to 39.82 feet low.. Most of that came from the Laredo area, as they had a good rain on friday night as well.. We could stand another month or so of this.. It's been a crazy year so far water level wise, and if we were a pair of panties, our elastic would be worn out from going up and down..

This low is supposed to hang out over northern Mexico for another day or so.. Let's hope it stays productive a while longer..

I think my raincoat has dry rotted.. See you later.

May 10, 2013: There has been a bunch of rain in the general area, but none right here at the shop.. Maybe today. It rained a bit above Amistad last evening and night. But nothing that will help the lakes.. But it cain't hurt anything either.. Amistad is just above 61 feet low.. We have stayed as level as runny snot this week.. Maybe just gaining a tad.. We are still just a bit over forty and a half feet low..

Nothing has changed with the ramps since last report.. Still on the rocks at the state park.. Concrete ramps are fine here in Zapata..

Not a lot of folks in town this week, but those that are here right now are catching fish.. Tigers is still a good place to start.. Or finish..

Think rocks.. Or get in the hardwoods and knock the knots out of them.. Fish them slow for best results..

Malcom Kitchen and Ray Westmoreland(rt) fished with Rebel Bass Club last weekend, and they caught some Beauties.. The big fish was an 11 something..

And a couple of other visitors to Falcon were rewarded with a couple of nice fish..

Jackson Hawkins caught this 6.4 this week.

And Tara Tritt caught this 6.1 rock dweller.. I am not sure if she is a member of a Country Club, but now she is in the six pound club..

Falcon is always nice to the Kids and the Ladies..

Small baits are still catching a lot of fish, and that has been going on for a while. Fish em whatever style you prefer, and a C-Rig is as good as any, but Texas rigged or wacky will work as well.

And I reckon that small is always a relative term.. A few years ago I used to think that an Ol Monster worm was huge.. And that the Zoom Mag Lizard was a big bait.. It's a runt..

That lizard is anything but Magnum sized.. But it does catch fish.. I just think it is misnamed..

But right now it is the right size.. Some folks are using the 6" version. But I just can't go that small..

If you walked in the store right now and asked me what and where, I'm going to tell you to go to the Tigers and throw a 1.5 in sexy shad on the rocky points, or throw a C-rigged lizard in W/M Red or Candy on the submerged gravel bars..

You can do the same along any mainlake points on the Texas side. Fish the rocks..

And there has been plenty of room down here this week. It would be a good weekend to take your Mother fishing, but we might be dodging a few storms around here if the forecast should come through..

You did remember it is Mothers Day weekend didn't you?

And I have some good news for you if your Mom has not been able to find any 9mm ammo as of late..

I got in eighty boxes this week, so holler if Mom needs some.. I'll ship em to you if needed.. They have been impossible to find.. I paid way too much for them, and so will you if you want some.. But it was all I could get..

I still have a couple cases of 223 left as well..

The last go round of Bass Champs is just three weeks away, and I am gonna go out on a branch and say that there is going to be some big sacks caught in that event.. I have heard of quite a few upper twenty pound, three fish stringers the last two weeks.. And I look for it to remain steady as long as our water stays warm.. And it has to hit eighty, one of these days.. But it still has not. I saw 77 the last time I was out there, and that was before the last few cloudy days..

The water on the upper end of the lake is clearing a bit, but it is still far from clear.. You might have six inches in a few places up north.. But there is not a lot of up north.. Certainly not much north of Zapata.. The Salado is a crapshoot, as there is very little water in it.. And some good silt bars near the mouth and the confluence with the Rio Grande.. Use caution if you plan on heading that way.. A lot of it..

Other than that, it's all good.. Even I'm catching a few fish..

Don't forget to call yer Mama!

Happy Mothers Day!

May 6, 2013: If you have not been to Falcon in the last few weeks, you're probably missing out on some of the best fishing we have had since the first of the year..

Despite the falling water.. And the rising water.. And the cold fronts.. And the dirty water..

At least it is still dirty on the top half of the lake, and it has been for some months now.. But when you get south of marker eight, things look a lot better, and when you get south of marker seven, the water color is great..

The one bad thing is that there is no decent launch on the south end of the lake.. It is doable, but there is no dock at the state park, and somebody is going to get their feet wet getting in and out of the boat..

I hear that four wheel drive is not a necessity for launching there. But it does not hurt to have it in your back pocket, just in case..

Launching at the county ramp here in Zapata is no problem.. The main concrete ramp is a bit flat, but with two people it is easy.. Just back out there a ways.. There was a bunch of silt washed on top of it last week, but a call to the county commissioner got the debris, or most of it, off the ramp..

The ramp out on the point, to the west of the main ramp and dock is perfect.. There is no dock out there, but with two people it is the place to be.. You can step from the rocky point right into the boat..

When you exit the Veleno, drive right by the old bridge on the west side.. Do not run twenty yards from it.. Go right beside it.. The old roadbed is very shallow and you will damage your boat. But it is nine feet deep right beside the bridge.. No problemo..

I do not understand why the state park, after all these years, has not come up with some kind of portable/movable dock that they could manipulate to accommodate..

It would not have to be anything fancy.. I could build one in a weekend.. But I guess that is too much to ask.. And I am sure they are not charging you anything to launch there, being there is no ramp..

Yeah, right.. But if they built a dock, then they'd have to maintain and move it.. Who's gonna do that?

Maybe they should close the state park office, and quit charging anybody for use of the ramp until there is one..

Just leave the gate open.. We'll be just as good off..

But back to the fishing.. There'll be time enough for bitching later..

Fish are being caught from marker eight south, in a variety of ways. If you want to flip the trees, hit the Mexican side of the lake, and find you some water in the three to six foot range.. Most of what I am talking about is near the river channel. It is pretty unprotected, so a big wind will make this tough.. But on them nice weather days, it can be great.

But most folks are fishing rocks. Solid or gravel, it don't matter much. There are ten miles of gravel bars, banks, and humps in the Tigers right now, that have fish on them. You can throw a square bill on them, in a shad pattern and catch fish. Smaller the better.. I caught some in Pierce's Cove on Saturday, same scenario..

A Carolina rigged lizard is one of the top baits right now as well. We have been talking about the C-rig for a long time.. And it is the real deal right now.. Drag it on, over, along, or up a gravel bar and see what happens.. Great reports on this here lately..

And of course there is the hard bait army.. There are many baits that are catching fish in the Deep Diver category, but the 6XD is probably still tops.. The Spro Little John is also a winner, but they are a bit pricey.. But it pulls a lot easier and it catches fish.. Of course the Norman DD-22 is always a best bet down here.. Try the Slick, or the Chart/Blue.. Of course..

There were some really nice fish caught last weekend, and I am still working on pics and results from the tourneys.. I hear that Rebel Bass Club whacked them good, with an 11 something big bass, and some thirty pound sacks.. Details to follow.. Yesterday was a great day I hear..

SWRI was also in town, and the Star County club had a tourney as well..

A friend of mine gave me a copy of Bassmaster magazine last week, the one with the top 100 lakes in the country.. And while I find that list about as useful as a box of tampons, I did read what they wrote about Falcons "fall from grace." And while they did mention that we were suffering from low water levels, they seemed to blame the drop to number seven on the locals, who "eat every bass they catch, regardless of how big it is."

If you are down here much, you know there are not many people in this town, and there probably aren't twenty locals who have a bass boat.. At least those that might "eat every fish they catch." There are some bank fishermen who do eat "every fish they catch." We do have a lot of people who come here to "eat every fish they catch."

Hmmmm.. They did not seem to mention that they had some to do with the fishing here as well. Being that they put Falcon on many's radar.. That lots of people have come here because of Falcons #1 rating last year.. And that many of them took home fish to get stuffed and that many of them stuffed their ice chests with filets..

And how the many tournaments down here kill a lot of fish..

And that when they were here in 2008 they killed hundreds of big fish.. Yes hundreds.. Big fish.. There's a few lake records that did not make it to live thru the awesome conditions we had from 08 to 012.

I don't have a problem with the rating of #7.. Matter of fact, I love me some Old #7..

But I would prefer that if they were going to blame poorer fishing on the locals, that they would just not have said anything at all.. I believe that they might be calling the kettle black.

It's always easy to point the finger at someone else..

What's that word my Daddy used to use... Oh yeah.. Chickenshit..

Well the Sharelunker season is over, and wouldn't you know it, those two pure Floridas both spawned.. Almost at the same time.. I guess one was sympathetic to the other..

And I find it funny that the SL program is touting the 12 pound plus fish that came out of Naconiche as a descendent of a Falcon SL fish that was turned in years ago.. That fish was not even a pure Florida.. And this fish is not a pure Florida.. Why are they talking about this scab?? What's it got to do with Sharelunker? It was the daughter of a big old bass.. Why did they even spawn this fish anyway?

Or maybe new technology found out that this old fish was really not a pure Florida..

Perish the thought..

That would mean that all of their data might be suspect, especially on the fish that were caught and turned in prior to the new technology..

But I do think that the Sharelunker genetics are working.. Through their genetic engineering program they have been able to grow a third arm on all the TPWD folks at Athens, so they can pat themselves on the back..

I think we should call Obamma and demand an oversight committee..

I was watching TV the other night, (when ain't I) and I saw a Viagra commercial.. Maybe it was Cialis.. I don't remember..

Any way, this couple was sitting in a restaurant, and the announcer was talking about how good it was to see "her" doing those little things that she used to do.. As she reached across the table and stuck her fork in his piece of pie..

I thought to myself, Now that's pretty risque'..

If that's what Viagra does, then I don't want any.. The commercial could have been much more effective..

And the stage was set..

That table had a full length tablecloth.. And napkins everywhere..

That would have sold some little blue pills.. There's just no imagination in advertising anymore..

I better quit before I get myself in trouble..

I gotta go check my leghold traps for my neighbors cat..

April 30, 2013: It has been a beautiful couple of days to fish around here, and today is awesome.. What the hell am I doing in here?

Listening to other folks tell me about them catching fish.. Don't seem right..

We have talked to a lot of folks that are catching some fish, and some damn good ones. With the limited number of fishermen in town, it is much easier to sit on the sweet spots, especially on the south end of the lake.

The Tigers south is still putting out some decent numbers, and some good quality.. I talked to some fellers that had a 10.52 this morning, and a couple of nines and some other quality fish.. Deep crankbaits of course.. On the south end of the lake.. Here's a pic of their biggest..

Wyatt Whithers..

The flipping bite is still decent, and some good numbers have been coming off of the hardwoods.. And shallow is good.. Small dark baits are still doing well.. Throw it in the middle of the tree and let it sit..

The bite is very light most times, so if you feel something that doesn't feel right, believe me, it is..

Jerks are free.. So set the hook..

That damn 6 XD in several colors is still by far the best crankbait going.. The same old suspects.. I have seen more pics of that bait hanging out of fishes mouths than I can count.. But I do have to get naked to count to 21.. And really that is only twenty and a half..

We got almost two inches of rain here last Sunday morning, and it fell in a hurry.. I was standing out under the big roof on the south side of our shop, enjoying watching it pour, and lightning hit the power pole just across the street. It was one of them where the sound beat the light.. Suddenly I realized I was closer to the action that I need to be.. I think I passed a little bean sized turd..

And it shut us down early with no power, no phones, and no credit card machine..

Nobody wanted to be out in that crap.. But a lot of folks were..

The Bass Federation South division was holding their championship last Saturday and Sunday.. And a bunch of em got a wet ass, as my Daddy would say.. Along with a few other folks.

Sometimes you gotta just hunker down out of the wind, and take your ass whippin.. Twice in my life I have tried to run out of a big thunderstorm.. And it ain't worked either time.. So unless I can surely see a good outcome by traveling one way or the other, I'm gonna run it in the brush or up on the bank and wait it out..

Nothing like trying to run the lake in a downpour when you can't see the end of your nose.. And why does the storm always come from the direction you need to go..

I did not get the final results from the Bass Federation tourney, but on Saturday eighteen plus was leading it.. (three fish) And there were some other stringers close I understand.. Somebody please e-mail the final results please..

We fed all the contestants on Friday evening before the tourney. And we enjoyed having all of you guys here.. Thanks for giving me a reason for firing up the pit.. Thanks for your business and thanks for stopping in all year long..

Rebel Bass club is headed here this weekend, and I know of no other tourneys here as of yet..

Bass Champs south division is at Amistad this weekend, and I don't envy anybody hiking up that ramp..

Amistad is leveling off, but the bad thing is that it is leveling off at about 60 feet low.. That is not a misprint.. We have risen to about 41.75 feet low.. And we are still catching some water..

We'll see where it stops. There is still some water in the pipeline and we will continue to rise for the next few days.. We have pretty much shutdown our releases, with the rains in the valley over the weekend. They had to be under water as it was.. Amistad is currently letting out about twice what we are, but it is way down as well. Not sure what is in the cards for later this week..

The catfishermen are tearing it up, from bank or boat, and I have some pics to post of some big fish..

Samuel Esparza and some buddies have been whacking some monsters off the bank here in the Veleno.. Here's one of many..

And a group of our Homies from Castroville came down last weekend and put out some jugs. And these Squareheads know catfish.. Yeah.. They kicked their ass..

These were run of the mill..

And this was their big one, over fifty pounds.. Bottomed out the scale..

The Giant Bream are on the rocks on the dam.. I gotta go get me some...

See you on the water!

April 24, 2013: If this global warming ever takes a-hold, then we might get the fish to bite around here a little bit.. We are headed for a high of 52° around here today, with a nice north wind blowing some light rain and mist.. Just the kind of day you would expect here in Zapata in April.. Almost May..

It was 97 here yesterday.. That's more like it..

This has certainly been a strange winter around here, and probably in your neck of the woods as well.. There is still snow falling in the Rockies, and maybe the skiing season will make it thru the Fourth of July this year.. It is not normal to watch fireworks in your Ski bibs but once a year..

Water temps are still around 72-74 here on Falcon, and typically we are closer to 82 than 72 this time of year..

The water level roller coaster is back in operation, and we have picked up about six inches of water in the last 36 hours.. And projections are for water to keep coming our way thru the end of the month..

We'll see what happens.. I sure seem to talk more about water these days than fishing.

But if we ain't got no water, we ain't got no fishin..

Speaking of fishing, it ain't too bad.. I spoke to a couple of people who struggled yesterday, but I also talked to a couple who did pretty good. Most all folks are fishing the south end of the lake, throwing crankbaits.. And throwing crankbaits..

The dam continues to put out some good fish.. Not a lot of DD's, mind you, but some good quality fish in the six to nine pound range.

Flipping the right bushes will also still get you bit.. Think shallow.. My wife says I am good at it..

Two feet is not too shallow.. Clearer water and hardwoods.. Between the bark and the sap.. They're in there..

The Bud Light Trail was in Zapata over last weekend, and they had very few boats in the tourney.. I guess that the low water has a lot of folks scared off. It still took over seventeen pounds to win, (three fish) and the winners did not have big bass.. A nine something was the big fish I hear.

Bud Light Trail is holding an open tourney here next month, that's May 26th. And the weekend after that is the final Bass Champs event of the season for Falcon and for the south region, (I think). I am also not sure where their championship is going to be held, or if they have decided just yet.. Might be waiting to see where there is some water to fish in..

If you are affiliated with oil production in any way, the annual API tournament is going to be held June 13-15th, and like usual it will be HQ'd out at Beacon.. One member of each team has to be employed in the oil or gas industry. They will also be holding a cookoff and the usual bash that goes with it. A lot of money is raised for kids in the Border Sector and most goes for scholarships I understand. It will be a fun time..

I'll have a link for contact info as soon as they get it posted..

If you are a shooter, and like shooting for fun, in competition, or hunting, then you know how hard it has been to get any ammunition here lately.. It is crazy, and it just don't make sense.. Wish I owned an ammo factory though..

Our normal munitions supplier still has nothing to ship, and we can't even get any 22 shells.. But by some freak of luck, one of our recent visiting customers is a distributor, and he got us the hook up on some American Eagle 223 rounds.. Steel jacketed.. Call or e-mail me if you need some or know someone who does..

I went to the dentist the other day, and I have been going to this place for years.. And my dentist is in Mexico, just across the border.. And while you may believe that Mexico medical is still in a barbaric state, I can tell you that they have the same technologies that the US has, and maybe a few more.. For about half price.. Give or take..

And while this story is about going to the dentista, it is more of a story about their new hired help..

I got there early as usual, and was sitting in the waiting room, reading the latest copy of Novelas, the Mexican version of Soap Opera Digest.. Actually I was just looking at the pictures.. Those Mexican gals on those TV shows are some beautiful women.. But I digress..

I heard a voice that I did not recognize say "Senor Jaime?" I looked up and saw a new face behind the receptionist's desk.. Actually I looked up and saw about four inches of cleavage, bound tightly by a set of scrubs that could only be custom made.. I thought I was still looking at the magazine..

In any case she motioned for me to come on back, and she escorted me down the hall to one of the exam rooms.. Of course I know the drill so I sat down in the chair, and she proceeded to tilt it back to get the torture started. Of course this gal was not a dentist, but a dental assistant..

And when she bent over me to look at the tooth we were going to cap, all I could see was a pair of what Steve Martin would call "Golden Bozos.."

My mind was not on getting any dental work done.. I actually flashed back to the balcony of the Rainbow Theatre, Castroville, 1971..

I am not sure if you ever saw the movie "Billy Jack", but there is a scene in there where the bad guys son, who has a Corvette of course, is trying to "Persuade" this young gal to do the deed with him.. He gets her shirt off.. And let me tell you..

Emmersom Biggens..

In any case, this badass kid has a switchblade, (of course) and he is toying with it for a while. The titillation is extreme..

And he slides the blade behind the front strap of those D cups.. You could have heard a zipper pop.. I think I did .. It could have been mine..

In any case it was dead silent in that balcony.. Till he cut that piece of elastic..

Those things jumped out of there like a cheetah on a springbok.. And thirty fourteen year olds saw their first pair of double D's on the big screen. It was awesome..

But I digress...

We were at the dentist.. Remember??

Anyway, I am big wussy when it comes to dental work.. I can get ten stitches without anesthesia but when it comes to the dentist I just freak out.. So I am always on the gas.. And I know how to work it..

There is nothing like a little Nitrous to relax and to take the edge off.. And once I am in the zone I just kind of relax and close my eyes and try to zone out.. And follow directions from somewhere within..

So the dentist came in and was doing his thing fitting the crown, and grinding and gluing.. And I was in the back seat of a Corvette somewhere..

I heard someone say "Bite Down", and I did..

Suddenly there was an ear piercing scream that filled the room.. And usually when I hear an ear piercing scream in a dentists office, it is coming from me..

I opened my eyes and in my gas induced semi-coma I found that I had a very tasty nipple locked between my new crown and one of my natural lower bicuspids..

Hell it wasn't my fault.. But after a suggestion from the dentist and a whack on the head from the dental assistant I released my fangy grip.. But the taste lingered on my tongue for hours...

And when I paid my bill and was walking out, she had a hell of a smile on her face..

I used to run a wood lathe back when I was a kid. And the first thing they teach you is that you do not wear baggy clothes, and to keep all your appendages away from your work..

Maybe they need to send that old safety instructor down to Mexico..

But not on my account..

Don't forget about those 223 shells...

April 22, 2013: It's been a while since I have written, but I have been doing some serious screwing off.. And I needed it..

I spent a few days last week along the Texas coast driving from seafood restaurant to seafood restaurant.. And if you can't find any shrimp where you are, you can blame it on me.. And I am feeling pretty manly as well, cause I also ate about a bushel of oysters..

I love seafood..

But I digress..

Fishing here on Falcon is as good right now as it has been in a long while.. Some may disagree.. But if you are a flipper like me, and are willing to knock the bark off a couple thousand trees a day, your gonna catch some fish.. And some good ones. And I mean shallow.. More on that in a minute..

Of course there are the folks that are still throwing big and small crankbaits, and catching fish.. And some good ones..

Most of the crankbait action seems to be on the south end of the lake, scraping the tops of old rock piles, and bouncing the bait off rock in a descending manner.. And it don't hurt to use a deep diving bait in shallow water.. Contact with the rock is key..

Water clarity greatly improves once you get south of marker nine.. And the farther you go, the prettier it gets.. Some pockets up here on this end don't look too bad.. Once you get off the river.. But it ain't gin by any means..

The lake continues to drop, but it is slowing down a bit, and I expect it to really slow down if the water releases from Amistad remain where they are.. Of course who the hell knows what they are going to do..

As of Friday afternoon, Amistad was releasing 7946 CFS, and we are releasing 7239... Water from the Conchos in northern Mexico has slowed a bit, (it hits the river in Presidio, in Big Bend) but some is still hitting the Rio Grande.. No water report as of today just yet.. But we have slowed our decent somewhat..

We are sitting at 256.51, or 44.69 feet low.. It is ugly.. Water temps this morning were only 74 degrees..

Here's a pic of the bridge in the Veleno.. Water is 6.8 feet deep today right beside it.. Stay on the right side going out..

Here's a pic of the big boat ramp in the Veleno.. It will turn to the right soon.. Time to move that dock.

Here's a pic of the boat ramp out on the point in the Veleno, west of the main boat ramp.. It's a good one.. Right now..

My buddy Gary Harlan called this morning and said let's go fish a few hours.. So we did.. And we whacked em pretty good. We had a 7-1, a 6-0, a 4-15, and a 4-13. And about ten other fish in the one to four pound range.. And we just fished from 10:30 till 2:30..

All these fish were fat and mean. Not a skinny fish in the mix.. And a couple of the two pounders were Rosies.. They might have still been wearing training bras, but they were Rosies.. Good to see the fish looking good again.. And I have not seen this many shad in the water flipping around in a long time..

Almost sounds like a hint of optimism..

We caught all our fish flipping a baby brush hog.. Dark colors.. (dark water) It was fun..

Granted, this is not the fishing of a year ago.. But it was pretty damn good.. Of course we missed a few as well..

You may or may not recall that last year we did a little promotion that we called the Spare-A-Lunker program.. And the purpose was to get you to release any fish over ten pounds after taking a pic and weighing her in your boat, and submitting your pic to us here at FLT..

The lucky winner was Ty Blackshear, and he finally made it back to Falcon last weekend, and while he was here, we presented him with his free mount.

Congrats to Ty, and special thanks to Fish Scale Taxidermy for doing the mount for us.. Thanks Kevin!

And speaking of ten pounders, there have been quite a few reported as of late.. And a lot of quality fish in the six to nine pound range as well. There are just very few people down here fishing right now..

I know that you, like me, were appalled by the bombing at the Boston Marathon over the weekend.. In times like these, about all that we, as run of the mill Americans, the backbone of the country, can do is pray for those directly and indirectly affected by this terrorist act..

But hell.. That's all of us..

What a pack of cowardly Son of a Bitches.. And I am sure there are more out there like em.

There is no way that we can ever prevent every attack from happening.. At least not if our country and freedoms are going to look like anything we have today. And I don't think anybody in our land wants to turn the USA into some POS nation living in fear, afraid of what may come to pass..

It's not our style.. We lead by example.. Fearless.. Feared.. Generous to our allies.. And wrath filled to our enemies..

And it is time for a little less talk, and a lot more action..

If it was up to me, we'd ducktape this last Son of a Bitch to a light pole in Boston, and give every kid in town a pellet gun..

And I don't imagine that this web site is required reading for the average Islamic, Muslim, American hating, cowardly, terrorist, piece of shit..

But I'll make them a deal.. I think they need to qualify first..

Come down here to Zapata.. Look me up. I'm easy to find.. I'm the tall guy behind the counter..

And me and you will go at it, Man to Man.. Or man to Chickenshit..

And I'll have your Adams Apple in my pocket..

Keep the faith America.. Even on our darkest days, we are still the brightest light on the planet..

And don't let nobody tell you otherwise..

April 15, 2013: I wonder if they know that there is a limit to the amount of water there is in the lake..

I wonder..

Our role as the red-headed stepchild is certainly not in question. They won't even leave us on a concrete ramp at the state park..

Yessir, it bass fishin rodeo style.. Watch her head.. I think she's fixin to buck..

If you plan to launch at the state park, keep in mind that it can be done, but take your patience with you.. And a four wheel drive ain't a bad idea either. I am not saying that you can't get er done with two wheel drive.. But on a day to day basis things are changing.. And what and where might be fine one day.. But not the next..

The county ramp is fine for the mean time, although it is a bit flat. The ramp out on the end of the point is the best thing going, but there is no dock, and there is shallow water to the east side of it.. If you are not familiar with it, use the main ramp.. It is still fine..

We are over forty one feet low this morning, and still in free fall.. If memory serves the main ramp at the county will work for a while, but will turn to one lane and turn out to the right toward the channel in another few feet of water.. And it starts to get a little ugly after that..

When exiting the Veleno, it is probably best to skirt the west end of the bridge on your way out. That way you can study some thirties bridge architecture on the way by.. Check the depth on the roadbed on your first trip out.. It is shallow towards the trees of course.. That roadbed does have quite a hump up, but was cut out years ago when the lake was down, right against the bridge. And hopefully we will be able to pass the bridge on the right, till it gets low enough to go under it.. But God I hope we don't see that again.. But it could happen.. Soon, if the water don't quit falling..

Fishing remains decent, even with the falling water.. Maybe the moving current has something to do with it.. The dam continues to put out the fish, as it has been for a while.. Shallow clumps of main lake hardwoods are also holding some pods of fish.. You can catch them flipping the trees.. And shallow too.

Isolated groups of trees are popping out of the water on the Mexican flats south of marker seven. Be on the lookout for them. Both for safety and good fishing.. It is easy to run up on them real fast if you are running around way off the river channel..

Rock piles are still putting out a lot of fish, and if you were around here back in 02 or so then you might remember where a few of the deeper ones are.. Most boats were not equipped with GPS back then, but hand helds were were pretty popular.. Now is a great time to drive around with a six pack of Big Red and do some marking.. It will pay off big time in the future..

I wonder if they have the pipe right at the bottom of the river channel.. And I wonder what they are going to do in the Valley when they open the faucet and nothing comes out..

At least they'll have pretty grass..

April 9, 2013: The lake is still dropping like ammo inventories, and yesterday saw the release rates ratcheted to a new high for this go round, with water being released at over 9000CFS.. That's 67,320 gallons per second going out of the lake.. That's 538,560 sixteen ounce soda waters.. A second.. A freaking second..

That's a lot of water.. And you thought your old Ford 460 could go thru some juice..

Water is no longer showing up on our dipstick..

The old bridge in the Veleno is out of the water now.. At least the top of the rails are.. And now that they are out, I saw the powers that be putting some markers on them this morning..

That's like closing the door after the horse is out of the barn.. That's like putting on a Trojan for the second go round.. That's like bitching about a politician stealing after you helped get him elected..

That's like... Normal...

At least they are using cables this time.. Maybe some time the water will come back up and they will be useful.. Sometime.. Maybe they let all the water out of the lake so they could mark the bridge..

The top of the lake is very dirty in the river channel, and way off color even in the creeks. But that don't mean there are no fish there..

Exposed muddy banks and big winds have muddied up a lot of the northern creeks.. Farther south, where more rock circles the lake, and the lake itself is wider, it looks a lot better.. Once you get past marker seven it gets pretty decent.. But you had to want to go past marker 7 today.. It was pretty rough..

We have a big north wind on the way for tomorrow.. Here we go again..

Water temps were 72° this morning..

The south end of the lake is where it is all happening it seems, with good numbers of fish coming off rock from the Tigers to the dam.. And the community holes on and near the dam are community holes for a reason.. They produce fish.. Some days you need to take a number.. But during the week it is not too bad..

The concrete ramp at the state park is done for, unless you have a very small boat.. And that won't be happening for long.. Most of the bigger boats are going off the point this morning..

Deep diving crankbaits are still all the rage, with the 6XD in Powder Blue Back Chart and Citrus Shad being the top sellers.. But jigs and brush hogs are catching some fish as well.. Hell I guess that anything might, but the aforementioned will up your odds..

But patience and persistence are the best things in your tackle box.. So be sure and rig em up..

Numbers of caught big fish are surely down this year, and I reckon that numbers of big fish are down, period.. But it is not like they will answer roll call.. I know of only two bonnafide thirteen's that were caught here this spring.. And that is way off from last year.. I guess my prediction of a possible new lake record was none too accurate.. But I know there's some in here.. At least a few..

There are very few fish that have not spawned here at Falcon.. There are a few.. But not many..

The sharelunker program is winding down for the year, and so far there have been twelve turned in.. Only two of them were pure Floridas... Most have been returned to their home lakes.. The very first fish caught this season, was back on October 16th, and that fish still has not spawned.. I am not holding my breath on that one.. It came from Lake Austin..

The second one caught came recently, back on march 19th. She has not spawned either as of yet, but still may have a chance.. She came from Amon G. Carter..

In the last couple of years PAW stopped taking fish caught in April to the SL facility, because most of these fish have already spawned, or it is too late in cycle.

Don't worry.. If you catch one they will still give you your jacket and a plastic fish.. But it probably will not go to Athens..

The SL main page has been updated to show the fish caught this year, along with their disposition status, for the most part..

It could be that this year will be the first ever for zero production of Sharelunker fry.. Or of course me writing this could make both of them squirt out a five pound pile of eggs. I sure hope so.. I'd hate to see the Sharelunker program not improve fishing here in Texas.. Wait.. What??

I'm not holding my breath.. In either case..

The catfish are still going berserk around here, and the crappie are still spotty. Not too many people out chasing crappie.. More people than ever chasing the catfish..

**** The Following has little to do with fishing.. Well actually it has nothing to do with fishing..

You have been warned.. Time for you liberals to eject..

We are still trying to rustle up some ammo to sell around here, but we are a low volume seller, and that makes as a low volume buyer.. And way down on the shipping list for any..

But I do need to give credit where credit is due.. I would like to thank president Obamma for helping us sell a lot of old stock ammo that has been sitting around here for a long time.. And some of those calibers we had I thought we'd never sell.. Still got some really unpopular calibers I guess.. Call me if you're looking for something off the wall.. Cause that's all I got left..

And I tell you what.. If the pres comes to town I will buy him lunch.. Least I could do.. And then I could ask him a few questions.. Some that nobody else will ask him..

Like how come he keeps talking about banning so called "assault rifles" and connecting them with the Sandy Hook School shooting when an assault rifle was not used?

How come you never mention that crazy Democrats did all the mass killings in the last few years..

Do you actually think that banning magazines over ten rounds will save a life? Takes about two seconds, tops, to slap in a new one.. Do you think banning them will make em disappear? That's silly..

Are you going to ban pistols as well? They kill hundreds more than AR's do.. But then so do hammers.. And bats.. And knives.. And cars.. And Texting..

But why let facts get in the way of politics..

Bet you like the Sharelunker program? It don't work either..

Did you burn the hell out of your fingers when you were skeet shooting? That pic I saw of you on the TV with your fingers wrapped around the forestock don't speak to me of anyone that shoots much..

That steel part, we call it a barrel, will get pretty hot.. You see.. The projectile, in this case a bunch of projectiles, travel down the barrel at a high rate of speed and creates friction, along with the heat generated by detonating a powder charge inside the cartridge.. You know.. That red thing they put in there for you, before they closed the breach... Oh never mind..

Have you ever listened to any of your campaign promises since 2008? Someone could get the the idea that you are a liar and a hypocrite.. But they'd have to be paying attention.. Which half of the country ain't..

Are all those people, protesting for immigration reform, citizens?

Why would citizens need reformation?

Are we letting non-citizens tell us how to run our country?

Don't we have, and allow, and welcome, immigration?

Have you ever read Mexico's immigration requirements? Makes immigrating to the US look easy..

Do you think the government is supposed to help people, or subdue people?

Do you think the US government is helping people when it gets people ON welfare?? Or when it gets them OFF??

How come you and congress don't have to use Obammacare?

How come yours and Congress's kids don't have to pay back their student loans?

How come all of you get to keep your salary for life?

So many questions.. So little time.. You'll have to stay for supper..

We'll have cake...

April 6, 2013: It's Saturday here in Zapata,.. And Probably where you are too.. And things are pretty quiet around here, after most boats get on the water.. There are a few folks in town, but not a lot. Elite Bass Club is here, holding a fishing contest..

And the big group out of Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo are also holding a tournament out of Old Guerrero. Supposed to be forty or fifty boats in that one.. We talked to allot of them yesterday..

It don't matter whether you are from Austin, Guadalajara, or Vancouver.. Fishing is the universal language.. And these guys were pretty jacked up to fish.. And fun to mess with..

It does appear that a post spawn pattern is trying to get set up, with lots of folks catching fish on slightly deeper rock drops and old rock piles. Crankbaits are doing pretty well overall.. Square bills early on shallow rocks, and deeper divers as the day goes on.

You can also drag a Carolina rig in a lot of the same areas and catch some fish.

Ten days ago I would have told you to fish a lot of shallow trees.. And while there are still some fish being caught there, better numbers of fish are out a bit deeper on the rocks. Long points that drop off into creek channels and humps and ridges with depth change..

But think rocks.. Like always..

Hopefully this will turn itself into our more normal summer pattern, with fish bunching up a lot on deep rocks and ledges.. The way it is supposed to be.

Water temps are finally staying over seventy, but with all the clouds we have had this spring, it has been slow to rise to a level we might think is normal for this time of year.. If there is such a thing..

And just because I said it has been cloudy, don't mean it has been wet.. The front that went thru this week brought some much needed rain to some of the ranch land around here.. But we got skipped here in South Zapata.. It was very spotty. But it rained near two inches at the dam earlier this week..

Texas, at least from Austin west, has certainly been in a dry period for way too long. Hopefully we can get in a wet pattern this spring and break the drought that is plaguing us. The biggest thing wrong with Texas fishing is lack of water.

And while east and north Texas lakes are doing OK in the water department. We can't say the same.

Four big fish reservoirs are really suffering. One of course is Falcon. We are 36 and a half feet low, and are dropping near six inches a day.. Lots of people watering their grass in the valley..

Choke Canyon is nineteen feet low, and Mathis, the lake it feeds for the City of Corpus Christi, is all but dried up..

Amistad, which feeds, (or starves) us is 52 feet low..

And OH Ivie is 37 feet low..

None of this bodes well for fishermen in SW Texas..

But it is what it is, and like all things, it will cycle.. And one of these days we'll be back on top of the wave..

The ramp at the State Park is barely useable I hear, and before long it will be un useable.. Be prepared to deal with this if you are planning on launching at the state park. It won't be long till launching on the point to the west of the concrete ramp will be your only option..

The other big problem in Zapata right now is the old bridge in the Veleno.. I can't believe the apathy around here by officials who think that the problem will take care of itself.. When the water drops a little more..

Meanwhile another dozen lower units get removed from boats.. It is ridiculous.. The bridge is currently about six inches under the water..

And I know that many of you that read this report regularly know about this hazard.. But there are many who do not.. And it's just not right not to have this POS not permanently marked..

But as I have told you many times before, Zapata is not quite ready for prime time..

But back to the fishing.. I do think it is getting better.. More and more people I talk to are catching a respectable number of fish. It is not awesome.. But it is better.. Hearing of boats that catch twenty to thirty fish a day has greatly increased.. Thank goodness..

And there have been a bunch of good fish caught as well. One of the boats that hit the bridge fished all day in the Veleno.. Without a prop.. And they caught two over ten on the trolling motor..

Sounds like a good luck, bad luck story..

In any case, I reckon we are still as good a choice as you can make if you are fishing west of San Antonio..

We hope to see you here!

April 4, 2013: The Veleno Bridge is back to breaking lower units off boats! Know where you are going when leaving the Veleno. Call or stop by and ask!!

April 2, 2013: I can't believe that the first quarter of the year is already in the books. It just don't seem right. I swear that junior high never went by this fast..

Things have calmed down quite a bit from the last two weeks, and we have had time to catch out breath and try to get the store back in order.. As if that really ever happens.

We did see a lot of folks during the Bassmaster event, although the crowds at the weigh ins were never over a couple of hundred people.. Maybe a few more.. But not a lot.

Fishing is still fair on average, but poor to some and good to others.. Many of the people fishing deep are having trouble catching many fish. The numbers of fish are still in water less than fifteen feet. And a lot of them are in the top third of that..

Flipping the nastiest trees in the shallows is your best bet for getting bit with any kind of consistency. You name the bait.. Soft plastics like a beaver or a brush hog are probably as good as anything, but I have heard of some jig fish up there as well.

If you are fishing out a bit then a deep diving crank bait or a Carolina rig is your best bet.

Neither Combs or Clunn were catching their fish in water much over ten feet during the Elite event.. They were close to deep water.. Keep that in mind..

The spinnerbait bite is still going, but not as strong as it was a few weeks ago..

But the big story is the water levels.. Well, level would be a good thing.. But staying at any one level it is not..

We have lost 4.78 feet in the last two weeks, and three feet even in the last seven days..

We are sitting at 266.34, or 34.86 feet low..

It should be noted that the Veleno bridge is back in the danger zone about now.. You can probably still run over it.. But I'm not.. Stay to the right going out and skirt the brush..

Mexico is releasing most of the water that is going out, but they are the ones who moved it here from Amistad.. Amistad is about 52 feet low..

As of yesterday, Mexico was releasing 6357 CFS, and the US was releasing 2119 CFS.. That's a lot of water, and I am sure you can surf on it below the dam.. Well almost..

There are still some groups of fishermen in town, and coming to town, and they are finding the lake a lot less crowded than in recent years.. And a couple of groups have done very well. You just got to put in your time.

Like a few of these anglers..

10.75

And Calvin Snyder caught these two thirty plusses this week as well.. Well.. They do have whiskers..

There's a couple more on his deck.. The catfish are biting, BTW..

Sorry about the no names and weights.. Help me out if you can..

Crappie are very scattered by all reports.. I think they're spawning and the falling water is really messing with em..

I have been meaning to go in search of some of them giant bream.. They should be spawning as well on the gravel bars. But alas, I have been imprisoned here for a while.. But I'm fixin to..

Tom is getting better and before too long I'm gonna let him have it for a few days..

I hope you are surviving the sequestration alright.. It may actually be affecting some of you.. But I do have a question.. What the sequestration is supposed to do, from what I understand, is reduce the amount of increase in expenditures in the near future.. Why does it affect what is already going on??

You do not think that the current administration could be using this as a political tool do you? To punish those big meanies who want some responsible spending.. Naw.. Couldn't be..

And I just don't think it is fair that those school children shouldn't be allowed to see where Monica Choked Bills Chicken..

This president promised cooperation between the parties.. Virtual Love Ins between Dimocrats and Republicans.. Takes me back to the 60's..

I can see it now.. Nancy Pelosi putting flowers in Ted Cruz's hair..

Bama' torchin up a big old blunt..

Transparency in all doings.. Bi-Partisan cures to all our woes..

And change.. We've certainly got that..

We used to stay on top.. And on top of things..

But not these days.. We have certainly made at least two circles around the bowl.. I guess we'll see shortly if we go down the hole and out of sight.. Just like a Taco Bell turd..

And speaking of Taco Bell. How the hell do they stay in business in Texas?? That is some Yankee Mexican food if ever there was any.. But with the price of Ex-Lax these days Taco Bell might be a viable alternative..

But then you'll have to spend your extra coin on Tidy Bowl.. Don't forget under the rim..

And is it Red Lobster that is selling Lobster Tacos?? Well let me tell you that "I Seafood differently" as well.. And the last place I want to see lobster is in a tortilla.. How the hell are you going to keep the butter in there?

Stick with what you know.. Let Taco Bell continue ruining Mexican food.. They don't need your help.. Last time I ordered a Lobster at Red Lobster they didn't have any.. But the waitress did say she had a red snapper..

Are you following the NCAA basketball tourney.. I did not know that Joe Theisman was back at school.. That was horrendous.. Nuff said about that..

I am ready to see the Masters get underway.. At least in golf they'll admit it is all about the money..

I heard that Tiger's wife is back in the states so he better use the valet to park his ride.. Hell hath no wrath.. And if you think that a couple hundred million made her forget about him leaving the toilet seat up, you're crazy..

Tony Romo signed a contract for How Much? Are you kiddin me?? He has to have some pics of Jerrah doing something we can only imagine.. With God knows who..

There is only one guy I can think of that is less qualified for his job than Romo.. But hell, they gave him a four year extension as well..

I gotta go.. I hear Rosie is on Oprah today.. Boy.. I just got a visual of that.. I think I'm gonna be sick..

March 29, 2013: Things have calmed down a lot this week, and it has been a fairly quiet week here in Zapata. It is Easter week, after all.

And I am just taking some time out from coloring eggs and skinning this big fat rabbit to wish all of you a happy Easter..

And I hope you'll keep in mind the meaning of this special day, and I hope you get to spend some time with your family in the remembrance of Jesus Christ.

God Bless you and we'll see you next trip..

We will be closed on Easter!

March 26, 2013: After a unexpected one day encore, the last of the big trucks, a hundred thousand bucks, people who said they loved it, and people who said it sucks; have all left town..

And we flip another day on the daytimer.. And so it goes.. Back to normal.. If there is such a thing.

And if you look at the results and the big weights from the tourney, it would be hard to dispute Falcons grip on the top rating for bass lakes in the country. I doubt seriously if you could break a hundred pounds anywhere else..

And why do I say that? Because if it could be done, it would be on the Bassmaster schedule..

At least that's my thinking.. If the community near the lake could afford them anyway..

Now I don't want you thinking I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth.. But I am not sure this one has all his teeth..

In addition to the $60,000 dollars (reportedly, that's what the county judge told me) that Zapata County paid BASS to come here, there had to be at least that much spent by the county in overtime, equipment, and manpower to secure this event..

And special thanks to the Department of Public Safety for bringing their ridiculous yachts down here to burn some hundreds of gallons of fuel.. To keep us safe from the daily mortar barrages that hit Zapata.. These boats are the ultimate demonstration of "Politicians Gone Wild" that I have ever seen.. I bet they have the boys from the mint deliver truckloads of cash to the state capital so they can roll in it, and then piss on it..

And they didn't even have the machine guns installed.. And they left before the fishermen got off the water.. What a crock.. What the hell were they here for?

Just to show you that you're safe.. That's bullshit.. Then why ain't they here every day?? What a farce..

When will it end? Why do I even care?? What's the odds of me getting pulled over the next time I hit I 35??

But anyway.. Let's see.. Zapata is not incorporated, and that equals no sales tax revenue from the extra people in town eating, drinking, and buying beer..

We did have a few extra folks in town staying at motels for a couple of nights.. But not hundreds. And motel tax is the only income the county will derive from this event.. And I am taking a WAG that they may take in 6-7 thousand dollars.. Max.. I tried to be liberal...

But dammit quit trying to think of it as being so terminal.. The long term benefit will far outweigh the short term costs.. Yeah Right.. Not in a hundred years..

Fact is that Falcon has all the publicity it needs. What Falcon needs is some water.. And some rest..

We should have used that $60K to bribe... Errr convince some officials to let us have and keep more water..

I think we should be charging BASS $60K for letting them come here.. They're using US to make money.. It's another government subsidy..

I hope I haven't spun this in a unsuitable manner.. But what I have said is true.. Whether you like it or not..

Now let's get down to the fishing..

Fishing sucked compared to the last time the Elites were here. Ask any of them.. I did..

And it was no surprise. Falcon has been beat like a rented mule since 2008. And will be for the foreseeable future.. And while I derive a living from visiting fishermen, and want them and need them here, as with the rest of the community, we also need something else from them..

Respect for the fishery..

Please do not come down here and kill our life blood, the big fish in our lake.

Please come and catch them.. Enjoy them. Quickly.. And turn them loose..

We know you are not driving down here to catch three pounders..

And I know I am speaking to a small percentage of people.. Most fishermen are the most conscientious people you will ever find..

And if you love the sport, then treat it like a sport, not a means of survival.

Eating small fish is fine.. And sometimes good for a lake.. I am not sure where Falcon stands on that right now.. But I think that fish numbers are way down, and right now I don't think that keeping any is a good idea.. But cutting the head off a five pounder is retarded.. Anytime..

The days are gone for skin mounting a big fish.. It is ludicrous..

"I nailed a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.. Made her scream! Yep.. I'm getting her mounted..."

Get a freakin replica for Pete's sake..

Texas Parks and Wildlife Inland Fisheries out of San Antonio was here to help with fish care. They manned up and manned the fish tanks on the release boats and took care of fizzing the fish PRN on a daily basis. They greatly improved fish survival I am sure. I rode with one of the technicians on Friday morning and patrolled the release areas and we found not one fish. They did it three days in a row and no floaters were found.. Doesn't sound possible.. But they did not release any fish that they knew were dead or on death's doorstep.. I have worked with these guys many times and they are professionals at what they do. Thanks for coming and thanks for caring.. There were a lot of rookies working on the release boats..

Having no co angler in the boat made a hell of a difference as well. As smaller sized limits of fish spread over two livewells were the key to better survival.. And we had a lot cooler water than the last time the Elites were here.

I amazes me that there were no local news stations covering this event. I think that a station from the valley showed up on Monday after being called by a local fisherman.. Did not see much about the tourney though.

As I have said before, Zapata is not yet ready for Prime Time..

I am not sure why they didn't have the fire department wet the grounds before a couple of the weigh ins. They were there filling the holding tanks.. What the hell.. The dust on Saturday was almost unbearable..

All of the weigh ins were late.. Like usual..

Technical difficulties abounded..

There was no public Meet and Greet this go round like they did last time they were here..

Just a few thoughts..

There will be an awesome TV show produced from this tournament.. Look for it next weekend on ESPN2..

So overall I thought it went well.. At least as good as it could have..

*****************************************************

Congrats to Keith Combs!

Final Results! After all is said and done, neither Combs or Clunn caught the big stringer of the day.. But they caught enough to get it done.. And least one of em did..

Keith Combs had the second biggest stringer of the day, with another great sack that went 28-2.. Rick Clunn had a good day with a bag that went 23-3, but finished a distant second.. I watched both of them pull their fish out of their wet bags and dunk their mesh bags in the bump tanks, so I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen.. And I also watched Keith yank his out of the livewell..

Combs finished with 111-5 pounds/oz.

Clunn finished with 105-6pounds/oz.

John Crews had the big bag of the day with 29-7, and that jumped him up to third.. He had 103-13 total..

Here's a few pics from the day.. Decent crowd for a Monday..

Pullem Out..

Waiting..

And waiting..

March 25, 2013: Most of the circus animals have left town.. But there is still an elephant or two chained to a tree..

Being held over has its drawbacks.. But the show must go on..

Things have quieted down quite a bit around here.. And so has most of the wind. I know a lot of you think that they should have fished yesterday.. They are professionals after all.. But I believe it was wise to err on the side of safety.. Getting someone hurt or worse ain't worth it.. It was a very bad day.. And remember this ain't all about the fishin.. It's about the money..

And TV=$$.. And if you cain't produce no good TV show.. You cain't make no Money.. And yesterday weren't no good TV show producin day..

In any case, they are out there finishing it up, and we'll see in a little bit what the final outcome is..

And it is likely that I will have short commentary about the event after they finish up..

March 24, 2013: Day four of the tourney has been postponed till Monday due to high winds.. I think we all need a break anyway!!

Should be some good drama tomorrow at weigh in.. Or not..

The wind is howling around here.. You may not like it but I think it is a good idea to to wait a day.. It is brutal out there and plain old dangerous..

Day Three: I just ran down to the weigh in.. But there was nothing to see.. It's not that I am myopic.. It's just that there was so much dust in the air that I would not take my camera out of the case..

I did stay for the National Anthem, and saw the first fisherman to the stage weigh in almost thirty seven pounds to take the lead.. That was Rick Klunn of course.. But Keith Combs weighed in a more human sized sack and is still in the lead at this writing.. We'll see.. But I'm not gonna see it in person.. And the Internet video feed is down..

I'll just watch the leader board online..

Day Two: Too damn hot for me at the weigh in.. No breeze.. Lots of flippin fish I hear after the sun came out.. I'll stay longer tomorrow.. But for today I'll watch it on the internet.. In the A/C..

Here's a few pics I took while ago..

Defending Champ Paul Elias pulls a good one out of the well..

Senor Lane has a couple of gooduns..

More gooduns..

More gooduns..

Not a lot of folks at weigh in again today.. Maybe tomorrow will be better.. Lots of booths.. Bring Money!

Day One:

Here's a few snaps I took at the weigh in.. Still going on but I was getting thirsty.. No beer booth..

Somebody's got a bag..

KVD..

Day one leader Keith Combs pulling one of his bigguns out of the well.. I seen it coming.. At least after I saw him pulling em out!

And a Motley Crew.. Shaw at his best..

March 21, 2013: The second coming of B.A.S.S. is underway, and early reports are that the lake is not yet dead.. And you can follow some of the fishing on the BASS site..

There was not a lot of folks at blastoff this AM I hear, but it is Zapata, and it is Thursday morning. I was not there either.

I understand that TPWD is here and they are going to help with fish care after weigh in. That can't hurt a thing.

Preparations for the first weigh in are still under way, and booths are still being set up and furnished..

Staging tanks are being filled..

And the site is taking shape..

It's a little windy.. But not too bad.. We'll see what happens a little later..

And if anything weird happens. I'll let you know..

Wednesday afternoon.. Not a lot to see just yet.. But they're on it..

March 20, 2013: It's been a hot couple of days around here, but the north wind has arrived to save us.. Or annoy us.. Or whatever..

But it is a little misty and a lot cooler this morning..

There are a lot of folks in town, and I imagine the number will get bigger today. Final preparations are going on down at the ramp, and all three rings will be in operation by this evening..

I have talked to a lot of the fishermen, and they are all struggling to some extent.. Of course I am sure that all the details will not come out talking to these guys across the counter, and I am out of sodium penathol..

Some have expressed disappointment in what they are catching, and I can see their point.. I ain't crazy about it either.. But I still think somebody is going to catch a hunnert pounds..

Weigh ins will be web cast live of course, but I will try and get down to the ramp after a bit and take a few pics so you can get an idea of the layout..

Come on down and see the show..

March 18, 2013: It's the first official practice day for the Elites here on Falcon, and it sounded a little like the start of a NASCAR race about daylight this morning.. Well actually I have no idea what the sound of a NASCAR race sounds like.. But I hear it's loud..

I bet it'll be louder on Thursday morning..

I talked to a lot of the fishermen yesterday and today, and they are all pretty optimistic about fishing here.. It is Falcon after all. And I am still thinking that whomever wins it will have over a hundred pounds..

But I don't see the old Falcon record being in jeopardy..

The tournaments over the weekend did pretty fair, although the turnout was low. It took over eighteen pounds (for three) to win the Bud Light event. Both first and second place had a big fish over nine pounds..

I think there were only ten or twelve boats.. Fishing is not that bad guys.. Maybe I have oversold the negative..

Helotes Bass Club had similar results, and similar turnout..

I am spread as thin as Krylon around here, as Tom had to have some surgery and is on the DL for a while.. I'll be posting reports as is possible..

I'm looking for my Thin Lizzie album..

"The Boys Are Back in Town!"

March 16, 2013: The fishing continues like the weather.. Wildly variable.. Heard a lot of bad reports yesterday.. And a few good ones..

Think small, Daniel-son.. As in small baits..

Holy crap!! We're turning into Amistad..

Seems like a small fluke or finesse worm or a french fry is working as good as anything.. Icky...

A spinner bait is still a good choice as well..

**"Special Note" If you're a liberal, a big bass killer, or have your head in the sand, do not read past this point.. You'll only get pissed off..

I was looking at the results from the Elites over on the Sabine this morning.. And now I am officially not worried about what they catch here on Falcon.. Sounds pretty tough to me.. And I have talked to several of them that did not make the cut. They're heading west..

And some folks are wondering why they would go to the Sabine.. It's all about the money.. And I hear that we are paying them $60,000 to come to Zapata.. I guess that is not bad considering that we only had a couple million dollar dephasite here in Zapata county.. We should be charging them $60,000...

It appears that government works the same everywhere.. We're out of money, so let's spend some more..

"Honey, we don't have the money to pay our taxes.. Oh! Look at this diamond ring! Call Visa and ask em if we can get our credit limit raised..."

I guess our local government went to the Obamma school of economics..

And I know what some of you are thinking.. "That asshole is bitching cause a national tournament trail is coming to his lake, where he runs a freaking tackle store, and he stands to make money from them being there.. And think of the exposure the lake will get! It will bring him a lot of business in the future as well.. What a turd.."

And I guess guess if you look at it on the surface, that may be true..

But it may not.. In the long run.. And I ain't that close to retirement..

Falcon is fishing as poor as it has in a lot of years.. Wonder why?

You know why.. Pressure..

Pressure ultimately kills any fishery, and Falcon is no different than any other lake on the planet. Although some of us like to think it is.. And Man is the ultimate predator, and the ultimate provider of pressure..

Throw in some low water levels, and things really start to get complicated..

And there is more than one kind of pressure..

There are a hundred thousand cormorants living here year around.. And you can no longer find a shad over an inch and a half long.. Think there's any correlation?

That couldn't possibly have any effect on the fish's condition.. But no one wants to go up against the environmental whackos and allow us to manage these pests.. These birds are ruining some great fisheries in Texas.. They are out of control.. But all the complaining is falling on deaf ears..

I do not understand why those in control can't see this problem.. It ain't like we ain't told em.. And hearing that that is a federal deal just don't wash with me..

We spray for mosquitoes.. It's time to spray some lead at these bastards..

We also have a very healthy and large (in stature and numbers) population of alligator gar, and lower water levels this summer made the bass easy pickins.. And say what you want, but these fish love bass.. Or whatever.. And with the state lowering gar limits to one a day a couple of years ago, the numbers of bow fishermen that we used to see quite a lot have greatly diminished.. I hear there is talk in committee about possibly raising the legal catch rate per day to three or five. We'll see on that one too..

And like I said a couple days ago, we have plenty of goobers that come here on a meat run, and take home all the fish they can carry.. "Where's all the fish?? Last year we could clean a limit every day, easy.."

You may not believe it but I hear that a lot..

And of course we have the selfish anglers who catch a giant fish and proceed to kill it so they can watch it rot on their wall.. This ain't the seventies fellers.. Get a a freakin' replica..

Numbers of giant bass are way down this year too.. There's a couple of hundred that never had the chance to be caught again after last spring.. And I am talking about some Rosies...

Thank you! to all of you that turned em loose..

And of course, one of the biggest killers of bass is us tournament fishermen.. I put myself in that group although I do not fish many tournaments anymore..

And the callousness I see exhibited by many fishermen makes me want to scream.. You've all seen it.. And you know what I am talking about..

And don't take this the wrong way if you are one of those who obsess over your fish care, as I do..

But if the shoe fits, wear it..

We as fishermen can't leave it all up to the state to manage our fisheries.. We all know that most of what they do is reactive, not proactive.. And none of us has a crystal ball..

If we don't police ourselves to some extent, then we might not like the way the state decides to police us..

And lets hope that the fishermen and the B.A.S.S. organization kill a lot less fish this go round.. The last thing we need is more big dead bass at Falcon..

March 14, 2013: Well. What a beautiful couple of days we have had to fish. And while some caught fish, some struggled.. A common theme here lately.. But I did hear of a couple boats doing well in deeper water.. And one boat said the deep fish they caught were oozing eggs..

I ain't got it figured out.. And maybe the fish don't either..

It looks like the irrigation season is kicking in, as water from Falcon is starting to swell the river below the dam.. Releases have increased by almost 1000 CFS in the last couple of days.. We probably won't be above thirty feet from full for long.. Water releases from Sugar have also increased..

PAW inland fisheries have been here this week doing their spring shocking study, which takes place every two years, and their findings don't surprise me at all. Captured fish are way down from two years ago, and here is a synopsis of what the report says..

"LMB abundance in 2013 was 66% lower (21.0 fish/hour of shocking effort) than in 2011 (62.3 fish/hour).  Abundance of LMB >18 inches in 2013 was 37% lower (6.5 fish/hour) than in 2011 (10.3 fish/hour).  Also, fish condition (mean relative weight) declined by about 10 percentage points in 2013 compared to 2011. "

Large threadfin shad were less plentiful, while juvenile TF Shad (1-1.5") were pretty thick.

Tilapia were everywhere, as they are in full spawn mode this week. Giant tilapia in the five to six pound range were common. Only three crappie were shocked up.

What does all this mean?

Using the same methods that they did two years ago, they found 2/3rds less fish, and the fish they found were 10% lighter than two years ago..

Seems to make sense looking at the fishing here lately..

I can't think of a good way to spin it..

Are all the fish out in deep water and not in the shallows? Would there have been more fish in the shallows if we had warmer water? Are we past most of the spawn and lots of the big fish are already out deeper?

Or is there just a lot less fish in the lake.. And if so, where the hell did they go?

Why did the fish stop showing up in such a short time? How can you be killing em one month, and catching squat the next??

None of this is an exact science, but it is all we have.. And the results do not surprise me at all..

But it still leaves one scratching your head..

We still have plenty of idiots killing our big fish, getting them mounted, deep frying them, and not caring for them in their livewells.. But that has been going on forever..

And all you and I can do is work to convince them that they are doing damage to our lakes that will take years to recover from, if ever..

Most of what Falcon is, is purely coincidental.. Except for the stocking of Florida bass..

Some may call it divine intervention.. The perfect storm.. When all the right ingredients get into the mixing bowl at the same time.. It happens every now and then..

And while there are a few factors that man can control, only Mother Nature can make all things right..

And I told you last year we were on top of the wave..

Don't get me wrong, we're probably still the best thing going, given the current crappy fishing statewide. A lot of it would be cured with some rainfall and a little time.. And filling Falcon would be awesome.. But I have been around here a long time, and I am not looking for a house on higher ground just yet. It could be a while..

Fishing does appear a bit better this week, compared to the last few.. And with water warming maybe we'll see a little more activity from the fishies.. Hope springs eternal..

Spinnerbaits and senkos are the hottest sellers.. Some of the guides are back out in deep water, throwing big cranks, jigs and Carolina rigs.. Which one is better is a day to day thing.. Numbers still seem to be shallow.. Not that we are catching any big numbers..

I have been stuck in the shop so long that my skin tone looks more like a Minnesotan than a south Texan.. One of these days I'm gonna bust out..

The Elite tourney next week should prove interesting.. If they survive the Sabine..

More on that soon..

See you on the water.. I hope!

March 11, 2013: I keep telling myself that this is March.. And it is supposed to be windy.. But that don't mean I gotta like it.. Nor does anybody else around here.. Except for the Ben Franklin society..

Today is not looking too bad.. Now that the tournament weekend is over..

There are some spring breakers in town, and I always forget the impact that they bring..

It was a busy weekend around here, with Bass Champs and the South Texas 5 tourneys in town.. Of course most of our busy was on Friday..

And for a lake that has been pronounced dead, the boys and girls that fished Bass Champs did pretty good.. The top thirty one (31) teams had over a five pound average three fish limit.. And say what you want, you ain't gonna do that nowhere else in Texas.. The top four teams had over a seven pound average.. The top nine teams had over a six pound average.. And that was with some tough conditions..

That's pretty damn good fishing.. If you don't think so then you have some unreal expectations..

And that is the biggest problem with Falcon.. Fishermen with unreal expectations..

I told you more than once last year, that we were experiencing something that only happens once in a great while.. I hope you got to partake in it..

But I don't see too much wrong with the fishing right now.. Certainly not when you look at the big picture..

I "interviewed" several folks at the weigh in on Saturday, and it sounds like shallow was the predominant pattern for most folks that caught decent stringers.. Spinnerbaits and shallow flipping and pitchin caught a lot of fish. And if I had to leave the shop with only one bait, I reckon it would be a spinnerbait..

Chunk and wind...

There are certainly some post spawn crankbait fish out there. And a few folks did well fishing offshore where possible.. The wind was a factor of course..

Several people have called and e-mailed asking about the Bass Blast! for this spring. And I am sorry to say, that it is just not gonna happen.. There are a lot of things going on this year, and our personal schedules are over booked as well.. Not to mention I was not sure if I was going to be able to walk or not.. Fortunately my foot is much better.. Praise the Lord...

Maybe we'll try and do something in October..

Of course this weekend the Bud Light Trail hits town.. Registration will be here at FLT on Friday evening..

And the next week, the Bassmaster Elite series will be back at Falcon. I am sure all three rings will be occupied for the duration..

Hopefully we will get to the end of the cold fronts before too long. North wind does nothing for the fishing around here, and seldom is there such a thing as light north wind.

Water temps are still in the mid sixty degree range, and warming into the upper sixties in the PM.. I am sure there are exceptions in some places.. It was chilly again this morning.. But at least we are supposed to have a lot of sun this week..

The water level continues its slow decent, and I would expect it to continue and probably increase with irrigation needs down south. It is never a bad time to pray for rain.. Well.. Around here anyway.. But we are blessed to have the water we have, when you look around the rest of the area..

Filling all our Texas lakes to the brim would certainly give Texas fishing a shot in the arm.. It'll happen sooner or later. We went thirteen years between fillups last time.. I guess Falcon is the Prius of Bass Lakes.. That is a long time on a tankfull..

Hope to see you this week.. Or next.. It should be a Zoo down here..

March 9, 2013: The Bass Champs weigh in is all but wrapped up. These results are unofficial however..

Big Bass went to Caspiano and Shandley with a 9.83.

March 9, 2013: It was a slow week around here, compared to the last few, and that gave us time to lick our wounds and re supply..

Yesterday evening was a zoo around here in advent of Bass Champs of course..

Thanks for stopping by guys..

One hundred and forty one teams are out there bucking the wind.. And it is blowing.. The BC staff decided to allow trailering for safety concerns.. Probably not a bad idea..

Rods down at 3:00 and scales close at 4:30.. I'll let you know what happens.. Bet there'll be some big wave stories...

March 6, 2013: It's another beautiful day here in Zapata, and I am not kidding.. Couldn't say that about yesterday.. Another day filled with sailboat fuel.. Glad it is gone.. Not a lot of people fished..

Wind has certainly been the topic of discussion in the shop for the last few weeks. Seems like every other day there in another front blowing into town. I feel sorry for the folks that came a long way to fish and then get subjected to the Lewinsky.. And for the guides that have to be out in it most every other day.

Jimmie likes the freedom to fish when it is nice.. And I just might have to hook it up today..

The lake is still dropping, and as of this morning, we are down to 272.45, or 28.75 feet low. That's a good foot lower than we were two weeks ago.. But it is not dropping like Kims panties..

We were up to 94° on Monday, but this morning it is in the low forties.. And water temps are not jumping any too quickly.. We are still around 63 in the mornings.. Maybe some 68 or so in some places in the evenings.. I am ready for summer to take hold.. My fisherman's tan has long faded, and I'm lookin pretty pasty.. Time for some prolonged sun..

I am scared to say it, but fishing just might be getting a bit better.. Now I said a bit better, not a lot better. And the reason for it is that there appears to be some; kinda hungry post-spawn fish, out a bit deeper than the recent shallow only fish.

Crankbaits and Carolina Rigs seem to be the best bet for these critters right now.. But a jig ought to catch em before too long..

Rocky ledges and points out away from creek mouths and the like in about eight to fifteen feet of water.. Maybe halfway back in the creeks.. We still have em coming and going. And I expect to see spawning fish for at least the next month..

If like me you are afraid of water that is deeper than you are tall, you'll still find some numbers of fish in the shallows, and some very shallow.. Spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, and Senkos are good choices up there in the flats. Small flipping baits like the baby brush hog have been good as well.

I just re-read what I wrote, and it as an optimistic feel to it. Let me reiterate.. Fishing is still sub-par for our standards.. But I do believe that it is getting better..

This weekend will give us a better picture of the fishing as Bass Champs rolls into town, and some of the best fishermen in Texas will be here. And the weigh-in will take a lot of the BS out of the fishing reports, whether good or bad..

The South Texas 5 circuit will also fish on Sunday, and if you are in town, you might as well stay and fish it as well.. Registration will be here at FLT on Saturday evening. Bout 5:00..

There are fewer boats in town than I have seen in two months this week. Maybe that has something to do with BC contestants being off limits this week. But we will see fewer and fewer boats down here as the deep freeze lifts north of us, and we should settle back into some sort of post spawn pattern in the next 30-45 days.. Maybe the fishing will get a little more consistent..

I can tell you that the carp are on the banks in many creeks, and they are tearing it up in the shallows.. And it can be quite a show.. The tilapia are bedding in a lot of very shallow water, and you can see their nests, bigger than a salad bowl at the Olive Garden.. And probably deeper.. They get serious about making a nest..

Here's a pic of a grass carp that was caught by a bass fishermen this week.. That was a tussle..

And I been telling you that the catfish are going crazy around here on jug lines and trotlines.. We had a couple groups of homeboys down this last weekend, and they put out some jugs and had pretty good results.. So good in in fact that they took the jugs out after running them one setting.. They's tired of cleaning fish..

They threw back a lot.. 24 hour catch by Mike Schott, Ryan Mechler, Jenson Nickel, and Mike Nickel.
Largest was 44 pounds. There's a bunch of twenty pluses in that stack. Looks like cordwood..

The other group did just as good but unfortunately they have not sent me a pic. They had a 48 pounder for their biggest..

Crappie are spotty, as the cooler weather seems to have backed them off a bit I hear. But it won't be long till they'll be in every tree in three feet of water. The population of crappie is excellent, as witnessed by a lot of fishermen that have seen gill nets on both sides of the lake. They have spread from top to bottom of the lake.. But it seems that not a lot of fishermen chase them outside the Veleno..

PAW was supposed to be here this week doing our annual shock survey.. But it has been delayed till next week.. So I'll have to wait.. But I am still pumped to see what's out there. And I'll let you know of course..

See you this weekend!

March 2, 2013: It's Saturday morning and things have settled down here a bit, with most folks that want to fish on the water. It is a beautiful day here in Zapata.. Very light north wind.. But it is a north wind.

Fishing reports yesterday were all over the board, but reports of poor to middlin' fishing out weighing the good reports by a long shot.. There are a lot of people in town as well, so it is not a thin sampling that we are talking to. Quite a few folks here pre-fishing for Bass Champs next weekend as well.

Water temps are back in the low sixties I hear. And we continue with a slow fall..

There are still a few good fish being caught, although numbers cannot come close to last spring.. And there have been plenty of man hours on the lake.. It's not like there's nobody on the water..

Fletch Stovall Caught this 10-2..

And Brian Yates caught this 10.9..

10XD in Citrus Shad..

Three groups I talked to yesterday boated over twenty fish, and a few said they were in the teens. But many more reported single digits.. The saga continues..

Spinner baits remain on top of the stack when it comes to getting bit.. Hate it or love it.. And shallow fish far outnumber the deep.. But there are a few folks catching some deeper fish.. And some are surely postspawn..

We have em coming, spawning, and going.. But it appears not great numbers of any category..

A chatterbait and a small flipping bait is also working.. Heard a decent report on the Plum Ol Monster as well.. But I think it is more about timing and location than any other factor..

Wish I could tell you when and where..

As stated earlier, Bass Champs is in town next weekend, and as always they fish a Saturday event.. On Sunday the South Texas 5 will hold their second tourney of the year here on Falcon as well.

The following weekend will see the Bud Light Trail here in Zapata, and the week after we will see the influx of the Elite Series anglers, as prefishing for the Bassmaster event will begin on the 18th.. The tournament proper will begin on the 21st.. It should be a zoo...

March is going to be a busy month round these parts..

Every day I get asked at least a dozen times, "What's wrong with the fish around here?"

And to tell you the truth, I can't tell you.. At least not one specific thing.. I am out of excuses..

I thought the Sharelunker program would have saved us by now..

But there are plenty of folks around that have it figured out.. Now if only I knew which one of them to believe..

TPWD Inland Fisheries is due here this week for our annual shocking survey, and we'll see what they find. And if they find a lot of fish in places where they shock, I am going to buy me some new golf clubs..

Electro-fishing is only effective down to about eight feet, so naturally they will be working areas near shorelines and some humps. Hopefully I will be able to go out with them and I will let you know what they come up with.. This is certainly the most anticipated shock survey conducted on Falcon in a lot of years..

Everybody wants to know, "Where's the fish?"

You may or may not remember last spring when I wrote that we are certainly living in one of the "Golden Ages" of Falcon Lake, and it is possible that we may never see fishing like this again in our lifetimes.. It was a magical time..

Back in 92-93 it was as good, but not as many double digit fish. But lots of eights and nines..

What does the future hold in store? Who really knows.. Like always it depends a lot on the water levels.. And we have no real control over that. I would like to have the rest of the water out of Amistad though..

We might as well have one full lake in Texas.. And if it had to be us, I could live with it..

I'll be happy if they just keep the state park ramp working..

I am sure this month will be a blur, just like the last one.. I've got a flame burning on both ends of the candle..

More signs of the apocalypse this week as the government was unable to govern themselves and the idiots in Washington reached the point of sequester..

And I love the way Obamma says that "WE" have reached the point of sequester.. I hope he means that "He" and "They" have reached sequester.. That comprising the "We".. Assholes.. (sorry) (not really)

And speaking the truth is just not in the Dimocrats playbooks.. There will be no cuts in spending. There will be increases.. Just not the astronomical dollars that they had planned.. Spin doctors indeed..

King Obamma is all pissed that he did not get his way, like usual.. But I say it is about time.. The conservatives need to grow some balls and pull their heads out of their asses before it is too late.. I have always told you that I am a patriot, and if I have to go to DC and rub some Miracle Gro on their empty scrotums I'll do it..

Bunch of pussies.. Give me my country back! And some rubber gloves...

What can be the consequences of getting back to basics and taking care of us, instead of those who are too stupid or too lazy to take care of themselves.. And I am not just talking about the people in this country. I'm talking worldwide..

Will people hate us as Americans? Will the takers hate the makers more? Will gasoline prices get high? Will we have high unemployment? Will the masses be dissatisfied with our government?

Sounds like we are already there.. How much worse can it get? Will we all be living in the pot-holed streets?? Making soup from dogs and cats? No 4-G coverage??

Lions and Tigers and Bears.. Oh My..

This country has faced a lot tougher times before than we are facing right now.. But we do not have the same caliber of folks around that we used to.. At least not in the same numbers..

The American people were always an irresistible force.. I am not so sure anymore..

Get out there and fight the good fight, dammit.. That's how America got it done. That's how America can get it done..

Now go vote those pussies out...

February 28, 2013: Good Grief.. How much can the wind actually blow?? Monday was one for the books as the sustained winds never got below 30 miles per hour for the entire day.. And gusts into the fifties..

Tuesday was fishable, but yesterday we got another north wind that stayed in the high twenties all day.. And that has left a lot of folks fairly aggravated..

But today is a beauty, minus the high pressure and bluebird skies..

Fishing reports have been as varied as the winds, and no it is not "on" just yet.. Nothing has changed from my perspective in the last few days.

There are still some fish being caught. But no one is whacking em.. For baits and techniques see previous fishing report.. Nothing has changed..

The water temps are still around 64-68 degrees, depending on time of day and your location. The lake is dropping slowly, and we are down to 272.88, or 28.32 feet low..

Water clarity in the river is improving, and there have been some fish caught in the creeks up the river. And water clarity is decent in the backs of some of the creeks.

A word of caution.. There are several hazards on the journey up the river above the Salado. If you do not know the area well then you should get some good directions or avoid the area.. Getting into the creeks requires some want to, but it can be done.. Watch out for fences and fence posts once you leave the channel..

The water color looks great south of Marker nine or so..

I hear that a few fish are starting to show up post-spawn out in a bit deeper water.. But it appears most fish are still shallow..

I will post a decent report shortly.. This town is packed with fishermen.. There's a boat backed up to every motel room.. And I have been spread thin!

February 23, 2013: There is finally a calm moment around here to sit down in front of a computer for a bit.. It has been a crazy week around here, and the snowstorm that hit the midwest ran all the Kansans and Missourians down south.. Not to mention the rest of the population of Oklahoma that wasn't already here.

I was supposed to be in Oklahoma this week to see the Classic, but after seeing the forecast for the timeframe I decided that it would be better if I just watched the snow and cold on the TV.. I hate cold weather..

Besides, we're pretty busy around here anyway..

Yesterday was a good day on the lake I hear, with a lot of folks reporting the best day of fishing in a month.. Some numbers of fish finally showed up.. But we'll have to wait a bit to see if this is a trend.. Today is a great day to fish, as I actually see some sunshine out my window.. Unfortunately, that is the only I have been able to see it here lately.. Like I said, we have been really busy..

Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice mid eighty degree day, and I plan on hitting it after lunch..

Shallow is the word of the day, and I mean shallow.. Get in there amongst em and pitch your bait in between the bark and the sap.. And don't be too eager to pull it out too quick.. Fish slow.. Move it slow.. And if something don't feel right, set the hook.. Lots of these fish are light biting.. If you could call it that..

Throwing a spinner bait in the same areas is probably the second most popular ride at the park.. Clank it off any standing timber and basket shaped bushes you can find up there in the shallows..

Does it sound like most fish are shallow?? I hope so.. That's what I am saying.. Fish shallow.. Inside six feet.. You can do it. Get some scratches on that Hogmaster.. They sell Turtle Wax everywhere..

Spinners in Chart/White are the most popular, but we have sold every color we owned to some folks that swore by it.. Sounds like you just need to get it in front of an active fish..

Small soft plastics like the Baby Brush Hog, Super Fluke, or similar creature or Senkos are catching fish.. As a matter of fact the small bait frenzy has caught us a bit by surprise, and we got caught with our panties down on a few items.. But do not fear.. Replacements are already rolling this way..

Watermelon based baits are of course all the rage..

Square bill cranks in the same areas are also catching some fish.. But they do not get back to the boat near as easy.. Fish em where you can..

I will have to say that the reported slower than usual fishing as not deterred a lot of fishermen from making the trek down.. Both the county and state park ramps were SRO yesterday..

There have been some good fish caught lately, between all the pissin and moaning.. Here's a couple..

Chris Romano caught this 11..

Photography lessons available at FLT on Wednesday mornings..

And Jenny Mergle caught this 10.68 in a recent bass club tourney..

There are still a few Rosie's left without their Dance Cards punched..

We'll see in a day or two if the fishing remains on the uptick..

I am surprised to see all the folks in town this weekend with "The" event going on.. No, not the Bassmasters Classic.. Daytona..

And I hear that there have suddenly become a bunch of front row seats available on the internet.. Something to do with Dannica Patrik sitting on a pole.. Suddenly everybody wants to be a bit farther from the track..

Don't worry fellows.. She'll crash in the first few laps and then you can move back down..

I hear she is the only one in the field with airbags..

If ever there was a good reason for Sportscenter, Nascar is it..

I also saw on TV the other day that there is a "Genie" out there that will let you record up to five shows at one time on your DVR.. Some of you folks must have a lot better programming package than I do because I can never find ONE good program to watch..

And my wife will only let me watch Tombstone and Pulp Fiction once a week..

But a DVR is a good thing to have if you like Nascar.. So you can see the wrecks over and over again.. That's why you watch Nascar anyway ain't it?? The rest of it just seems to be a noisy series of left turns to me.. Just once I'd like to see em run the race the other direction..

That would be some Raceial Diversity.. And that seems to be a hot topic these days..

At least when you are watching golf it is quiet enough to take a nap..

I'll let you know if the fishing really picks around here.. I need to get my pole bent.. Maybe I can talk to Dannika..

February 19, 2013: You know last year, late January and early February was a madhouse around here.. Well this year, it waited till mid February for the insanity to really take hold.. You couldn't swing a a dead cat without hitting a bass boat around here last weekend..

And I guess my tourney page was less than accurate, as there were several clubs and organizations down here last weekend as well.. Which include, but are not limited to; San Antonio Bass Club, Uvalde Bass Club, Ingram Bass Club, The American Bass Anglers, and C.A.S.T.

And I was here alone and as my Dad would say, I was busier than a one legged man in an ass kickin' contest.. But it was me who was getting my ass kicked.. And there were several people who wanted to kick my ass, due to a shipping snafu' that did not have my Mexican licenses delivered on Friday as expected.. But that is cured now and we are back in the Mexican license sellin business..

Sorry for the inconvenience..

Fishing, whether you are fishing on the Texas or the Mexican side of the lake, is still inadequate in my opinion.. But I guess it will have to suffice, because it is what it is..

Some boats have reported decent numbers of fish. These guys are throwing a spinnerbait a lot.. A Lot.. It seems to be the numbers bait if there is one, and it is working best in shallow water of course..

I hear that a blade won most of the money over the weekend in the tourneys..

Senkos have risen to the top of the soft plastic food chain it appears, and Texas rigging it or whacky style have both been putting some fish in the boat. Shallow application of this bait is also working well.

There is also a group of fish that are out a bit deeper, around ten feet, and these fish are on their way shallow, or on their way back out. Reports of spawned out fish are more and more prevalent.. It is going on right now.. But not in the numbers that we have seen in the last few years..

In fact, many of these fish look like Rosie after a double Colon Cleansing.. A great big floppy belly skin, but nothin in there.. Hmmm... Just like her head..

Coincidence.. I don't think so..

But just like Rosie, these big mean bitches will be throwin' the munch after they get rested up.. And you know that both of em's hiney hole is sore, after blowin out all them eggs.. Or cheeseburgers.. And you know you don't get in the way of a Rosie when she is eatin'..

There are a few jig fish being caught on the rocky transitions, but not out in the twenty something feet that you might usually drag a jig in.. If you fish one on rocks in the ten to fifteen foot range you will catch a few.. But if you like pitching a jig in the shallows, that too will catch some fish.. Throw it the same place you would throw your Plum Ol Monster.

You are throwing the Plum Ol Monster aren't you??

A lizard is also catching some fish. Darker colors on the top of the lake, and watermelon based on the south end.

With the rising water there have been more and more people headed up the river, poking around in the back of the creeks that you can get into.. And let me warn you, that the river is a bit of an adventure at this level. Use caution if you do not know exactly where you are going.

The big concrete bridge abutment just below Hedieona is now just under the water, just right for lower end removal.. Proceed with caution into senderos and roadbeds off the main river channel as many of these have fences in them. Many with steel posts and some gnarly barbed wire..

I have personal knowledge of how bad these can screw up the bottom of your boat.. Or motor.. Be careful..

The water that has been flowing out of Amistad has been shut off, and the river is falling between here and Del Rio. We were still catching water yesterday, but are flattening out as I type..

We are sitting at 28 feet low. Amistad is now over 50 feet low..

Not sure how long we will hold this water, as the valley is dry.. And getting drier.. And I am sure you remember what this lake was built for..

Water temps fell from the lower, and in some spots middle seventies last week, to temps ranging from 62 to 68 degrees, depending on your location and time of day. We have had several fronts go by, none major, but they do affect the temps when they cause a lot of cloudiness.. I am sure the roller coaster will continue for a while to come..

David Kiley caught this 10-1 this week..

And David Britton caught this 12.36 prefishing for a club tourney..

It is OK to get in the the other boat to take the picture.. I promise..

And Jay Snyder caught this nice 11.18 as well..

I was talking with the folks at Fish Scale Taxidermy yesterday about a mount we had done for our Spare-A-Lunker contest last year. And he said that he did sixty one (61) mounts of fish over eleven pounds from Falcon last year. That is one taxidermist.. Of course he is one of the best.. But that is just one..

Nine of those fish were skin mounts.. There's a few thirteen's that won't be caught this year..

You can't blame the Taxidermist.. But I have no idea why anyone wants to kill a giant. When a replica will last forever, and still look good till Jesus gets back. And always look better than a skin mount..

That makes about as much sense as.. Well.. Sharelunker.. If we ever break the state record it won't be because of Sharelunker.. It will be because someone, or two, turned a giant loose..

But enough on that. That horse is not only dead, his bones have been beaten to dust.. And facts have no bearing in that conversation..

Yesterday was Presidents Day, another holiday for government workers.. And the head of the government took the day off to play golf in Florida. That only cost us a hunnert million or so.. I am sure the snipers were hanging from the palm trees as he played.. Wonder if anybody else was on the course?

But anyway I saw that there was a big mattress sale in honor of Presidents Day.. How fitting.. I wonder if they were thing of Kennedy when they decided to do it on presidents day? Or any of the other philandering SOB's that have stretched out some hides in the white house.. I'd mention Clinton but it was not a desk sale.. I hope they had some glass on top of the old Resolute desk.. Some of those stains might not come out with Pledge..

The Resolute Desk was a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes from Queen Victoria in 1880.. (Is that the same Queen they have now?) It was built from the timbers of a British ship back in the day. George Bush always said the Oval office smelled a little fishy.. And the staff always told him it was because of the desk being built from a boat..

I blame it on Clinton..

See you on the water.

February 14, 2013: Well it's Valentines Day again.. Usually a time of year when we are taping our fingers because the fish have torn um all up. But tape sales are down quite a bit around here this year..

Enthusiasm for fishing is not however, and there are a lot of folks in town beating the water as we speak. We do not have the numbers of people down here that we did last year, but there are quite a few fishermen around..

The fish are still in a semi cooperative mood, if you happen on em when they are in the mood to bite. And some folks have got on em good a few days, but finding a consistent bite is still almost impossible for most folks.. Me included..

All I can say is that if you put your nose to the grindstone you will grind out some fish.. But it is taking some hard work and perseverance to catch any numbers..

Reports of boats that catch twenty fish are rare, but they are out there. There are some quality fish being caught in the mix.. Most boats are catching 10-12 fish a day here lately, with two or three guys busting it..

Shallow is the best, if there is such a thing, and spinner baiting and flipping the shallow bushes and woods have been the most productive.

I have heard of a few spawned out fish here lately, and I am sure they are doing it right now.. And will be for the next month or so at least.

When it comes to soft plastics, the entire arsenal of baits has been thrown at em.. And I can't tell you that any one thing is considerably better than another. Lizards and Flukes are catching fish, and I am still throwing the Ol Monster.. Senkos are catching fish as well.

I have heard of some deeper crankbait fish, but for the most part everyone is fishing pretty shallow water. And we should be..

If the bass are not biting, the catfish certainly are, and there have been a lot of folks tearing them up.. However you want to catch em..

Wayne and Javier caught some really good ones on some jug lines.. Biggest was a 37..

And I did not get the name but these fellers caught this 55 pounder on rod and reel on Monday.. Along with a bunch of others..

This lake is loaded with catfish, and a lot of big SOB's..

But not to worry.. There have still been a bunch of big bass caught as well.

Jack Hollingsworth is living the charmed life it appears as he caught another whopper, this one going 11-13.. I'm hiring him..

And Bruce Cuquet caught this 10.78 last week..

Only to be outdone by his brother Stan on the same trip.. This one went 11-11..

Mary Shadrick caught this10-13 a couple of weeks ago..

And Nicolas Turnage broke his personal best three times this week, with a big six, a seven four, and this seven eight.. He is having a good trip! So Is his Dad..

And Don Albrecht caught this whopper last weekend as well. It went 11.02..

There was also a fish turned into Sharelunker last week.. It is being returned to the lake as it was not a pure Florida.. Whoda thunk it..

That is only the second thirteen pound plus fish I have heard of in the last two months..

I have been over at Sugar for a couple of days, and I missed the Fate of the Union address that was delivered by King Obama.. Hope I did not miss anything important..

And I hope I was not being disrespectful by missing what Chris Rock called "Our Daddy's" speech.. I guess George Bush was his Daddy as well.. What a hypocrite.. But he is just here to support the president..

I also saw last week that PETA was all pissed off at the Iranians for launching a monkey into space.. That he looked uncomfortable in the rig they had him stuffed in.. I guess the people at peta are more concerned about whether a monkey is dressed left or right and shoved up a rockets ass than if the same people are torturing their citizens and mutilating young women for whatever their sadistic society and religion finds reason for..

Both groups of em are nuts.. But at least the people at peta aren't killing anybody..

I always thought that PETA stood for "People Eating Tasty Animals.." I bet chicken fried monkey is pretty good..

I know the "I" in Iran stands for Idiots..

And like I said earlier, today is Valentines Day.. Saint Valentine.. Probably cause some Guy killed him..

But this is the most sexist holiday of the year for sure.. I guess it is not really a holiday.. But if you watch any commercials on TV you'd think it was..

The diamond stores are plaguing the airways with their annual attack on men's wallets.. What a crock.. I have not seen one commercial where at a nice dinner a woman whips out the latest baitcaster from under the tablecloth and makes her husband cry..

Just once I like to roll over in bed and find myself laying on a new touch screen HDS-12..

How bout spending a hundie on some flowers you can throw in the trash in a couple of days.. I'd rather light a good Maduro with one..

And then there's the old standby, a big box of chocolates.. And a week later she'll ask you if she's getting fat..

It's a no win situation..

I can tell you all about women in ten minutes.. But I don't want to go Dear Abby on you..

But I can tell you women that if you missed out on, or forgot Valentines Day, we can still get your guy a great gift delivered in a day or two..

Happy Valentines Day Honey.. Thirty Three years and counting..

I've gotta go.. I'm late for sensitivity class..

February 9, 2013: It's back to the roller coaster it seems around here.. Some folks catching em, some not.. But all the good stories seem to be about the shallow water..

Still throwing spinners and shallow cranks and flippin the flooded weeds and sticks along the shore.. Rock nearby is a plus, as always, and a depth change can really make a difference if it is near by..

I am not sure about the progress of the spawn, but since I wrote about the "not seeing much or any fry" I have had several folks tell me that they have seen some.. One guy fishing shallow said he is seeing a lot..

For the next month or so I will be in the skinny water any time the boat is not on plane..

We do have some cover up very shallow for the hatch to hide in. And this is a bonus, because a month or so ago I would have guessed that we would have a lot of bare banks in a lot of the shallows. The rising water has certainly given the fry a little something to hide in once the males run em off the nests..

There is quite a bit of flooded salt cedars, weeds, and beanie bushes in the shallows.. And while some of it won't last over a month or two before it breaks down, at least it is something..

It is hard to believe, but we have come up ten feet since August. With only about two and a half feet of the water attributed to rainfall between here and Amistad. Of course Amistad has suffered for our gain.. They still have more volume of water in the lake than us, due to the deep nature of the lake. Amistad is 48+ feet low.. While we are about thirty feet down, give or take..

This is the first time in my memory that we have been given this water up front during irrigation season.. And if you are wondering, it is Mexico that is moving all the water down here.. Not the US..

There have been some really nice fish caught this week, but not everybody that is fishing is catching them. And some really huge fish have been caught in water less than three feet deep. I hope to get out there this afternoon and catch some myself..

It's not like last year.. But it is still pretty good..

February 8, 2013: After writing yesterday that the fishing sucks, everybody, well almost everybody, caught good numbers of fish yesterday.. And there were some whoppers caught as well..

Shallow is the order of the day.. Lots of boats with twenty plus fish. We'll see if it holds up for another day.. Shallow!

February 7, 2013: The water level continues to rise, but the quality of the fishing remains static.. It may have improved a bit but that is after it got worse for a bit.. Hell if I know..

But if I was keeping one of them thermometer things out in the parking lot like people use to keep track of how much money they have raised.. I wouldn't be running out of red Marks-A-Lot.. At least not in the sense that the fishing is really heating up..

What I am saying is that it is basically a crap shoot.. One day it appears that the fish are biting a lot better.. And the next it is back to pretty crappy.. But it does still beat working..

Reports of shallow fish are far outnumbering reports of deep fish. And shallow water fishermen far outnumber deep water fishermen.. But it is for a reason..

Lots of folks have told me that they are catching fish right off the bank. Between the weeds and the bank.. Really shallow.. But most folks are fishing the water inside ten feet on creek and drain edges that are right next to flats that are suitable for spawning.

I am not sure what stage the spawn is in.. Most of the fish pics I am seeing are of big bloated Rosies.. Only a few reports of fish that are spawned out, or at least of fish that are rails or floppy bellied. I have heard no one report the sighting of any fry as of yet..

The water temperature yesterday was over seventy in several places I stopped. I did not go south of the Tigers. But some of the water on the Mexican side mid lake was at 72.5°..

In any case, fishing has a long way to go to get to good.. Least that is my opinion..

Flipping and throwing Square Bills and Spinners seems to be the most productive..

You just gotta put your head down and go fish..

Parks and Wildlife is scheduled to be down here in a couple of weeks to do their annual spring shock survey, and I am most interested in seeing their results. I know it is not an exact science, but it is at least a consistent gauge that is always read the same.. And I will pass the results of what they find, or don't find when they get here.

There are no major tournaments headed our way till next month. Bass Champs comes back March ninth, and speaking of which, the south division hits Amistad this weekend. But you will run into no big crowds down here before then.

But there are a few people in town..

We got our 10 XD's in!!

Call me if you haven't got yours yet.. We got all the colors.. For now..

Available in E-Store.. Just search for 10-XD!

February 4, 2013: Last weeks cold front seems to have left a lasting impact on the fishing around here, or at least that's the way it appears to me.. Either that or the fish just bit a lot better before the front came through. Cause it seems that they have been somewhat less active since then.

I have not fished since Saturday, and my results were not good then. And I have heard continued mixed results from fishermen the last few days.. Some folks have caught them decently, and some have really struggled. But nobody is killing them.

The weird thing about it is that the fish that are being caught have been decent quality fish for the most part.. Where the hell are all the little fish.. The ones that usually drive you crazy.. And keep you from getting bored between big bites..

I did hear that some folks caught em pretty good on senkos, smaller than larger.. And W/M something in five or six inch is a good choice.. Or something with some purple in it I hear..

Spinner baits are still catching some shallow fish, as they should be this time of year. I am not sure that color is a big factor as I have heard of fish coming on a variety of colors.. And blade styles..

There are still some deep fish, but the reports of deep fish have slowed.. Maybe because most of the fishermen are in the shallows.

I have had some off and on fishing, and maybe it has to do with the hat I am wearing.. At least that is as good a guess as I have. I cannot get on anything consistent, whether it concerns baits or areas.. And what aggravates me is that I hear of folks catching fish where I have been fishing and done squat.. Maybe it is all a timing issue.. Or a bait choice issue.. Or maybe they are just better fishermen than me..

The latter is likely..

In any case, every day is a new adventure.. And I am not the only optimist it appears.. There are a lot of folks down here that had some fantastic fishing last spring, and they have returned despite of the dismal fishing reports of the last few months.

But like they say, they are one cast away from a fish that will make the trip.. I have to agree..

There has been only one fish caught recently that I know of that has weighed over thirteen pounds, and that was over a month ago. (I am glad to see the sharelunker program working so well..) And compared to last year we are way behind schedule. It is still early in the spawn around here, and maybe we'll see a few whoppers show up sooner or later. But we also have half the fishermen down here that we had last year, and no matter how you slice it, less fishermen equals less fish caught..

The lake is still rising, and water releases from Amistad are continuing as we speak. We are currently up to 270.32, or 30.88 feet low. Water in the river is still a little murky, but fishable from the Veleno to the Salado. It seems that certain areas of the river are darker than others..

Some folks have been fishing above the Salado, but there is not a lot of water in the creeks up that way.. You can get in the Hedieona, but it is a net infested piece of water.. The river channel above there is four to eight feet deep, depending on where you run, and of course there are a lot of deep holes here and there in the river channel.. But like I said, the running water in the river has kept it murked up quite a bit..

Some of those deep holes have been spitting out some huge rod and reel catfish. Buy you some carp from some netters, cut you some bait and fish it on the bottom.. And hang on..

The water from the Veleno south looks good, with clarity increasing from the north to the south.. Water temps are at 70° and above in a lot of the backwaters.. Middle and upper sixties everywhere..

These bastards should be going crazy!

Debbie Lempa caught this 9.64 out of some trees last week.. And while anything less than ten pounds does not make this page, (usually) ladies and young-uns get a break.. She was fishing with Tommy Law..

And our old buddy Hump Franklin, who has been fishing for over sixty years, finally got his first ten pounder in the boat.. This one went 10.50.. Bout time!

And Roger Sboma, who winters in Zapata, caught his annual DD with this 10.80..

We'll see what happens this week, with the continued warming weather.. It is about as pleasant as it gets in February..

February 1, 2013: Fishing slowed a bit yesterday after the frontal passage, and I have really not got any reports on today just yet.. A few folks did catch em yesterday, but not like before the front.. Water temps were back down to about 64-65 yesterday afternoon. I fished three hours and had four bites.. No whoppers, one about 4-5 in a tree I could see but I wasn't going in after her..

The reason I am writing today, other than a short update, is to tell you about an incident on the bank in Mexico across from Marker 12. And of course I do not have all the facts, and the info I have was passed on to me by a third party in the law enforcement business..

The Mexican Military intercepted a big load of dope I hear, up on the bank in Mexico across from Marker 12. I hear there were shots exchanged.. In MEXICO.. Not on the Lake.. Between the smugglers and the Military..

I also heard that some of the smugglers may have fled to the Texas side, but I just don't have any details or anything I can say is factual.. There were cops all over Zapata this morning, that I can tell you..

No fishermen that I have talked to as of this time heard any shots.

I have very little other information at this point, but I hear that the Federales confiscated a lot of Dope..

I wanted to let you know what has transpired before somebody starts spreading rumors..

I always promised to tell you what I know.. And this is all I know for now.. And if I hear any other facts I'll pass em along..

Sounds like the Mexican Military doing their job..

January 30, 2013: Yesterday turned out to be a pretty good fishing day around here, but not one for the record books of course.. But I do think it is picking up..

I did go out in the afternoon as the wind had fooled me into thinking it had laid down.. Not.. But it was not terrible.

And we actually caught some fish, and broke off a couple.. I think the breaking off was due to superhuman strength on the hookset, not necessarily the size of the fish.. But they were not dinks.. I did manage to boat a 7-14 in the mix, the best fish I have caught in a while.. I caught her in the Veleno.. And the Veleno has put out some really nice fish in the last week, including a couple of DD's..

And it has cranked out a bunch of crappie.. And I am talking about some freakin slabs.. Lots of crappie fishermen in them trees..

I caught all my fish yesterday on a Plum Ol Monster.. Go figure.. I only boated five fish, but screwed up a few more.. Only one of the fish I caught actually thumped the bait.. The rest were more of a sneak attack bite.. So pay close attention to your bait..

The north wind hit down here about 9:00 last evening, and it has laid down quite a bit. It is supposed to lessen this afternoon.. But it is not howling, and never did, as I heard it did somewhat north of us.

But the next week looks awesome weather wise.. Time to hit it hard..

Here's a few pics that I promised yesterday..

Jack Hollingsworth caught this 10.09 yesterday fishing with Jim Edwards.

Daryl Roach caught this 12.2 Potbelly.

Rodney Trites caught this 10.8..

Steve Dowty with this 11.12...

And Wayne Bickham caught this 10.6 beastie yesterday as well..

I heard of several more whoppers yesterday as well.

I'll keep you posted.. I'm getting a bit more excited about the fishing.. I gotta go sand off these goose bumps..

January 28-29, 2013: I am not sure how to rate the fishing.. And I guess it depends on who you talk to about it but it is a hell of a lot better than it has been, and I think that it is going to get a hell of a lot better.. At least till a cold front comes thru and cools the water off again..

But for now things are looking up.. And speaking of up, the air and water temperatures certainly are..

Today it is about eighty eight degrees, and tomorrow we are supposed to be at about 92..

Jump to tomorrow.. Today is Tuesday.. Didn't get a chance to finish a report yesterday.. Or fish either. And now this big south wind is blowing and I ain't going out today either..

But from what I hear the fish are biting this morning for those that want to fight the breeze.. I live here.. And I'll fish on my terms.. Which are getting harder and harder to meet..

There have been a bunch.. Maybe I shouldn't say a bunch.. There were several tens caught yesterday, and a bunch of other quality fish caught as well.. Afternoons have been good fishing, with water temps hitting the upper sixties, and it appears that a lot of these fish have taken a notion to hit the shallows..

There are quite a few buck bass in the very skinny water, and a few Rosie's mixed in.. But the bulk of the fat biotches are still a little ways out. But not too far..

But in the same breath I will say that the shallow fish are not everywhere..

And I am not about to say that it is "ON" just yet, but something is happening..

Optimism is the outlook that I have, and I am hearing stories from a lot of folks about red.. No not the movie Red, that starred a bunch of old action stars that were thought to be over the hill.. And no, not Red Adair, the famous oil well fire fighter.. (One of my heroes..) And no not Red from The Shawshank Redemption either.. (Morgan Freeman) (Who is a hell of an actor but a liberal whacko..)

I'm talking about shallow crankbaits with some red on them.. A lot of red.. But it don't have to be all red.. But it helps to have some red on it .. Alright Already.. No, not all redy, but some ready.. Be ready to use it.. At least that is what I read.. Man.. I think I was caught in a temporal time loop.. A red one..

In any case, these fish seem to be tuned to red in the shallow water.. That damn Citrus Shad is still the stuff out deeper..

The jig bite appears to have slowed some. The Carolina rig bite seems to have improved some.. But I have heard of most every bait catching some fish in the shallow water.. But I reiterate.. They are not everywhere..

Small plastics like the baby brush hog or a super fluke are a good choice on the C-rig..

I have also heard some good stuff about big worms.. The Ol Monster or the Big Power Worms are catching some fish..

Just get out there and chunk something. Lots of stuff is catching fish..

I AM NOT telling you to call a lawyer and leave town just yet.. But you might put his/her number in your phone..

I am also not sure what this little dip in temperature will do to us tomorrow and the next day.. We'll see.. But I don't think it will knock the water temps back much.. At least not for long..

Keep in mind that February always has some cold and wet for us.. And while I'd like to think it is, I know that winter is not over..

But we are supposed to be 92° today.. Seventies for Thursday and Friday, and back in the eighties toward the weekend and early next week..

If you've been sitting on the fence, and don't have anything you have to do, you might sneak down here for a few days in the very near future.. You never know when you might be the guy telling others, "You shoulda been here yesterday.."

It just seems like we are on the verge..

What can I say.. Come when you can..

For those of you who tuned in for a fishing report only it is now time for you to click on the X on the top right of the page..

Something has occurred to me here lately.. Well not really lately.. I have noticed it for a few years..

Why have people who are Hard Working, God Fearing, Charitable, Law Abiding, and good Americans in general become so hated by the liberals in this country??

Is it envy? Is it their laziness that makes them despise the successes and rewards that hard work provides?

They want all the things that hard work showers on the willing, but they are too damn "Uninspired" to go out there and get it for themselves.. Especially if the government is willing to steal it from the working class, and and hand it out to the "less fortunate.."

I can't figure it out.. Seems like just a couple of generations ago that the vast majority of people living in the US aspired to be a part of this group of hard workers.. And the country was stronger than ever and united in a common goal.

To be the best we could be.. And to set an example for the rest of the world. That personal freedom and liberty driven by opportunity and capitalism could produce the most dynamic and incredible way of life on the planet.

And it did.

Have all the special interest groups driven us apart? Or has the conservative base just gone to sleep and through our generosity and compassion and the idea that everyone has a voice let the radical fringe get so out of control?

I guess that conservative thinking has now become the radical fringe.. If you are a conservative, you certainly have a target on your back these days.. And anybody can say anything about you with no fear of reprisal.

Are you a gun owner?? Then you are certainly an evil son of a Bitch.. I can put 400 BB's in my Red Ryder magazine.. Think they'll want to outlaw that one too?

Got any ideas about gun control? Why did the current administration jump on the "Ban the assault rifles" bandwagon after the Sandy Hook shooting.. When all the shooting was done with pistols? You won't hear the media say that.. It was originally reported that way.. But the news media don't like assault rifles either..

Guns jump off the shelf and kill people.. And spoons made Rosie fat..

And while 500 people get murdered in Chicago every year, in a state with some of the toughest gun laws in the country, we think we can make a difference in murders by blaming the guns. No gun has ever conspired with its bullets, no matter how many it's magazine holds, to kill a bunch of people.. Nor have any hammers.. Or baseball bats.. Or steak knives..

But I guess we are way above thinking that there might be something wrong with our society that causes murders.. Heaven forbid, It couldn't be the people.. It must be the guns..

What an absurd crock of crap we are having to listen to right now..

I have some pics to work up and post of some really nice fish.. And I just got a couple more.

I'll let you know what happens in the next few days; I haven't been this excited about the fishing in a long time..

January 25, 2013: If this is winter, all I can say is I love winter.. The last few days we have been in the eighties, and we are slated to be in the mid to upper eighties for the next five days as well..

So for the next few days, it is going to be short britches and full throttle on the water.. A long sleeve T-shirt is all you need in the morning..

And with the warm days and lots of sun, we have also had very low winds. And the water temps have bounced back like crazy. Mid sixties water was pretty much all over the lake yesterday, and the backs of creeks had warmer water still..

I did receive a few reports of decent numbers of buck bass up shallow yesterday afternoon.. Several boats caught numbers of fish in the twenties.. Which just ain't been happening..

But no Rosie's were reported on the beaches as of yet..

I am not telling you to quit your job and get down here just yet.. But it might not be a bad idea to change that lower end fluid.. You never know when you might need to bolt..

I fished deep all day yesterday, and found a few fish on the edges of deep, but near shallow.. Or at least shallower.. And the first fish I caught was as white as a ghost.. That tells me that this fish is fresh out of the deep water. And it did not come from the upper end of the lake.. Maybe some of these suspending SOB's are starting to come to periscope depth..

I did not catch any numbers, but I caught a few on the Bomber Fat Free Shad in Citrus Shad.. Go figure.. And I had a half dozen bites at least on the Ol Monster in Plum on a Texas Rig. A lot of the bites on the worm were short, and they would nail it but drop it.. And a couple of times I got only half my worm back.. Probably dinks.. I tried waiting on them to eat it, and I tried Premature Ejerkulation as well.. Didn't seem to matter much, either they had the hook in their mouth or I missed em..

But at least I was getting bit.. And that is a positive thing for me..

I am going to avoid, abandon, forget, and drive over deep water on my next trip.. Which looks like Sunday afternoon.. Although I hear the wind is supposed to blow.. I am going to get in the skinny water and not come out.. At least for a while.. They gotta be there soon..

No tournaments this weekend, but we have seen an increase in fishermen in the last few days. I think we could hold a OU vs LSU game at the high school stadium and I bet we could pack the place..

Lots of out of staters in town..

Some of the guides I have talked to are starting to mix in some shallow water in their daily routines. And I don't think it will be too long till shallow will be the prevalent pattern..

And I'm all about that..

January 22, 2013: Warming and rising water are the story of the day.. Although I am sure both are temporary.. We have caught about nine inches of water in the last three days, and it appears more of it is on the way from Amistad. Like I have said before, I am not sure how long we will hold on to it, but it is a good thing to see it on its way up, instead of down..

I hear that Amistad is fishing pretty good right now so maybe we should keep it up..

Water temps have rebounded some, and on Sunday afternoon I saw water just a hair above 61° in the Marker Seven area, at the mouth of the Coyotes.. And I have heard of some warmer water down south.

And while I am not about to jump on the "Falcon is Back" bandwagon just yet, it appears that fishing is improving a little the last few days..

Results from the tournaments over the weekend were still dismal by our standards, but there were some good fish caught..

John Struthers caught this 11.26 during the McAllen Bass Club tourney over the weekend. And I hear he had a three fish winning stringer that went about twenty one pounds..

Nice focus on the pic.. Too bad the camera was in Cameron county..

There have also been a few nice fish caught by some guides clients, and here are a few..

Mike Cullpepper caught this 10-2 fishing with Tony Coatney..

And Shawn and Josh caught these two with Tommy Law yesterday..

Shawn with a 11.26

Josh with a 10.78

I fished a few hours on Sunday before football.. You remember football.. The stuff the Cowboys ain't playing..

Anyway.. I caught only a couple of fish, and I caught them in a ten minute span.. And not on the same piece of water.. And while neither of them weighed four pounds, both of them were as big around as Rosies thigh.. Either one.. It is good to see the fish in good condition, unlike we were seeing a lot of those Ellen fish a few months back. And I have seen pics of a lot of other blimps lately as well.

Man I just backspaced two paragraphs about Rosie and Ellen.. Should have saved it for one of those rare times when I may be imbibing while writing and not quite so inhibited..

Lately it seems like those two have been pretty sharp tongued..

I caught my fish on a Plum Ol Monster, my old standby bait. When all else fails go to the POM.. It can save your day.

But all these big fish that the guides are catching are coming on crankbaits.. You know the color..

There are still a few jig fish and some Carolina rig fish being caught.

I flipped two hundred trees in three to five feet of water, looking for some fish that might be in the motherly way.. But never got a bite.. Both fish I caught were on rocks.. There's a news flash.. I have also heard of a few fish on a lizard in M/M Red, and that should surprise no one..

The warmest water does seem to have the shallowest fish. My next trip I will be in the back of some creeks throwing a spinner bait. And flipping another couple hundred trees.. When they do go there, I want in on it early..

I can throw a crankbait anytime..

Speaking of crankbaits, I still haven't got my 10 XD's in.. I hear it could be any day.. And every day I see the Fed-Ex truck go by or bring in something else.. I'll let you know when they do get here in case you haven't gotten your fill of XD mania by the time they arrive.. And I'll be glad to send you some..

Have you seen the size of the packaging on those puppies? 900 of them is going to take up some room.. And a lot of boxes.. The delivery man is going to love us..

Kind of reminds me of Christmas 1966.. I was waiting and waiting for the day to get here cause I knew Santa was going to bring me a new Shakespeare Criterion casting reel. I had seen it in the magazine ad and I just couldn't wait to get one..

And I always considered it a personal challenge to see my presents before they were wrapped.. If I could find em.. So I was digging through my Daddy's sock drawer when I came across it..

The December Playboy issue of 1966.. There she was.. Susan Bernard.. 35-22-35.. Not sure if that centerfold ever unfolded again..

But I digress..

But that reel was the real deal at the time.. Sits right here on my shelf in my office to this day.. Finger breakin' Son of a Bitch..

In any case, the fishing just might be getting better.. But we got a lot of room for better.. And I hope it is on the way..

I am working on a story bout the re-naugaration.. I'm glad they did not spend too much money on it.. And I was glad to see em going low key.. I just can't figure out why this country is out of money...

January 19, 2013: It is a beautiful morning around these parts, and we are headed for about seventy for a high temp.. Sounds like paradise in January. The only thing that could make it better is if the fish were biting.. Better..

There were some fish caught yesterday, though numbers remain low. And as it has been, the bites that are showing up are from quality fish.

It has been a bit of a roller coaster ride when it comes to water levels around here, and we have leveled off as of this morning. We have fluctuated back and forth within a two foot range for the last month.

And looking at the water report from yesterday, it appears that we are going to be getting some more water out of Amistad.. Who knows if they'll hold it here very long.. We have stopped the drop and have leveled off as of this morning.. We are sitting at 266, or 35.20 feet low. And as of yesterday Amistad was releasing about 4,000 CFS more than we were. This number is kind of hit and miss, as the water from Amistad is kind of pulsed out.. Releases from Falcon are generally not increased and reduced during the day..

Sugar Lake is dropping substantially, and Mexico is using a lot of water out of that system for irrigation..

A couple of weeks ago, it was at about 90% capacity, about three feet from full, but it is now at 68% of capacity.. Not sure what that translates into in feet from full, but they have let out a lot of water..

There are four bass clubs here this weekend, and they include Helotes, SAPD, Uvalde, and McAllen.. And while we are not fishing at our best, most folks are still excited to get down and get the new tournament year under way. We'll see what kind of results they have..

I was looking at the long term weather forecast, and the next week looks pretty awesome.. Highs late in the week are predicted to be near eighty, and maybe a little warming water will get some of the Rosies into the shallows. A lot of the bigger fish we have seen lately surely look like they might pop, and when it happens it's gonna look like little Johnny stomping on a tube of Crest..

For critters that only have sex once or maybe twice a year, they don't seem too excited..

Spinner baits are catching some shallow fish, and white or chart/white seem to be the best choices..

A Carolina Rig with a lizard or a worm rigged up is also one of the best ways to get bit.. Drag it slowly.. It does not have to be a big bait on the C-rig either..

But the bait that is catching more fish than any other is still a deep diving crankbait. As long as it says Citrus Shad on the package it is a good choice.. Don't ask me why we have been stuck on this one color so long.

But if you'll remember a few months back everything we were throwing had to have some Chartruse on it..

And so few things are working I am not about to question anything that is working. Even if it is not working very well..

And speaking of crankbaits, I finally talked to my Strike King rep on Friday. Of course I asked him where in the hell are my 10 XD's.. Of course I heard the response that orders are being shipped in the order that they were received.

Supposedly I'll have em by the end of the month.. I only ordered 900 of them so I guess small orders like mine will have to wait.. But I'll let you know when I get em.. In you haven't already stocked up on em before I get em..

I've got another problem I'm dealing with.. It appears that a big ass rat has decided to move into our shop behind the store.. Both of my cats are scared of him.. As a matter of fact I think the rat has already violated the younger cat.. He seems traumatized and there is a bunch of hair missing around his tail..

I thought I would starve him out but I believe that a rat can live for six months off six feet of extension cord..

So yesterday I had him cornered between the refrigerator and the sidewall, and I had his escape blocked with a gas can.. But the only weapon I had handy was my Red Ryder BB gun. I busted him right between the eyes at point blank range and he didn't even flinch..

And then I couldn't find him.. Kind of like that disappearing Tarantula that Miss Rudolph had..

So I set a big rat trap near his hangout.. This AM the cheese was gone, and he was doing bench presses with the trap..

I'm gonna have to get serious with this bad S.O.B.

I've gotta go turn my briskets..

January 17, 2013: It's a cool one this morning here in Zapata, and probably the coolest we have been this year, with lows right at freezing.. I hate this crap, but at least the sun is shining the next few days.. Allegedly..

I have been sitting in the deer blind the last three days freezing my ass off.. Saw a lot of deer, and a shooter, but he didn't get that way by being stupid.. And he's still running around cause he never gave me the opportunity..

Tournament results from last weekend were less than spectacular, and anyone who reads this site should have seen it coming. And while a seven pound average to win is always noteworthy, after you got out of the top ten things really fell off.. But it usually does. And there were a lot of teams that did not weigh a fish..

I have not heard any results from the South Texas 5 tourney on Sunday, maybe someone will send me some info on that. They had some brutal winds to deal with and I am not expecting that they did too good. But I did hear that someone caught a decent stringer in the Veleno to win it..

Water temps are still in the middle to upper fifties, depending on where you are. Still colder than the fish like it..

Water levels have been similar to the stock market, with small ups and downs, and we are still sitting in the 266 plus or minus area, about thirty five feet low. Yesterday Amistad started releasing water again, and we have reduced what we are letting out by a bunch.. So we should see the lake edge upwards this weekend, if things continue as they were yesterday. Like I have said many times, I have no idea what these guys are doing..

Fishing is still tough, and like Bachman Turner Overdrive said, you have to "work your slavin job to get your pay.." Problem is that fishing is paying minimum wage here lately..

And not exactly what I'd call Takin Care of Business..

The same old baits are still catching what few fish we are catching. And numbers of fish are still few.. But there have been some quality fish caught. Just not a lot of them..

We do have a few groups in town this week, that were undaunted by the poor fishing reports, and they are managing to scratch out a few fish.. Yesterday the wind was bad, but today we have a very nice afternoon, and for the next few days we are supposed to be warming with little wind. At least the conditions are nice, we'll see if the fish pick up on it.

It is hard to sit myself down and do a fishing report these days. Seems like all I can write about is poor fishing and bad politics. I know one of them will improve before too long.. The other we are stuck with till the next revolution..

And I am sure by now you heard of a bunch of the presidents ideas for keeping "The Children of America" safe.

It appears that we are between Barak and a hard place..

And the cold hard truth is that outlawing "assault rifles" or high capacity clips will do nothing to prevent future lunatics from killing innocent people.

If the next guy kills twelve people with two revolvers will that make the crime any less horrible?

Blaming guns for the insane acts of humans is ignorant.

I do believe that everyone who attempts to buy a gun should have a background check. But before we implement that law, maybe we should implement a law on doing a background check before someone can become president. That would be a good place to start.

And if guns are so bad, why are all the Senators, Congressmen, and the president surrounded by armed guards ten layers thick? Why are there metal detectors in all the buildings in D.C.?

I guess that the above mentioned value themselves more highly than the "Children of America", who they are so hell bent on protecting by removing and restricting guns, instead of adding some to protect them as they protect themselves..

Gives you an idea about who they think is important.. But when you are making the rules, what is good for the goose is rarely good for the gander..

Such a group of hypocrites the world has never seen..

I am not sure where all this will end up.. But an armed citizenry is a good deterrent and a good defense..

Against enemies.. Whether foreign or domestic..

12, 2012: Update: Unofficial Bass Champs Results:

Big Bass Caught by Nelson/Brunson: 11.03

January 12, 2013: There are 164 teams entered in the Bass Champs tourney, and light fog greeted them this AM but nothing like yesterday.. Bout a 15 MPH SE wind to boot.. It'll be a little bumpy but nothing like some in the past..

And I want to congratulate Strike King for shipping a bunch of 10 XD's to a lot of dealers in Texas on Thursday and managing to skip us.. Right before this weekends biggest tournament in the state (Probably) and on one of the highest rated lakes in the country.. (Depending on who you ask..)

That's great marketing.. (No, I don't have a degree in marketing either..)

I'll let you know what happens at the tourney later today..

January 11, 2013: It sure feels good to see the sun again, and yesterday was about as beautiful as it gets. High seventies, clear skies, and no winds.. This morning was very foggy, and tomorrow morning might be the same..

There were a couple of twelve's caught yesterday, and the short lived warming trend that is upon us can't hurt anything.

Steve Ralls caught this 12-4 yesterday.. There was another I hear..

And Shawn caught this 11.15 a few days ago..

Numbers of big fish is another story though.. But some quality fish have been caught.

Bass Champs will be here tomorrow, and the South Texas 5 circuit will also be holding their first tourney of the year as well on Sunday.

Registration for the South Texas 5 will he here at FLT on Saturday evening.

Chad and Jeff stopped in this morning, and Bass Champs will hold registration at the county ramp this evening around six I hear.

We should have good conditions tomorrow, but Sunday sounds a little dicey right now..

I'll let you know tomorrow morning how many entries Bass Champs has.

And we'll see if there are any fish left in the lake tomorrow!

January 8, 2013: If fishing can get any worse, I can't imagine it.. So I am gonna say that fishing can only get better from here on out.. Least that is what I am thinking..

Last weekend The Bass Federation was in town, for their two, one day tourneys. On Saturday, the big stringer was three fish for a bit over fourteen pounds. This was not a three fish tourney.. On Sunday, a limit was caught by one fisherman, for about twenty four pounds, and second place went to a one fish stringer..

These results are unofficial of course, and I apologize for not having a better report.. But that is about as bad as it gets..

I fished with a friend yesterday, and to save embarrassment on his part, he will remain nameless.. But we fished three hours, and fished some good water, and had one bite..

Sunday was the first time we had seen the sun since Christmas morning, and yesterday was a hazy day, but temps got in the sixties and it was fairly comfortable out there.. But the fish did not seem to care.

Water temps were around 54°, and we did not fish south of Pierce's cove. Water color on the upper end of the lake has cleared quite a bit since the water has stopped flowing down the river.. Well almost stopped.. And it is certainly not un-fishable from the Veleno south.. It is not clear by any means though.

The big water releases from Amistad have stopped, and as of yesterday they are letting out 1150 CFS.. We however will be dropping in a big way, as we are still turning out about 7400 CFS..

I'm no math major, but that says to me that irrigation is on, and unless we get a local flood in the valley today and tomorrow, we are going to dropping like a cheap whore's panties..

And that is a pretty good segway that leads to us getting screwed.. No surprise though.. It is always the same..

A few weeks ago I was wishing for some cooling water, and man we got it. Water temps in the river at the top of the lake have been in the 51° range, and at the dam water temps are around 55-59, depending where you stick your probe..

I talked to several guides yesterday, and their days ranged from six to ten fish per boat. There were a few nice ones mixed in, but just no numbers.. And most all of the guides are fishing from marker seven south..

And until we can go out and catch twenty fish by noon, I am still going to say the fishing sucks.

But it ain't happening right now.

This weekend we will have Bass Champs in town, and we will get an idea of how good, or how bad, the fishing really is. There will be some good stringers I am sure, as there are a lot of good fishermen in the crowd. But there were some good fishermen in the crowd last weekend as well..

The same old baits are being used to fish.. None seem to be working much better than the other, but crankbaits still seem to be the baits least cussed..

Does this report seem negative??

I'm just not sure what to say.. I know it is going to turn around. I'm just not sure when or what it is going to take to get the fish biting.. I know they don't like water in the fifties. But they did not like it in the sixties or the seventies either.

But don't worry.. The Sharelunker program will save us.. At least that is what I hear.. You know it is responsible for every fish we have in Texas..

I was watching TV the other night, between bowl games and reports on the fiscal cliff.. And Praise the Lord! the US government has saved us again.. You really gotta admire those guys.. Saving us from disaster..

But I digress.. I kept seeing this commercial from the SPCA, about adopting cats and dogs and saving them from the slaughterhouse for only eighteen dollars a month. Less than the cost of your premium channels..

I love animals, but there are just too many cats and dogs.. And too few responsible animal owners.. But to elevate them to the level of people is just stupid..

Dogs and cats don't seem to be able to control their sexual desires and maintain a healthy population that can be well fed and cared for.. Maybe they are more like humans than I thought..

Maybe we need to invent some Kittie Condoms.. Or some Rover Rubbers.. And then we could get a lot of folks back to work, installing them.. Hell yeah the government can pay their salaries.. We're paying for everything else.

I know what you are thinking.. That's dumber than naming a cold front..

But I think I have a real solution for this problem. The dog and cat one..

Asia.. That's right. As a matter of fact the same folks that we owe zillions of dollars to can be the answer to our financial disaster.. You know how they love dogs and cats..

Cooked.. With rice.. And while it is a bit difficult to pick up a Chihuahua liver with chopsticks I still think we have a saleable product.. And Moo Goo Guy Pit Bull is definitely hard to resist.

So every time they send us a trillion dollars, we'll ship em a container ship full of cats and dogs..

We can use the same ones that Wal-Mart uses to get all the lead infested Chinese crap over here.. They're going back empty anyway..

This really sounds like a win-win situation..

Congrats to Alabama on wining another National Championship.. I think we all saw it coming. But I bet the Aggies still think you're their bitch..

I'd of loved to see that game again on the big stage.. Reckon we will.. In about ten months..

If Notre Dame didn't have the Shining Girls School for the Blind on their schedule they'd never have been there.. Hey.. Don't pick on me. I'm as Catholic as the next guy..

And speaking of watching T. V.. I saw a commercial for a AIDS test you can take at home.. I can't remember the name of the product.. They said that you should wait at least three months since your "Risk Event" before taking the test..

That leaves a lot to the imagination.. "Risk Event..." I wonder what would be considered a risk event..

I guess sharing a needle with a crack whore might be a risk event.. Or letting Bubba plow your back forty could get you in trouble..

How bout avoiding these "Risk Events" in the first place..

But that would take some personal responsibility.. And that is certainly not what this country is all about..

At least not anymore..

I gotta go change the batteries in my remote..

January 4, 2013: You know how good it feels to stand in the sun on those cool winter days, and soak in the warmth? Yeah.. Me neither.. Because the sun has not shown itself much around here since Christmas morning.. But I hear it is going to make an appearance on Sunday.. Sounds good to me..

We are supposed to warm a bit tomorrow and get back in the seventies next week. But right now it is about 44° and cloudy, and snow and sleet have made it down to the Texas hill country. Looks like we'll be spared all of that stuff, but by our standards, it is cold..

There have not been a whole lot of folks fishing this week, especially after New Years day.. But there have been a few folks showing up that are going to fish the Bass Federation tourney this weekend, and more that are pre-fishing for the Bass Champs opener next weekend.

And as far as fishing goes, not a lot has changed.

If you are going to catch any fish, you still need to be fishing around rocks. The eight to twelve foot range seems to be best according to most reports. I have not been on the water this week. Too cold and wet for me.. And for a lot of other folks as well. If the sun peeks out on Sunday afternoon, I'll hit her a lick..

And I know you are getting tired of hearing it, but deep diving crankbaits and jigs are still the best things going. Rocky points with wood have produced some spinner bait fish. Neither approach is wearing them out..

Of the fish that are being caught , many of them are quality fish, in the five to seven and even eight pound range.. But what I want to know is where in the hell are all the one to three pounders that are usually driving us crazy during the day? The fish that usually keep you on your toes have been mysteriously missing. Hell if I know why.

The catfish are going crazy, and people are literally catching wheelbarrows full on jug lines and trotlines.. Lots of twenty to forty pounders.. Mostly blues.. Creek channels all over the lake..

Crappie are fair, but the bad weather has slowed the army of crappie fishermen this week as well. Many crappie are being caught very shallow.. Getting ready to spawn..

Water temps on the south end of the lake are in the low sixties, and there is a lot of colder water, in the fifties on the north end of the lake. The north end of the lake is also a lot dirtier, with the releases from Amistad.

I finally got a water report from the IWBC yesterday. And according to them, Mexico is releasing the vast majority of water out of Amistad, and they have started releasing water out of Falcon and out of Sugar lake. Irrigation as started in the valley.. And it will continue for a while.. I am not sure how long they will continue to keep us steady, and we have flattened out a bit in the gaining water category.

Amistad is currently releasing about 6350 CFS, and Falcon is releasing about 5650 CFS. And Sugar lake in Mexico has started to drop as well as they are releasing about 2317 CFS into their Canal system that irrigates a lot of the area along the river in the local area. They can also put water from Sugar in the Rio Grande if they need the water farther south along the river.

As of yesterday the combination of Amistad and Falcon have 40.66% of the volume that the two lakes hold at pool level.. Most of it is in Amistad.. Amistad is at 43% of capacity, and Falcon is at 26%.

Falcon is 33.98 feet low, and Amistad is sitting at minus 34.46.

Maybe a little current running thru the lake will help the fishing around here. It can't hurt anything.

See you on the water.. But not before Sunday!

December 31, 2012: The year of 2012 has birthed it last day, and looking back over the last twelve months, you'll have to admit, it has been a hell of a ride. And regardless of what the fishing is like here on Falcon at the present, the first seven or eight months of the year were unreal.

And having experienced the real and the unreal, I have decided I like the unreal better.. A lot better..

But for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and the pendulum has swung back at least to center as of late. And while fishing is poor, we'll see if the pendulum doesn't swing back a bit as we get headed into the spawn.

There have been a few early spawners up this week, but the numbers of them are very small.

Fishing remains substandard, and the best that I have heard from any group of fishermen this week has been a twelve fish day. But some of the fish caught have been quality fish. Not many in the double digit range though.

Here's one that did break the ten pound mark..

David Wylie caught this 10-4..

The lake is on the way up, at least for the short term, and in the last week we have caught a bit over a foot of water. But before we did, we lost about six inches.. We are currently sitting at 34.08 feet low, but we are coming up about two inches a day at current rates.. We'll see how long it lasts before they start sending it down the river..

Water color in the river resembles a la-te' down to about marker nine, but is nice down south. There is a bit of an algae bloom in the midsection of the lake..

I was looking at the lake levels here on Falcon compared to last year at this time, and we are only about six and a half feet lower than we were last year. Not a lot in the big picture around here. But we can loose five feet around here quicker than a cat can lick his ass when irrigation starts.. And it can't be that far off..

We have had 19.60 inches of rain here at FLT in 2012, right on our average. Problem is that lots of places around us and above us have not had squat.. Let's hope that that changes in the next few months..

And local rainfall puts very little water in the lake. A localized flood above Amistad would be fine with me.. And one in the valley would save us a lot of water as well.

If your club is planning on being in Zapata in the near future, I would appreciate it if you'd let me know when, so I can add you to our tournament schedule. Send me an e-mail if you get the chance. You can also plan your trip accordingly, if you are trying to miss a busy weekend.

I hope someday soon I will be able to tell you to drop what you are doing and get your ass down here. But for now, I wouldn't quit your day job..

Happy New Year! And thanks for your business all year long. Please party safely.. We want to see you in 2013!

December 27, 2012: Well Christmas has come and gone, and before you know it we will be writing 2012 on checks that should be dated 2013. Happens every year.. And always will.

And when we look back at 2012, we will certainly have to say that the first three quarters of the year were about as good as it gets when it comes to fishing, and catching.. And that included a ton of giant bass.. And if you were here for the Bonanza, I don't have to tell you about it..

Leap forward to today, and we are experiencing less than stellar fishing. Reasons why? Theories abound.. But who really knows for sure..

There have been quite a few fishermen hit town the last two days, and having a few more hooks in the water can't hurt the fishing report results that we hear.

A black and blue jig seems real popular all of a sudden.. It's a good dark water bait. We have had a bit of an algae bloom on the upper end of the lake as of late.

And speaking of dark water, the IWBC has started releasing water out of Amistad, and my guess is that they are preparing for the imminent irrigation season that lies just ahead.. Who knows how much they'll give us, or if they'll just keep us level.. Or if they will drop us like a rock when it gets going.. I guess we'll see soon enough.

And just like always when the river is running some, the top of the lake gets pretty muddy.. And it is again I am sure.. I haven't been out there since Sunday, but I saw the water in the river on the way back from San Antonio yesterday. And a few folks that were on the lake up here yesterday said it was pretty dirty.. The south end of the lake is still very nice colored, and I will have to guess that from marker nine or so south you will find clearing water.. The backs of creeks are still not too bad I hear up on the top end.

Big crankbaits are still catching fish a good as anything, as long as it is called a Citrus Shad.. Doesn't seem to matter who makes it.. At least that is the color that is in demand..

Of course it is always about rocks.. Whatever you are throwing.

Some shallow fish are being caught as well, but they are not up there in great numbers. You will catch a few big fish in the shallows if you fish them long enough. A very few fish are actually spawning right now.. Not unusual for this time of year..

And after all that typing, not a lot has changed.. Fishing remains very spotty.. Getting on a consistent bite has been a challenge, even to some of the best guides on the lake. But there are those days..

I hope you all survived the Christmas ordeal at your place.. We had a great time with our family and I hope you did as well. Grand kids do add a lot to the mix.. I was more about the food..

I sat a few hunts in the blind, but to date I have not seen "The Ghost.." And probably won't as the rut around our area appears to be wrapping up. The bucks are pretty much back in groups, and most of the yearlings have found their Mamas again..

But I did smack a gobbler on Christmas morning. Last year I killed one on Thanksgiving morning.. And on New Years.. And one on Easter.. Maybe this year I can whack one on the Fourth of July, just to stick with the holiday theme..

Does turkey season ever close?

That is if I have any guns left.. I hear that there is some buy back things going on in a few cities across the country.. $200 for a rifle and $100 for a pistol.

I'll tell you what I'll do.. If you have some guns laying around that you need out of the house, I'll do the same for you.. Just to help out.. I may need to see em first..

I'm offering this service as I haven't heard of any here in Texas.. But I would plan to re-distribute them to law abiding folks that might have use for em.. Just in case you don't..

I hear that in New York or some crazy state up in that area a local paper published the names and addresses of all the gun owners.. I guess they think that is like publishing a sex offender list, trying to help out the public and keep them safe. I guess it can help the thieves and such that want to rob a home that is unprotected..

Another stroke of genius by the anti-gunners.. Maybe pretty soon your deed restrictions on your home title will not allow for gun ownership in a neighborhood.. Just think of all the backdoor scheming that is going on right now..

Ah, Liberals.. What will they blame next.. Certainly not themselves..

And by the way.. If any thieves want to see my guns I will be glad to show em to them.. I'm easy to find..

What else.. The fiscal cliff looms ever closer.. And I have quit thinking about it for the most part.. These A-holes are not going to fix anything with whatever they do.. They'll probably put some more patches on the patches.. Just doing the minimum to get us down the road a piece.. Just like always.. These guys are drunk on money and they will never quit spending it like it ain't their own..

You've heard the saying about someone spending money like a drunken sailor.. At least the drunken sailor was spending his own..

But the people have spoken, so if you are a conservative, get ready to have more stuff shoved up your ass..

And on that happy note, I'm going to close for now.. And hopefully it won't be a week before I post again.. Something is bound to piss me off before then!

Happy New Year!

December 20, 2012: I was going to wait till tomorrow to post a new report, but I was not sure that we would still have electricity with the coming of the end of the planet and all.. So I figured I'd throw out this last offering before I run out and max out my credit cards..

The guy who dies with the most toys wins.. And I want to be a contender..

The cool front has hit town, and anyone weighing less than Rosie better stay inside a secure building.. The wind is howling, and I don't expect that there will be much fishing going on today. Of course there wasn't much going on yesterday, when we had nice conditions and a high around 88°.

This pic was taken at about 2:00 yesterday..

What can I tell you about the fishing? See previous report.. Or if you want I can copy and past it into this one.. Nah.. I'm too lazy..

Nothing has changed..

It is a slow week here in Z town.. As a matter of fact, that is what you are hearing around here lately.. A lot of ZZZZZZ's.. The fishermen and the fish are asleep..

Christmas is only five days away, but it has been a bit hard to really get in the mood wearing short pants and swatting mosquitoes.. (I'm not kidding on either item.)

And I hear that on Christmas day, this little cool front will be gone and we will be back in the mid eighties.. Gotta love south Texas.. I hate the cold..

And although things are a bit slow around here as of late, both Falcon Lake and Falcon Lake Tackle have had a good year.

And from all of us here at FLT we would like to thank you for your support throughout the year. And we look forward to seeing many of you in the coming months as spring rolls around.

There is not a lot of telling when it comes to the near future of water levels here on Falcon. I know that a lot of pressure has been put on the IWBC the last year, but these folks can't make it rain. But they surely can be a bit more responsible with our water and waste less. I'm still waiting..

Irrigation season is right around the corner, and as dry as it is I won't be surprised to see it start up pretty quick. I was in Mexico last week and the fields are bedded and ready to be watered. It won't be too long..

I'd like to take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas to you and your family. And I hope you see more in the holiday than a tree and what's under it.

I don't wear my religion on my sleeve, and I know that many of you don't either. But that don't mean that it ain't there. And I hope that you, like me, thank Jesus Christ everyday for the blessings that he has bestowed on us.

May God Bless each and every one of you, and from our family to yours,

Merry Christmas!

December 17, 2012: We are having another beautiful stretch of weather around here, but it is not doing much to cool the water off.. Highs in the eighties for the first three days of the week.. Don't seem much like December. Christmas is only a week away!

Water temps over the weekend were right under seventy degrees, and I don't see it cooling off much this week.. Days are about as short as they get around here, and in another few days they'll actually start getting longer.. If the world doesn't come to an end..

Water levels are still holding their own, and in the last sixty days we have fluctuated very little. But before too long, irrigation will start up in the valley, and who knows what we will look like in a couple of months. Mexico has moved a lot of water from El Cuchillo to Sugar lake in preparation for irrigation. But as of yet, Falcon has not rec'd anything from Amistad.

Fishing around here remains tough, but there were some pretty good stringers caught in last weekends Bud Light Trail tourney. It still took almost an eight pound average to win it, and second place was not far off with right at a seven pound average. Fifth place had a little over a four pound average.

Big bass of the contest was a 9.75, and there were two other nines caught as well.

Here's a link to the full results.

Big Crankbaits and Jigs were reported as best baits by the fishermen.

Not a lot else has changed around here, and there are few fishermen on the water. And when things get slow, I tend to get a little antsy. I am not very good at sitting still.. And I have had to do plenty of that lately having a foot that looked more like Calloway 460.. I think I can run a trolling motor now, but now my right elbow is killing me and I can't cast.. Or set the hook.. I'm just screwed here lately..

Last time we got a little slow, we worked on developing our line of crankbaits.. You remember.. The ones with the deep diving tongues that really liked to go down.. The hot pink was a great seller but nothing jumped off the rack like the hair pie color.. Especially in the Rosie Model, the one with the real wide waddle.. I mean wobble..

In any case, we sold the patent to a group from China and they cheapened up the baits and I don't think they're even making them anymore.. But I am always looking for a new revenue stream..

So I been thinkin.. And I'm an open minded guy..

Why not introduce a line of personal fragrances for the homosexuals.. Niche markets are where it is at these days.. Now that these folks are out of the closet they don't have to go around smelling like moth balls..

But just like with any new product, branding is everything. If you have a great product, but don't name it and market it properly you are doomed to failure..

So I figure it must be aptly named, and I already have a plan to give away ten thousand bottles across the country to get that grass roots movement started. And I am thinking of putting some sample packs inside condom boxes and KY Jelly.. You gotta hit em where they live..

So now it is down to the naming..

I'm kinda leaning towards "Hammer Time".. But I am not locked in on that just yet..

I'm still working on a few others..

What's that? What does it smell like??

Kind of like McCormicks' meat tenderizer..

I think it'll be a hit.. Watch for the IPO..

I hope the fish start biting soon.. And I bet you do too..

December 15, 2012: With all the loonieness going on in the world today, maybe the Mayans were right. Or maybe we have just slowly decayed into the state we're in now.. Hell if I know..

There are certainly signs of the apocalypse showing up here lately..

I felt like I was ready to die about a week ago.. And while I am walking a lot better, I am still wearing my weed whacking shoes with the custom slit on the left one that allows me to get my foot in it.. And now my right elbow is swollen up and as sore as John Holmes after filming a double feature..

Like my Dad always said, getting old ain't for pussies..

And while I have been languishing around, waiting to either die or get better, at least I have not missed out on any good fishing.

But there have been a few fish caught.

Right now fishing is about as productive as the US government.. There's a lot of milling around, and some noise made, but productivity is low..

The crazy part of it is that the fish are so inconsistent. Bout the time you think you've got it figured out, everything changes. Not that you were murdering them by any means.. Catching more than a handful of fish everyday has been a challenge.

Even the best guides on the lake have had problems with consistency..

Makes it kind of tough on the rest of us..

If there are any bright spots I am gonna have to say that the jig bite is about the best thing going. Big crankbaits are still catching some fish, as are the C-rigs. But you will make a lot of casts for the amount of fish being caught no matter the bait as of late.

There have also been some reports of very shallow fish being caught flipping and on spinnerbaits. But you will make a lot of casts between fish here as well.

The crappie are really biting well, and those that have put out or found brushpiles are catching some impressive stringers.. Lots of two pounders and better..

Catfishing is awesome, but few are chasing them..

Rock remains the key to catching any numbers of fish whether you are fishing deep or shallow. Ledges and dropoffs are areas to target along with the ends of points where they drop to the river or creek channel. Some deeper fish have been reported as well.. Try a jig or a big fluke on these deep rocks..

The Bud Light Trail south region championship is here today, and it will be interesting to see what they catch. Prefishing reports from the anglers was pretty mixed, but most of them were not fishing their "A" water yesterday. They have a great day to fish with very comfortable temps and low winds. No sun out there though.. We'll see this afternoon..

I was feeling a little landlocked this week so I made a trip over to Sugar on Wednesday and Thursday. And we caught a lot of fish. Especially the second day after we figured it out.. Either that or the fish just started biting..

Here's a pic of a monster seen on the lake the other day.. This one was swimming into the USA.. Another illegal alien..

I am still confident that the fish will turn on here one of these days..

And I am waiting.. Not patiently.. But I am waiting..

December 14, 2012: Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on in the world today?

I was just sitting down to hack out some kind of story about fishing and I heard the news that some Son of a Bitch just killed a bunch of people and a bunch of them were kids.. At their school..

What kind of deranged asshole could possibly do such a thing? Have we come to that point in America where life has NO meaning to some? Maybe I shouldn't be surprised.. Isn't this the second incident this week?

Do we really have this big a population of narcissistic pussies that hold others in this much contempt that the only way they can get even or get their point across is to indiscriminately murder a bunch of kids?? Or movie goers? Or co-workers?

I just don't get it.. And I am sure you don't either.. Please join me in praying for the families whose lives have been shattered today. May God receive the victims souls in Heaven.

And may this Bastard burn in hell..

I don't feel much like talking about fishing..

December 10, 2012: It may not be cold down here, in the true sense of the word, but it is a damn site cooler than it was yesterday.. And a stiff north wind is a blowing.. I doubt if there will be too many people on the lake this morning.. But there are a few..

It was a kind of busy weekend on the lake, but a lot of the boats on the water were chasing crappie. And they have been pretty active on brush piles and in the right standing timber. And some really nice fish, with a lot of two pounders mixed in, have been caught. That's some nice crappie..

And speaking of big fish, Tom Haralson caught this fish yesterday dragging a jig.. Now that's a lot of fish!

I don't know what that fish weighed, but it was a monster, and he is going to need a box of Tide, and maybe some Downy and a can of FDS spray for that shirt..

None of the aforementioned fish are bass, but both species are a lot more cooperative right now, even if you are not fishing for them.

Big catfish on jug lines have been phenomenal..

Yesterday was the first day in about a month that I have been on the water, and it sure felt good to get out and get a line wet. We spent about an hour fishing for crappie, and only had two, and decided to drag out the bass gear, although I didn't have any with me. We had a total of eight bites in about three hours of fishing, but only got five in the boat. And it was mostly me that couldn't get a fish to stay on. But in my defense I was rusty to be sure and not comfortable with what I was casting..

I'll do better next time.

Fishing is more or less the same, depending on who you talk to. There were a few people over the weekend that did fair from what I hear. UCBC was here this weekend holding their monthly tournament, and on Saturday the leader had just under twenty six pounds for for his best five. He told me he caught them shallow, flipping the trees in less than eight feet of water.. He did not have a lot of fish, but he had a nine and an eight..

That helps make up for not a lot of bites, but I'd rather catch fifty than catch a couple of good ones.. That's just personal preference, but I like gettin bit.. And if I get fifty bites I'm usually gonna catch a good one or two mixed in.. I'd love to have my cake and it it too.. Lately I just been lickin the pan..

Water temps yesterday were still over seventy degrees, and that is pretty crazy for the ninth of December. This front will nock a few degrees off, and we'll see if it stays there.. Supposed to get our coolest nights of the fall for the next two.. The front went thru here dry..

I have talked to a lot of folks in the last three months about the declining fishing, or should I say catching quality here on Falcon. And while I am immersed in Falcon, and often cannot see outside the local playground, I have been paying much more attention to the region, and even the states around us.

And from what I hear and see, fishing pretty much sucks across the Lone Star state. And in some of our neighboring states. And most of us are suffering from low water levels.

Of course there are always some bright spots, and you hear of a crazy weight brought to the scales at a tournament here or there. Usually here on Falcon.

But especially here on Falcon we have some unreal expectations. And the expectation that fishing could remain as it has been for the last few years, with the amount of fishing pressure we have come to see is pretty unrealistic.

There are a lot reasons for declining catch numbers.

But on a hot lake there is nothing more damaging than the "Sharelunker Effect."

Something I have spoken of many times in the past, although I have not called it that. And it has repeated itself all over the state many times. Lake Fork, Alan Henry, Choke Canyon, Amistad, O.H. Ivie, and Falcon have all seen the effects of a big bass stampede, when it comes their way. And there are a few lakes I probably left out.

And like I said in the past.. Pressure kills.. Or at least wounds..

Some wounds heal over time, and some lakes die a slow death. But no lake can perennially crank out loads of big fish with out a cooling off period..

I am not sure if Falcon has entered a cooling off period, or whether it has so much bait that a fish can eat without moving too far. Or working too hard. And Falcon has been on a five year terror that was unbelievable..

I cannot explain why we were slaying the fish one week, and the next it was like someone had flipped a switch.

Did all the fish drink the Kool-Aid and die on the same day? I don't think so..

The only thing that happened about the same time the fish quit biting was that we caught about three feet of water. It is hard for me to see why these two things could be connected..

But that's all I got..

And while we are fishing no worse than a lot of lakes across Texas, and better than most, there are some that are ready to pronounce Falcon dead. I'm a long way from there. And I am very optimistic about the impending spawn.

This will be our lowest level during January and February, unless something really weird happens, that we have seen in five years. And there are a lot of big fish that are going to come shallow, and there will be limited cover in the shallows available for them to spawn in, on, and around.. And I believe we are going to kick their ass when it happens..

Don't be surprised if you see a new lake record in January or February either. You might actually have a chance at getting her in the boat this year with the reduced amount of cover in the lake..

I truly believe that we are going to see a bunch of giants caught in the next few months. Time will tell. And if I am wrong it won't be the first time.. But I can guarantee you this. Falcon will still be the best lake in the state when it comes to catching double digit bass..

See you on the water!

December 6, 2012: We have certainly not cooled the water off any this week, but if you like fishing in eighty degree weather with light winds... Well it has been awesome..

Wish I could say the same for the catching..

There are few people in town, so there are few hooks in the water, which also leads to few fishing reports. But there are some folks fishing.

Most of the fishermen that I am talking to are telling me about the same thing. Spotty results with various baits. Jigs still seem to be the top producer, but a Carolina rig and a deep crankbait are still catching a few fish.

Shallow fish seem to be a bit more active, and spinnerbaits with some chartreuse in them are catching some fish around stickups on rocky/gravely banks. They're not everywhere but if you have a good casting arm and will chunk it all day you will catch some fish.

Wish I could tell you better..

There is a real cool front headed our way, and on Monday and Tuesday we are supposed to have highs in the sixties. We still have bath water temps all over the lake.. Almost..

The lake is holding steady give or take a inch or so for the last few weeks.

The snowbirds have a big wave of folks in town, and I am sure we will see another just after Christmas..

And a bunch of em that are here are tearing the big crappie up.. They are from the Veleno to the dam.. And some of these fish are monsters in the two to three pound range.. I personally did a taste test on some this week and they were fabulous.

We finally got our boat back this week, after I had left a part of it on a post in the Diablo. Can't even see the repair and I am very pleased with the work.. So now other than a bad foot I have no excuses for not fishing..

As the winter solstice approaches, and that is only about two weeks away, we will start having longer days.. Wait.. Does that sound right.. We haven't had any winter yet.. And as long as the jet stream stays running west to east we won't have much.. I'm all for it..

That is if the world doesn't come to an end on the Solstice..

Cooler weather is on the way.. But I know it won't come and stay..

Looks like February could be a bitch this year.. It always has a wet cold spell and Old Man Winter gets us sooner or later..

See you on the water!

December 2, 2012: I can't believe that it is December, and this whole year seems like a blur in retrospect. And we went from some of the most unbelievable fishing in the spring, to what we have today, which is certainly sub-par.. Or maybe over par.. Hell, I don't now.. But it ain't good.

There are some fish being caught, but still no one is out there hammering them. But thinking outside the tackle box won't hurt you either..

We are accustomed to grabbing something big, chunking it out there, counting to three and setting the hook. That just ain't happening.

And after listening to a whole lot of people, it sounds a lot like fishing something smaller will catch you a lot more fish. And while that certainly cuts against the grain here at Falcon, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do..

The San Antonio Bass Club is in town this weekend, and they struggled somewhat yesterday as well. Twenty four pounds and change is leading it (five fish). And I heard that most of them came on a spinner bait in shallow water. And from what I hear those fish were all fat footballs. It is a full moon.. And some folks think that a few of these fish are spawning up there. I have certainly seen it before. So I don't doubt it..

A lot of folks are speculating as to why the fishing has taken a turn for the mediocre around these parts. Some would use the word bad.. Or terrible.. But compared to a lot of other places I think mediocre is sufficient.. The fact of the matter is that we are so spoiled with the way that fishing has been around here for the last few years, we have come to think that incredible fishing is is the only kind there is on Falcon.

Not..

I have seen the fishing here a lot worse, back in 2002 and 2003.. When we fished all day and thought we might have had a bite.. Those were the good old days..

But the next spring we caught a bunch of water and like magic there was a three pounder in every tree.. Where the hell were they? I don't know.. But they did not fall with the rain..

What is in store for the near future I am not sure. But here is what I think.

I think we are going to murder the fish come time for spawn. Limited wood and brushy cover in the shallows is going to be a magnet to spawning fish, and I believe that there will be fish all over the available cover.. And with the warm winter so far this could start around the next full moon. If I can stand up on a boat I will certainly be beating the timber around the end of the month..

Especially if we get a dip in the water temps between now and then.

I am not saying that the spawn will be going full bore, but there are always a group of fish that go to it early. And this year will be no exception.

And if we continue warm, we could have a big push of fish in January to the shallows..

Of course all of this is speculation.. But I have been down here a long time and this is what I think is going to happen, if things go as they have in the past..

Water temps are around seventy, give or take, and you might see some warmer in the PM.. Sixty five in the AM has been pretty normal.. Hardly winter water temperature temps..

Jigs are still catching fish pretty good, but more than a few folks have been telling me that the fish will nudge or smack the bait a lot and not eat it.. And I hear a lot of the caught fish are lip hooked, and a small percentage have the jig Monica style.. Pretty finicky..

Big cranks are still catching some fish in the same places as the jig, and a Carolina Rig with a small offering has been a consistent producer..

Keep in mind we are not whacking the numbers on anything.. But these baits are the best things going.

But for numbers you might try that drop shot or shakey head rig.

Lots of crappie are being caught down by the dam. And some big son of a guns.. Fish the concrete and the rip-rap and rocks in front of the dam.. Vertical seems best.. Jigs and Berkley Gulp.. Bring me some Minners.. Try some 12 to 18 feet of water..

Catfish are biting un baited hooks. It has been awesome on jugs and rod and reel.. Some giants have been caught..

It seems that bass fishing sucks across the state of Texas.. No matter where you are. Especially in the south and west. I don't think it's anything that a bunch of water and a little time won't cure. But we are at the mercy of Mother Nature on the latter.. It's commin'.. But just when I don't know..

November 27, 2012: We have had a pretty nice stretch of weather around here, and the water is finally cooling off a bit. We have had some cooler nights for a change, and more clouds than sun in the last week. Highs have been in the low eighties, give or take, and we are seeing water temps in the mid sixties on most mornings. And finally, we are seeing a bunch of bait fish in the backs of creeks and in drains on the big creek arms.

And while all that sounds good, I still can't say that the fish have followed them there to pig out. But it does appear that there are more fish in the creeks than there was..

I have been passing on a lot of second hand information as of late, for a couple of reasons..

The boat is still in the shop, getting it's gelcote gash repaired. I hear it is about ready to pick up and I am looking forward to it.. We still have old Greenie sitting here under the tarp, but fishing has been less than stellar and I am too lazy to put some batteries back in it..

The holidays and hunting season are upon us and I have spent a lot of out of town time sitting in the deer blind.. Still ain't seen hide nor hair of the Ghost.. But it is a week or two early for him to make his appearance.. If he screws up, I won't...

And for the last ten days I have been hobbling around on a bad ankle and foot and at times the pain has been exquisite.. I am headed to get an MRI tomorrow.. I tried to kick a marshmallow out of the way yesterday and I hit the floor.. Normally I can tell you that a mans foot is not the most sensitive area on his body.. One time I got eight stitches in Mr. Wiggly and it didn't hurt this bad.. That's a whole nother story.. But it did have something to do with a bad gash..

In any case I have not had my ass in a boat in over two and a half weeks. And I am starting to get a little antsy..

I have been talking to a bunch of fishermen this morning, and average catches from yesterday ranged from seven fish to fifteen. There were a few sevens and eights reported.

SOS...

Jigs are surely the most popular bait going the last week.. And the most productive it appears.. Fish em slow..

I am glad to see our lawmakers back at it in Washington.. They're really on it in route to preventing us from falling off their "Fiscal Cliff." And yes I mean their cliff.. They frickin' created it..

Oh wait a minute.. Didn't those son of a bitches take this week off too?? I forgot.. There are no pressing issues to work on.. So WTF.. Let's enjoy the holidays.

They would hate to get anything done with a lame duck congress and senate.. These guys can find more excuses for failure than the Dallas Cowboys.. You know.. Sometimes when you suck.. You just got to admit it.. And our federal government sucks, on both sides of the aisles..

Someone said that we have too many women in government.. I wanted to know what they are talking about. Their ain't a pair of balls inside the beltway.. They're all little girls..

It is a shame that we cannot find, out of the millions of people in this country, a dynamic leader with some integrity, that would actually tell the truth to people. Instead of what the people want to hear.. But that is not how you get elected.. At least rarely..

I would love to a see a politician stand up and call a no good son of a bitch a no good son of a bitch..

The fact of the matter is that most people are ignorant.. And they choose to be.. And when you are ignorant as a majority, you're in trouble..

Loading our children and grandchildren down with a debt they can never repay is just that. A debt they can never repay.. And why should they have to? If I was one of the youngsters in this country I would be pissed off and yelling at the top of my lungs.. Stop it!

But these are the same ignorant voters that have been promised that their farts will smell like apple blossoms if they re-elect Obamma.. And they will be the ones to reap what they have sown.. And now fertilized since the re-election. I hope it all works out for you..

I just turned fifty-seven, and when you get my age, you gotta admit that you are at least in the late third quarter of life. Maybe in the fourth.. Who ever really knows.. I could live to be a hunnert.. But I doubt it..

And I have a plan.. Not a great one but I got one nonetheless.. In another eight or ten years I wanna be living at the ranch, raising cattle, growing hay and tomatoes, and hopefully fishing when I want to..

And while it won't be a life of luxury, it will be a life that I desire.

And I just hope and pray that my kids and grand kids will have the ability to do the same..

And I hope I won't have to change the name over the gate from "The Bendeles" to "Bendeles Freehold."

November 24, 2012: I know it has been a while since I wrote.. But I have been busy.. And I have a bad wheel and have been limping around and acting like my foot might fall off.. And it just might.. And pain don't lead to creativity.. At least not for me.. But I did finally sleep for two hours straight last night.

I did however rename a few different items that I stumbled over the last few days.. My wife said she'd never heard of a bedpost being described exactly like that before..

And I have been at the ranch since last Sunday afternoon, trying to do a little hunting, and enjoying some time with the extended family. And of course there is always the pre-Thanksgiving bonfire at the tank on Wednesday night..

It is that time of year.. Time to get those Christmas decorations out..

Fishing on Falcon is mostly that.. Fishing.. If there is a bright spot here lately, it appears that the jig bite is picking up. More and more fish are being caught on em, and more and more people are throwing them.

But as far as overall fishing results go, not a lot has changed.

We do finally have some water that has cooled a bit, and seeing water in the 65 range in the mornings is pretty common. And if the sun is out you'll see 70 before the day is done.. But at least we are down from that continual 78 degrees that we had for three months. Or at least it seemed that long.. This has been a slow transition into Fall..

Yesterday evening we got a frontal passage thru here, and for once we got some serious rain out of the deal. We got three inches here at the shop, and we got it in a two hour period. It was a light show extraordinaire, with some serious thunder and lightning..

But that's the way we get it around here.. Either that or a misty, nasty, two day drizzle that does nothing but piss everybody off.. This one made the water run.. We have caught somewhere around three inches in the last 36 hours, depending on which website you look at.. We'll see what is still running in tomorrow, as we got some good rains from Laredo South.. This is not a big water event.. But we'll take it..

You know, it seems like the whole state of Texas is fishing crappy. And I guess a lot of it is due to low water levels at a lot of our lakes.. I think we should fill Falcon up out of Amistad, and then at least we would have one good lake with a lot of water to fish. It would be easier than filling Amistad out of Falcon.. Just a thought..

I was talking to a couple of guys that had been down here for a few days.. And they said they struggled on day one, but on day two, they had a nine, an eight, a seven, a six, and a good number of rats mixed in. Said they had it figured out.. The next day they caught two fish..

And that about sums up the fishing around here.. Hit and Miss..

Overall I will still have to say that the deep crankbait bite is still the most consistent.. If there is such a thing..

It was good to get away for a few days, and spend some time with family and friends. And to think about all the things that I have been blessed with over the last year, and for that matter, all of my life.

And I know I bitch all the time about this and that, and most of it needs bitching about, but overall I guess that I am one lucky SOB.. I have issues like anybody else, but man I also have some great people in my life, and I still have a great enthusiasm for life in general. And I like doing stuff..

And when I think about it for long the same thought always comes back to me. The American Soldier.. They have provided ALL of the opportunities that I enjoy.. And all of the opportunities that we all enjoy.

Well them and Jesus Christ..

And while we are sitting around our family table, spread with all the food one could imagine, there are many of them sitting in a hell hole eating a pos MRE, thinking of their families back home.

I salute all of you serving our country, no matter where you are, and I pray for your safe return to your families ASAP.

And I can guarantee you that there are a bunch of us rednecks that feel the same way.

Thank you guys for all you do. God Bless You! and when you get in my neck of the woods let's go fishin.. Just call.. It's the least I can do..

And thanks to all of you that have made our existence here at FLT possible over the years. We look forward to serving you in the future, and thanks for all the support you have given us in the past..

Check that ladder before you get on the roof !!

November 15, 2012: It's hard not to sound redundant here lately, when it comes to writing a fishing report about Falcon. It seems that nothing has changed for two months. The same patterns, depths, and baits remain the same.

And while it is true that Falcon is still your best bet for catching a Rosie, It is surely not what we are used to.

And over all, the whole state of Texas seems to be in a fishing funk.

I talk to a lot of people every week, and these folks are from all over the state, and a lot of folks are from all over the southern tier. And from what I hear from most is that their local lakes are not fishing the best in recent memory either. Maybe it is something in the water..

If anything has changed around here, it is the slight resurgence in the jig bite. More and more people are throwing one, and more and more fish are being caught on them. I am sure that more people fishing with them makes a difference, but something had to get them fishing it in the first place. So I do believe that the jig bite is coming around.

The deep diving crank bait bite is still the most talked about bait around here, and dragging it off the bottom on ledges and ridges has been the most consistent producer of big fish. Getting it to the rocks, and tickling it along the bottom is key to catching fish. And you can't fish it too slow.

The same with the jigs. And in the same kind of water..

The Citrus Shad colors by several manufacturers are all working about as good as any. A close second is the Jelly Bean from Norman. It is the most Tilapia looking crank bait of any I have seen.

If I was throwing a jig it would be in a dark brown or a green leaning towards brown.

A carolina rig has caught some fish as of late also. Same areas.

There are still a few folks throwing finesse presentations, including a shakey head, a drop shot, and a wacky worm.

When the fishing gets tough, all the options are on the table.

There have been some good fish caught lately, but the man hours per whopper has gone up a lot.

The college tourney that was here last week did pretty well overall, under some brutal fishing conditions. Winds were a bitch, but a lot of these youngsters really hung in there and fished nonetheless. You can see their results here..

The lake is holding dead level for the last few weeks, and we are sitting at 266.59, or 34.61 feet low. And we have not gone up or down over an inch or two in the last several weeks. Water temps are slowly falling to the lower seventies, and these few days of clouds, and highs in the sixties is helping cool the surface. Maybe a shot of cooler water will get em going.

Usually by this time of year we have creeks full of bait, and fish that follow. But big numbers of fish in the backs of creeks we have not seen. It's gotta happen sooner or later. But like I said, the water is just now getting down out of the high seventies..

You can still catch a few on spinners and square bills in the shallow water, but you gotta cover some ground.. Or water..

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is a week away.. Seems like we just took down the Christmas decorations.. Time to bust out the lights pretty damn soon. You might not be thinking about it.. But your Old Lady is.. Dammit..

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we will close on Wednesday before Thanksgiving about noon, and will be closed on Thanksgiving day. But we will be open bright and shiny on Friday morning.

Before I lived here, I was always pushing away from the table right after the dressing was gone, and gettin in the truck to get here before dark. And I know a few of you will be doing that as well.. As will I..

And let me tell you that that damn triptofan will kick you ass on IH 35..

I see that the Stock Market is doing well in the week since the election.. Who would have ever guessed that?? You think there has been any sell orders put in this last ten days?

Those One Percenters are getting busy taking care of business.. Their business.. Like I said..

Hard to play football if the guy with the ball don't want to play..

Think we'll ever get any truth about the Benghazi story, or about the CIA director banging someone other than his wife? Nah.. That crap ain't important.. What ever happened with Fast and Furious by the way..

This administration has a better stiff arm than Wally Peyton had.. Just ignore the people and the story will fade away in a few months.. And promise em some more money for the dis-employed.. That'll keep em at bay.. Oh yeah. And tell the mints to order some more ink..

This is the time of year to think of all the things that we are supposed to be thankful for..

We can certainly scratch a few off the list this go round...

I gotta go pluck a turkey..

November 11, 2012: The wind has been howling for the last few days, and yesterday a few more folks got indoctrinated into the Falcon "I broke some stuff today" club. It was pretty brutal with some wind gusts to the mid thirties, and a constant twenty five mile per hour breeze..

And a few fishermen got their clothes washed.. Rinsed, anyway..

There are a lot of fishermen in town this weekend, and it stinks that they don't have better conditions to fish in.. But it is what it is.. The South Texas College Open is going on as we speak, and they had a really good turn out it appears. I believe that they have twenty eight teams fishing.

And they all had a hard on to fish. If you put them all in a circle and pointed them out they would look like a porcupine..

After Day One, I hear that about eighteen pounds is leading it.. That's three fish..

I hear that a nine something was the big fish of the day on Saturday.

Ingram Bass Club is also here, along with SW Research out of San Antonio.

And about six or eight "Pros" are here doing a fundraiser "Fish With The Pros" event.

Saturday winds were nasty.. It is not near as bad this morning.. But it's getting there..

Big crankbaits are still king, and jigs sold briskly yesterday evening as well.. Scraping the bottom still appears to be the best option..

I'll get the final results and pass em along tomorrow I would think..

Next weekend we have the Bud Light Trail coming to town, if you are looking to fish a tourney down here.

Cindy caught a DD down here a little while back.

And Jimmy Cantrell caught this 10.75 this week as well..

Today is Veterans day, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the Veterans that have served our country so long and so well. We couldn't and wouldn't be here without all the sacrifices that you guys have made over the years.

Don't forget to thank a Vet!

November 8, 2012: It's been a beautiful week here in Zapata, with nice temps and low winds. But today is a bit breezy and tomorrow is supposed to be the same. And with the nice conditions, fishing has maybe picked up a little. But I am surely not telling you to quit your job just yet. It is still pretty tough.

Not a lot has changed, with small plastics and big crankbaits still catching most of the fish. There are a few more fish being caught on jigs I hear.

There have been a lot of reports that say that it seems like the fish are just nipping at the bait, and not eating it. And a lot of baits are coming back to the boat with tails and trailers missing. You tell me what that means.. They're certainly not too aggressive..

This weekend we have the South Texas College Team Open coming to town, and what started out as a grassroots bunch of guys putting a tourney together, has turned into a sanctioned event I hear. Somewhere in the neighborhood of forty teams are supposed to show up. Registration will be here at FLT on Friday afternoon starting at three..

Ingram Bass Club is also in town this weekend. Next weekend the Bud Light Trail will be back in town.

The south end of the lake is still putting out more of the better fish. I guess this dirty water on the north end still has them gridlocked. But the water up here really does not look that bad..

Catfish are still being caught by anybody that is fishing for them. And some good ones.. And I am starting to get some crappie reports from the few folks that are chasing them.

Most of the crappie that are being caught are coming from the standing timber, and if you are not in eight to ten feet of water you are wasting your time I hear. Fish are right on the bottom. And it is taking some poking around to find em. I am sure when more of the Snowbirds show up they will be on em like white on rice..

Catfish are on river and creek channel edges.. Bigger fish are in deeper water..

Bigger bass seem to be in the ten to twelve foot range.

There has been a lot of talk about the fishing here on Falcon. And while it has been less that spectacular, there have been some decent fish caught. Even those catching a few fish are catching some quality fish in the mix. The difference is that these days you actually have to go fishing. Not just catching.. I know.. It sucks..

Speaking of sucking.. Did you happen to catch the results of the presidential election? It appears that the scales have not returned to center, and they actually might not ever.. At least till we get to the point where no one is working, only the one percenters have money, and we are in meltdown about like Greece..

This election sent a clear message. Several of them.

It sent a message to the people who will not work, that they can vote themselves money from those of us that still choose to. And it will work for a while.

I am sure you have all heard the story of the goose that laid the golden eggs. Well the noose around the goose's neck just got tighter.. And if you keep tightening that noose, pretty soon the goose can't eat anymore. And if the goose don't eat, she don't lay no more golden eggs.. And before long there will be no more golden eggs for the slackers to pick up..

Now this might sound a bit theatrical.. And absurd to some. But let me throw this scenario at you.. The hated "One Percenters" really don't need to make any more money. They'll be fine with what they've got. And when they quit investing their money, money that creates jobs, then we're all screwed..

And then you can look to other poor folks to give you a job.. Good luck..

A lot of the Dimocratic talk during the election campaign said we need better teachers, better schools. More education for our kids. WTF are they supposed to do with their degree in Poly Sci or Ancient Studies after they get it?

Remember the old days.. Way back.. Like the eighties.. When the companies that were hiring dictated what kind of trained professionals we needed.. Oh wait a minute.. There ain't many of them left..

But even if you have a degree in something useful, like engineering, or architecture, if there ain't jobs out there, it gets damn hard to get a job that does not exist.

Keep tightening the noose..

This phenomena is nothing new in the history of civilization.. Lots of countries that used to exist tried it.. And frankly we have lasted longer than most of them. But it absolutely can not go on forever..

I feel sorry for the young voters that just got exactly what they wanted.. They are young and ignorant and I can't hold that against them. We were all there once..

The rest of you are old enough to know better.. And I can't believe that you don't..

Reminds me of Lemmings.. Maybe that is what we should start calling the dimocrats..

November 6, 2012: It continues to be November.. With temperatures more like June.. It was over ninety yesterday, and I reckon we'll be back there again today. And water temps are not cooling off much as we continue to have warm nights as well. Long pants are not a requirement this week..

Water temps are still at 78 in the afternoon I heard yesterday. I am not sure what it is going to take to get the fish in a biting mood.. But some cooler water couldn't hurt..

I know this is Falcon, and it sounds strange, but the best baits as of late have been drop shots and wacky rigged worms. And from most accounts, you have to get your bait off the bottom. A trick worm on the drop shot has been pretty popular.

I talked to one of our local guides yesterday, and they said they actually had a good day throwing crankbaits, in the ten to twelve foot range. I know that a lot of folks have been throwing big cranks, and results have been mixed.. These fish certainly are not everywhere..

But long story short, fishing is still pretty tough. There are, however, always exceptions to the rule..

Rocks are essential to catching any fish, and rocks with trees are certainly a better bet.. Fish slow..

We have heard reports of five fish a day to thirty fish a day. And the guys catching the numbers are going small and shallow, or are fishing the drop shots on rocky slopes.

Wish it was something else.. But it ain't..

The lake is holding steady still.. But one word of warning.. The Markers on the old bridge on the west end have come untied and most have drifted into the trees. But you will be fine if you skirt the west side of the Veleno going out. We'll see what we can do to get at least one marker back on the West end of the bridge..

Election day has finally come and it looks like this one is going to be a nail biter. And for the life of me I cannot figure out why.. On second thought I guess I can.. I guess lots of folks sucking the government tit still want their free money.. And stuff.. About half of us I guess.. The end is near..

I see FEMA has much improved their services since Katrina.. Just ask the folks that live in the North East..

I feel sorry for them but they are part of their own problem.. I heard that a bunch of Electrical Utility Workers from the South were not allowed to help repair the downed power lines because they were non union.. Don't you just love it when we all get along.. A major disaster and they refuse help that might keep some old folks from freezing to death.. Yeah.. I love unions..

I wonder if Obamma is going to give a bunch of FEMA money to the One Percenters that live on the Jersey Shore to rebuild their beach front homes.. Some pretty nice ones too..

And I hear that some FEMA trailers are headed that way too.. That's good because there were about 50,000 of them left over and they're parked all over Texas..

FEMA has done such a good job.. I am sure the government will do a great job with health care too..

We'll see later today if the coo is going to be completed or not..

November 1, 2012: What month does fall arrive around here anyway? It's not like I'm new to the area or something but it is still pretty warm around here.. And it'll be in the low nineties this afternoon..

And from the looks of it we'll be swatting mosquitoes in the deer blind this weekend. Won't be the first time..

The lake level is still holding steady, and we have not gained or lost any water in the last week.. Or two.. Amistad is letting a little more out than we are but it is making no significant difference in our water levels. We are sitting at 266.71, still right at 34.5 feet low..

Another thing that has not changed is the activity of the fish.. Or should I say inactivity..

I talked to a handful of folks that fished yesterday, and reports ranged from six or eight fish per boat, to twenty fish for the top fish finders. Still tough for our standards..

There is no magic bait either it appears, but there are a lot of fishermen throwing a bunch of different baits. If I had to pick one it would still be the deep diving crankbaits..

And speaking of which, there has been a lot of buzz around the forthcoming XD 10 that Strike King is bringing out of the closet this spring.. That's right.. This spring.

I spoke with our rep this week, and told him I want eight hundred of them.. And I want them before anybody else gets em.. Don't think that's going to happen, but we are on the list with a few others I am sure.

I hear they are only making eight or ten colors from the get-go.. I ordered fifty of each.. Where else is a better place to introduce a giant bait than Falcon..

I am supposed to get a couple of "Samples" next week..

Things are pretty quiet around here this mid-week, and I still think this will be a slow weekend due to the opening of deer season. There are about twenty rigs at the county ramp as we speak..

The south end of the lake still sounds like the place to be. More and better quality fish appear to be coming from that area. And I have heard from a few that the Tigers have been putting out some fish as well.. Several good stringers came out of there during the Bass Champs tourney I hear. Fish those rocky ridges and humps..

It seems that the fish are as scattered as campaign stops.. Here there and everywhere.. And it is likely that some of the reports I have heard are BS. And I am sure that what you hear at those campaign stops is..

It is less than a week till the election, and you can all rest easy knowing that we have a bunch of election observers here from the UN.. That's what we need.. A bunch of Jackasses running around from countries that don't even have elections..

Isn't there a few countries that might have more need for them than the US? How bout somewhere in the Middle East.. Oh that's right.. They'd probably get shot over there.. Or blown up.. But they're getting a nice vacation here in the states.. Wonder who is paying for their trips? Oh that's right.. The UN.. Wonder who is the biggest funder of the UN???

Yeah.. You're paying for it..

At least the Texas Attorney General told them that they'd get arrested if they interfere in any way with voters and election sites.. Wonder how many we have in jail..

Well I gotta go and eat some Snickers and M&M's.. I really thought those kids would climb the fence..

See you next week.. I'm headed to the ranch to shed some blood..

October 29, 2012: Well if the weather sucked on Friday and Saturday, we're going to make up for it this week. Highs in the low eighties and very light winds for the next few days.. Awesome..

And yesterday I was on the water and I saw water temps around seventy one degrees.. We'll see if it stays anywhere around there..

Fishing is still tough by my standards, and in the three hours I spent on the water I did not catch much. I fished a ledge around marker nine for an hour and did not get a bite.. Did not go south of there.. Did manage to put a nice scratch in the gelcote in the back of the Diablo.. Dammit..

The Bass Champs tourney wrapped up yesterday afternoon, and there was a little shakeup in the leader board.. But nothing shocking..

Bubba and Charlie Haralson caught another good sack yesterday and wound up winning it.. That should surprise no one.. They have been fishing this lake a long time and know what they are doing.. Congrats fellows.. I hear they have a boat for sale..

The winning stringer, (six fish) weighed 45.98 pounds. That's a 7.66 pound average on a lake that is fishing crappy.. Go figure..

Second place had 43 even, and third 42.62.. Still better than a seven pound average..

Full results can be found here..

This weekend should be a little slower on the lake with the opening of deer season across the state. I also plan on being in the blind next Saturday morning. So if you are looking for a weekend with a bit less boat traffic on the lake, this weekend might be the one.

I know that Bow Season has been open for a while, but most folks are not in that category. I have enough trouble hitting them with a rifle.. Much less throwing sticks at em..

We have had a buck running around the ranch for the last couple of years that is a good one.. Of course he is harder to spot than a Navy Sniper.. We call him "The Ghost." And if you do see him it is for about a millisecond as he goes thru the brush.. Either that or you'll see him in the middle of a coastal field chasing a doe in the middle of the afternoon while you are setting a fence post.. I always keep a gun in the Mule since that sighting..

If I kill that son of a bitch you will see a picture of him.

Last year he personally cleared a half acre of creek bottom, and had a scrape big enough to plant oats in.. Nocturnal bastard..

Us Germans are professionals at stuffing sausage, and I guarantee you that this time next week there will be something hanging in the smoke house. I am certainly gonna give The Ghost time to show up next Saturday morning, but the best looking spike that shows up after 9:00 is going to get some brain damage.. Don't worry.. He's not going to suffer..

Deep crank baits, jigs, and Senkos were the best baits going over the last weekend. At least that is what I heard from the guys I interviewed after the tourney. Crankbaits were probably the best for the most..

Not a lot has changed..

Rocky depth changes seem to still be holding the most fish.. I said depth changes.. Not Depth Charges..

I don't know if you remember or not, but last year we were collecting fin clips from fish over ten pounds for a genetic study for TPWD. Well the results are finally in. And while I don't have anything in writing just yet, I will soon. And as anticipated, we have very few pure Florida bass in the sample. I believe we collected clips from around seventy five fish.

And these percentages very closely coincide with the numbers of pure Floridas in the big sample (of all sized fish) we took from the tanks in last years Metro tourney as a test group. TPWD plans to double the stocking numbers of Floridas put into Falcon this year, if they are available..

I'll pass along the full results as soon as I get them. And BTW thanks to all the guides that helped with collecting the fin clips.. If they were depending on me this study would have never happened..

I hear that Sharelunker fish caught in the month of April will no longer be taken to any facility for spawning purposes.. Data shows that an extremely high percentage of these fish are already spawned out or do not spawn. Those who catch a SL will still get notoriety and a replica, but the fish will be released after a fin clip and certification.. Sounds like a good idea to me..

I think that October is way to early to start collecting them, especially up north.. Hell.. Especially down south..

And you'll hear about it sooner or later, but I hear that there is going to be a holding station back in operation down at the state park.

I've got a few thoughts on this.. And none of em are good..

The people at the state park know little about fish.. No offense intended.. They are park rangers.. Not fishermen.. Or biologists.. Or minnow sellers..

But they'll be entrusted with keeping the tank clean and oxygenated and weighing the big fish.. And I am sure they can fizz one if it needs it.. I just don't know about this one..

Last time the data was crunched, and I am speaking from memory, I think that about 18% of the thirteen's from Falcon that were turned in to SL were pure Floridas. And only about 20% of the fish in entirety that are turned in ever spawn.. Seems to me that that's more wasted motion than a runway model..

See you later..

Bass Champs Update.. Tim And Judy Reneau are leading it with 26.23. In Second is the team of Keel and Duran with 24.95. And in third is Cones and Dixon with a 23.27.

Big Bass was caught by Tim Griffin and it went 12.20..

Here's a pic of that 14.02 that was caught yesterday by Robert Case Jr.

October 27, 2012: What the hell happened to my endless summer? When the front hit yesterday about noon, we went from a balmy 86 to 64 in about fifteen minutes.. Brrrr..

And the wind blew slightly harder than the eighteen MPH that was predicted.. But we knew it would.. A lot of folks got caught with their panties down on the south end of the lake.. And a few Falcon newbies got indoctrinated on north winds on our pond. It was pretty brutal..

And like usual a few boats ended up on the bank waiting out the biggest part of the blow.

And with the wind in mind, the folks at Bass Champs made the decision to allow trailering this morning. There were 68 rigs at the county ramp this morning.. And who knows how many more at the state park.

There were 125 teams that entered I hear.. And lot of folks bailed on this one due to the predicted winds and bad weather.. I heard that there were a lot of cancellations at the local motels.

But this morning dawned with a ten to fifteen MPH wind, and it is less now about noon.. So it is very fishable, although a bit cool by our standards.

There was a 14-4 caught yesterday during prefishing we hear, and I hear that it was a beautiful fish.(What 14-4 aint?) I have no pics yet but I have talked to several people who have seen them.. I also hear it is back in the lake after a few snaps.. Glad to hear it..

I'll let you know what happens after weigh in.. I am sure someone will wack em..

October 24, 2012: We spend an awful lot of time talking about the weather around here.. And for good reason I reckon. It seems to affect most everything we do. Whether we like it or not..

And it seems like every time we have a tournament come to town, the weather plays a factor. And without a doubt, there is more bitching about the wind than any other factor. And I do a lot of it myself.

I am sure that you, like me, have been keeping a keen eye on the predictions for this weekend, especially if you are planning on being on Falcon. And I know a lot of you are.

According to all sources, we have a front bearing down on us, and it is supposed to hit Zapata on Friday. Just what time is anybody's guess at this point. But the consensus is Friday afternoon.

And while I am sure it is going to blow, just how bad is a guess till it rolls into town. Maybe we will get lucky and it will blow itself out by Saturday morning.. Or at least settle a little by then.

I have read that winds on Saturday will be around eleven MPH on one site.. And mid twenties on others.

Eleven would be a blessing..

I'm sure that you know that the Bass Champs South division championship will be here this weekend. And I am wondering about the turnout, with the weather prediction and the tough conditions we have had here lately.. Fishing being the toughest.

We have not heard a lot of good reports this week either, with most folks reporting results far less than spectacular.

I was hoping that our water temps would be a lot cooler by now, but currently you can still find eighty degree water in the afternoons. Water on the top end of the lake has cleared considerably, but it is not that pretty Falcon green that many of us have come to love. But it is fishable.

Fish are being caught on every conceivable bait.. But not a lot of them. I really have nothing new to report in the line of what a "Hot" bait is.. Maybe one that has been lying in the sun..

There's a fishing report for you..

But I bet somebody is going to whack em this weekend..

I don't know about you, but I am way past ready for the Elections to be over with. I can't take much more of this 24-7 assault. I voted already.. Make it stop..

I am puzzled by the stories about un-decided voters.. Can their really be un-decided voters out there? You have the right, and responsibility, to vote for the person you think will do the best for our country.

But shouldn't you have it figured out by now? I think that anyone that hasn't decided by now should just abstain.. Because you are not gonna see anything in the next two weeks that you haven't seen or heard in the last fifty..

Of course Obamma could bomb Benghazi in the next few days to grab some headlines.. Now that he read in Vanity Fair that it actually was a terrorist attack on the embassy..

These Muslims are crazy.. Tell me a place on the earth where they are happy and prosperous.. Besides the USA.. I guess they haven't read the part about Islam being a religion of peace.. What a crock..

Remember a few years back when all we had to worry about was global nuclear war?? Ah, the good old days..

October 22, 2012: Well things are back to normal around here.. Its in the nineties and the wind is blowing out of the south about twenty.. If it is fall it sure don't look like it.. But I hear that we are supposed to get a temperature adjustment this weekend..

There were a lot of folks on the water over the weekend, with the Anglers Quest championship going on, and a lot of folks pre-fishing for Bass Champs. And it was pretty busy here at FLT. Thanks to all of you who stopped by.

Fishing was fair, with maybe a slight improvement in fish activity.. But it is still a little tough by Falcon standards.

Winning weights in the AQ tourney were respectable, with the top stringer going over fifty pounds. That's for ten fish. Not long ago that wouldn't get it done. But like I said, fishing is a bit tough, and the winds were not friendly over the weekend.

Congrats to Dean Coleman and Jim Guzman on their AQ win.. They made a buck or two.. You can find their full results on the Anglers Quest website here..

We are seeing more and more Snowbirds starting to roll into town, although the weather down here don't remind you too much of snow. But some of them say that they have seen some already.. I told them I hope it doesn't follow them down..

We are also seeing a lot of groups show up in town that are making their annual pilgrimage to Falcon. Some of them have done pretty well, but most of them are finding the fishing less than what they expected.

I promised to tell you the truth.. This is not our typical October fishing, regardless of the water levels.

Shallow fish continue to be the most consistent thing going, but some folks are finding some fish grouped up offshore with jigs, something that was nonexistent a month ago.

But the crankbait is still the overwhelming deep water champion as of late.

Square bill shallow runners are still the faves of the bank beaters.

You can catch some fish flipping.. But it is a numbers game.. You gotta flip the right trees.. And flip a lot of em..

The Ball and Chain rigs are also doing as good as any at all depths..

Wish I could tell you something better.. But not a lot has changed..

David Holst caught this 10.80 last Friday, flipping the trees..

Danny Coppin also caught a DD with this 10.43..

There have been a lot of other quality fish caught, but the numbers of fish are just not there. I have heard of several tens, and a bunch of eights and nines, but no-one seems to be putting a bag of bigguns together..

My fishing time has been very limited here lately, and I am getting antsy.. But the wind blowing twenty plus does little to motivate me to hook up the boat. But I can't hold out forever and if I see a window I'll be out there.. One of us has to figure it out..

I'm still betting that you are going to see some big stringers this weekend, The son of a bitches did not jump over the dam..

If you are interested, ask me about the new HD-22 crankbaits when you stop by the store. I'll show em to you and I am still looking for feedback on them.. I have still not gotten one wet, but we have sold quite a few.. I want a castability report..

Other than that.. We'll just have to wait em out I guess. I know these fish are going to turn on.. But I don't know when.. Sounds like the stock market..

Well let's all give a round of applause because the last of the debates is scheduled for tonight. I am going to go vote today because I think I have my mind made up. Regardless of the outcome of the debate this evening.. I was kind of torn between the two parties.. But I was finally able to make up my mind. And I better get down there before I change my mind.. Either that or I could die before election day.. I want to get my vote in..

I believe that we as Texans as a whole have enough sense to get rid of this socialist.. We do have plenty of Whackos, but for the short term I still think we have them outnumbered.. But I am not sure that the rest of the states, as a whole, have that much intelligence.. I know a lot of you are frustrated knowing that there is nothing you can do about your state going for the dimocrats.. All I can say is vote early, and vote often..

The freeloaders will..

October 18, 2012: It has been busier than a mustard paddle at a weenie roast around here, with a lot of tournaments going on and lots of prefishing for Bass Champs. But as I write, the Anglers Quest boys are on the lake doing a little fishing themselves.

Last week the SE Texas Bass Federation was here, and despite some breezy days, (Some would call it more than a breeze) several of the guys got on some good fish. Scott Grammier won the event with a six fish total bag that weighed 32.08. That's over a five pound average on a lake where the fishing is reported as tough. Second place went to Jonathan Goodwin, with 31.26, still over a five pound average. Tenth place weighed in 16.90, and that's still almost a three pound average. Big fish of the event was a 10.43, caught by Lucas Orsak. Full results can be found here.

It is not what we have bee used to, but still pretty good stringers.

The lake level is holding steady, with no really appreciable change. But the water on the top of the lake is really starting to clear up, as a lot of the sediment is starting to settle out. And there have been a shortage of fishermen on the upper end of the lake as of late..

I think it is time to hit those trees on the river channel again. Now that the fish might be able to see a bait.

I have been out of town for a few days, but it does not sound like much has changed.

The crankbaits, deep and shallow, are still doing most of the damage I hear. I also heard of some good fish on some Big Flukes, both the Zoom and the TLC varieties.

Whatever you do, it is better near rock.. Like always.

I was in Austin on Tuesday, for a Freshwater Advisory Committee meeting that we hold twice a year. And while we discuss everything from Zebra Mussels to proposed regulation changes, from hatcheries to trout stocking, and catfish to bass, Falcon Lake always comes up.. And I gave them my thoughts as usual on the most popular lake in the state.. Or if it ain't, it sure seems like it..

In any case we talked about the pros and cons about having a target put on us as a national fishing destination for the last few years. And I passed on my thoughts about fishing pressure here having the same effect it has at any other lake.

Pressure kills..

Now don't go taking me wrong thinking that I am saying that Falcon is dead.. Not in the least. I anticipate a tremendous spring. But I don't think that last year can be duplicated. It was that good. Probably the best the lake ever did when it comes to numbers of big fish. And I still think that Falcon is the best lake in the country, and your best chance to catch a double digit fish.

But I also thought that October would see some really good fishing, and in my opinion, it really hasn't happened yet. We are just now getting water temps down to around 80°, and I hope the cooler water gets em cranked up before too long.

We also talked about Sharelunker a bit, and I still have not been able to get the program scrapped. It is the Holy Grail of the TPWD.. But we did not linger on the subject too long.

I look for another so-so year for the program. Lake Austin did turn one out the other day..

There was also a 12.6 caught this month that was a SL fish last year. (tagged) It weighed 13.03 last February. And according to my research on the TPWD site, it was also caught in Feb. of 2010 when it weighed 13.1.

Who says them big old fish get smart.. They still gotta eat. She can easily gain another 4/10ths before February and maybe she will be a three time Sharelunker.. But she has not spawned either time she has been detained at Athens.. And probably never would..

But at least this fish was caught and released and has thrilled at least three anglers in the last few years. I say release em right away, and give them the best possible chance to thrill another angler in the near future.. But you knew that.

I have not heard of a thirteen out of Falcon in a few months. But some of these bigger fish are starting to fatten up, and I am sure that before too long somebody will land a teenager. If them and their equipment is up to it. And a little luck won't hurt either.

Most of the people that I have talked to lately are fishing a tournament, or are getting ready to fish one. So I'm not getting the full truth out of a lot of good fishermen I know.

Bass Champs will bring out a lot of good fishermen and a lot of fishermen who know the lake well. And we'll have a better view of how the fishery is doing when we see their results.

But there is no doubt that currently the fishing is much tougher than in the spring.

I did get to see some of the presidential debate the other night. And I am torn as to who won it, if anybody did. Obamma definitely lied more.. I could tell cause his lips were moving.. And somebody tell the man that women don't get mammograms at Planned Unparenthood. They go there to get rid of babies that they are too lazy to prevent in the first place.

How come none of the candidates in any race don't have the balls to come out and say that you shouldn't have babies if you can't afford them? Is it the financial responsibility of all Americans to pay for other peoples children?

That's a stupid question. Of course it is. Ain't it? Or is it not..

Let me check my pocket copy of the Constitution..

Yep there it is.. The right to pursue happiness..

I know it always makes me happy to get a nut..

Consequences?? What consequences... The taxpayers will pay for it..

You're a taxpayer, dumbass..

I think all Viagra and Cialis commercials should be followed by commercial for Tro-jan Man!

No casual wood should go unwrapped.. Every tree I have ever seen has bark on it.. And in some cases you should double glove..

Don't be silly.. Wrap that Willie!

So I can spend more of my money on Fishing and good whisky..

See how complicated politics get? I better stick to fishing..

Not!

See you on the water.. Or at the Polls!

October 11, 2012: Looking at the weather forecast for this weekend will almost bring a tear to your eye.. If you're planning on fishing Falcon.. Oh the temps are going to be perfect.. And nice and sunny.. And the wind blowing like a banshee..

I hate wind... Least it ain't supposed to rain..

But that is what the SE Texas Bass Federation boys will have to contend with for the next couple of days. As will the Uvalde Bass Club and the McAllen Bass Anglers.. There might be another club or two in town I don't know about..

Fishing the last couple of days has still been hit and miss.. With plenty of miss mixed in. The south end of the lake is putting out more fish that the north, and that is due to water color.. I don't think all the fish swam south. But a lot of the fishermen have..

We have talked to a lot of the Bass Federation boys this week, and I know that they are prefishing for a tourney, and what you hear has to be taken with a grain of salt.. If I was on something I wouldn't be talking to loud either.. Wait a minute.. My wife says I am on something.. But it ain't necessarily fish..

The only thing consistent about the fishing right now that it is in-consistent.. I can whack em one day, and zero the next.

But I will have to admit, that Tuesday was the first time I made a hundred casts and caught squat..

Some people we have talked to are catching some fish, and mostly on the south end of the lake. It seems that you have to be in the clear water to get on anything to talk about. And honestly, not too many people are bragging..

Down sizing your bait is not a bad idea I hear, with some folks catching fish on drop shots and finesse stuff.. Makes the skin crawl.. Hope we are not turning into Amistad..

A few of the local guides are catching some quality fish, but they are having some crappy days as well. Hit and miss is the best description of what is happening..

The Bass Federation tourney has elected to go to a three fish tournament here, and we commend them for it.

And if you have not heard, Bass Champs will also be using a three fish format for their championship tourney in a couple of weeks as well.

The water here is still pretty warm, and I know this will save a bunch of fish.

I'm all excited about the VP debate tonight.. Wonder what the over/under is on whether Biden will yell "F&%# You" at Ryan sometime during the debate.. I bet they have had him on Ridlyn all week..

I'd rather watch the Steelers and the Titans.. But the NFL has decided that two thirds of the country can't watch it.. That is just stupid.. How can they sell Gatorade, cell phones, and Viagra with only a portion of the country watching?

If you're headed our way, be expecting some wind!

See you on the water.. Better make that the shop..

October 9, 2012: Well the first real cool front of the year rolled through Zapata on Saturday night, and it kept highs on Sunday and Monday about twenty degrees below what is our average. I'll have to admit that if felt pretty good yesterday, but Sunday was cool and nasty.

It has dropped water temps on the lake into the high seventies, and we'll see if they stay there as we head back into the high nineties late in the week.

I was on the lake for a few hours this morning, and it was still cloudy and cool, and the cooler water did nothing to turn the fish on.. At least not for me. I went back up the Salado to see if the fish I caught last week were still eating.. They were not..

And after an hour of making toothpicks out of the hardwoods in there, I headed down the lake a bit to see what the water color looks like. And I will say that the water up on the top is a bit better than it was, but it is still pretty dirty. I drove into the Diablo, and murky water has pretty much encompassed the entire creek. School Bus is way off color as well, and the water in the main lake is pretty stained all the way down to marker seven. Inside Pierces Cove looks good, although the fish in there did not care to bite either.

Once you get south of marker seven the water starts to clear up a lot. I did a lot of boat riding this morning..

And the hot bait this AM was a Plum Ol Monster.. I think I had a bite on it..

I did not catch a fish.

I did not fish any really clear water this morning. Maybe the cloud cover had the fish scattered from the woods I caught fish in last week. It was a bright sunny day when I caught them off the woods last week.

Or maybe the crappy fishing I experienced on Amistad over the weekend has stuck to me all the way back to Zapata. I sucked at Amistad.. But I wasn't alone..

Chris Coufal caught this 10-1 over the weekend here on Falcon. Not sure where he was fishing.. Nice water color there though..

And Sheri Jorde from New Mexico caught this 8.77 during the Sun Country tournament last week.

This week finds the SE Texas Bass Federation here on Falcon holding their Championship. Forty fishermen will be here, and many of them have already arrived. Competition starts on Friday and wraps up on Saturday.

This weekend also finds the McAllen Bass Anglers and the Uvalde Bass Club here on Falcon.

Next week we will have the Anglers Quest Championship here, and it will run from Wednesday thru Friday.

And the following weekend Bass Champs will hold its south Division Championship here. October is a busy month this year around these parts.

And speaking of Bass Champs, I am sure that most of you have heard that next year they are going to a three fish format for all their tournaments. I talked with them this morning, and a decision has not been finalized on whether they are going to fish a three of five fish limit for the championship here this month. Should know late this week or early next.

And of course there is a lot of controversy over the trail going to a thee fish limit in their tourneys. I am sure you know how I feel about it.

When you boil it all down, it is still a dick measuring contest, and at the end of the day the heavy sack is still going to win. I have certainly heard all the arguments for both sides. And I really don't care about which side is right or wrong. Neither side can prove to me that a three fish limit will give the "Better" fishermen a disadvantage. Will luck play more of a role in determining the winner? No more than it does now.

Those who put in their time on the water, and have the skill to catch em will still win. And after the 2013 season ends, I will bet you money that the same names will have decorated the leader boards the season thru..

Do you remember when we had a ten fish limit in Texas? I still do. And when the law was changed to five it not kill tournament fishing, and elevate a new crowd of lucky fishermen to the top of the heap.. Neither will this.

And don't be surprised to see a three fish limit be introduced to a few lakes in Texas, and all of them in the foreseeable future. Radical thinking? Maybe.. Maybe not..

We have more people fishing than ever before, and better equipment than ever before to help us catch em..

And with that, we have been catching more fish.. And bigger fish. While they last..

And while technology has helped the fishermen, it has done little for the fish. It still takes time and the right conditions to grow em.

I do not think that we are in danger of running out of bass. But they are certainly cyclical. And always will be. You all know that from fishing for years on your lakes and lakes all over Texas. And the hot lakes get the most attention.

Let's face it. Despite a crappy economy, fishermen are still gonna fish. And we are mobile and for the most part well financed, at least enough to keep our itch scratched.

I know tough times and four dollar fuel is a bitch, but it did not keep thousands of people from driving to Falcon last year.. Or Fork.. Or (your lake here.)

Fishermen are gonna fish. It's like the sunrise.. You can't stop it.

And the fact is that tournaments kill fish. Just fishing kills fish. But we are not going to stop either one. And handling 40% less fish in the boats, and at weigh in will kill a lot less fish. And the fish we are killing are some of the biggest, and certainly the brood fish in our lakes.

I know a lot of you believe that we can never catch all the fish in a lake or deplete it to the point that fishing in a particular body of water sucks. I think that we have certainly seen the latter.

And a lot of folks think that we need to keep more small fish, to eliminate a lot of the competition for the bigger fish. I am not sure what side of this argument to be on. I know small fish eat small bait. Big fish prefer a big meal.. They're lazy and do not particularly care to chase one and a half inch shad all day. Not sayin it never happens. But Rosie don't buy no 99 cent bag of Cheetos.. She gets the industrial size..

I'm getting a little off topic, but what I am trying to get at is that we kill a lot of fish in tournaments. And a lot of good ones.. I see it constantly.

Granted some folks are a lot better at caring for their fish than others. Some people don't care. Sometimes a caught fish just dies. But most fish deaths occur because there is not enough oxygen in the water in the livewells. Period..

You can fix this easy. Put an oxygen system in your boat. For less than the cost of a high dollar rod you can virtually eliminate fish death in your boat. There is a link to a proven system on my front page.

Get used to three fish formats. Whether you believe it or not, it is the future of tournament fishing in Texas.

October 4, 2012: It was just too pretty to stay in the shop this morning.. And it wasn't my day to open.. But I was awake at six, so I figured what the hell. Might as well go out and take some pics and see what the river looked like.

And the river looks like somebody threw up a chocolate mikshake.. Hmmm. Two puking references in two reports.. Gonna have to work on that..

In any case, if you turn north out of the Veleno, you are going to run into some ugly water.. And in-between the water plant and the mouth of the Salado I dodged more wood than Heather Locklear at a class reunion..

So be careful out there, especially on this end of the lake..

The north wind had most of the floaters pushed to the Mexican bank up here.. But guess what.. A lot of debris that was stuck in the hardwoods on the channel is now being redirected by the south wind.

Anyway I wanted to see what the water looked like up near the Hedieona and the Salado. Hedieona is filthy, And there is very little water in it.. But the Salado had some stained, but fishable water in it after you get back in there a ways.

I wasn't gonna fish, but I couldn't resist the big hardwoods along the creek channel. And about tree number two I caught a fish. And while I only fished an hour, I put eleven fish in the boat, missed several, broke off one, and landed an 8.20.. Jimmie like..

Caught em all on the Biffle Bug in Jalapeno Pepper with the Hardhead ball and chain.. That thing is starting to grow on me.. Damn.. That is really going to make Amistad suck..

Overall I am still hearing the fishing is slow.. I of course am still catching fish flipping.. But when that is all you do, it is not likely that you are going to catch many fish doing something else..

I think downsizing your bait right now is not a bad idea.. I have been catching fish flipping the regular super fluke recently as well.. Dark colors have been best.. Especially in the stained water.. You can go watermelon red down south in the swimming water.

The debate last night had trouble keeping me awake.. Either that or it was that third helping of meat loaf..

But the results are as follows..

See you Monday..

October 3, 2012: The lake continues to rise, although it has slowed it's pace quite a bit. We caught three inches in the last twenty four hours, and looking at what is in the river it will probably slow to about an inch a day by the weekend. We are exactly thirty five feet low as of this morning. And I will stick with my prediction that we will top out out around 267 by the weekend.. Or somewhere very close.

Water conditions are still very dirty on the top of the lake, and the dirty water has made it all the way down to marker seven. Although it is not nearly as bad in that neighborhood as it is here in the river near the Veleno. Water clarity in the Veleno is nice inside the old bridge. And some fish are being caught here as well..

The water south of marker seven is still looking good, and I don't expect the stained water to get much, if any, farther south.

There are not a lot of folks fishing this week, but those that are reported poor fishing yesterday. Most of them headed south into the prettier water. Fishing was not stellar before the new water hit the lake.

Water temps have cooled a bit, and eighty seems to be the high the last few days. Shallower protected water might be a bit warmer..

Reports are that the state park center ramp is working great, and there is about 4.5 feet of water on the end of the concrete. Sure beats launching on the point..

A couple of boats caught some fish yesterday, and crankbaits seemed to be the bright spot, if there is one. Flipping seemed to slow down yesterday from what I heard. I am not sure where the fish are headed with this new water in the lake. But I bet they don't go far..

Some folks have caught a few fish in the newly flooded weeds with some spinnerbaits, and I hear that a buzzbait will catch a few in the same areas early and late.

Keep in mind that fishing reports were few so far this week.

I am heading to Amistad this weekend to fish a tourney over there, so I can frustrate myself with another lake besides Falcon. I hear it has been tough as well. But somebody will catch em.. They always do.. Maybe one of these days it will be me.. I always look forward to the scenery if nothing else.

The first of two presidential debates will take place tonight, and I am sure it is going to be some thrilling television. I have recorded some of the original Star Trek shows, and I am sure their version of the future will be as accurate as either one of these two guys' guess..

I think I'll start out with the one where Captain Kirk does that Green Chick.. And maybe finish up with "The Trouble With Tribbles." Yeah.. That's a classic..

I don't know.. Maybe I better watch the debate and see if Obamma tries to give Romney the Vulcan nerve pinch..

What else.. The Cowboys looked as bad as Rosie in a porn movie.. Sorry for that visual.. I think I might have just threw up in my mouth just a little..

The Rangers are trying to loose the division.. They are definitely choking..

I hear the WNBA (Women with Nuts Basketball Association) playoffs are on.. I'll watch that after the Rosie porno..

I have been working on a story about last months Argentina dove hunt, and I'll post it pretty quick.. It's gettin' a little wordy..

Hope to see you down here now that it has started to cool off. We have a lot of tournaments on the books the last two thirds of this month. So I know somebody will figure them out..

I gotta go put some Amistad sized line on my sticks..

Octomom 1, 2012: Well I just came off the water after doing a upper lake, tree dodging, mud eating boat ride tour.. And I can tell you that the river is a rolling on the top end of the lake. And I think it brought half of Webb and Maverick counties with it. The water is the color of a Mud Pie Blizzard and it is coming in so hard that at 1000 rpm you are just holding still just above the Salado. Actually has waves in the current..

I am confident that we are going to catch another couple of feet of water in the coming week.. And the next twenty four hours will bring in a lot of it.. The water crested in Laredo about 11:00 last night, and that is a lot of the water that is hitting the top of the lake right now. The flow thru Laredo at noon is about half of what it was at Midnight last night.. But there is still quite a bit of water coming down the pipe..

We were at 265.19 this morning about 10:00. We are at 265.38 at 1:30 this afternoon. My guess is that by Friday we could be around 267+ -.. Who knows if they will keep releasing water from Amistad, since Mother Nature gave us this gift over the weekend.

Hers's a pic of the county ramp, where it is launching two boats side by side with ease. The ramp is a bit flat, but it is working great.

The county really did a nice job on the parking area. It will last till it rains hard again..

And here is a pic of the old Veleno Bridge.. Not.. It is a pic of the buoys that mark it.. But it ain't far under the water. Maybe six to ten inches.. Stay to the west.. This pic is looking east.

October 1, 2012: Another month shot to hell.. And a cooler month here to replace it.. I guess it ain't all bad..

Welcome to bow season, baseball playoffs, fall fishin, and oh yeah.. Sharelunker.. Wonder if anyone has weighed one in yet..

More on that later.. Let's talk about some good news.. Water in the pipeline..

Yesterday Falcon rose almost six inches, and the early readings I am finding this morning say that we rose more than that in the last twenty four hours.. And the Rio Grande in Laredo has just topped out it appears, so we will be catching some water for the next few days.

And I have to think that this water will put us back on the concrete ramp at the state park.. Praise the Lord.. Now I did not say that it is working just yet.. But I hope to in the near future.

And with all the water hitting the lake, there is a LOT of trash and trees in the water especially on the top end of the lake. Be careful out there.

And if you thought the top of the lake was muddy last week.. It is really dirty now. But we'll take it. You gotta break a few eggs if you want to make an omelet..

I am not sure where we are headed with this water, but it is certainly not a lake filler.. We should catch a few feet overall, and I see us rising pretty good for the next couple of days, and then backing off.

We could see a rise of six to ten inches in the next twenty four hours if I am reading the river right.. I could be surprised.. But I don't think so..

Update: 7:05 AM... Just got a phone call from some fellows who just launched a big boat on the concrete ramp at the state park. Said water was three feet deep at the end and they had no problems.. Praise the Lord!

If it was me, (and it is) I would be in the skinny water throwing a spinnerbait around some of this freshly flooded green stuff in the water.. And I plan to later today..

The bridge in the Veleno is bound to be back under water by now, but the markers are still in place.. The west side is still the best side..

Damn, I'm all excited.. I gotta go check it out..

I will let you know how much water we catch in the coming days..

September 28, 2012: I have been out of town for a few days, taking care of some business out at the ranch.. Most of that business involved heavy sweating.. None of it having to do with sex.. Most of it with a chain saw..

But I did see a few butterfly's locked up..

It looks like a rainy first half of the weekend around here, and possibly some decent amounts in the watershed. It has been raining all day just above Amistad.. I hope it camps out over there..

And newly formed tropical storm Norman is in the Cabo area headed north. It could send some good rains to the Mexican Mountains In the Rio Conchos watershed in Northern Mexico.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some good runoff.. If you can put some water in some good bass lakes you might as well name the storm after some good crankbaits..

We are still catching some water from Amistad releases, and we have come up a bit over half a foot in the last week. We are sitting at 263.73, or 37.47 low.

Sounds funny to be excited about being 37 feet low..

Fishing has been pretty decent around here, as measured by the results from the Sun Country tourney going on. It is wrapping up today. The leaders have caught over twenty pounds each day, with over twenty four the first day, and and twenty and change yesterday. I will post results when I get em.

Reports are that the square bill is still catching a lot of fish. Deep divers are also still working on rocks.. Same ol same old.. Lots of flipping fish in the woods as well.

But generally the same fishing report that has been posted here for the last two months.

A few winter Texans are starting to roll into town, and all of them have had the same reaction when they drive over the Veleno bridge.. "Where the hell did all the water go?"

But I ain't gotta tell you about that..

Supposedly El Nino is on its way back, and hopefully we can talk about some more rising water this fall.

I heard on the news yesterday that some of the "Occupy" crowd in California at one of them whacko liberal universities are going to get $30,000 apiece for getting pepper sprayed during one of their peaceful sit ins.

Well there is some food for thought.. Maybe they aren't quite as stupid as I thought.. And it is probably the first money they have ever made.. I guess that is why the I-phone 5 is selling so well. And it is the perfect phone for them.. It has no direction..

Hell, I'd a gone and hung out with them and took a shot of that stuff if I knew I would get 30K.. It couldn't be any worse than the time we stole a bushel of Jalapeno's from a field after a beer drinking binge.. And you know that drinking beer leads to pissin.. And hands that handle a lot of Jalapenos should not handle certain parts of the anatomy..

Mr. Wiggly was screamin like Ricky Bobby.. "Help me Baby Jesus.. Help Me! I'm on fire!"

Thought that stuff would never wear off.. And I didn't get paid a penny..

I am tired of the political commercials on TV, and it seems like they have been going on for years.. I guess they have.. But in forty plus days this crap will be over with. And we'll see if we are mired in four more years (for sure) of this stagnation, or if we might actually get a little confidence injected into the economy just at the thought of having a Republican in the white house. And I'll bet you a crankbait that if Romney gets elected, the stock market will jump 200 points the very next day.

We'll see soon enough.. Thank God..

And how about these terrorists son of a bitches attacking our embassies across the Middle east.. Again. This ain't the first time.. I think they could have been Islamic Muslim men who hate America..

When are we gonna learn.. Those morons hate us. You think?

Get our ass out of the UN, and get our ass out of that cesspool that is the middle east. Cut off all financial aid and let them eat sand. The money we send never makes it down past the millionaires anyway..

Did you catch Crockmadinejad's last act? There's a classy bastard.. I can't believe Israel has not got it on with them yet.. It's coming.. Don't mess with them Jews.. They'll kick your ass..

But speaking of campaigns, and it is a campaign that will never end, the mobile phone companies have gone berserk.. They have commercials on every break in any kind of programming that may be watched by more than two people. And who do you believe? It's worse than Barrock and Mitt.. I can't take it anymore.. All of their service sucks.. If you don't believe me just bring your phone to Zapata.. Home of .5 G service..

We don't have more bars in more places.. Hell half the time we have to tie a ground wire to a plumbing pipe to a signal..

Unlimited 4G nationwide service.. I don't think so..

And this campaign will never end..

I am longing to see a commercial about getting a hard on again..

Is there an App for that?

I was watching Sponge Bob with my granddaughter and they had commercials for I pads where they used to have commercials for Puddin Pops and Captain Crunch.. Give me a break..

Did you know that the US government spent over a Billion dollars last year on free phones and service for the "Unfortunate Poor People" who can't afford them? Lucky Strikes and 40's are getting high..

How do I get my Obamma phone...

I know he didn't start the program.. But somebody needs to stop it..

Give me back those pay phones!

I hope that we as a country can pull our collective heads out of our asses in November.

Get out there and vote.

The people with the free stuff are.. And by the way.. That's your stuff..

September 24, 2012: I has been a busy weekend here on Falcon, and here at the store. Lots of folks in town for a couple of tourneys, with prefishing for the Sun Country championship beginning yesterday.

And at two O'Clock yesterday afternoon there were trailers and trucks scattered all over the county ramp lot. And with the lake at the level it is there is plenty of room.

By now you have probably heard of the results from the Bud Light Trail tourney, and there were some pretty hefty stringers weighed in. The winning sack was just under twenty four pounds, for three fish. Damn near an eight pound average. That's pretty salty for as tough as the fishing has been..

Full results can be seen here..

The Sun Country folks also decided to go to a three fish format, in the interest of the fish, and we commend them for it. Thanks guys.. The water temperature yesterday afternoon was still 83°. Awful warm to haul around five big fish all day and expect them to make it..

Sun Country will have about forty five teams here all week. Their three day tourney starts on Wednesday.

Fishing seems to be improving a bit this last week, but I am not going to jump off the cliff and say that it is really good. But good numbers of fish were reported by a lot of fishermen over the weekend. And some good ones are showing up as well.

As far as patterns go, a square bill is still a good numbers bait in the shallow water. And if you are around some trees anywhere near a creek channel you can flip up a bunch of fish with some small plastic baits. A small brush hog or a super fluke are good choices.

Deeper water is putting out some fish as well, and the jig bite is starting to come around. But big crank baits are still in high demand, and it appears that the biggest of fish are still coming on the deep cranks.

I am not saying you cannot catch a whopper on anything you throw. I am even hearing good things about the Plum Ol Monster.. Imagine that..

The water is still rising, and although it is slow, it is noticeable. The old bridge in the Veleno is only out of the water about six inches. But it is well marked and if it does go under we should not have a problem with it. It is much better to enter and exit the Veleno on the west end of the bridge, as there are several rock piles to the east of the bridge, and one is under about six inches of water.. And rock and aluminum do not mix well.

So Go West! young man..

The concrete ramp at the state park is still not useable.. But I am thinking it will be before too long.. Ramps here in Zapata are fine at the county park..

I should be getting some more reports from the lake every day this week..

I fished yesterday afternoon, and we caught good numbers of fish flipping the hardwoods.. Pick the biggest ones you can find. Also caught some on the square bill, but you know I would rather work with wood than with rock.. But a combo of the two is not a bad thing..

I'll have more info, and maybe an opinion or two on politics and cell phone companies before too long..

But I got some work to do!

September 22, 2012: Talk about some awesome weather.. It just don't get much better around these parts. Lows in the sixties, highs in the low to mid nineties.. Light winds.. Of course yesterday was the first day of fall.

We are still catching some water, and as of today we are sitting at 263.24, or 37.96 feet low. We have caught 1.8 feet since the fifteenth of last month, when we got down to 39.76 feet low.

Many areas on the shore are covered with grass and weeds, and a lot of it has been inundated and many of those areas are holding some baitfish. And a lot of carp..

But it just looks funny around here to see green all the way down to the waters edge.. Pretty unusual for our part of the country. Of course the rocky banks are not covered with grass, but there are a lot of small bass on a lot of the gravel bars that you can find from one end of the lake to the other. And a lot of these fish are under the fourteen inch mark.

Those weedy edges I was talking about also have some bass roaming around. Especially in the early and late hours of the day. Try a chug bug or a buzzbait in some of that very shallow water.. Just a suggestion..

The square bill is still catching a lot of fish.. Make sure it has some chartreuse in it, especially in the dirtier water. And speaking of which, it seems that the water on the top of the lake is clearing a bit, and I associate this with the grass on the bank and in the first foot of water.. And the lack of big winds this week.

I have heard all kinds of rumors about how much water we are going to get out of Amistad. And I have no source to lend credibility to any of the reports that I hear. But there is still some water in the pipeline and we will take it as long as they give it.. We will see where it all ends..

There have been some good fish caught lately as well, and while the numbers might not be the Falcon norm, it has still been decent. Those that have put in the time have usually figured it out after a day or two.

The Bud Light tournament is underway as I write, and twenty four teams are on the water. I spoke with a few of them yesterday, and a couple of them told me they were on some good fish.. We'll see about four this afternoon.

The Houston Oilman's bass club is also in town, and their two day event started this morning as well.

And the Sun Country Bass Club is holding their championship here this coming week as well. Prefishing starts tomorrow and runs thru Tuesday, and competition starts on Wednesday and concludes on Friday. That's my kind of tourney.. During the week. Been working for them for years.. New Mexico will be missing a lot of folks this week..

The next busy tourney weekend will be October 12th and 13th, with the SE Texas Bass Federation holding their Championship here as well.

For a recently updated tourney schedule on Falcon see our tourney page. And if your group or club is headed this way, please let me know and I'll add you to the schedule.

I fished yesterday morning, and caught a few fish here and there, scattered from the Diablo to the Dam. I threw a lot of crankbaits with limited results. My best fish went about six, and I caught her in the Coyote area on a fluke, flipping a tree in about seven feet of water. But I did not catch much else there. I finished in the Diablo on a rocky point where I caught all the fourteen inch fish I cared to.. And left em biting.. But there weren't much to em.. And never caught a big fish out of the crowd.

The Spro Little John DD has been a really good bait lately, and the Citrus Shad has been one of the best colors. These things cost a small fortune, but I am really liking them here lately. They also have some really neat Square Bills and I have not thrown one just yet. They ain't cheap either..

We also got in some new hooks this week. I hadn't seen them before. But if you are one of them guys who like a straight shank heavy flipping hook you need to look at these new Gama Super Heavy Cover hooks.. Its a hunk of iron..

We got a bunch of new stuff in but I ain't turning this into a commercial..

But while I am at it, Norman is about to have their new baits ready to ship. They are making the HD series in DD-22 and DLN that are supposed to be quicker to depth, and hold their depth longer. I'll have em soon.. You know I am a Norman nut.. They are discontinuing their suspending baits..

In any case, I'll let you know what happens with the BLT tourney later today..

September 18, 2012: Lots of south Texas got some good rains last week, and some spots really got hammered.. But we managed to collect only about a half inch on Sunday morning, although the prognosticators had predicted that we would get a lot more.. Such is life..

Falcon is still rising, and at a bit faster pace than a week ago.. I'm not sure if that is because of a little runoff in the water shed between here and Del Rio, or whether local rains stopped some pumping out of the river above us..

We are just inches from being able to use the concrete state park ramp again, or at least that is my belief.. And hopefully we can continue this rise, and get us back on the concrete soon.

No one can say what is going to happen with the water levels. And rumors circle all the time.. Seems like the IWBC would at least publish it's future plans for releases from both Amistad and Falcon.. But that would make too much sense..

The ramp at the county park is working fine, with the exception of some dirt washed over the west side of it. I spoke with the county commissioner about it yesterday, and he promised to have it cleaned off before the weekend.. The ramp is about twenty five feet wide, and it is easy to launch two boats at a time.. It is a little flat, but it is working great..

This weekend sees what I am calling the beginning of the fall tourney season, with the Bud Light Trail, Houston Oilman's Bass Club, and the prefishing dates for the Sun Country Championship all getting under way. And October has a bunch of tournaments scheduled as well..

Fall starts on Friday.. Here we go..

Water temps are down to the low eighties, and it won't be long till they remain in the seventies for a good while. That might be what it takes to get the dinner bell a ringing for some of these fish.

I fished yesterday for about four hours, and went as far south as marker eight. And the dirty water influence is about that far down the lake. But it does look a lot better at eight than at eleven.

There are still a lot of small fish in the dirty water in the pockets on the Mexican side of the lake from marker thirteen to marker eight. A square bill is still the best thing to chunk at em.. And occasionally you will whack a good one mixed in.. But it is by far the best numbers game going in my opinion..

Flipping hardwoods in water from three to ten feet on the south end of the lake is also a good way to get bit.. Pick out any batch of bigger woods near a creek channel or ledge and flip every tree in sight.. I am using a super fluke a lot and loving it.. W/M Candy Red or anything like it is doing fine. I seem to be getting more bites on the smaller fluke right now.. Of course I am still in love with the Mag Super Fluke as well..

I have not been throwing the deep diving baits as much as in the recent past, but there are a lot of folks that are. And reports vary, but there have been some good fish caught deeper on the big deep divers and on some on jigs..

The dam and associated rock piles, ledges, and humps continue to be the big fish attraction.. So I hear..

Garrick Vercher caught this 10-4 yesterday.. New PB..

There is a lot of speculation about what is in store for Falcon this spring. And who really knows.. All I can say is that we will make the best of it, and we will have operational ramps, till you can walk across the river.. But we're a long way from having that problem right now.. Hell we could be full by then. Who knows.. I'm hoping for something in between..

So don't let lower water levels be a concern to you just yet..

I'll let you know about the state park ramp shortly..

See you on the water..

September 14, 2012: It's good to see some good rains across south Texas, although I am sure there are a lot of blank spots mixed in with the parts that got hammered.. It ain't got here yet.. But there are a few scattered showers around here this early AM.. It is six in the morning.. We got another five inches at the ranch near Devine last night.. And that follows 5.80 about a month ago.. Awesome..

And the weather guessers are giving us a good chance for the next few days.. We can sure use it.. Although it will not be rain that jumps the lake level..

Amistad continues to let out a lot more water than we are.. But it is not getting here I guess.. Frackers??

Amistad is releasing about 3700 CFS, and we're releasing 1650 CFS.. And we're coming up about three or four hundredths a day.. That don't make sense.. A lot of that water can't be getting here..

It's gettin way late in the season to get a hurricane in the gulf, and I believe that I heard on a Corpus channel the other night that it has been over a hundred years since a storm hit Corpus this late in September.. These regular cool fronts usually keep them pushed to the east or into Mexico.. So we are not looking good for any local help on the water scene..

We need a flood in northern Mexico.. Again.. And it is likely that you will hear me say this for a while.. But it can and does happen.. Well just have to wait..

I am not sure what to say about the fishing.. Some days I think it is getting better.. Some days I think it is getting worse.. So I guess it is about the same.

I fished last Sunday and Tuesday, and Tuesday I gave it a good hard six hours or so, and fished from the Dam to the Diablo.. And here's what I found.

You can catch some fish in the hardwoods from the back of the Salanaias to the Diablo on the Mexican side. Most of these fish are smaller, with a lot of last years hatch mixed in., including some undersized fish. We never caught a good fish out of the trees.. But we did get bit quite a lot.

On the outside creek channel edges in the Salanaias we caught some decent fish from the hardwoods, but no whoppers.. We also caught and missed some fish in the hardwoods on the giant flat in front of the Benavides. I believe you can flip the hardwoods anywhere on the Mexican side of the lake from Blanco south and catch fish.

Our best fish came off the hump at the river channel in front of the dam.. Duh... Lots of fish have been caught there lately, and lots of fishermen there lately.. Also saw some other big fish caught while we were there..

Oh yeah.. I hope they tasted good guys.. Idiots..

We also fished some unproductive water, and most of it was perfect rock ledges and rockpiles in deeper water. It still sucks..

It's like all the fish moved out of the gated neighborhoods and headed for their skinny water slums.. But it happened a long time ago..

If you are fishing the north end of the lake, get you a chartreuse square bill and beat the shallow woods to death. There have been a ton of fish caught lately in water less than three feet deep up here in the shallows.

You can also catch em on a spinnerbait. White or White and Chartreuse Just blow and go down the skinny watered notches in the bank along the river channel.

Water color on this end of the lake is pretty crappy, all the way down to marker nine and beyond..

Blow and Go.. Isn't that what the night magistrate told Paris??

Anyway, it is a lot about covering water right now.. And if you like flipping, you can keep yourself entertained as well. I was flipping a super fluke in a dark color all day on Tuesday, and it worked everywhere we went..

There have been a few giants caught lately, but we are not catching a whole lot of R and O's.. Rosies and Oprah's.. But they are coming.. Here's a pic of a couple of fatties..

Tommy Moose caught this 12-2 last weekend. New PB of course.. Now if I can teach him to take a good pic.. That fish has a fourteen pound head..

And Tony Gutierrez finally caught a DD.. After plenty of hours on the water.. This one went 11-4.

Oink!

Did you know that we are only a couple of weeks away from Sharelunker season? I wonder what kind of spin TPWD is going to put on it this year.. Oh right. The same one..

Let me take a shot.. Note: All TPWD employees and Sharelunker lovers skip over this part and continue reading below after the red asterisks.. Or you're just gonna get pissed off.. Don't read it!

The TPWD announces the beginning of the 200th annual Sharelunker program.. Anglers catching a fish that weighs over thirteen pounds can enter to get a free plastic fish and a coat and fifteen minutes of fame.. And we will do sexual experiments on the fish in order to grow all fish to monster size.. Enter today!

disclaimer: To date TPWD Sharelunker program has not actually produced any fish that weigh thirteen pounds. But we have only been at it for 27 years.. Give us a chance.. Your chance of actually catching a thirteen pound bass produced by the SL program are slim and none.. Uh.. Make that none.. Individual results may vary.. Errr.. No they won't..

Prolonged exposure to SL hype has been connected to loss of ability to discern fact from fiction. Continued exposure of lakes to the SL program has caused death to those lakes. Sometimes death is instant, sometimes it is slow and painful..

Consult your taxidermist before undertaking a Sharelunker Regimen.. Common side effects of Sharelunker fishing have been known to empty wallets, cause divorces, and lead to loss of employment. In the most severe cases red staining of the lips has occurred after drinking the TPWD Kool-Aid..

****

I could go on forever but I better stop.. I'll clean out my inbox so you can write and verbally bitch slap me..

The weather is cooling off a bit and I think these fish are going to go crazy before too long.. They always do in the fall.. But I am getting tired of waiting them out.. I'm going to go put some ice in the lake..

9/11: It is hard to believe that it has been eleven years since a bunch of cowardly, no count, Muslim, Islamic, terrorist Son of a Bitches flew some airliners into the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and into the ground in Pennsylvania. Killing indiscriminately any and all in their path.

And I am still as pissed as if it happened yesterday. (I'm still pissed about Pearl Harbor and I wasn't even born yet..)

Am I carrying a grudge? You damn right..

And for the life of me I cannot figure out why the American government is still coddling these bastards..

Because we are freedom loving, and life respecting people, we assume that they are, and that they mean us no harm. How long is it going to take our leaders to pull their heads out of their asses?

God teaches us not to hate.

But he also teaches us to remember.

And I hope the fire in your belly burns every time you think about 9/11.

Don't let the fire go out.

Remember those who were murdered on that day, and continue to pray for them and their families.

God Bless America!

Never Forget!

September 8, 2012: It's been a hot week around these parts. Yesterday we had 106 on my thermometer.. In the shade. I hope this cool front that is bearing down on us will give us a bit of a break.. But we are supposed to be back over the century mark by mid week.

I was on the water yesterday morning for a few hours, just to scratch the itch a little. And I did manage a few nice fish.. No monsters but the biggest went 7-1. I did not catch a lot of fish, and really haven't in a few weeks. Of course I am not busting it too hard in this heat.

I did talk to a lot of folks yesterday, Some did poorly, but some caught a decent number of really nice fish, (near the dam) and some caught a lot of fish where they found them schooling. In the heat of the day in shallow water, not far from the Veleno. A lot of these fish just will not give up the shallows..

I caught most of my fish on the same old rocky ledge off the river channel I have been fishing for the last month. It's the only half way consistent place I have going.. On this end of the lake.

Lots of good fish were caught yesterday off the dam, and humps and drops very close to it.. Rocky points from the Tigers to the dam continue to produce fish, in a kind of consistent manner..

And you're probably getting tired of hearing it, but crankbaits are are catching the lions share of the fish.

Chartreuse is still the key ingredient for the cranks. It does not have to be all chartreuse.. But you need some semblance of it on your bait.

Whether it be a bottom scraper or a square bill. The more solid the chartreuse the better up here on the dirty north end of the lake. Specially on the square bills. A chartreuse and white or an all chartreuse spinnerbait will also get you bit in the shallows.

I think I am going to start to "Copy and Paste" this report..

We have been working with AID maps for a bit trying to get them to make a bigger map of Falcon. And what we came up with is a two sided map of Falcon, with a few more details, including local or common names of some creeks, some new landmarks, and locations of a few more hazards. No real improvements of contour lines.. But it is much easier to read. Specially if you are my age.. We now have them in stock..

This week we also got in a few of the new Revo reels. I have not got to test one just yet, (They never give me any freebies). They are a bit lighter feeling, but more plastic feeling, and the gearcase is bigger and lower than on the predecessor. I'm not selling my old ones just yet. Seems they have done the same thing as Shimano, cheapening up the product.. Well.. Not to us.. But I won't judge them just yet.. Not before I use one.. These are just my initial thoughts..

The lake is coming up a few hundredths a day. We are sitting at 262.03, or 39.17 low. But we have not lost any water since the fifteenth of last month.. I saw water temps of 84.5 yesterday morning.. It is still summer around here..

I also saw on the NWS site that they will be releasing more water from Amistad this week.. They said for agricultural purposes.. All I know is that it is not getting here or it is going out as fast as it is coming in.

While I was in Argentina last week, we talked about a lot of the socioeconomic conditions that affect both countries with the folks who run the lodge. And it amazes me how much they follow American politics. They probably know more about our politics that most Americans.

And what they think is that we are crazy, or at least our leaders are, trying to turn the US into Argentina. We discussed Obammacare and the like.. And the lodge owner said that everybody he knows that can afford it goes to the US for any kind of surgery.. That makes me feel good about the direction we are headed with the coming health care enema we are about to get.. Socialized medicine.. I guess it is great if you live long enough to see a doctor..

But that is not the what I intended to talk about.

There is a goat on a neighbors ranch that they named the Obamma Goat a few years ago.. And last year I missed him, but heard about him constantly.. Being politics is a common subject of conversation.

So one day we went in search of the famous Obamma Goat.. And damn if we didn't find him.. Turns out he was a she.. And we had her kid over for dinner one night.. Really.. Fresh Cabrito.. From the hoof to the grill in less than two hours.. Tasty..

Before

After.

See if you can pick out the Obamma Goat..

See you later..

September 6, 2012: As John Denver would say.. "It's good to be back home again.." But I sure had a hell of a good time screwing off for a few days.. Where is the trigger key on this keyboard?

I hear that it was pretty busy around here over the holiday weekend, and fishing was still not a lot better than fair, with some folks figuring it out, and some folks struggling.

I hear that the crankbait is still outperforming most other baits, but big and small plastics are still catching some fish as well.. Sounds like not a lot has changed since I left.

One of the favorite baits of late has been the Spro in the Little John DD.. The Citrus Shad and the shad pattern bait seems to be the best. And I have been having trouble keeping them in stock. But I'm ordering all they'll send me. I asked Tom what happened to the ones I ordered before I left, and he said they came and they went. The Powder Blue Back Chartreuse in the XD baits is still doing well, along with the Citrus Shad.

Sounds like the last thing I wrote.

The dam is still the most consistent rocky area putting out fish. And I hear that the Salanaias and points to the north are still putting out shallow fish. I plan on checking it out, if Tommy will let me out of here.

The bigger hardwoods still have some flipping fish in them.. Even in this dirty water on the north end of the lake. Status Quo..

Most numbers of fish are still shallow, and most all of the folks I talked to yesterday and this morning said they were finding their best numbers in the water less than ten feet deep. Of course the deeper humps near the dam are an exception. Keep in mind that on the weekend there are a lot of folks on the rocks and humps near the dam.

It seems that all three lakes in our golden triangle, Falcon, Choke, and Amistad are fishing tougher than the norm. Maybe some cooler weather will help. And we are supposed to get in the low to mid nineties in the next few days. But this week has been hot.. Still well over 100° all this week. But we are having cooler mornings. Water temps have not dropped a lot, and in the afternoons we are still seeing 83-84 degrees.

The days are getting about two minutes shorter every day, and fall is only twelve days away. That means that we will only have highs in the nineties for the next four months.. Give or take. We need a serious cool front to make it down here, and break this hot cycle. It's coming, but I am not sure just when. Sunday thru Wednesday of the coming week are all supposed to be below 100°.

I know you guys up north are laughing.

It was a lot cooler in Argentina, with highs in the middle eighties. A lot warmer than when we were there last year. But we were a month earlier last year. Still very pleasant compared to what I came home to.

And for a quick recap, yes we did shoot the snot out of the birds.. That place is amazing when it comes to numbers. Until you see it, you can't believe it. I shot 254 boxes of shells in four and a half days.. And could have shot a lot more.. But my wallet and body got all they wanted.. I killed 1917 birds the first full day.. And coasted from there.. If I'd of paid attention to the count I would have shot a few more boxes and busted the 2K mark.. Ah, that leaves me something to shoot for next year.. Pun intended..

I'll pass on a lot more info on the hunting, and the fishing in the very near future.. If I ever get through these e-mails..

August 28, 2012: Ever wish for one of them days when the wind wasn't blowing and you could fish where ever you wanted to and your batteries would last from dawn to dusk? Well we got one today. The flags are as limp as Hugh Heffener without his viagra..

Oh and the humidity is about a hunnert and twenty percent.. It was brutal out there.. And I didn't catch too many fish. But it was good to get on the water for a bit.. Would have been a great day to whip out the skis.. My chonies were already wet..

Last weekend there were a couple of tournaments here on Falcon and I was pretty impressed with the results as tough as it's been. Of course most people are better fishermen than me..

The Heart of Texas bass club was down for their team championship, and after day one thirty three plus pounds was leading it. There were also four other stringers over twenty eight pounds I heard. But I do not have final results as of yet.

The South Texas 5 also had their year end championship, and twenty nine pounds was leading it on Saturday. And there were several other bags over twenty five I heard.. No final results on that one either.

But I will post when I get them.

The overwhelming bait of choice was a crankbait. And a Strike King Powder Blue Back Chartreuse was in high demand. In the five and the six XD. But citrus shad was also good I hear. We sold a lot of both. But similar colors by numerous manufacturers also worked well.

Of course there were some flippin fish caught.. There always is. And I caught my best fish today flipping the big fluke.. Like I said.. You just gotta put your head down and fish..

The dam and the rock humps around it seem to be the most consistent fish producers.. I caught them down there this AM.. On the community hump just to the right of the channel. And I was the only one there.. But I was also there on Sunday and it was SRO..

The lake is holding steady, and we are sitting at 261.85, or 39.35 feet low. The water on top of the lake has cleared a bit, and it is looking a lot better than the mud pie we had early last week. And once you get past marker 10 it is looking pretty good.. And beautiful on the south end of the lake.

The gar are still holding their national convention most everywhere you go. And my best fish today looked like Tiger Woods' back after an out of town tourney..

We have to get this statewide law of one per day rescinded.. These things are out of control. I am sure that all the gar that were up the river are now living farther south.. They do not like getting sunburned I reckon..

The ramp at the county park is working better than it was a few weeks ago.. Got a little slope to it and you don't have to get your feet wet when you get out of your truck.. Of course if you are one of those with a bumper hitch on your Prius you're still getting wet..

Now if we can just get the county to clean some of the dirt off the right side..

Here's a pic I took Sunday of the State Park ramp.. Serviceable.. But not desirable..

And here's a pic of what used to be the concrete ramp.. Pretty sad.. Well.. I guess it is still a concrete ramp..

And I have to send a shoutout to Lawson, whom you might have met here in the store in the last few years. He has gone big time on us and moved to San Antonio to go to school.. Happy Birthday Man!

And that reminds me.. I put him on two personal bests in a month last year, and I still didn't get my truck washed..

Brett Matherne caught his new PB last week..

10.3

I'm gonna be out of town for the next week.. I am headed out of the country to retake this picture..

I also intend to look down the barrel of a Beretta at them as well.. And yes.. Those are doves..

I figured with my luck traveling lately that the Hurricane in the gulf would hit Houston and and close the airport before I got out of town.. Looks like we just might make it..

I'll give you report on the hunting, and the fishing when I get back..

Damn.. I'm gonna miss the Conventions...

See you then!

August 25, 2012: There is not a lot of new news to pass along. The fishing remains status quo round these parts.. With maybe a slight improvement with the very slowly rising water.

Amistad continues to release about 1300 CFS more than we are, but it is making little difference in our water levels.. I am sure a lot of it is being sucked out of the river before it gets here.. And as of yesterday we started releasing more water than the previous few days.

But it beats dropping..

I am sure you have heard by now that the Elite series is scheduled to return to Falcon in the spring. I am not sure what to think about it.. But I heard it cost the county $60K. And we have a four million shortage in our local budget for next year.. Go figure.

I am sure I will hear a bit about the fishing this evening as there are a couple of tourneys going on..

And quite a few folks in town..

If your club or organization is planning on holding a tourney down here this fall or spring, please send me an e-mail and I'll add you to our tourney page. It helps others plan their trips and events down here. So when you make your schedules for the year, please pass them along to me.

Lots of folks wondering what the water levels are going to do.. Wish I could tell you. But I would encourage you to e-mail congressman Cuellar, and every one you can get a hold of at the International Water and Boundary Commission.. It might not help.. But it can't hurt..

We should be in good shape to get our fall tourneys done. We have at least two lanes working at the county ramp, and three if you can back a trailer.. Actually it will take two guys that can back a trailer at the same time on the main ramp.. But it can be done..

There is no shortage of parking..

See you soon..

August 20, 2012: There has been a lot of rain around the state of Texas, but it has not rained in the right places.. At least not much.. But we are getting into the peak of Hurricane season, and maybe one of these storms will hit the bulls eye before it is over. But what we really need is a Pacific hurricane to hit northern Mexico, and hang up over the mountains that feed the Concho river above Big Bend. Cause if we are going to catch a significant amount of water, it has to come thru Amistad.

And speaking of Amistad, they are still releasing a bit of water, and we have held steady the last ten days or so. But it looks like it is going to slow down. We'll see.

It's anybody's guess as to what will happen in the future as far as catching water goes. But in the big picture, this water level is not unusual around here. We have seen it a lot lower, but we don't really care to.

We still have great ramps here in Zapata.

We are sitting at 261.76, or 39.44 feet low.

Fishing remains kind of tough by Falcon standards, but a few folks have got on em pretty good. But that is not the report by and large.

Crankbaits are still the number one bait it seems, and the Mag Fluke is still catching some fish. Of course you are likely to catch a fish on any bait you throw. It's not all bad.. There are still a lot of fish being caught in the trees. Flipping will always catch you some fish around here.

Rocks, shallow and deep, are still key to catching better fish.

There are a lot of tourneys headed to Falcon in the next couple of months, and it is rumored that the Elite series is headed back in the spring. Local government has approved funding to pay them to come here, although they told me that we just did not have the money in the county coffers for the payoff.

We'll see.. I'll let you know more when I hear more. There are a couple of dates I have heard, but nothing is in concrete just yet.

If you want a list of events that are planned for the near future, you can check em out here..

Justin Royal caught this 10.07 yesterday in-between thunderstorms.

And it is not like there are no big fish being caught.. But you do have to put your time in..

I was watching a liberal TV "news" show last week, and they finally talked about something other than the despicable Mitt Romney. But of course it was related.

They said that the evil Republicans had passed a law in Pennsylvania, that mandated that voters will have to have some form of identification if they plan to vote in the upcoming presidential election. I have always had to show some ID before they would let me vote. And for Pete's sake, don't you think that it's a good idea?

Allegedly some 800,000 dimocrat voters only have eighty four days to get an ID before the election. Who are these morons that don't have an ID? How can you live in the US and not have an ID? How have they been cashing their welfare checks with no ID?

And speaking of voting, if I was the Big Kahuna, I'd repeal the 26th amendment quicker than a cat can lick his ass.. Not all, but most eighteen year olds are more concerned about where to buy a rubber where their Mommie won't find out than they are about keeping up with political issues. And let's face it, an eighteen year old don't know squat about life.. Of course I'd give a pass to the Military. If you're old enough to fight for your country, you're surely old enough to vote for or against who might be sending you to war.

The rest of you would have to wait till you're twenty five. You might start getting it by then.

On a different note, I see that NASA landed a four wheeler on Mars. Two billion dollars just for the machine.. Not to speak of what it cost to get it there..

And the huge news of the day was that the four wheeler shot a rock with a laser yesterday.. Now that's exciting..

And why in the hell would we want to live on Mars when when we can't even manage what we have here on earth.. I love satellite radio.. But Mars is another boondoggle

If I was running the show, most of the NASA guys would be at home watching Star Trek.. And we could get a lot more people on welfare if we had the savings from the space program..

Ah yes.. The Government.. Waste. Entitlements.. (And that is a misnomer..) It is what it is..

Just ask the monkeys in the zoo.. It all started when they took that first free banana. Then they ended up in cages.. But like the monkeys, as long as the government keeps handing out the bananas, a lot of people would rather take the handout than go pick the bananas themselves. And they are so preoccupied with getting their bananas, that they never even heard the cage door close..

August 14, 2012: The water we heard that is coming from Amistad started hitting the lake two days ago. And the first day it showed up we held steady. And we have caught 5/100ths of a foot in the last twenty four hours. And that ain't nothin, but it is better than loosing the same.. The last time we caught any water was a long time ago.. We are sitting at 261.51, or 39.69 feet low..

The top of the lake was already off color, and now it is way off color.. But water don't get here with out some dirt in it.. The mid-lake south still looks great.. And it sounds like that is where most of the fish are coming from.

Fishing remains tough by Falcon standards, but has not changed much in the last month. I fished on Saturday with a buddy, till about noon, and we boated fourteen fish, with nothing over four pounds that made it to the fiberglass. Lost a few and broke one off that might have been decent, but if you don't at least see em it's hard to tell with these mean SOB's.. Of course I did catch a four foot gar on a spinnerbait.. But that was the biggest excitement of the day.

I had been fishing a rock ledge in the mid-lake and doing really good on it, but on Saturday we only caught a couple of threes off of it. So much for my "A" spot.

The rest of the fish we caught were all in the woods, and depth did not see to matter too much. Some in three foot of water and some in twelve.. Not much of a pattern there..

I have heard that the PM bite has been better from a lot of folks, but I don't like fishing in 104° temps.. I live here and I don't have to.. But I know a lot of you have limited time when you are here and are going to put in a long day.. Stay hydrated.. It is hot..

We narrowly missed a couple of thunderstorms yesterday afternoon, and the wind came up about 6:30 and blew like crazy.. Nothing like that in the forecast for the next couple of days.. But it is going to be windy tomorrow I hear. But dry..

The gar fishing and the catfishing have been awesome though. Lots of both being caught, and the locals are catching the crap out of the gar. More power to em.. We are overrun with those bastards right now. And odds are if you are fishing for bass for a few days, you're likely to hook one.. I have caught one, two out of the last three trips.. That'll test your equipment..

Deep crankbaits are still the rage, and most of the better fish seem to have been caught on them. But you can't beat a fluke, big or small, when you are fishing the trees.

We certainly are not catching fish like we were six weeks ago, but if you put your head down and fish, you can still do alright.. But it ain't what we're used to. We could be a little spoiled.

Ryan Golden caught his first ten last week..

Go Rangers!

And Sergio Tello Jr. caught this 100 plus pounder in the mid lake area.

I think I'll make a documentary on the Gar here on Falcon. It'll be a story of how a gang of second class fish come in to town and take over a lake. It will feature a little known gar, but a bad ass in his own right, who rises thru the ranks and leads a group of outcasts in biting the competition to death. The streets... errr... creeks will run red with blood..

I think I'll call it... "Garface".. "What chu think, Tooony?"

I hear that the Coast Guard has left town, to go save another town from peril.. I am sure the Holiday Inn misses them.. But the fishermen don't..

The Olympics are over, and none too soon. Just in time for Pre-Season football..

And boy the Cowboys looked good last night.. It was a thrilling 3-0 victory for the Boys.. But hey.. A W is a W.. I hope it gets better.. Or it's gonna take a lot of beer to keep watching..

The other day I was talking a little about cause and effect.. It is something I like to study.. And it reminds me of a "Situation" that happened to a friend of mine when he was growing up.

Of course he was a poor farm boy, that grew up on the outskirts of a small town, up in west central Texas. They had a small farm, and money, at least disposable money, was not a thing they had a lot of.

For the tenth year in a row, he had asked his dad for some money to buy some fireworks for the upcoming Fourth of July. Of course there was always a reason for the denial. There was a drought on, the tractor was broke, or the hens had blood in their eggs..

So this particular year, after being read the financial statement, he decided to invent some ariel fireworks of his own. And being he lived on a farm there were always materials available if imagination exists.

Anyone that has been around chickens knows that when you feed em some scratch on the ground, it don't take long to attract a lot of other audibons to the area. And feeding them is not in the budget. So like any chicken farmer, they had several sparrow traps around the chicken pen..

So once it got dark, and all the rich city kids started setting off their bottle rockets and Roman candles, my buddy got busy with his fireworks as well.

It started out with a Mason jar of gasoline, and a trip to the sparrow trap.. I know what you are thinking.. But these sparrows weren't going to make it anyway..

He dipped the tail of the first bird in the gasoline, struck a kitchen match, and set the birds tail on fire, and turned him loose..

What a beautiful streak of fire that bird made across the west Texas sky.. It could only get better..

The second bird made it a bit farther, and by now the fun was on.

Of course living on the farm and taking care of business round the place left little time for domestic chores, like painting the house, or replacing the screens on the gables where lots of sparrows like to make nests..

You can probably see where I am going with this.. Bird number three turned into a flaming Laws rocket and headed right to the nest with his ass on fire.. And of course when he landed he caught the nest, and three just like it on fire.. Which in two minutes turned into a hell of a blaze as the tar paper behind the siding ignited..

Long story short, a fourteen year old boy cannot get water out of a well fast enough to put out a house fire..

Of course about that time his Mom in the living room was starting to smell roasted sparrow..

The fire department was soon dispatched, and after about thirty minutes they had the fire out, without doing too much damage to the house..

His mom picked out a nice dark blue paint for the new siding.. About the same color of my buddies ass for the next ten days..

There is some more cause and effect for you.. The cause was he wanted to see fireworks.. But the effect was more, and less than he had envisioned..

See you on the water!

August 9, 2012: There are a few clouds around, and there have been some spotty showers to our east the last few days, but no rain has fallen on our roofs lately. The tip of Texas is getting a good soaking from the very tip of Hurricane Ernesto.. But if we get more than a shower we will be lucky.. It has hammered Mexico pretty good. I hear that the Border Patrol is taking credit for keeping another Central American out of the country..

The African coast is starting to spit the tropical waves out pretty regular, so maybe we will get lucky one of these days.. We are right at forty feet low..

I launched off the ramp on the point yesterday and today, and that ramp is the best one we have on the lake. Although no one else has used it yet. I did not fish today, but yesterday I had a good day, at least compared to what I have been having. Of course you have to remember that I fish for fun, and if they ain't biting what I am throwin, I go to the house.

I fished about four hours and the fish actually decided to bite where I was fishing. And while I did not catch a bunch of fish, the ones I caught were nice ones, from four to five pounds, and I had the biggest fish I have seen in a while throw the crankbait at me about five feet from the boat. She was right at DD size, but I did not get a lot of time to visually weigh her.. But she was a Rosie.. But damn hard to prove without pictures..

I also caught some nice fish flipping some big hardwoods in about ten feet of water. You gotta be near a creek channel or a drop off.. Or the numbers go down dramatically.

I have a high school buddy coming to fish Saturday, so I have been out trying to find something new that we can catch some fish on. And I got a few ideas.

Overall the fishing is still fair by Falcon standards. Not great, but not terrible. And like always we heard from some folks that they did well, while others struggled. And that happens most days of the year.

Big crankbaits and soft plastics are still the most popular baits with the fishermen.. And the fish.

I try to be fair and honest in everything I do and write, and I may need to apologize to the president.

And I think a lot of other folks may have gotten his Gist wrong as well..

Of course I am talking about his "You didn't build it" speech.

Because after giving it a good thinkover, I have come to realize that he was talking to his base, not you and me..

And he was certainly right. His base didn't build it..

They're too busy sittin on the porch trying to think up new ways to get by without working, and how to get more money from the government.. (Me and You..)

And he seems all too happy to oblige..

And as long as republicans keep signing the front of the checks, and the democrats keep signing the backs, I am not sure how things are going to change.

I also hear that the US government has applied to be recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.

What category you ask?

The animal with the most nipples.. Cause we have more people sucking the tit than ever before.. Sooner or later the milk has to stop flowing.. Either that or the cow dies..

I guess they have never considered cause and effect..

Which reminds me of a cause and effect story that I was a part of back in the late seventies, before I was married.

I had a roommate and we lived in a trailer house. And it had those trailer house toilets.. And after a while I couldn't stand it anymore. So I went to Builders Square, the predecessor of Home Depot and Lowe's.

And when I got to the plumbing department, I was greeted by a good looking, mid thirties lady with an apron on that said "Pluming Department Manager". It was the seventies after all and the women had already been liberated..

In any case I asked her if there was a man working in the plumbing department. She got a little insulted and insisted that she could help me, and she asked what I was looking for.

"A toilet," I said. "And it has to be a tall one with a lot of room between the top of the bowl and the water." She seemed puzzled but led me to the isle of toilets and I proceeded to "test sit" a few of them.

She was getting a little put out and finally blurted out "Why are you so particular about which toilet you buy?"

"Because I am tired of Mr. Wiggly getting his head wet every time I sit down to read the paper," I said.

She turned beet red and helped me get my choice in my cart. And then she said in the kindest of voices, "You know, we have a few more toilets in the back if you'd like to see them."

It sounded kind of strange, but off we went to the store room to check out a few more bowls..

But after we got thru those double swinging doors the mood changed. It's amazing what some good halide lighting can do to provide a romantic glow..

Fact is that she did not have any more toilets in storage, and she just wanted to see Mr. Wiggly.. Well you can guess the rest..

I'd go to the Builders Square plumbing department every Tuesday morning for the next two months.. Once you have made love on a pallet of PVC pipe it is hard to quit.

It all came to an end one day when her husband caught us doing some pipework in the back room. I had no idea he was the manager of the Power Tool Department..

He chased me out of the store with an 18 volt cordless skillsaw, with the Plumbing Department Manager running right behind.. All I can remember is her screaming "Don't cut off Mr. Wiggly! Don't cut off Mr. Wiggly!"

A while later I heard that she ended up getting a divorce over the ordeal.. Like Tom T. Hall said, "Lady, if your married wear that ring!"

So there is your cause and effect.. I needed a toilet... And a lady got divorced..

See how complicated things get....

August 7, 2012: I hit the water yesterday morning for a couple of hours, and had a better trip than I have had lately. But mostly, I just wanted to see if the boat would still float. It had been a while since I got it wet.

I started out on a rock ridge near the main river channel, and caught a six that should have been a nine.. Definitely not a Rosie.. More of an Ellen.. And there seems to be a lot of big headed, skinny bodied fish showing up the last few months.. I can't imagine why.. There is bait everywhere..

I caught a few more there, and missed a few, but it is a spot that holds some promise for sure.. Back in the day when the lake was at this level I murdered em there.. And hope to again..

I caught a few on a DD-22, but felt like I had to throw a big fluke on the spot as well. I got bit on both.

I also caught some decent fish, in the three to four pound range on some deep hardwoods near the Veleno on the Texas side, of all things. Not a killer trip, but surely enjoyable. I'd of stayed longer but I had a taco and some green hot sauce that were giving me trouble, so I had to get back to deal with that..

The county ramp is still working fine, although it is a bit flat. The secondary ramp at the county launch is now useable, and it has great slope and is two points to the west of the main ramp. I checked it out yesterday and it is good to go. There is a rock ridge just to the east of the ramp, right along side it, so do not try and beach your boat there. There is also plenty of parking down there on the point, but the road to the area is a bit bumpy.. But certainly passable.. Here's what it looks like..

There have also been some good fish caught as of late, and here's a few pics that I have failed to post in the last week or so..

Here's a double caught by Wade Knight and Stanley Green.

Randy Lamb caught his first DD a week or so ago..

And Shawn caught this whopper as well..

The Coast Guard is still here wasting our tax dollars, and annoying the hell out of a lot of fishermen. I was just talking to a fellow who has been checked, and inspected each time, four times in the last five days. Twice in the same day by the same guys.. And he has a wrapped boat so it can't be an accident..

And it doesn't matter if you have your two day old inspection papers from the last go round..

This is a disservice to American citizens and is nothing short of harassment..

It is what is known as a boondoggle..

I hear they are going to be here for a couple more weeks.. Oh Boy..

On a lighter note, the fish might just be starting to bite a bit better.. We'll see.

August 4, 2012: It has been kind of hard lately not to sound redundant when it comes to the local fishing report. And as of today not a lot has changed.

I have been back in the store long enough to hear a lot of reports, and most of them sound like the ones I heard before I left..

I talked with a couple of local guides, and their stories sound like carbon copies.. Whack em three days out of six, but struggle the other three. Consistency has been inconsistent..

I did talk to one group in particular, that said this was the best trip of their lives. They said they whacked em on deep crankbaits off ledges, near creek channels. And I know a few others have done well also.. But it is certainly not everyone.

If there is a bright spot, it has certainly been the crankbait bite.. Or at least that is the consensus that I have compiled, listening to both the guides and the common man.. And I am surely as common as any one around.

I have not slid the boat off the trailer in two weeks to the day, as I have had a lot of irons in the fire, and I was trying to be a good boy and hang around the store in advent of my hunting trip. No good deed ever goes unpunished I hear.

If you have fished the north end of Falcon lately, you have certainly seen the Armada of boats in the hardwoods across from the Veleno to the mouth of the Salado. And there was certainly a good reason for the fleet to be there. In a two month period, that forest put out literally thousands of fish. And if you were flipping the trees, it was like an all day orgasm.

And while this forest fire has been 90% contained, there are still a few flames in there, and some smoldering still exists.

People who are still catching fish out of there have changed tactics and baits some, as these fish have seen every brush hog and flipping jig ever devised. Going smaller has worked pretty well. And soaking a bait on the base of the trees will still get you bit.

Another tactic that has produced is a mid depth crankbait, like a DD-14 cast over the tree, and retrieved right up against the wood, and rattled around. Sometimes you gotta knock on the door if they don't want to meet you in the front yard.

In the mid lake and to the south, a Carolina rig dragged off the long rock points, and SLOWLY retrieved has been reported to be a good way to get bit. Lots of small fish in the mix. And a small bait like a lizard in W/M Red Magic has been a good choice. Or a fluke, not in the large variety.

The Rip-Rap on the dam has never stopped putting out the fish, although the results from day to day have been sporadic. There are several rocky points that jut out from the dam itself that can have fish on them. And while they are subtle, they can be a magnet. I am not sure why these are there.. Maybe an errant truckload of rocks from a dump truck during the dam construction.. Or maybe those truck drivers were fishermen too..

Very early in the morning, you can catch some fish on a buzzbait or a popper. On any rocky point and I have also heard that there are some fish hitting topwaters on the dam as well. After the sun hits the water this slows dramatically.

And as forest Gump would say, "That's all I'm gonna say about that.."

Cause that is all I know about the fishing.

Next time I get out I am going to hit nothing but big hardwoods as near to the river channel that I can find. With a crankbait.. And odds are that I won't come back with all of em I left with.

The water level is down to 262.64, or 38.56 feet low. The county ramp is still working fine, although it is a bit flat. It will narrow to one lane in the near future if things continue as they are. And it will turn to the right if memory serves.

It was just two years ago that we were about eight feet overfull, and Amistad was as well. What on earth could they have done with these millions of acre feet of water in two years. It is absolutely the most wasteful thing I have ever seen. Amistad is 25 plus feet low, by the way.. You guys up north quit bitchin about the core.. They can't hold a light to the mismanagement down here..

Now that I have been informed that I have not built this business by our president, I figure I need to step back and take another look at our business practices. I guess that working seventy to eighty hours a week and tying up every dime we had, had nothing to do with it. And maybe we should just sit back and let "somebody else" do the building.

I am not sure if that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.. But it has to be close.

There were stores and buildings all over this country long before the government ever started to rob its people so they could build our businesses for us. What a crock of shit.. (In five years of writing this report, that is the first time I have ever used the word shit.) I apologize..

I see that the radical left homosexuals are all mad at "Eat More Chickin." Just because a person has a different view on whether a man should probe another mans anus with his penis.. I just don't get it.. You like eatin each other but not chicken.. Maybe it has something to do with the sauce..

Anyway.. Did you get to see the American gymnast chicks kick the Russians ass? It was awesome.

And I will have to apologize to the networks, because last night I saw some shot puttin.. Thirty seconds or so but it was fabulous.. Those guys not only have steel balls, but they can throw them seventy feet.. That is also awesome..

And don't be raggin' on me likin' to watch the shot put.. I had to watch three hours and twenty five miles of a bicycle race.. Now that's entertainment..

I was in a bike race once.. Well twice.. One time I was on my Schwynn and this big freakin rotwhiller was trying to remove my feet.. Starting at the waist.. I couldn't outrun that bastard.. I slammed on the brakes, did a bike version of a Cop 180, and kicked him in the balls.. Jimmy, One. Rover, Zero.. That means I took the the gold..

The other time I was in a bike race, I just couldn't break out of the second pack.. Someone in the front pack had been to Taco Bell the night before and every time I would get close this flamethrower would nock me pretty near off the bike.. So that was the end of my biking career. I hated all those shaving cuts on my legs anyway..

I have a lot more stuff to talk about.. But I gotta get back to work..

Nothing would make me happier than seeing you on the water. Well.. Unless they found a suicide note in the oval office..

August 3, 2012: I woke up this morning in Zapata, and thought the same thing that Osamma Bin Laden thought when he woke up in hell..

"I'm not supposed to be here.."

And while that murderin' Son of a Bitch was expecting seventy two virgins, I was expecting seventy two thousand doves..

I guess by now you figured out that I am not in Argentina.. But it wasn't for lack of trying..

And I'll have to admit that I am a bit disappointed to not make a trip that I have planned for a year.. Or at least not all of it.

If you live around San Antonio, or anywhere in the area, I am sure you heard of the bomb threat at the airport on Wednesday afternoon. Guess who was already thru security, sitting in an airport bar, and drinking Shiner Bock waiting to get on a plane.. That would be me and three of my friends..

And when the order came to evacuate the airport, I was sure one of my buddies put the staff up to it..

No such luck..

They moved us in and out of the terminal a few times, and it was a lot of fun standing outside in 103° heat with a thousand or so of our closest friends..

After a couple of hours of playing musical terminals, they let us back inside.. Hell of a stampede to the bathrooms. Anyway, after going thru security again, we got to our gate, and finally on a plane to Atlanta..

Some two and a half hours late..

I still had some optimism as to our ability to catch our connecting flight to Buenos Aires. And we disembarked twenty yards from the gate where the flight to BA was. The only bad thing was that there was no plane there..

I was not a happy camper.. And neither were my travel mates..

Long story short, we spent several hours trying to arrange travel to Argentina via everything from a pack mule to a freighter.. And several scenarios emerged.. Including flying to Rio De Janeiro and on to Buenos Aires.. And from Atlanta to New York and then a non-stop to Buenos Aires.

But the deeper we dug, the worse it got and we could not get all of us to the same place at the same time.. And the flights the the next two nights were all booked up.. Some time in the middle of the night I told them to give me a ticket on the next thing smokin' back to San Antonio..

So I drove back to Zapata yesterday evening in a very bad mood..

I fly once or twice a year.. Maybe.. And the first time in history they shut the SA airport down, guess who was there ready to go on vacation..

I am sure there was someone at home fondling their package watching the helicopters flying around on TV.. That SOB needs to be shot..

And every law enforcement officer from Barney Fife to J. Edgar Hoover was there.. And those guys do not have much of a sense of humor either..

What the hell are you gonna do..

Fishing remains about the same as it has been for a few weeks.. Spotty.. Will post a bona fide fishing report tomorrow.. If these slits on my wrists heal...

July 28, 2012: The wind is not too bad this morning.. But it is early..

So-So results have been reported over the last few days, and I am going to say that the fishing on Falcon is the slowest I have seen it in a while.. I promised to tell the truth..

I am not saying that the fishing sucks.. But it is certainly not what we are used to.

Three men in a boat have been catching twenty to thirty fish on average, and that is putting in a long day. Certainly not what we are used to.

There have been exceptions to the rule.. Going smaller seems to be working best, and some shakey head or wacky rigged stuff is catching some fish. Not your typical Falcon arsenal..

Bigger fish are still coming on jigs, and deep diving crankbaits, on rocks with some depth change. Of course this is Falcon and you could catch a monster anywhere at any time.. With anything..

In my last post I talked a little bit about solar energy, and I got a few e-mails on the subject. And I learned a bit about it as well.. Still haven't changed my opinion on it.. And probably won't till we figure out how to store Alternating Current..

But I think I have figured out a great use for some solar panels..

Being we have a country full of idiots on House Arrest, and ankle monitors don't seem to do much to keep em at home, let's introduce a new product that will be called "Stay at Home Solar."

Here is how it will work.

We will surgically attach a 1.21 gigawatt solar panel to the perps head. And run a wire down his back, thru the crack of his ass, and attach the leads to his nads.. Then every time he goes outside his nuts will go to rattlin' like some Mexican Jumpin' Beans and "Zappo!" back in the house he'll go.. No more crime from this social misfit.. Would probably stimulate the economy some too, cause they will need to start buying Depends, cause when that 1.21 hits em they are gonna crap their pants..

I think if would work on women too, with the help of some of them nipple clips that Larry the Cable Guy is always talking about..

I had a girlfriend once that had a solar powered vibrator.. She got horny every time the sun came out.. But it wasn't quite as good you might think.. She lived in Seattle..

There have been a few successful solar powered items that have already hit the market.. But many were fads that faded away.

How about the Solar powered tea maker.. It looked a lot like a gallon jar with some tea bags hanging in it that was set out in the sun.. But somebody made millions..

"You've got to try our new solar tea maker! You just pay $19.95 plus shipping and Handling.. But wait! Order today and we'll include an extra tea maker. Just pay for additional Shipping and Handling.."

And how about the original solar powered clothes dryer.. I think is was called a clothes line.. Now we throw them in the dryer, and add some Downy.. So they smell like they were dried in the sun.. Double waste of money..

But you know that technology breeds technology.. Those clothes pins led to a modern invention we talked about earlier... Yep.. Nipple Clips..

And how bout some anti solar inventions.. Like a tanning booth.. Get naked and lay under some mega electricity sucking light bulbs.. This invention also led to a lot less use of knotholes in your privacy fences..

Or grow lights.. A lot of Pot Growers have been busted because someone looked at their light bills..

Yes there are a lot of uses for sunlight.. A day without photosynthesis is like a day without sunshine..

If you live near a beach or lake, sunshine has probably played a big part in your local economy..

Let's look at one example.. Bikini sales are at an all time high.. The use of smaller and smaller amounts of fabric is also a good thing. Let's all try and save where we can.. We only have one planet you know..

I am getting a little punchy around here, in anticipation of my dove hunting trip.. I am only here physically..

July 26, 2012: The wind has been beating on us the last three days, and we have a little more in store for the next couple it seems. And hot it is as we reached 103 yesterday.. But it could be worse.. I just prefer not to think about it.

The lake is still falling slowly, and we are down to 263.94, or 37.26 feet low. That is six inches lower than we were a week ago. As of yesterday, we were releasing 1725 CFS, and Amistad is releasing 1236 CFS. It has been that way for a few weeks, with Falcon releasing more on some days when they are really generating.. If you are wondering, the last time we were this low was in early May of 2003.

This slow fall, if you can call it that,is pretty typical for mid summer..

The fishing is still in the same state it has been in for the last couple of weeks. Some doing very well, and some struggling. It is not "Knock em' out John." I'll rate it at a six on the one to ten scale..

If there have been any changes, it is with the deep bite. We are hearing more and more about deep rocks producing fish. Not every rock feature has fish on it, but some do. Deep rock piles from the Tigers south have started to put out a few fish. With some quality mixed in. But for Falcon standards, it has been pretty tough.

A cooling trend could not hurt us.. But October is a ways off.

But even if the fishing doesn't keep us entertained, the Presidential election and the Olympics should for a while.

And I was wondering, as I often do, how many people in the US have not made up their mind on who they are going to vote for this November. Can it really be that many? It appears that the country is about as polarized as it can get. In any case I just wish the elections were tomorrow, so we can get this stuff behind us.

I am sure that everyone thinks that I keep Fox News streaming into my brain 24-7. But lately I have been watching a lot of the other side of the news. Just to see what the other side is saying. And you'd think the we were living in two different countrys. I guess we are..

And while the rhetoric remains basically the same on both sides, when it comes to politics, one thing has stuck out at me. And let's just take two examples. Fox news, which according to most has a right leaning slant, talks about Obamma plenty. But they still report the news, and talk about other stories.

CNBC, on the other hand, seems to devote their entire evening lineup to bashing the Republicans. Romney of course is their focal point. They're pissed that he made a lot of money, and a lot of it outside the USA.

At least he is from the USA..

But it sounds like Romney made some sound business decisions, and he knows how to run a company, or companies profitably. And this country needs to take a look at a budget that is printed in black, not red.

How can the government preach responsible spending by individuals, and have total disregard for the national debt, that has exploded under the current administration.

If you want to put Americans back to work, at least those who actually want to work, then there are some steps that need to be taken to help out the rich guys.. Yes the ones that actually will employ people here in the US. Penalizing them for being successful is is just plain stupid.

Where's the incentive to expand, hire people, inject money into the economy, and shoulder all the risk, if you are going to get rewarded with more and higher taxes, if you do succeed. And along the way expanding all the employee benefits.

I realize that there are people out there that are out of work, through no fault of their own. And I know it is tough times. And I know how helpless a feeling it can be. But getting through tough times is something that America is the best in the world at.

I was always just glad to have a job. And I never expected more than a paycheck.. What I did with the money I made was up to me. Whether I spent it on medical insurance, or on fishing tackle.

Of course I always busted my ass, wherever I was working.. And still do today. And being my work ethic was what it was, I always found myself in demand.

We also need to level the playing field for the competition.. Start putting some tariffs on the foreign importers that sell their products in America. Just like they do on us. Where the hell else are they going to sell their lead infested crap..

And release the choke hold that the unions have on some of our biggest manufacturers and service providers.

Turn the oil companies loose here in the US. We have more oil and gas than we can use here on our own soil.

This is a proven technology that we are already using. And it is getting cleaner all the time. Cars and trucks are getting better mileage all the time. What the government doesn't tell you is that they hate to see the shrinking dollar amount collected on fuel taxes, due to improved mileage of most vehicles. I understand that there are several cars in Europe that get sixty to seventy five miles per gallon.. But they can't be imported here. Because of Government regulations.

And the government, along with a lot of individuals, get mad because oil companies make eight to twenty cents on a gallon of gas, while they (State and Federal) take a national average of 48.9 cents per gallon without lifting a finger.. More for diesel. Who's robbing who..

I love the idea of solar energy. But it is so far from being cost effective that the only ones that can afford it are the Government, and individuals that will probably never see a return on their investment. But they have gone Green...

And I love to see the Companys buildings that were given your dollars by the government.. Like Solyndra.. What an architects dream.. Seems that if you were at all worried about the bottom line, you could start out with a good metal building.. You can get fancy and frivolous when you are rolling in it.. But I guess it is hard to impress anyone if you have a metal building..

Hell.. We're in a metal building.. Look how fancy we are..

And talk about an Architects dream.. Have you looked at any of the hundreds of new schools across the state of Texas.. Talk about waste.. A school does not need to look like the Taj-Ma hal to educate kids..

Government in education.. There's another one we can get into..

But not today. I am sure I will be busy enough responding to the e-mails from people I have already pissed off..

Six more days till I am out of here for a while.. If I haven't been put on the no fly list.. I'll try and piss a bunch of liberals off right before I leave.. And let Tommy handle the calls..

July 23, 2012: It was a pretty nice weekend to fish here at Falcon. The wind blew a little, but not enough to keep anybody off the lake. As a matter of fact, there were a lot of folks on the water this weekend.

There were three San Antonio Bass Clubs in town, and all of them were fishing a three fish format. Elite, Helotes, and Rebel all fished the pond. There was also a group from Laredo that fish once a month or so here this weekend.

Results were similar for all the clubs, with about a fifteen pound sack being a good one for three fish. There were not a lot of giants caught I hear. I will post results on the tourney page when I get the final weights.

Hardwoods produced most of the fish for most of the fishermen.. Square bills and flipping baits were best.. Sounds like more off the same.

The bridge in the Veleno is finally marked well, just about the time it is level with the top of the water. Better late than never. Thanks to the powers that be that got it done. But there will be a bunch of aluminum and Stainless that hits the recycle bin courtesy of the old bridge.

Note bridge rails just under the surface..

There are still a few whoppers being caught, and some folks caught their personal best this past week. We'll start with the ladies. Well. Lady. And a young lady at that.

Makayala caught this 9.7.. Which replaced her 9-3 from earlier in the day.. She should look happier..

Tom Goin, who you saw here a few weeks ago, caught another DD with this 10-3.

And Justin Royal caught this 10.99 flippin the trees.

The tournament schedule for August is slim.. Or basically non existent. And that is probably a good thing. Bout the middle of September things really start picking up.

The heat has not scared too many people off this summer. And while it is nothing like the spring, we have seen a pretty steady stream of fishermen so far. This week we are supposed to be back in the 100's after taking a couple of weeks of less than average temperatures.

It does not hurt too bad to fish till one or so, but when it gets to that 105 by two o'clock it gets pretty brutal. It has not kept some folks off the water for sure..

In about ten days, Lord willing, I am headed to the southern hemisphere where winter still has its icy grip on the landscape. Well.. Maybe not icy.. Lows in the forties and highs around seventy is my kind of winter.. Just about like round here. It does get cold when the doves block out the sun though.. So I am going to try and help warm the countryside by letting more sun hit the ground. Along with a few thousand birds.

Mentally I am already gone.. So please excuse any lapses in my ability to function around here this week..

Fishing is a little spotty. But you can still catch em pretty good if you put your mind to it.. But it is a little slower than it has been for the last month. Or at least that is the way it appears to me..

See you on the water..

July 20, 2012: We have had an interesting weather week around here, with rain all around, but none here at the shop. Wind, we got, off a few storms, and some of it was really bad.. But it lasted only for the duration of the storms. But stormy weather is out of the picture for the near future..

And heat is back in the forecast.

The lake is essentially thirty seven feet low, and we continue our slow drop on a daily basis. I crossed the river in Roma yesterday, and there was a good current flowing down the river.. What they're doing with it I do not know..

Nothing has changed here on Falcon.. Still fish biting.. Still shallow.. Still in the woods or on shallow rocks. This fishing report is getting a little stale.. It has not changed in a month.. Or more.. There are a few reports of folks catching deep fish.. But damn few..

Shallow rock piles have also put out some fish, and some pretty good ones as well.

Bait selection has been a no-brainer as well.. Your favorite flippin bait will catch em. And so will a spinner or a square bill. Same old Same old..

I was over at Sugar for a couple of days, but found the fishing to be slow.. But the eating and drinking were good. I was putting some salt on the Tecates and I guess it made me sleepy, so the nap taking was not bad either.. But the fishing was less than stellar.. No whoppers..

The Coast Guard is back in town, and they stopped by the store to visit while I was away. But Tommy says they are a Kinder, Gentler, Coast Guard than before and do not mean to harass anyone. So if you come to Falcon, be prepared to be boarded. Oh Boy..

I already got my civil rights violated yesterday coming back from Mexico.. And going in to it the day before.. Not by the Mexicans.. It took them a half hour to let us back in.. I wasn't in a hurry so it didn't bother me too much.. I almost drove back across the bridge to have em check me again.. Just to freak em out.. But I wanted a Whataburger..

I know a lot of these customs agents are new to the area.. And I think the one we had was new to America.. But if you are going to work somewhere you'd think that you might look at a map of the area. Especially if you are going to ask where you are headed.. And where do you live.. And what do you do for a living..

I find it hilarious that after I told them I was at Sugar lake, (and I was towing a boat,) that they asked me the purpose of my trip.. I told them the water skiing was just a lot better over there..

Sleep in peace.. You are being well guarded..

And of course I also heard of the deranged A-hole who killed a bunch of people in Colorado at the movie theatre. I can't believe he is still alive. If ever there was a need for a public hanging. Condolences out to all families that are touched by this insanity.

We'll see what excuses the media makes for this son of a bitch..

But hey! It's Friday..

Sorry.. That didn't work for me.. These events make me sick.. And I'm just not in the mood..

See you soon. Join me in praying for the families of the victims in Colorado..

July 17, 2012: It is still summer here in Zapata, but it has not been as bad as a lot of spots in the midwest and the central US as of late. Some of those Yankees are really getting some warm temps and it's something they are not used to.. Time to install some A/C folks..

We have had highs in the nineties the last week or so, with a couple of 100's mixed in here or there. But we have had some really nice rain showers in the afternoons on several days, and that has kept the high temps down. And we have a lot of moisture in the ground around here, and the chances for some more in the next few days.. We get these wet periods now and then, and it is a refreshing break for us..

The lake is still slowly dropping, and we are down to 264.62, or 36.58 feet low. That is down about 15/100ths since Friday.. And while that does not sound like much, it keeps adding up.

The bridge marking project in the Veleno got underway yesterday, and while I have not been out there to see it just yet, this is what I hear. They have marked some of the bridge, on the left side going out.. Or the east side if you prefer. I am not sure what the markers look like just yet, but I intend to get a pic today if possible and post it so you will know what to look for. Hopefully they will mark the bridge from one end to the other. I hear you can see the rails in the bottom of the troughs when it is a bit rough.

The fishing is still good, with the same patterns going that have been going for the last two months.. And the same question is asked by everyone every day.. Why are these fish so shallow? And why can't I catch em deep?

I am not sure of the answer to either one of these questions, but I know enough to go fishing where the fish are, not where I think they should be.. So I am pounding the shallows from here on out.. Because I just can't get anything going in the deeper water. And I am officially through trying.

And while I say shallow, I know that is a relative term. I am not fishing in any water in more than twelve feet deep any longer. I might sit in it and throw shallower.. But I ain't doing it on purpose..

Big hardwoods are still producing more fish than any other form of cover on the lake. Big hardwoods with some bushes mixed in is good or better. We have a few smaller bushes in the water for about another four feet, but after that it is going to be just big woods and rocks.

The fluke bite on some of these ledges has really come back on, and rocky points and shallow ledges are good places to throw one.. Or two.. Crankbaits you can plow the bottom with are working well also..

Of course flipping the trees is the numbers method right now.. What a coincidence..

I hear also that there is just about 20" of water in the cut going out of the state park ramp. So keep your motor trimmed up and and putt out to the end of the ditch before you drop the hammer on it.. I am not sure how long this ramp will remain in operation, but it can't be too much longer. And I am not sure if the park is making any plans to adapt a point down there into a boat ramp. I doubt it.. But in the past a lot of folks have launched off the gravel on several of the points out toward the lake. Four wheel drive is a good thing to have if you decide to give it a go.. We'll see what happens.

I don't see why the IWBC can't give us a few feet of water just to keep our ramps working.. And to keep some hazards out of play.. But I guess that is not a concern to them. No surprise..

The other day I was talking about signs of the Apocalypse, and I saw another one yesterday. I actually have to agree with Harry Reid on something..

All of the uniforms for the olympic athletes, besides being queer looking, have been made in China. And Dirty Harry said that we should pile em up and burn em.. That's the first smart thing I have ever heard him say. The US olympic uniforms should certainly be made in the US.. But whattya gonna do.. "Go World.."

And now the Chinese are pissed off at Reid.. Screw the Chinese.. And screw their lead infested cheap ass products. I can't believe that people are so naive to think that a $2, made in China POS, is going to last as long as the same product made in the US that costs $6.. You pay a little more, but you won't be throwing it in the trash in a few days.. Buy American! And keep Americans working.. (I know it ain't always easy.)

The political commercials on TV are getting into full swing, and it looks like the Dimocrats think they have a chance to carry Texas in the Presidential election. At least I reckon that they think they can cause they are spending a lot of money on commercials. I wonder how many millions of dollars are spent on campaign commercials on TV.. How much is spent on the internet?

For whatever reason I still have AOHell as a ISP after all these years, and they have more Pop-Ups than Charlie Scheen.. And a lot of them are commercials for Obamma.. "Click on the link to show your Support!" "Join Barock and Michelle to make a difference!" "Click here to join us!"

And you thought those Columbian Hookers asked for a lot of money..

It's fixin to get ugly folks..

I think I will just skip TV for the next few months and watch "Tombstone" every night. Maybe mix in "Pulp Fiction" and and some original "Star Trek" every now and then..

Seeing Curly Bill, The Gorn, and Zed getting their asses kicked is always good entertainment..

There are still some good fish being caught, in spite of the heat and the falling water.. Or maybe because of it.. Here's a couple from last week..

Bob Preissig caught this 10-6.

And Clarissa Islas caught this 10-9 over the weekend..

Lots of good fish have come off the dam as of late.. And some good ones as well..

Not a lot going on around here.. So beat the crowds and get down here.. It's probably cooler than where you live!

July 13, 2012: It has only been three months since we had a Friday the thirteenth, but here we are with another one.. Must have something to do with the world coming to an end this year that did it.. According to the Mayans we only have about five more months of the world as we know it.. Oh wait a minute.. The Mayans really didn't say that.. It is just that someone back then dog-eared a stone tablet and somebody took it to say that the sky will be falling..

But don't worry.. Those of us that don't lend any credibility to this stuff will be survived by the hoarders.. Those that have piled up provisions to take em thru the hard times.. And we'll be standing here with egg on our faces.. Wait a minute.. No we won't..

And here's another sign that the Apocalypse is near.. On Monday, the IWBC is actually going to put some buoys on the old bridge in the Veleno.. That should be about the time it is coming out of the water.

BTW.. Some jackasses took my jug away from the end of the bridge again.. I give up.. Stay to the right..

I can't tell you how many people have already hit the damn thing. Thanks to all of you who called and e-mailed the authorities about this danger.. That's what made it happen..

The lake is sitting at 264.75, down .52 feet in the last week, and that is 36.27 feet low.

What is also down is the surface temperature. I am seeing more water in the eighty five and six range than the ninety I was seeing ten days ago.. Clouds and rain and highs in the upper eighties and low nineties have made a difference.. But the sun is out today and it is a muggy one.. And there are a few storms to the east of us.. We'll see what happens. And we have had no rain that will make the lake level rise.

But we are getting closer to one every day.

Shallow fish are still dominating the action, with flippers and spinnerbait chunkers catching the lions share of the fish. Crankbaits over rocky stuff will also get you bit.. Sometimes a lot..

But not a lot has changed since my last post when it comes to the fishing. Looks like this years summer pattern is not going to change.. We have all been waiting for the big fish to bunch up out on deep ledges and rocky humps.. But maybe they are just not going to.

I was throwing a spinnerbait in the Diablo a couple of days ago, and I just can't believe the amount of bait in the shallows. Ten square yards of shad would erupt every time the bait hit within ten feet of the bank. And it ain't just the Diablo where the shad are stacked. I caught a few in there, but it is hard to get bit when you have so much competition. I can't see how it can be too hard for a bass to get a belly full..

Bob Kelly got a new PB this week, with this 11.2. He also had a 10.4 the day before..

There have been a lot of good quality fish caught as of late, with lots of seven to nine pounders coming from the trees. If you like flippin, and who don't, you better get down here..

July 10, 2012: OK boys and girls.. One last time.. Due to the high number of instances of people hitting the bridge in the Veleno, I have made one last effort to mark a safe path by the bridge.

When you leave the county ramp, on your way out of the Veleno, you go past the point on your left, just across the cove from the ramp. Continue to the west till you are paralleling the brush line. The orange flagging material is still on the tree near the bank, and to the left of it about twenty five yards is a purple floating jug. This jug is right on top of the old road bed, and the water there is about four feet deep.(actual)

You can drive right beside this jug at present with no problems. (As long as some jack leg doesn't move it.) The bridge is out a bit to the center of the creek, but not too far. This should serve to get us by till we can actually see the top of the bridge rails. And when that happens I'll move the jug to the end of the bridge. (west end)

There have been several people do serious damage to their rigs. You may want to idle by this area the first time you go by to get your bearings.

The water in the river has cleared up quite a bit, as all the creeks above the lake have quit running.

If you are planning on running up the river past the Salado, be aware that there is only about three feet of water in the deepest part of the river channel when you get close to the Hedieona. Any motoring above the old concrete pilings in the river should be done with extreme caution.. I am not saying there are no fish in this area.. Just be careful if you head that way.

Running down the lake is still fine, just be on the lookout for the occasional tree out in the middle of nowhere if you meander out of the river channel. If it has been a while since you have been here, it is a good idea to run the river channel on your graph till you get comfortable with where you are going.

Fishing is still good, or better depending on who you ask. Flipping the hardwoods along the river channel is still producing a lot of fish. A spinner bait is still catching them as well, and I hear the buzzbait bite has been decent the last few days. Shallow. Near rocks.. Like always..

Finding consistent deep fish has been fairly impossible here lately, with very sporadic results. Seems that all the fish are near shallow water, even if they are not in it.. But they ain't far off.

Don't be afraid to stir up some mud and rocks with the trolling motor.. Chunk it at the bank.. Or on it..

If you have a brand new 21 foot Hogmaster, this is a tough time for you.. You will have to put a scratch or two on it to get to where a lot of the fish are. I am having this same problem myself, as several sixty year old Huisaches have introduced themselves to my new rig.. But we didn't buy it so we can sit and look at it.. You gotta get in there amongst em!

I also hear that crankbaits along the dam have been catching a lot of fish. And I also hear that the meat brigade has been there a lot on weekends, trolling up and down the rocks, and throwing them all in a box..

And the reason they are generating at the dam so much is that they need electricity for the fillet knives..

Richard Bacon caught this 10-6 over the weekend.

Rosie style!

And John Immel caught this 11-6 yesterday, This fish was 30.5 inches long.

There have been a bunch of good fish caught..

The Olympics are just around the corner, and I for one can't wait.. For them to be over..

But don't get me wrong, I love the sporting events. What I hate is the commercials.. And the commercials inside the commercials.. Reminds me of NASCAR.. Or Bass Fishing..

And why do we have to see a Bio on every dope smoking skateboard rider in the competition. I don't care if his cousin taught him to slide down a mountain on a corn scoop. Or that his sister won the pie eatin' contest at the state fair.

Just show me some swimming, some jumping, some hitting, some running, and some brute strength, from both sexes..

But I bet you won't see any ping pong, skeet shooting, or Javelin chunkin.. Not to speak of the hammer throw.. Maybe some discus..

Why were all those Greek statues of Discus throwers naked.. How could you concentrate on spinning the disc with your junk flappin every which way..

That's not the way we did it in Texas when I was a kid. (I was the district champion when I was in the eighth grade.. Then the rest of the kids grew up and kicked my ass in High School.)

And I am glad to see that the US Postal Service is once again a proud sponsor of the Olympics. They have plenty of money to throw around.

I have plenty of issues with the postal service.. Here's the latest.. I was mailing a couple thousand dollars worth of rods and reels to a customer, and they asked if I wanted insurance.. I told them no, I wanted assurance.. Assurance that they would not loose or damage my packages. And that they would end up at the address that I picked out. I'm paying you to move them for me, from one spot to another. Not for anything else.. I found out that they do not offer assurance..

So I asked if they got treated better if I bought insurance.. I would hate it if a customer received a Curado with a bruised Psyche..

No.. Huh.. We'll let me see.. You want eighteen dollars from ME to guarantee that YOU will replace or repay me for my lost or damaged merchandise..

Seems to ME, that YOU, should be buying the freaking insurance, since you are the one that is handling my packages.. And are at risk of loosing them..

Of course I paid for the non-assured insurance.. What the hell else are you going to do..

Fortunately they made it to the customer.. But I did hear that there were some tear stains on a few cork handles..

And of course Visa is again a proud sponsor of the olympics. If you start charging a lot of crap on your card, you'll probably win tickets to the olympics for life.. There's a lottery ticket for you..

I understand that Visa has spread its cancer across the globe, but wouldn't you think that the Visa commercials in the US should say "Go USA" versus "Go World?"

Screw the rest of the world. They all hate us anyway..

If FLT was a proud sponsor of the US Olympic team, Our slogan would be "Go USA.. Go kick the rest of the worlds ass!"

Is there going to be soccer...errr.. Football at the olympics?? I bet the Euros are already at home making up those baggies full of urine and fecal excrement to throw at the other team and their fans.. What's the over/under on a full scale riot before, during, or after a game.. "It's the passion of the game!" that gets these fans out of control.. Yeah.. Or maybe they're idiots..

Yeah it is a lot of fun to watch three hours of a zero zero tie.. Like usual.. Why don't they just have one of them kick off thingys instead of the game and get it over with.. It is gonna happen anyway.. It would save a lot of time and be just as exciting..

But then a bunch of drunk Euros couldn't charge up a lot of beers on their Visa cards.. I guess there is a method to the madness..

Visa IS soccer.. And Ziplock.. And plastic noisemakers.. And Hand Sanitizer.. Well, maybe not hand sanitizer.. They are Euros..

I've gotta go polish my pole (vaulting stick.)

July 6, 2012: It was a lot slower this week than I expected around here, I reckon due to the 4th being on a Wednesday. Or maybe a lot of you boys and girls used up a bunch of your vacation days already. We missed a four day weekend by one day.. Whattya gonna do.. I heard that they were going to add one second to the year here in 2012.. Something about clocks, earths orbit, planetary shift, Klingons, and warp drives.. If they can do that they should be able to get all the National holidays within one day of a weekend..

And it's good for the economy.. If you want people to spend money, give them some time off.. Works on me every time.

I got out for a few hours this morning, and most of the places I like to fish on the north end of the lake are pretty muddy. There is still a lot of sediment in the main river channel, all the way down past the Diablo.. It starts clearing up when you get to marker nine, but looks a hell of a lot better at Marker seven. The water in the river just outside the Veleno looks like crap.. Protected pockets are clearer where the river has not pushed the mud past the mouths.

I poked around in the marker eight area, but did not get on anything to talk about till I got down to about marker seven..

Started this report on the 6th.. But now it is the 7th.. Co-Writeus interruptis.. Got busy around here yesterday afternoon..

It is Saturday morning, and there have been a lot of folks thru the shop. And reports from fishermen who hit the water yesterday were pretty good. The farther we get from this full moon the better the fishing should be.

The flipping bite is still good, and several groups I talked to said they caught a lot of good fish and a lot of small ones on rocky humps and points that are a bit out from the bank on the Texas side south of the Tigers. Mostly on soft plastics.

I have not been south of the Tigers in a few weeks. Guess I'll have to take a trip farther south this week.

In any case, it sounds like the fish are still cooperating.

See you on the water!

July 3, 2012: The temperatures around here are still bearable, with highs in the high nineties the last few days. And there has been a nice breeze to keep you cool. Some might call it wind. It has kept my boat in the shed the last few days. But there are lot of folks out there fighting it and catching them pretty good.

We have heard some stories of big sacks, and good numbers the last few days. But like always, not everybody has been whacking them.

The best pattern for numbers is surely still flipping the trees, or dragging a big white spinner bait thru the middle of em. There are some groups that have found some fish out in open water on humps and ledges.. Rocky, of course.. But they have been struggling with big waves and wet feet.

And deep cranks, jigs, and Carolina rigs are fetching the fish from the depths. The Spro DD Little John has been doing well, as have the Normans and the XD's..

And speaking of getting wet, last Saturday afternoon we had a storm blow up on top of us and sit here for about four hours. And while we did get 3.25" here at the shop, and more above and below the lake, the water we caught was negligible. And we are back to dropping again, about at the same pace as last week.

There were several fishermen who got caught out on the lake in the storm, and we heard some stories about huge waves, getting hailed on, and broken windshields and trolling motors.. It happens. It was one of those storms that we are famous for. Quicker than minute rice..

Fortunately, everyone made it back to the dock, with nothing broken but a couple of wallets..

Tomorrow is the Fourth Of July of course, and there are a few folks trickling into town. I am not really sure what to expect this weekend, but there will be some folks in town for sure.

And while you are cooking your dogs and burgers tomorrow, keep in mind those that have provided your independence for you, and maintained it. Thanks to all our servicemen, (and women) both past and present.

We owe you one..

And while I have not backed the truck up to the boat here lately, I did venture down to the boat ramp this morning, and took along a box of worms and a spinnin rod. The giant perch, (you may call em brem) are spawning along the rocky banks on the west side of the parking area. And I mean some whoppers. I caught several as big as your hand, and a bunch just right for eatin.. I kept ten, and I fried em up for lunch. I'm still miserable.. Now that's good eating.. I eat the fins like tater chips..

Hang on a second.. My cardiologist is on the phone..

There have been a bunch of good fish caught here lately, and a surprising number of them in shallow water.

Doug Fett, who guides occasionally here on Falcon, caught this 12 even flipping the trees.

And Roy caught this 10.36 out of some trees as well.

There have been a bunch of skinny fish caught this spring, but a lot of the bigger fish are fattening up quite a bit. There is also a small spawn going on as I write on this full moon. Bloody tailed fish that are about to bust have been reported by several guides and some fishermen. In very shallow water.

These Falcon fish are crazy.. And talk about pumped up.. The hot water has their blood flowing I guess, because these fish are trying to drag fishermen out of the boat.

For a reality check, I went to Amistad weekend before last for a club tournament. It was tough to say the least. Big fish for the weekend was under four pounds, and twenty two pounds and change won it. That's for ten fish.. I sure love me some Falcon.. Even I can catch em..

But like I said before, they surely have us beat when it comes to scenery.. And wildlife. And places to eat..

I was in a canyon up the Devils when I rounded a bend and came upon this group of what I think are Aoudad.. And they say Motor Guides are noisy..

I chased one of these son of a bitches for five miles up in The Caprock about fifteen years ago.. I swear these suckers can climb straight up a calving glacier..

Hope to see you down here this weekend.

Think I'll have me just one more perch..

June 29, 2012: The high temps have backed off a bit, and 100° doesn't even feel too bad. 110 is ten percent hotter than 100.. But when you are whackin the fish, you can put up with some heat.

The lake is still dropping slowly and we are down to 265.76 or 35.44 feet low. We have lost .86 feet in the last week. And if you look at your temperature meter, there are places where you can find 90° water.

And when you take a shower around here, you don't need to open the cold water valve very far.. If at all.

And the fish don't care if the Supreme Court has sold us out or not, they are still biting. Flipping is still putting the hurt on em, and spinnerbaits and square bills are still catching them as well.

I have heard a few more stories about some deeper fish, and deep cranks are catching some nice quality fish. But you will not get bit as often as you will in the trees..

That is about the end of the fishing report.. (Signal for liberals to sign off now..)

I have been sitting here trying to calculate what my fine will be if I don't buy my brother health insurance.. So far I have not found an equation in the 2000 page health care bill that nobody read before passing. Including our favorite Nancy Pelosi that said "We have to pass it so you can find out what's in it.."

That is the second stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life. How can anyone so ignorant get elected? And re-elected.. She is from California though.. And that explains a lot..

What's that?? What's the stupidest thing I have ever heard.. Well I have heard some good ones.. But this is the number one that will be hard to topple..

"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world, I hope you'll join with me as we try and change it..."

I don't have to tell you who uttered those words of brilliance.

But saying something stupid, and doing something stupid are two different things. And I can tell you that there are a lot of gullible folks out there.. They elected him..

Or Hell.. Maybe they're not.. Maybe they are getting just what they wanted..

And for those of you that think that all of this is Bush's fault, let me reiterate..

When The democratic congress was sworn in in January of 2007, the stock market was around 13,000, and employment was around 4.7%. Every quarter had a good increase in GDP. And the economy was pretty much kickin ass. And after Pelosi and Reed got control, they stifled every piece of legislation that would have kept us moving in the right direction. Idiots..

And what the dimocrats thought was a runaway deficit under Bush, Obamma has exploded like the elastic in Rosie's panties..

The future does not look too bright if we have to endure another four years of this crap..

Your freedoms are being eroded every day.. Wake up America!

Happy Fourth of July!

June 27, 2012: Yesterday was about as hot as I have ever seen it around here.. My thermometer was sweating mercury.. It may have had heat stroke.. But it did manage to push the red stuff up to 112°.

But it was a dry heat.. So it wasn't too bad..

And it damn sure didn't keep the fish from biting..

This morning I went out and put some orange flagging tape on the bushes nearest the ends of the bridge in the Veleno. I said the bridge in the Veleno.. Not the one over it..

It is certainly at a killer level, about fifteen inches under the water. If you skirt the flagging material bushes you will be fine. There is about a three or four foot deep sand bar on the west side of the bridge, just before you get to it.. But it does not stick out all the way to the bridge. Take it easy when you go thru there the first time till you figure it out. Then it is no big deal..

And after all that hard labor, I went out and beat on em for a few hours.

The flipping bite is excellent.. Still. And you can get on some woods at most any place in the lake and catch fish. There are always sweet spots of course.

I also caught a bunch of spinnerbait fish as well, on main lake mini points. And they did not have to be rocky either this morning.. Of course rock never hurts. Unless you are a country fan..

Several places I stopped had dead shad floating all over the place. And I actually heard a small shad voice say, "Mom.. I see dead people.." And I can tell you that these shad died because of natural causes.. That being a crap load of smaller bass beating them to death. It was good.. I love to see nature at work.

Now if we could only train the bass to kill Cormorants..

Those bass will attack most anything wiggling I reckon.. A friend of mine went skinny dipping the other day and damn near got circumcised.. Good thing there weren't a school of em..

A lot of things are catching fish right now, and Lord knows that we have sold a bit of everything in the store. But if you want to catch numbers of fish, flippin the trees is the way to go.

I stopped at one of my old low water stomping grounds out in front of the Coyote, and the smaller, bushier bushes had lots of fish in them.. And occasionally you will whack a good one out of them as well. I did not do as well on the bigger hardwoods in that area for whatever reason. Tomorrow it might be reversed..

You just gotta be there..

Falcon regular Paul Duplechan caught another whopper last week.. This one went 10.9..

A few weeks back I took a fellow from NPR out fishing, and did an interview about Falcon, and all the ifs and butts about fishing around here. And of course I had to have some assurances that it would not be spun in the (by my perception) usual liberal view that NPR stories usually have.

And the funny part is that this fellow had never been bass fishing in his life.. I think he is in the market for a good clean used ride these days. I just feel like if I could get Rosie on the boat with me I could get her away from the dark side as well.

If not I could always take a lot of cinder blocks with me.. It would take a lot of em though..

In any case, if you have a few minutes to kill, this might entertain you for a spell. Click on the listen to story button on the page..

Of course you may have to listen to a commercial about a Prius or a solar powered pencil eraser before the story starts..

I was watching the news last night, and when the weather was over, I was about to turn off the tube and hit the rack. But the newscaster said to stay tuned for the latest rule change coming up at Wimbleton during the sports segment.. How could I resist.. I still had to go Fred Flinstone with the cat anyway..

And I was thinking that it could be something really neat about Wimbleton.. Like they were going to cancel it or something.. There's just something about Ping Pong on grass that don't seem right.. Or is it clay.. There is nothing in sports as exciting as watching some lets, and hearing the announcer say Forty Love.. Whatever the hell that means..

But it seems that they are going to to take the only Manly thing about tennis out of the game.. Or at least the women's game.. They are going to outlaw grunting.. You heard me right.. According to the puritans of tennis, women should only be allowed to grunt during childbirth.. To do otherwise would be uncivilized..

I think they need to do some hormone testing on some of those chicks anyway..

Cornokobia looks like she has been juicing, and they need to check Venis for a penis..

Shouldn't be no woman built like that.. She reminds me of Labron James..

Anyway, it won't be long till we will have all kinds of sports to talk about. I can't wait to see me some Snatch and some Clean and Jerk.. You gotta love the Olympics..

Where else can you bribe the Site Selection officials with hookers and Jack to get them to come to your town.. (Thought I forgot, didn't you..)

Anyway, I gotta go polish my Shot Put..

See you later..

June 26, 2012: Those of us who like to bitch about the wind all the time, (certainly me included) have nothing to bitch about this week.. The flags have been hanging straight down for three days, and are supposed to for the next few as well.. The real nice thing is that we are supposed to be sat on by some very dry desert air.. And desert air means hot.. Real hot.. I had 108° on my thermometer yesterday.. And today is supposed to be the hottest day of the week..

But it is damn nice at sunrise..

The fishing just can't get a whole lot better, especially if you like flipping.. Or Cranking.. Oh yeah.. And dragging things around on the bottom..

And the spinner bait bite has really come on as of lake.. Throw a white one..

There were a few tourneys in town last weekend, and their results were very good, to say the least.. And if you come down, and can stand the heat, you are bound to kick their ass as well..

I really don't know what else to say.. It has been pretty awesome..

Water temps are off the chart, so please don't haul any fish around un-necessarily.. We have killed our quota of fish for the year..

That's about the end of the fishing report..

And I hope to have some results posted from SAPD's tourney posted soon.. But they whacked them really good..

It sounds like there will be a big crowd of folks in town for The Fourth, and some are taking the entire week off.. Why the hell not.. Who put the Fourth on a Wednesday anyway..

There will be a fireworks show on the night of the Fourth I hear, and Cape Canaveral will be the island, or what used to be an island, just east of the Veleno Bridge.. Bout dark.. So if you are in downtown Zapata on the holiday don't miss it..

And you said there is nothing to do in Zapata.. The other 23 hours and forty minutes of the day you will have to entertain yourself..

We will be cooking some Dogs and Burgers on the afternoon of the Fourth.. So stop by for a snack anytime after three.. That will be about all you can stand with this heat anyway..

Fishing is about as good as it gets.. What else can I say..

See you on the water.. Or by the BBQ pit..

June 21, 2012: There have been a lot of showers around us lately, mostly the popcorn type, they blow up and disappear in a few minutes. And until this morning they have managed to miss Zapata. We just had a nice shower and maybe we will get something a little more significant later today. There have been good rains across the south plains of Texas the last few days.

All this is coming from a little low pressure in the gulf. There is also something brewing between the Yucatan and Cuba.. And it ain't a pot of Folgers..

Maybe this thing will turn into something that will bring us some appreciable rainfall in the coming week.. We'll see how it develops and where it goes.. But predicting the movement of a tropical storm is a little bit like herding cats.. Ain't no telling where they are going to go..

The showers that are rumbling around this area are supposed to be gone by the weekend, so you still have the green light to come on down. And fishable winds are predicted by those in the know.. I'm just sayin that is what they're sayin..

The bridge in the Veleno is about to become a serious hazard in the next thirty minutes or so. And while I have been working to get it marked by the authorities I have had little luck. The best I can do for you for now is to tell you to skirt the brush line on the west side of the Veleno on your way out. You don't have to run over it.. Just stay ten yards off the visible trees and you will be alright. I will try to get some flagging put on the trees adjacent to the end asap..

This is what we are trying to avoid.. Sorry for the crappy resolution, but these are the only digital pics I can find. And I had to blow them up.. (I'd rather blow up the bridge..)

And while I am always talking about going around the west end of the bridge, you can also go around the east side. And I have Coords for the east end. They are N 26 50 975 W 99 15 949. Staying thirty yards east of this spot will get you out as well. Sorry I don't have numbers for the west side.. Wouldn't hurt to punch those in your machine. Lately there have been a lot of folks fishing the bridge. Might be where my markers went..

Or stop by the store and we'll draw you a map.. Of sorts..

Fishing is still good, or better for a lot of folks.. The flipping bite is still excellent, and deep crankbaits have been whacking them on humps and ridges. Brush hogs or similar have been awesome, but your favorite flipping bait will work. Beavers, and the Havoc Pit Boss have been good.

The big fluke is back to whackin a lot of better fish on the deep humps previously mentioned. And a Carolina rig is never a bad idea.

The lake has slowed its fall, and we have only dropped 2/10ths of a foot in the last 48 hours. We are 34.45 feet low at this time.

A lot of folks have asked how long we will be able to launch at the county ramp as of late. And it will be for a good while. The current ramp is good for a while, and it will turn out to the right toward the channel as we get lower. When it gets about off of that, there are two more single lane ramps out off the end of the point just west of the floating dock. I never want to see them again, but they are there..

That is all the info I have on the bridge for now, and unlike the Attorney General, I have divulged all I know. What are we going to find out next? That they sent them some tanks and used F-1's..

I think that Executive Privilege should be allowed to be used in more important things.. Like Marriages..

"And where the hell were you till four in the morning, Mister??!!"

"Sorry Honey.. I'm gonna have to go EP on you.. It's strictly on a need to know basis.. And I need you to not know.."

See there.. Game over.. Argument settled..

"Now go make me some breakfast.. I have a hell of a hangover.."

"Bang.. Thud..."

I don't know.. Maybe I better give this one some more thought..

But we haven't seen anything yet.. The good stuff is going to hit the fan in the next couple of months. But it will have to wait till all the delegates and the Secret Service wear out all the whores in Tampa in late August.. Hope all the clinics are stocked up with penicillin..

You don't think that there will be any of the "Occupy" crowd or protesters turn up down there do you.. What fun it must be to be a Policeman working the streets during one of these suarees.. I can't believe that an American version of Tianamen Square hasn't happened at one of these events.. Kudos to the security folks that keep their cool when you know they want to whack the hell out of somebody.. I don't think I could do it..

What else is in the news this week..

Rodney King was found dead in the bottom of his pool, apparently an accidental drowning. Where the hell is a cop when you need one..

New studies out say that poor people are not that poor.. A very high percentage of them have both Cell Phones and Cable TV.. Two items I'd consider a luxury.. Till a few years ago I had to go out and chase the sparrows off the antenna so I could watch Opra.. And not having service meant it was too windy to send smoke signals..

Oh well.. I gotta go restring some rods..

Watch out for that Bridge!

June 19, 2012: There has been some rain around us.. And we got about a quarter inch on Sunday night. And while it is good to smell some ozone impregnated water, that rain did little more than to settle the dust for a couple of days. There is a small chance for some rain coming from the gulf in the next few days, but not the kind that will make an appreciable difference in the lake level. But hey, I'll take what we can get.

The tropics do seem to be active early this year, with a few storms in the Pacific, and a few in the Atlantic and the gulf. And while we all hate the devastation that a bad storm can bring, we in south Texas all know that we depend on a storm or two every few years to fill our lakes and aquifers. It is surely a love-hate relationship.

Falcon is down to 34.16 feet low, or 267.04. And if you are wondering, the last time we have been this low was in May of 2007. But by the end of 2007, we were up over twenty feet. Let's hope history repeats itself.

I know that lately my fishing report sounds more like a water report, but you cannot separate the two long term. And while fishing will remain excellent for the near future, extended low water levels will certainly have an adverse affect on the fishing. Like I said.. It is time for some water..

And while we are at the lowest point in about five years, I am not about to go Billy Jo McAllester off the Veleno bridge. All things cycle.. And so will we.

Fishing remains strong, and some fish are finally starting to set up in a more typical summer pattern. We are hearing of more and more deep fish, as it should be.. But there are still a LOT of shallow flipping fish to keep guys like me happy. Big trees, and they're getting easier to find, are holding a lot of fish. Fish the shady side.. Anywhere near the river or big creek channels.

But if you are one of those who prefers to probe the depths, your fish are starting to cooperate. Offshore humps and ridges, down to thirty feet, are putting out some fish.. And some really nice ones. Not all deep water structure has fish on it, but a lot of it does. And if you find the right one, or ones, you can put the smackdown on em.

Big deep diving crankbaits, jigs, and Carolina rigs are catching a lot of fish. And for some folks, it has been awesome.

I have heard a lot of complaints lately of another invasive species on the lake. Invasive fishermen. I think that common courtesy should tell you that moving to within casting distance of another boat is bad form.. Lets use our manners out there..

The tournament schedule on Falcon is lightening up, and that is a good thing. While the fishing remains very good, it is just too hot to keep a bunch of good fish alive. There will be a few clubs in town thru the dog days, and I hope they will all go to a paper or at a minimum a three fish format.

If Bass Champs can do it, so can you..

The fish butchering continues at the State Park, and here at local motels as well. If you must kill fish, please eat the little guys. I don't know why I have to talk about this all the time.. I guess it is my nature. I am sure you like catching big fish as well..

Seems like I have been bitching a lot here lately.. I guess I am getting grumpier as I get older.. But my eyes are open wide to what makes a good fishery, what maintains a good fishery, and what will kill it.. And I am seeing a lot more of the latter here lately..

Like I have said in the past, Falcon is often nice to the youngsters.. Waylon Dunn caught his new PB with this 9.13.

See you on the water!

June 13, 2012: Like Glenn Frey sang about in the eighties.. "The Heat Is On." Afternoon temps have been reaching the 105 range, and Monday night was the first night of the year when the low did not get below eighty. A/C is not an option around here. It is standard equipment..

But the fish don't really care.. They are still going crazy..

And for numbers of fish, you can't beat the flippin bite. Find you some bigger woods near the river channel and get busy. My favorite bait is still a brush hog. Your favorite color will work, but my favorites have not changed.

And while you will catch a lot of fish from one to three pounds, you will also catch a bunch of good quality fish. Lots of five to nine pound fish have been caught in the hardwoods. Some fellows told me they did a bit better on the bigger fish in water from eight to twelve feet.

Get your bait right down the tree, between the bark and the sap. These fish are pretty tight to the woods. But a lot of them will chase the bait down as you retrieve it from the tree.

There are still some crankbait fish on the humps and ridges, and in that respect, not a lot has changed. Rocky, I said rocky, depth changes are key to catching fish. I did pretty good a few days ago in the Tigers plowing the rocks with a deep diver. Most of the places I fished had six to ten feet on top of the humps, but were near twenty feet of water or so. Once you make contact with the rocks, slow your retrieve way down, and let the bait gently clank along along the bottom. Bites have not been bone jarring, at least not for me. Most of the time the rod just loads up. And you'll know in a second or two if you have a hoss on..

The dam continues to put out a whole lot of fish. The riprap itself, and the big hump just west of the river channel near the buoys at the gates have had a lot of fish stacked up on them. I have also heard some good things about the island just inside the mouth of the Salanaias, and the points just north of there, inside the mouth of the same creek.

The lake continues to drop, and we have lost another 1.34 in the last week. Mexico has slowed their releases, but the generators are turning fast on the US side to keep up with electricity demands during this hot streak. We are sitting at 32.94 feet low as of this morning. That equals 268.26..

And while the slow releases from Amistad continue, there is also another factor in the water that is not reaching us. A LOT of water is being sucked out of the river before it gets here for use in fracking in the oil field. Just how much no one knows, (well.. someone knows..) but millions of gallons for sure. I am doing a bit of research on this subject. And I will pass on what I find out. I am sure this water has been been purchased from landowners with water rights. And like always, it is about the money.

And I am certainly not against anyone making money.. I like it myself. And where the water levels are at Falcon, certainly will affect me sooner or later. Along with all the businesses in Zapata.

The Rio Grande certainly is the lifeblood of so many businesses and individuals that live within its reach. Whether you are a Rancher, A Farmer, an Oil Company, a Bait Shop, or just someone who wants to water your grass, we are all affected by lake levels and rainfall. Water is life.. And not just for the fishes..

A nice gentle hurricane in the Mexican mountains would be nice.. And we are getting closer to one every day.. Oh yeah.. We're getting farther away from the last one every day as well..

The South Texas 5 tournament series will make its return to Falcon this weekend. And if you plan to fish it be prepared to take care of yourself and your fish. Hot weather and hot water will certainly be on the agenda. So plan on taking care of both sides of the equation.. Registration will be here at FLT on Saturday evening. See their site for rules and eligibility.

Fathers Day is also this weekend, so don't forget to give him a call. Or take him fishing..

We hope to see you on the water!