Texas Fishing Report from Anglers 2005

The Angler keep others informed by emailing fishing reports to us. Include your name in the message part of your report if you'd like to receive credit for the report.

December 26, 2005 - Toledo Bend - Submitted by Fish Finders Fish Service - the water is a little over 9 feet low right now and the temp is high 40's tp low 50's

WE are catching limits of crappie up to 2lbs apeice right now and the limit of course is 50 per person we are catching them up the old river on the shelfs and ledges in 18-30 feet of water on jigs and minnows , their is no problem right now catching limits of black and white crappie.

the white bass are also up the river getting ready to spawn as the females are loaded with eggs right now and can be caught their also with jigging spoons and swim baits as well as in-line spinners.
also the big bar fish are up their eating real good right now.

the black bass fishing has been somewhat slow but with the warm up should get better , they will bite jigs, spinnerbaits as well as rattle traps and deep little n's

come on down and take a bunch of fish home to eat it is some of the best fishing you will ever get into anywhere anytime-we are running a winter special right now 6 hours for 200.00 until new years .

December 24, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by David Vance - For week of 12/22/5 - With the weather still up and down the fishing has been slow for numbers. But the quality of the bass we are catching right now makes up for the quantity. This week most of our bass have came on lipless crank baits in red and orange, a suspending rogue is also producing some big bass this past week. Yesterday we stayed with the lipless crank baits and suspending rogue all day and we boated 11 bass, but our hard work paid off right before dark Bill West fishing with me, caught the Big One of the day this bass weighed 10lbs 3oz and this big bass came on the suspending rogue way to go Bill. Best water depth for me has been 5 to 8 feet of water over the grass. The bass we caught this week have come from mid lake to the dam, good creeks that are producing good fish for me are Wolfe, Little Caney and Chaney Branch. I have been keeping my boat in ten feet of water and fishing the outside edge of the grass. A medium to fast retrieve on the lipless crank baits has worked best for me. These bass are scattered, so fish these areas 2 or 3 times before you leave and come back later in the day and hit them again. The best bite for me has been 10am until dark. This pattern is only going to get better on into January and February.

The key to catching these bass is to fish the greenest grass you can find. If you are not familiar with Lake Fork the best way to locate the greenest grass beds is to look for the Coots. This birds only feed on grass, and if you see a huge concentration of these birds you can bet you will find a lot of green grass in the area. The lake is about 4 feet low so be careful running the lake. I always look forward to this time of year because on Lake Fork you are just one castaway from catching that Bass of a lifetime. I am now booking spring trips. Book early to get best available dates. Call David Vance's Lake Fork Guide Service and Lodging and Book your Trophy Bass Trip Today.

903-629-7699 or 903-629-5085 Cell. Check out my website http;//www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com

Good Fishing

David Vance

December 23, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - As I wrap up a wonderful year on Lake Fork, I would first like to give a big thanks to all of my customers in 2005. Best wishes to all in the coming New Year and may the blessings of good health, prosperity, and big bass be visited upon you in 2006. Photo is of Ann holding a 7 lb red Rat-L-Trap bass. I'm attaching a pic of Kevin with a 6 lb'er from Fork. I figure 1/2 of your Kansas customers will like and 1/2 may not. ;)

If you're like me, you'll be greedily trying to cram a few more big bass memories into your memory bank for '05. I'm happy to report that although winter officially arrived yesterday, the bass are feeding on a regular basis and big fish are already starting to show up shallow on Lake Fork. Most bass are in a winter pattern now and a few are showing up in early prespawn staging areas. Numbers run lower this time of year; however, now through February is an excellent time to catch a lunker prespawn bass.

Lake Conditions: Lake Fork's water level continues to drop, sitting at 398.89', or 4'1" below full pool. The water clarity is clear and water temps were registering from 47 to 50 degrees yesterday afternoon, with the south end of the lake being the warmest. The height and coverage of grass has been reduced during the draw down, but the grassy areas you find are still holding a lot of fish.

Location Pattern: From late-December through February, I concentrate on prespawn and staging fish on points and along edges of flats or creek channels. Areas with submerged vegetation (primarily hydrilla, milfoil or coontail) for cover will typically have the most active fish. Key on stumps, docks, and laydowns within the grassbeds or on any irregular places along the edge of the grass. While about any grassy area will hold a few fish, start your search in areas that have lots of spawning fish in late February and through March. It stands to reason that the coves that hold the most spawning fish in early spring will have the most prespawn fish in the winter. Main lake grass beds near the mouths of these coves are holding a lot of fish now, as are main and secondary points inside the coves, provided there is deep water nearby. During warming trends, follow bass back into the creeks and check the edges of grass flats and creek channels.

Keep in mind, too, that the absolute water temperature is not nearly as important now as the recent water temperature trend. For instance, water temps that are showing 52 degrees can result in slow fishing if the temps were 58 a couple days ago. In contrast, fishing can be great if the temps warm up to 50 while they were 44 a few days before. In general, look for bass on the flats and farther back in creeks during warming trends; conversely, drop back to points and main lake grassbeds after cold fronts. Finally, the day of and the day after cold fronts can be absolutely miserable to fish, but these frontal days after a long warming trend are usually the most productive times to fish.

For deep structure enthusiasts, points, roadbeds, humps, flats and ledges in 18' to 40' will produce some big fish during the winter months as well. Use your electronics to find the schools of bass and baitfish and work them over with spoons and dropshots.

Presentation Pattern: My wintertime arsenal is pretty simple for fishing along grasslines and creek channels. First and foremost are red lipless crankbaits in 12 or 34 oz. Stick with the 12 for grass that is near the surface and go with the 34 for grass that is deeper. Buzzing these over the top of the grass on a quick retrieve is working best now, but once the water cools a little more, letting the trap fall and ripping these out of the grass will trigger most of the bites. 14 to 12 oz spinnerbaits with double willow blades in white, red, or chartreuse and white will produce some really large bass in the same areas that the lipless cranks work, especially on windy and cloudy days. When the bite slows or the conditions are sunny and calm, I'll switch to a suspending jerkbait or a jig. Gold jerkbaits with orange bellies and black backs are my primary color. Work these with long pauses over the grass and along the edges. For jigs, I go with the lightest weight I can use for the conditions, from 1/8th or 14 oz on calm days to 12 oz on windy ones. Black and blue or watermelon jigs with matching Lake Fork Pig Claws or Fork Craws will do the job.

Cover lots of water until you get bit. Once you catch one, work the area over thoroughly with multiple passes, employing several different baits. Fish tend to stack up in key staging areas during the winter and these spots will replenish themselves with more fish during the prespawn as more and more big bass move shallow. Find some good staging spots and you'll have a milk run of honey holes now through February.

Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com , where your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Good Fishing

Tom

December 15, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by David Vance - With the mild weather this past week the fishing on lake fork has been good on lipless crank baits. Red has been the best color and water depth five to eight feet on the edge of the grass. The best places to look for is at the mouths of the major creeks. The key right now is to cover as much water as you can. These bass are scattered over the grass, therefore when you go down a bank turn around and fish it again. These bass are not chasing the bait ,you have to get it close to them before they will hit it. So each place you fish, hit it 2 or 3 times before you leave. Most of the bass we are catching are from the main point half way back in the creeks. Yesterday we put 12 bass in the boat with one that weighed 9lbs 12oz all our bass came on red lipless crank baits. This pattern will be red hot now through Jan & Feb.

Right now I am using 15lb test line and a high speed reel on a medium action rod. A medium to fast retrieve has worked best for me. Most of the bass are just stopping the bait almost like you hit a stump. So at first don't assume you have hung up, if the bait stops go ahead and set the hook. Fishing this pattern you will get a lot of short hits, so it is very important to have sharp hooks. I always change the hooks on all my crank baits. The ones out of the pack just will not do. The lake is about four feet low so be careful running the lake. I always look forward to this time of year, because it is the start of our big bass season . So if you are serious about catching a trophy bass, now is the time to start planning your trips to lake fork.

I am now booking spring dates. Book early to get the best available dates! Call 903-629-7699 or 903-629-5085 cell check out my website at www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com. Until next time.

Good Fishing!

David Vance

December 4, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - December 3 & 4 2005: SWRI Bass Busters held their final tournament of the year at Falcon this weekend and the Top Angler Heavy Stringer and Big Bass winners were named. Congratulations to Bobby West who waited until the last dog was hung and brought in north of 27 Lbs of fish Sunday to tie down the Heavy Stringer of the Year. He also won the weekend heavy stringer money with 51.50 lbs (2-day,10 fish). Gary Hengst claimed the Club Big Bass Honors for the year. Joe Martinez weighed in the second heavy stringer of the weekend weighing 31.04 lbs and Floyd Dietzmann was third with 29.90 lbs. Heath Conrad had the Big Bass of the weekend weighing 7.90 Lbs

Again Mother Nature smiled on Falcon this weekend with moderate winds around 10 mph and temperatures below 80 degrees and no precipitation. Fishing success in terms of number of fish caught varied from a lot of fish to as many as 100 or more per boat. Plastic worms, craws and lizards were the best producing baits and colors varied from plum apple to watermelon red. Zoom watermelon red magnum lizards were hard to beat as the top bait according to several anglers.

Small fish were plentiful and some boats were forced to give up good spots and relocate due to the voracious feeding by legal, but small-size bass feeding in schools. The larger fish were still mostly 12 to 15 ft deep, but a lot of fish were found to be moving into shallow depths of 2 to 4 ft. Anglers reported almost all areas had fishable water with clear to slightly-stained conditions. Some of the anglers had their limits by 8:00 am and spent the day culling fish. Fishermen reported catching fish on both sides of the lake and up river as well.

The first of the International Bass Border Trail (IBBT) Tournaments was contested this weekend and was based at the Mexican point in Guerrero, Mexico. Forty teams participated with from 2 to 4 members per team. Speedy Collett and Charles Haralson had the lead stringer on Saturday, but their 2 day 46 lb weight was out-ounce by Carlos Olivares and his brother by less than a pound. Unfortunately I was unable to make it to Mexico to take any pictures, but I understand Speedy had a 9.3 Lb bass on Saturday and a 11 Lb bass was caught and weighed for Big Bass. Plastics and crankbaits both produced big fish for the top teams. The next IBBT tournament will be held at Las Blancas Lake January 21st and 22 nd.

Uvalde Bass Club wil be here on next weekend and the South Texas 5 tournament kicks off the new year with its Falcon tournament on January 8th. Registration will be held here at Falcon lake Tackle. For information contact Bill Stipp at stippconstr@aol.com or call 361-318-2905. Do not miss this great opportunity to fish Falcon in January for big bass.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

December 3, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - With a cold front rolling over Lake Fork seemingly every other day, the pattern has continued to change. Some days the deep bite has been best, other days shallow has been the way to go, while both have worked on a number of days and neither were very hot on a couple days. The bass should remain pretty aggressive while the water temps stay above 50 degrees and numbers have been good most days. When the deep bite is on, we,re still catching big numbers of fish on drop shots and spoons but most of these fish are running small. Meanwhile, we,re starting to catch more quality bass, up to 8.6 lbs, on shallow points and creek channels. Best of all, the lake is an absolute ghost town on weekdays, so head on out and you,ll have the rarest of pleasures on Lake Fork"enjoying your favorite spots all to yourself.

Lake Conditions: Lake Fork,s water level continues to drop, sitting at 399.07,, or 3,11 below full pool. The water clarity is still slightly stained in the main lake from the turnover while it is crystal clear in coves with abundant vegetation. Water temps dropped significantly in the past week, down to the mid-50s in the main lake to as low as the upper-40s in the backs of creeks. The height and coverage of grass has been reduced during the draw down, but the grassy areas you find are still holding a lot of fish.

Location Pattern: The cold fronts slowed the creek channel bite in the very backs of creeks for me. Since the cool down, I,m finding a lot more bass on points and main lake grassbeds. Look for grass with deep-water access nearby and you,ll find bigger fish. Personally, I,ve never found a connection between greener grass and concentrations of fish. Find grass cover, dormant or alive, on key structure, and you,re in business. Creek channels running through grass and timber covered flats with 8,-20, of depth are also holding some good fish. As the lake level continues to drop, the bass will only become more concentrated in these key areas.

The location on deep structure hasn,t changed much. Points, roadbeds, humps, flats and ledges in 18, to 32, have produced big numbers of keeper-sized bass. With the bass liable to be about anywhere out deep right now, just pulling up to your favorite honey hole and fishing is a shot in the dark. Dropping a buoy at the first place you mark a school of bait is about as unproductive. Wait to find schools of bait, crappie, & yellow bass with signatures from bass chasing them and you,ll catch a lot more. And don,t be afraid to check really deep water. Once winter sets in, I catch some good bass in 40,+ each year.

Presentation Pattern: I,ve been switching back and forth between the shallows and deep water throughout the day to determine what bite is better. I,ve done really well early and late up shallow on some days, while others, the deep bite was great at low light. Same goes for the middle of the day. For grass beds and along creek channels, I,m using 5 primary baits and the most productive bait seems to change daily. The first two are lipless crankbaits and 2,-5, running shallow crankbaits with tight wobbles in shad colors or chrome finishes. Ripping these out of the grass and banging them into stumps are triggering most of the bites. 3/8 oz spinnerbaits with double willow blades in shad colors on clear days and chartreuse and white on cloudy days have also done well. Finally, a TX rigged Lake Fork Flipper in green pumpkin or black neon or a wacky rigged Twitch Worm in pumpkin chartreuse or junebug have picked up fish holding tight to stumps and grass clumps. In addition, the TX and wacky rigs have produced bonus fish once schools are located with the spinnerbait and crankbait.

Out deeper, I,ve narrowed my baits to a drop shot and spoons. On the drop shot, a watermelon or green pumpkin Twitch Worm is catching big numbers of small fish, along with the occasional fish over 4 lbs. Long casts and shaking the rig while working it back to the boat has been best. Productive areas typically have a lot of active yellow bass as well, so don,t set the hook when the yellows peck at your weight or lure, wait for a bass to take it. For bass that are suspended or feeding up while chasing shad and yellow bass, jigging spoons have been catching good numbers and the occasional toad. As the water continues to cool, I typically find a less active spoon presentation works better. Often, lifting the spoon a foot above the bottom and holding it there is the best technique in the winter, especially for lunkers.

November 22, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - Falcon Lake Flash Fishing Report-November 22, 2005: We have had some beautiful weather this week in Zapata, if a little cool some mornings in the 40 degree range. Temperatures have been mild topping out at 85 degrees yesterday. The lake water temperatures are in the low 70-degree range, having dropped from the upper 70's as a result of the recent frontal conditions. We are hearing some reports of fish starting to build nests in preparation for the spawn. It appears we are progressing at a slightly slower pace than last year.

The lake level is in the 286 ft range and about 15 ft low. Water quality is slightly stained to clear. Fishing pressure is light and bass fishing is still fair-to-good depending on location. In the last tournament, had a 3-man boat catch 124.90 Lbs of fish (2-day, 30-fish limit) from the lower end of the lake mostly on the Mexico side. We had several groups on the lake this week and they found plum Old Monster and red black core worms to attract a number of fish. There were some others fishing who said watermelon/red-colored lizards and senkos were working as well, mostly on fish from 2 to 5 pounds. Bass fishermen can expect some of the larger fish to start moving again as lake-water temperatures stabilize. Hopefully this will happen over Thanksgiving.

Catfishermen reported catching fish on shrimp, live worms and J. Piggs Stinkbait this week. According to some of the fishermen we talked to they tie up to about any tree in 20 ft of water and set back for some good action. An occasional big fish is always a possibility. All fishing spots are not created equal, so if the fish do not cooperate or they quit biting, move to another spot. For catfish, most fishermen have been fishing in areas adjacent to creeks on the US side. We even have one guide who will help you catch the catfish and then clean them for you. You cannot beat that and we can find someone to help you eat them if that is a problem.

Several boats reported illegal-net activity on the lake this week and I received one telephone call about large numbers of nets up the river. With only one warden to enforce hunting and fishing this is to be expected. A reminder that letters need to be written to the Governor, TPW and the Legislators protesting the decisions by TPW both regarding enforcement over netting and the decision not to restock white bass, northern strain black bass and crappie to the extent needed at Falcon. We also need some regulation changes to protect large bass and for the whites and crappie to give them time to recover. The 25 fish a day limit on whites and crappie (2 day possession) is ridiculous. If we are ever going to influence the TPW position of disregarding Falcon, TPW needs to hear about the dissatisfaction with their policies from many more people than Larry Bridgeman and a lot more businesses than Falcon Lake Tackle.

We have stopped selling Texas licenses this year in protest of flawed TPW policies and failed execution. We made this decision to "put our money where our mouth is" as a means of expressing our deep concern over the failed and unfair operations of the TPWD Inland Fisheries and Enforcement Divisions. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience, but it sometimes takes people who will stand up and be counted if you want to effect change. We would like to see every business in Zapata (and the County Government as well) protest the loss of millions of dollars in winter Texan fishing revenues by doing as we have done rather than trying to benefit financially from our decision to protest unfair policies and practices of TPW by selling licenses. I understand one issuer is even selling non-residents the cheaper resident licenses in direct violation of TPW policies. I doubt that anyone will ever be stopped for this or that the operator will ever be caught. I guess this is what they are counting on with only one warden in the County.

TPW is collecting so much and spending so little (except on bureaucrat salaries) that there are a number of enforcement issues being ignored (besides illegal netting). I guess this is simply because they are not concerned enough to check fishermen consistently. One of the most troublesome issues being ignored is the catching and killing of fish below 14 inches. Some fishermen brag to others about or are seen catching and killing (from the shore, boat docks and boats) hundreds of 10 to 14-inch fish. This was once the situation with whites and look at the result. No whites for 5 years, while the fat cats set on their rear ends and collect millions from fishermen in spite of their being forced to fish a devastated white bass fishery. We feel strongly that Zapata County should be filing a lawsuit against TPW and the State of Texas to recover revenues lost by County Businesses as a result of TPW decisions not to enforce regulations nor repopulate the lake with species' of fish that thousands of Winter Texans once came here to catch. Today, many of the RV parks are nearly void of fishermen.

Falcon bass fishermen might recall our previous reports and comments about post cold-front conditions, I have often noted that "I believe chances are good that there may be a lot of the bigger fish that have moved out of the shallows and are suspended in 20-25 ft depths. We have seen this happen on many occasions before with the large Florida Bass. When this occurs, we have seen the big spinnerbaits or jig and pig combinations often catch these suspended fish." Right now, black and red has been a productive color on these big baits worked deep in the trees. The 1 OZ Tru Track Spinnerbaits. And Nichols 1 _ Oz baits or the Oldham screw lock 1 _ Oz jigs have worked well under these conditions in the past. One fishermen, commenting on the appearance of Tru Tracks, said "they are almost too pretty to use". They put a super finish on the pot gut heads and they use only top quality components. We have a large quantity of both the Tru Tracks and the Nichols 1 1/2 Oz spinnerbaits in stock in all the bass-catching colors. These magnum spinnerbaits are made especially for getting deep and slow rolling.

Whether it is 14" Worms, 10" Lizards, 7" Stick Worms, 10" Grubs, Double wide Sweet Beavers or 30+ Crankbaits, you can find them at Falcon Lake Tackle. Keep in mind that Falcon Lake Tackle is unusually well stocked with magnum lures of all kinds in just about every color that the big-bass fishermen use on Mexico or South Texas Lakes. Some stores try to copy our inventory, but most fail because they do not have the tenacity to identify the proper baits nor the resources for stocking the large inventory of sizes and colors that we have continuously available for the discriminating fishermen. The marketing and volume sales of these baits all over the world via our website enables us to keep a large variety of baits in stock to meet your demands as we have those of fishermen and women in 48 states and 8 countries so far. We added Australia and Italy this year to our "Countries Served list". Check out our vast selection on www.falconlaketackle.com and click Order on the top bar to get started. Scroll to the bottom of the policies page that comes up and click on the fish. That takes you into the shopping cart.

You may have heard we are regretfully selling Falcon Lake Tackle and I assure you it is strictly because of age and health. Business in the store and on the website e-store is good and Falcon Lake is generating some record catches of bass and catfish. The business, inventory, commercial property and website site can be purchased together or we will separate. Included also are good living quarters above the store, shop space and additional land adjacent to and behind the store with abundant concrete patios and parking under 6 ft security fencing. Most people shopping with us remark that Falcon Lake Tackle has the most extensive selection of tackle and marine supplies of any store they have visited. We try to anticipate needs as well as demand and we do not just keep a few packages in stock like some stores that are a mile wide and an inch deep. The hot baits are almost always available and we keep an adequate number of Mexico Licenses and Boat permits available by mail or in the store to meet the needs of fishermen that want to fish in Mexico. Check out the details on this great opportunity under the contact information section of our website.

It is vitally important at this time of year to practice catch and release on the spawners Falcon is lucky enough to have in her fishery. If you catch and do not return the spawners to the lake, Falcon will not ultimately be able to sustain the great black bass-bite we currently have going. Many bass clubs and fishermen already do an excellent job in this regard. They realize that each spawner can produce 50,000 to 100,000 fry and they care for the fish to the best of their ability. Others unfortunately do not. We encourage everyone to consider their actions carefully. If you want to eat fish, there are plenty in the under 5 lb class available and they are better eating. Please release the big fish to spawn.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and we encourage all bass fishermen to make conservation one of their primary goals.

November 15, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - What a great week I,ve had here at Lake Fork. Fishing for numbers of bass has continued to be great with some big fished mixed in. If that wasn,t enough, my wife and I were blessed with a healthy little boy, Nathan, our first child. I,m easy to spot on the lake these days"I,m the one grinning from ear-to-ear! The patterns are basically the same as last week, as the conditions have stayed the same. The big cold front coming through today will likely reposition the bass a little, but if anything, I expect the cooler temps will have more big fish showing up in the coming weeks. Look for fish to stack up in creek channel bends in the coves and look for tightly schooled concentrations of bass on deep structure. Find one of these post-frontal honey holes and you,d better have the camera batteries fully charged. With the fall colors, mild days and biting bass, it,s a wonderful time to be on Lake Fork.

Lake Conditions: Fork is still low but about the same elevation as last week, sitting at 399.40,, or 3,7 below full pool. The water clarity is still slightly stained in the main lake from the turnover while it is crystal clear in coves with abundant vegetation. Water temps warmed up to almost 70 in the main lake with the warm sunny days this week, but look for them to fall considerably with the coming cool nights. The height and coverage of grass has been reduced during the draw down, but the grassy areas you find are still holding a lot of fish.

Location Pattern: We,ve been catching both numbers and size from shallow and deep water in the past week. In the shallows, the presence of grass in most any area is holding at least some small fish. To catch big fish, deep water access nearby has been the key. Creek channels running through grass and timber covered flats and main lake and secondary points with grass are the top examples. As the lake level continues to drop, the bass will only become more concentrated in these key areas.

While we have been catching good numbers of fish up to 8 lbs in the shallows, deep water is your best shot right now for a true lunker. Points, roadbeds, humps, flats and ledges in 14, to 32, have produced fish in the last couple of weeks. With the bass liable to be about anywhere out deep right now, just pulling up to your favorite honey hole and fishing is a shot in the dark. Dropping a buoy at the first place you mark a school of bait is about as unproductive. Wait to find schools of bait & yellow bass with signatures from bass chasing them and you,ll catch a lot more.

Presentation Pattern: At first light and late in the evening, wacky rigged baits like Lake Fork Twitch Worms in shades of watermelon have produced some nice bass around main lake weedbeds. Once the sun comes up, I,m focusing on creek channels and points until mid-morning. Position your boat in the middle of the creek channel and throw your bait to the grass edges and/or stumps near the edge of the creek, while working the middle of the creek as well. After the cold front, expect to find the bass either holding very tight to cover or sitting on the bottom of the creek channel. Small shad colored spinnerbaits and crankbaits have produced best on most days, while a slowly worked oz black/blue jig or a Texas rigged Lake Fork Baby Creature in Blue Bruiser color has also picked up a few fish.

Out deeper, I,ve been using two different categories of baits, depending if the bass are feeding on the bottom or feeding up chasing shad. For those on the bottom, Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys or Twitch Worms in watermelon on sunny days and green pumpkin on cloudy days are my first option. If the C-rig isn,t working, a watermelon or green pumpkin Twitch Worm on a drop shot rig is catching big numbers of small fish, along with the occasional fish over 4 lbs. Productive areas typically have a lot of active yellow bass as well, so don,t set the hook when the yellows peck at your weight or lure, wait for a bass to take it. For bass that are suspended or feeding up while chasing shad and yellow bass, jigging spoons, tail spinners and swimbaits will catch big numbers of bass and some true giants as well. Experiment with your retrieve with these lures. Productive retrieves range from dragging along the bottom or holding a bait in place several feet over the bottom to vigorously snapping the bait off the bottom or counting it down to the proper depth and swimming the bait through the bass. Once you get the correct retrieve down for a given area, you,ll typically reduce the number of barfish hooked and primarily start catching bass.

Here,s hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com <http://www.lakeforkguidetrips.com/> , where your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Good Fishing,

Tom

November 14, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - Tournament Report - November 12,13 2005 SWRI Bass Busters: (Note: Heavy Boat 124.90# for 30 fish (3 men 2 days) SWRI Bass Busters - San Antonio Club tournament at Falcon. Jerry Campos had 44.32# Heavy Stringer for 10 fish 5 ea/day for 2 days.)

Lake water temperature was in the high 70's to low 80's and the lake level was in the mid-285 ft range or 15.60 ft low on Friday. Water clarity is good in most parts of the lake and winds were mild from 10 mph to 15 mph out of the SE most of the day. The .23 inch of rain last week was just enough to wet our appetites if not our gardens. Warm days and almost-cool nights are typical with height 80's and low to mid 70's being about average.

Saturday was for the most part a beautiful fishing day on the lake and Sunday's forecast was for more of the same. Jerry Campos and his friends arrived early to scope out the lake Friday and they caught a couple good fish including a 9.6 Lber. I suspect this fish came from around the same area where he caught the 14.28 Lb bass last December. This was the largest fish caught in any Texas lake last year and submitted into the Texas Share-Lunker program. Saturday's tournament activities and weigh in were based at the State Park and most of the anglers fished the lower lake.

Floyd Dietzmann caught the heavy stringer and 2nd big bass weighing 27.16 Lbs and 8.60 Lbs respectively. Kevin Spahn had the 2nd heavy stringer of 20.96 Lbs and his anchor fish weighed 7.58 Lbs. Delfino Neira IV had the third heavy stringer of 20.44 Lbs and his big bass of 8.58 Lbs was second only to Floyd's big bass. Jerry Campos was still in the hunt with 17.88 Lbs.

Sunday was another super fishing day both from a weather standpoint and fish production as well. Although the really huge fish were missing from the Sunday scenario, fish up to 5 Lbs were found in around 15 ft of water in hardwoods off points and ledges. Jerry Campos and his friends followed up on the pattern and Salinillas location the found Saturday and all three fishermen were culling 4 LB fish by 10:00 am. They would weigh the top-three, two-day weights of 44.32 Lbs (Campos), 42.78 Lbs (Neira) and 37.80 lbs (Kalinoski). That's 124.90 Lbs for one boat (30-fish, 2-day limit) including the 2nd big Bass of 8.58 lbs. Not too shabby! Floyd Dietzmann's fish moved and he ended up in 4th with 37.20 Lbs.
The Campos trio was on a mostly plastic bite having visited Falcon Lake Tackle during their three-days fishing and loading up on brush hogs, sweet beavers and magnum lizards. Watermelon red and watermelon colors were working as were some of the red and black colors in the above baits. Dietzmann caught his best fish (including the 8.60 LB tournament big bass) on black and red Oldham Screw Lock Jigs with matching craw trailers. Not everyone caught limits and some of the fishermen never found the right locations or pattern.

We sincerely appreciate the business that the clubs bring to Zapata in general and our store in particular during their tournaments. We are always happy to share the knowledge we have obtained from successful fishermen with our customers and we are pleased that the top three stringers in this tournament were all caught on baits purchased from Falcon Lake Tackle. We look forward to SWRI's return in December for their annual club championship and to a visit from a number of other clubs that will be fishing Falcon between now and then. We also appreciate being able to report the tournament results to our loyal readers.

We are in the middle of our in-store winter sale with 10% to as much as 50% off some lines including 3" and 3 1/2" Mad Man, Zipper, Lake Fork and Herb Reed's Muscle Worms. Ammo and Gift items are also sale priced just in time for Hunting Season and Christmas shopping.

If there is anyone out their looking for a good opportunity for a going business, including living quarters, real estate and expansion land, give us a call or read about this opportunity under "Contact Us". We are regretfully selling strictly for health reasons.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

November 13, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by David Vance - The fishing this week has been fantastic, with good numbers of quality bass. The spinner bait bite has been consistent and has produced our bigger bass this week. Yesterday we boated 36 and one over the slot that weighed in at 9lbs. 3 oz. This bass came out of 2 feet of water on a spinner bait. More than half of our fish came on the spinner bait.

The best places for this spinner bait bite are main lake and secondary points and the backs of pockets half way back in the creeks. Right now I am using a ounce spinner bait on the windy points, and the pockets that are protected from the wind I will size down to a ounce spinner bait. The best color used was a Colorado willow with nickel and gold blades and a chartreuse and white skirt.

This week the Carolina rig has also produced good numbers of bass in 15-25 feet of water. A watermelon seed Centipede has worked best for me.

Best places for the deep bite has been old road beds and main lake humps. The 515 East and West road beds are producing some big bass.

The forecast looks like a cold front will be here by Tuesday. This cold front should get the bass stacked up on deep water structure. The spoon bite for me has been off and on, more bar fish than bass. The water temp is in the mid 60,s right now. When this next cold front comes in that is when the deep jigging spoon bite should explode! The lake is still about 3 1/2 feet low so be careful running the lake.

This is a great time of the year to be on Lake Fork. Don,t miss out on some of the best fishing of the year.

I am now booking fall/winter and spring dates. Book early to get the best available dates! Call 903-629-7699 or 903-629-5085 cell or check out my website at http://www.lakeforktexasfishingreports.com. Until next time.

Good Fishing!

David Vance

November 3, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - With a relatively stable weather pattern for the last several weeks, the fishing at Lake Fork is very predictable. Bass are following the shad and feeding up before winter, so the location and depth changes slightly from day-to-day, but the how to,s and when,s are at their most consistent levels since early summer. With sunny days and light to moderate winds forecasted again for the coming week, look for fishing patterns to remain the same.

Lake Conditions: Halloween,s storms only brought Fork,s level up 2.5 and now it has returned to slowly dropping, sitting at 399.46,, about 3,6 below full pool. The water clarity is still slightly stained in the main lake from the turnover while it is crystal clear in coves with abundant vegetation. Water temps are down again with the cooler nights, now sitting in the mid-60,s but are on the rise with our latest warming trend. The height and coverage of grass has been reduced during the draw down, but the grassy areas you find are still holding a lot of fish.

While we have been catching good numbers of fish up to 7 lbs in the shallows, deep water is your best shot right now for a true lunker. Points, roadbeds, humps, flats and ledges in 14, to 38, have produced fish in the last couple of weeks. With the bass liable to be about anywhere out deep right now, just pulling up to your favorite honey hole and fishing is a shot in the dark. Dropping a buoy at the first place you mark a school of bait is about as unproductive. Wait to find schools of bait with signatures from bass chasing them and you,ll catch a lot more.

Presentation Pattern: At first light and late in the evening, wacky rigged baits like Lake Fork Twitch Worms in shades of watermelon have produced some nice bass around main lake weedbeds. Once the sun comes up, I,m focusing on creek channels and points until mid-morning. Position your boat in the middle of the creek channel and throw your bait to the grass edges and/or stumps near the edge of the creek, while working the middle of the creek as well. Some days they,ll be on the edge and others they,ll be in the middle of the creek. Small shad colored spinnerbaits and crankbaits have produced best on most days, while a slowly worked oz black/blue jig or a Texas rigged Lake Fork Baby Creature in Blue Bruiser color has also picked up a few fish. The same baits, along with a Carolina rigged Baby Ring Fry in Watermelon Chartreuse, will work on main lake and secondary points in 6, to 15,. Again, points with grass have been most productive, although the fish are not necessarily always holding in the grass on these points.

Out deeper, I,ve been using two different categories of baits, depending if the bass are feeding on the bottom or feeding up chasing shad. For those on the bottom, Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys in Chartreuse Fire and Purple Haze or Baby Creatures in Chartreuse Pepper is my first option. If the C-rig isn,t working, a watermelon Twitch Worm on a drop shot rig is catching big numbers of small fish, along with the occasional 5 to 8 lb bass. Productive areas typically have a lot of active yellow bass as well, so don,t set the hook when the yellows peck at your weight or lure, wait for a bass to take it. For bass that are suspended or feeding up while chasing shad and yellow bass, jigging spoons, tail spinners and swimbaits will catch big numbers of bass and some true giants as well. Experiment with your retrieve with these lures. Productive retrieves range from dragging along the bottom or holding a bait in place several feet over the bottom to vigorously snapping the bait off the bottom or counting it down to the proper depth and swimming the bait through the bass. Once you get the correct retrieve down for a given area, you,ll typically reduce the number of barfish hooked and primarily start catching bass.

Good Fishing,

Tom

October 31, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - October 29-30, 2005: (Photo - Dennis Parish had the big bass for Austin Bass Club's Falcon Lake Tournament on 10/30/05 weighing 10.28 lbs caught on Zoom 8" Mag Lizard in Watermelon Red Color 15 ft of water in Veleno Arm near Zapata Tx. There was also a 11.37 Lb bass caught the same day by a local angler.)

Austin Bass Club held their October tournament at Falcon this weekend and the first of the 14 anglers arrived to prefish starting on the 27th. There were some pretty good fish caught early during prefishing including some 6-plus lbers. The first day of the tournament yielded a number of fish from 12 inch, 1 lbers to a 5.58 lbs big bass caught by Keith Nichols. Heavy stringer for the day was 16.09 lbs and it was also weighed in by Keith Nichols. His partner Sean Ramsey had the second heavy stringer of 15.41 lbs and a 4.40 lb second big bass. That gave them a clear command of 1st place-team honors with 31.50 lbs. Dwayne Langston and his partner Dale had second HS of 23.45 lbs and 22.45 lbs caught by Mike Shields and Jeff Woodard was holding down third place.

Fishing success in terms of number of fish caught varied from a few reported to as many as 100 per boat. Winds were variable from light to 23 mph with high temperatures just breaking 80 degrees. Lake water temperature was from 78 to 80 degrees.
Plastic worms, craws and lizards were the best producing baits and colors varied from purple to watermelon red and motor oil. Small fish were still hitting spinnerbaits with chartreuse and chartreuse/white skirts. Anglers reported most areas had fishable water with clearing occurring rapidly after the recent rise. The river is still a little stained above Zapata, but fishable.

Sunday was even a nicer fishing day than Saturday and the bigger fish were moving. Temperatures peaked at 89 degrees and winds were variable and mostly light. Dwayne Langston and his brother Dale looked to be a shoe-in for first place. They had a 6.68 lb big bass and 29.95 lbs total giving them a two-day Heavy Stringer of 53.40 lbs. Everyone thought that was going to be a tough weight to beat until Keith and Sean brought in their fish and edged out the Langston weight with 55.42 Lbs to nail down first place HS. There was still one more shoe to fall as Dennis Parish brought a sack of fish to the scales anchored by a 10.28 lb bass. She was caught in 15 ft of water on a Zoom Watermelon Red Magnum Lizard. That gave them enough weight to take third place HS with 41 Lbs. Other lures and colors producing big were Horny Toads, Flukes and Worms in Green Pumpkin Red, Plum Apple and Motor Oil. Spinnerbaits worked well on mostly smaller fish. Some of the fishermen culled as many as 40 fish on the way to the multiple-heavy, 50 lb-plus stringers. The Veleno and Salado arms of the lake produced heavy stringers and lots of action.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

October 25, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - October 22-23, 2005 OPEC LEGACY Tournament: Sixty-five teams contested this 12th Annual OPEC Tournament to benefit the State Park at Falcon Heights, Texas. Both Saturday and Sunday were great fishing days although winds gusted to 17 mph and were variable most of the day out of the east on Sunday and ENE on Saturday. Baker and Cone set the bar high on Saturday with their 20.96 Lbs for Heavy Stringer, but it was Thomas Aguilar Jr's/Santos 12.90 Lb Big Bass (pictured above) that left everyone asking whether there was a bigger fish to be caught this weekend. Baker and Cone weighed a nice 9.37 LB fish for 2nd big bass Saturday and it ended up being the 3rd big bass of the Tournament. David Herzog and his wife Penny made the maiden voyage in their new Skeeter 21i this weekend and they almost had a fish that David swears would have dwarfed the 12.90 lber. Unfortunately after giving David and Penny a look, it went under the boat and pulled free. So, as it turned out, the answer was no, it would not be beaten and Tommy received big bass money and a certificate from Falcon Lake Tackle good for purchase of tackle from the Falcon Lake Tackle on-line e-store.

Baker and Cone continued their Saturday's dominance of the field Sunday, but the spread narrowed dramatically as the first five teams all weighed 30 plus lbs for their two-day, six-fish stringers. Baker/Cone's 36.73 lbs Tournament-Heavy Stringer earned them Heavy Stringer money and a certificate from Falcon Lake Tackle good for purchase of tackle from the Falcon Lake Tackle on-line e-store. This was the second heaviest stringer since OPEC changed to the 3-fish limit format ten years ago in1996. The 2001 stringer of Edwards and Raulsten weighed 40.90 lbs and remains unbeaten today.

Baker and Cone also staked claim to the third heaviest stringer in 2000 with 37.50 lbs. Both teams have now recorded multiple wins and are tied at 2 each. The big bass of the day on Sunday was weighed by Gerardo Olivares (brother of Carlos Olivares Falcon Heights Motel) and it tipped the scales at 11.39 lbs. It was chased for second by an 8.55 lber caught by Don Pierce and Robert Drake (Don was the Metro Heavy Stringer winner earlier this month.

Plastics continued as the best bait and the Watermelon Red Mag Lizard was the best performer. Bigger fish were found in 15 ft to 25 ft water. Lots of big fish were lost, mostly in the trees, and 50 or more smaller fish were caught and culled by many of the fishermen and women.
This tournament may have set a new record for fishing success. For the two-day period, there was no one who failed to weigh at least one fish. There were 34, 2-day stringers weighing over 20 lbs and it took over 27 lbs to make it into the top 10 places. There were 26 fish caught that weighed over 5 lbs.

Top Five Team Finishes:
1st Heavy Stringer Baker/Cone 36.73 Lbs
2nd Heavy Stringer Alanis/Alanis 34.12 Lbs
3rd Heavy Stringer Gerardo Olivares/Romero 34.07 Lbs
4th Heavy Stringer Oliver Talamante and Luis Saladna 30.69 Lbs
5th Heavy Stringer Don Pierce/Robert Drake 30.44 Lbs

Local Team Finishes:
7th Heavy Stringer Speedy Collett/Charlie Haralson 28.48 Lbs
19th Heavy Stringer Larry Booth/John Williams 24.04 Lbs
21st Heavy Stringer Esquivel Prieto/Garza 23.59 Lbs
34th Heavy Stringer Angel Castenada/Castenda 20.59 Lbs
35th Heavy Stringer Albert Sosa/Cavaos 18.95 Lbs
43rd Heavy Stringer Robert Amaya/Garcia 15.83 Lbs
53rd Don Hooks/John McCollum 10.52 Lbs

Altogether there were 185 fish caught Saturday and 153 Sunday for a total of 338 fish weighing 1226.54 Lbs. That is a 3.62 Lbs average per fish. The average weight-per-fish of the OPEC Heavy Stringer was 6.12 Lbs. Not too shabby!
Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

October 17, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - The lake level was at 283.50 ft elevation Sunday morning or 17.70 ft low. We are at 284.02 ft this morning. Lake water temperatures have cooled about 5 degrees and are in the high 70's to the low 80-degree range and water clarity is good in most parts of the lake except the upper lake where the rapid rise is bringing in a lot of silt and trash. Stained-to-muddy conditions are expected to persist in this area for some time. There were some heavy rains in the area North of us so this started the river running again. Now is the time to start looking for the catfish bite to heat up.

The first two real cold front wind shifts of the year that blew in several weeks ago pretty much nipped the big-fish bite in the bud for a couple weeks. However, a few of the bigger bass started showing up on the 16th and a number of reports were received (from both of the clubs fishing here last weekend) of big bass being lost to broken or tree-hung lines. According to reports from Anglers fishing the weekend, about any tree on points, ledges humps or structure of any kind were legitimate targets. Plastic Lizards, Brush Hogs, Worms, Super Flukes and Craws were all catching fish. Colors working well included Watermelon Red anything, Plum Apple, June Bug and Watermelon Green Orange. Falcon Lake Tackle's new 5" Bayou Craw in Watermelon Red Chartreuse Claw was a big hit and sold out by Sunday. This (new to Falcon Lake Tackle) bait finally gives anglers a chartreuse claw bait without having to dip it. We will have some more in and available for this weekend. Several of the Anglers weighing top stringers were using the new bait.

Don't forget you can order the new baits by phone 956-765-4866, or over our website shopping cart at www.falconlaktackle.com. We have over 300 categories of baits with over 5000 selections and also rods, reels and magnum baits (with worms to 14 inches) designed to attract and land big bass with bad attitudes.

There were some healthy two-day, five fish-stringers in the 20-30 LB range with a lot of 50+ fish-catches on both days. The weekend Tournaments Big Bass weighed 7.51 Lbs and was caught by Jimbo Beard from the Uvalde Bass Club. Jimbo's 5-fish stringer weighed 18.74 Lbs. Uvalde's George Franklin edged Jimbo out with a 21.89 Lb heavy stringer anchored by two 5 LB plus BB. For detailed information and pictures, See Tournament results at www.tackleandrods.com.

Right Photo - Jim Edwards South Texas Bass Anglers Assoc 2-day 10 fish HS 30.38 lbs BB 6.64 lbs

Right Photo - Jimbo Beard Uvalde Bass Club 7.51 Lb BB

The daily highs have been in the upper 80's and nightly lows have been in the mid-60's. As I write this report, we are receiving a lot of new water in the lake. We have seen a foot or more so far and expect maybe that much more if we are lucky. Most of the rise is coming courtesy of rains that fell north and west of Laredo. Local fisherman Jimmy Browland had a 10 lber Sunday. which was the biggest fish caught and reported. We will post a picture when received.|

This week was pretty much a continuation of last weekend's action with a few good fish and a lot of small ones on plastics and spinnerbaits. The bigger fish are still deeper, but fish were caught anywhere from 10 ft to 20 ft. The smaller fish are aggressive and hard charging. Catfishing has been good with limits or near-limits of 3 Lb plus fish on shrimp and worms. The OPEC Legacy Tournament will bring a 100 or so anglers to town starting with prefishing on Thursday and continuing through this weekend. Some of these anglers fished this last weekend. The lake is off-limit to participants Monday to Wednesday. Applications are available at Falcon Lake Tackle and may be left here anytime before Thursday or prefishing.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

October 17, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - The bass at Lake Fork remain scattered from the backs of creeks in inches of water to deep main lake points and humps. We,re also starting to catch big fish on a more regular basis again, including a 10.68 lb lunker on Friday. The recent warm days with little wind have caused us to change our presentation from last week,s patterns for windy and cloudy cool days; however, the bass are still in about the same general locations as they have been for the last couple of weeks.

Fork,s water level has continued to slowly drop, currently sitting at 399.77,, about 3,3 below full pool. The water clarity is still slightly stained in the main lake from the turnover while it is crystal clear in many coves. Water temps have warmed up to the mid to upper 70s. The height and coverage of grass has been reduced during the draw down, but the grassy areas you find are holding a lot of fish.

Topwaters have been very productive some mornings and all day on cloudy days. Shad colored Chug Bugs and Zara Spooks have produced fast action around pad fields and over grass mats. Small spinnerbaits in white and shallow or medium running crankbaits have also worked early in the morning or all day on cloudy or windy days. During the day, wacky rigged Lake Fork Twitch Worms in watermelon on sunny days and June bug on cloudy ones have been consistent, as have 3/8 oz jigs in watermelon or white with matching Lake Fork Baby Creature trailers. Fish all of these baits on deep weedlines or along creek channels in the coves. Simply position your boat in the middle of the creek channel and throw your bait to the grass edges and/or stumps near the edge of the creek. Out deeper, Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys in Chartreuse Pepper and Red Bug or Baby Creatures in Killer Craw have produced some good numbers once schools are located. Other days, drop shotting Lake Fork Twitch Worms in Watermelon or < oz white or silver jigging spoons have been better. Find the schools of yellow bass and the largemouth will be there as well. Good electronics and experience with them is the key to finding these bonanzas of fish.

Both shallow and deep, fish have been moving in and out of coves and up and down on structure daily and even hourly, following the baitfish. Cover water until you catch a fish, then work that area over thoroughly, as most of our fish have come in bunches in small areas.

And don,t let the high fuel costs keep you from fishing. Bass are holding in all areas of the lake right now. Launch from one of the many ramps at Lake Fork that has a couple large creeks and deep water nearby and you,ll be able to catch fish shallow and deep without making a long run. Or for those of you that like to see more of the lake, swing by the new Ranger Boats dealer at Lake Fork, Diamond Sports Marine. The new Yamaha High Pressure Direct Injection 2-strokes and quiet and clean 4-strokes are much more efficient than traditional 2-stroke outboards. And when paired with a new Z Comanche Ranger, you,ll be able to fish in comfort, even on the windiest and nastiest of days (which, of course, will be your next day off).

Good Fishing,

Tom

October 10, 2005 Choke Canyon - SOUTH TEXAS CHAMPIONSHIP
Choke Canyon October 9, 2005

1st Place Vannoy/Celedon 16.93 $ 1,500.00
2nd Place Marbach/Conran 14.02 750.00
3rd Place Fowler/Fowler 13.80 450.00
4th Place Klekar/Klekar 13.77 250.00
5th Place Adams/Larkin 12.71 130.00

1st B.B. Vannoy 6.16 $ 250.00
2nd B.B. Klekar 5.49 120.00

2006 Schedule
January 8 Falcon April 23 Choke Canyon
February 26 Coleto May 7 Mathis
March 26 Amistad June 18 Choke Canyon

Championship: September 24 Amistad

For More information or entry form contact:

Stipp Construction Tele: 361/384/0257
P.O.Box 914 Fax: 361/384/0258
Orange Grove, Texas 78372 STIPP CONSTR@aol.com
Home Tele: 361/384/0605 Cell Tele: 361/318/9205

Bill

October 10, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - Tournament Report - October 8, 2005 Ingram and McAllen Bass Clubs: Lake water temperature was in the low-to-mid 80's and the lake level was 282.64 ft or 18.56 ft low on Friday. Water clarity was good in most parts of the lake and winds were mild from 5 mph to15 mph out of the North most of the day. The front that blew in for Friday was the first one of the winter unless you count the brief wind switch we had last week. It lasted about five minutes. The welcome relief from 100-degree temperatures courtesy of the cold front was 72 degrees on Friday and 83 degrees on Saturday. Drop dead fishing weather. Nighttime lows were in the 60-degree range; just great sleeping with no air conditioning required.

As usual when a cold front blows in the big fish hunker down, suspend or get lockjaw and the bite is mainly from Jr. Class to 5 lb bass. There may be a few big fish break the Florida bass "No-Bite CF Rule", but not many. We have pleaded with the TPW folks to get a balance back in Falcon of Florida and Northern Strain fish. This would help even out the bite during cold fronts according to some authorities and our own experience fishing here from the 1970 to 1990 years. I guess we should just be thankful that there are enough of this smaller fish in the lake that they stay active during the fronts.

There was a time I remember several years ago when I went to weigh-ins of bass clubs under frontal conditions that a single 2 LB bass was weighed for an entire club of fifteen anglers and it got big bass and heavy stringer honors. Thanks to Mother Nature, Falcon is a different lake today. We did see a few (200,000 Northern bass) stocked, but hardly significant enough to bring any impact. I am convinced it will take a ground swell of protests to TPW and Government Officials to get any significant stocking of Northern strain bass, crappie or white bass. These species were the basis of much of the millions of dollars in Winter Texan revenues that Zapata enjoyed and have now been lost. A 50% ratio of Florida vs Northern strain bass could improve Falcon fishing immeasurably versus what is now an almost 100% Florida mix.

Our County Officials should be pursuing lawsuits, demanding facilities and building ramps and docks to encourage more of the large tournaments like we had last weekend. Schools, parks and municipal buildings all find their way into the budget, all revenue eaters. Why is there no money for revenue feeders? The San Antonio Metropolitan League of Bass Clubs City Tournaments brought 146 Anglers here for 3 days and the 41.50 LB - 10 fish heavy stringer and 9.65 LB big bass were good indicators to the strength of this black bass fisher and the potential of rebuilding a lake economy. Tens of thousands of dollars were added to the economy by this one tournament. Oil and gas is strong right now, but will we be able to pay for the taxes required to fund the operations expense of the revenue eating projects once the reserves are depleted?

Ingram Bass Club 14 anglers fought the post not-too-cold front conditions to end up with a very respectable 21.45 LB Heavy Stringer caught by Keith Thompson Saturday. It was anchored by 5.87 LB and 5.40 LB bass, which were also the first and second Big Bass for Saturday. Bobby Stephenson had the second heavy stringer weighing 12.44 Lbs and a 5.33 third Big Bass. Sunday was another great day as far as weather with continued mild conditions. Temperatures remained in the 80's and winds were in the 5 mph-20 mph range. The club members mourned last night's loss of their friend and teammate Carl Pogue who passed away in his room at the motel last night. Carl is survived by his wife and son Jordan and we wish to extend our condolences to them during this difficult period.

Keith Thompson continued his dominance weighing 5 fish Sunday for a total 2-day weight of 33.18 Lbs for Heavy Stringer. Roy Graham and his partner Ronnie Gazeway had 2nd and 3rd heavy stringers of 29.56 and 29.26 lbs respectively. Roy edged out Keith Thompson's 5.87 LB Big Bass from Saturday with a 5.89 Lber. His 20.50 LB Sunday stringer was the heaviest of the day. Roy and Ronnie also had heavy-team stringer honors with 38.48 lbs. Watermelon Red Zoom Magnum Lizards were working about as well as any bait this weekend, Quantities of fish caught varied but 40 plus catches were not unusual. However, size was a problem as a goof many of the fish were under the 14 inch legal limit. A lot of action was reported on spinnerbaits, but here again, length was just short of legal.

McAllen Bass Angler's John Struthers was leading his club with a 15.6 LB Heavy Stringer after Saturday's weigh-in and Brantley Billman had Big Bass of 5.6 Lbs. Oscar Ramirez, Andy Silva, Brantley Billman and Joe Martinez were in 2nd-5th Heavy Stringer positions with double-digit stringers from 11 Lbs to 14 Lbs.

Sunday was a good day for Billman yielding a 6.0 Lb big bass and another good five-fish stringer, which gave him Heavy Stringer Honors as well with 25.8 Lbs. John Struthers ended up with second-Heavy Stringer weighing 24.07 lbs. Joe Martinez came in third with 22.07 Lbs. Altogether the 13 Anglers caught a total of 33 bass weighing 185.13 Lbs.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

October 9, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - After a long awaited cool down, Lake Fork has slept off its hangover-like effects of the fall turnover and great numbers of bass are being caught in depths of 3 to 30,. Small fish are dominating the catch right now; however, with the cooler temps, big fish are being caught now on a more regular basis. Best of all, you can catch bass on just about any lure or technique during October. You name it"from topwaters all day on cloudy days, schooling bass, spinnerbaits and crankbaits in the shallows to Carolina rigs, drop shots, and jigging spoons for deep bass"numbers of bass will be caught on all of these techniques this month.

Fork,s water level has continued to slowly drop, currently sitting at 399.89,, about 3,1 below full pool. The water clarity is still slightly stained in the main lake from the turnover while it is crystal clear in most coves. Water temps are down considerably after the recent cold front, with temps sitting in the mid-70s.

For the bass, location pattern, you,ll find our green friends spread all over the lake. In contrast to the summer pattern when bass position was predicated on deep structure, many bass are now following shad and are feeding actively along edges of cover and structure. Whereas deep structure was they key, now the presence of baitfish is the predominate indicator for a productive spot. Once areas with shad are located, seek edges or funnels that allow schooling bass to corral bait and optimize their feeding opportunities. Typical examples or this are where cover and structure meets, like deep grasslines on points, timber along creek channel bends, or treelines along old fencerows. Out deeper, points, humps, and ridges are starting to hold good concentrations of bass that are grouping up with the shad and yellow bass in anywhere from 14, to 30,. I typically find the schools shallower on cloudy days and deeper on sunny days, although there are frequent exceptions to this rule.

Once fish are located, the depth of the bass and the cover present has dictated the presentation pattern. For example, in areas where bass are feeding over grass that is 2, or less below the surface, topwaters, burning spinnerbaits, and lipless crankbaits have excelled. In areas where the grass is deeper, say 6, below the surface, medium running crankbaits, jigs, and soft plastic jerkbaits have worked better. The key lure has changed daily, depending on the conditions, so experiment with your presentation until you hook up. Having issued that disclaimer, following are the baits that have been working best this past week. Early and late, the topwater bite is hard to beat. Shad colored Pop-R,s and Chug Bugs have produced fast action around pad fields and over grass mats. For a shot at a bigger fish, slow roll a watermelon/pearl Lake Fork Frog just below the surface in pads and around heavy grass on main lake points with deep water nearby. During the day, wacky rigged Lake Fork Twitch Worms in watermelon on sunny days and June bug on cloudy ones have been consistent on deep grass lines, as have shad colored Magic Shad soft plastic jerkbaits. On windy or cloudy days, oz spinnerbaits with double willow blades in shad colors have excelled. Out deeper, Carolina rigged Baby Ring Frys in Purple Haze or Chartreuse Fire and oz silver jigging spoons are producing big numbers and some lunkers once schools are located. Find the schools of yellow bass and the largemouth will be there as well. Trust your electronics, as I,ve watched a number of fish come up and strike my bait on my Lowrance X-25 graphs this week.

Good Fishing,

Tom

October 5, 2005 - Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - The lake was dropping slowly last week, but we experienced some showers for the last couple days, which should turn it around. We are still in the 282 ft range or about 18 1/2 ft low. The water is in pretty good condition and the weekend bite was good for the Metro City Tournaments. SABC's Don Pierce had a 10-fish heavy stringer of 41.50 lbs and his son Robert had 36 lbs for a combined heavy boat total of over 77 lbs. The big bass of the tournament was 9.65 lbs and was caught by UCBC's Larry Martin. Carlos Olivares Falcon Heights Motel owner stopped by the store and reported on his weekend guide trip. They had an 8.4 lb big bass and 6 others around 5 lbs. There were some other fishermen here fishing who reported 100-fish days, but a great number of the fish were under the 14 inches legal limit.

The primary bite this weekend was plastic brushhogs, lizards and craws. Colors going out the door were watermelon red, watermelon green orange and tequila green. Plum apple lizards were popular also. The primary depths were 10 ft and deeper to 20 ft. The technique of jigging the plastics in the trees off points is working better than casting into the trees and that helps avoid lots of hang ups. There are still some crankbait fish being caught, but that action appears to have slowed considerably. There was some early morning buzzbait and topwater action and the dragon flies have started their mating ritual which happens every October.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

September 24, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - Lake water depth has increased to the high 282 ft -283 ft range (19 ft low) and lake water temperature remains in the 80 to 85-degree range. Water clarity is good-to-slightly stained depending on what part of the lake you are fishing. The afternoon highs have been in the 100-degree range and this is the time of year when a lot of the fish caught and hauled around in live wells die so it is just as well that the tournaments scheduled for this weekend were cancelled.

There was some evidence this week that some good fish have moved into water as shallow as 2 ft, but some big fish are still coming from the 20 to 35 foot depths. Charles Haralson was here fishing late last week in preparation for a guide trip Saturday. His best five fish weighed 25 lbs, followed by 5 culls of 22 lbs and 5 more of 20 lbs. His shallow fish was in 2 ft and the deepest fish was in 35 ft. Charles reports that most of the better fish are still being caught deep and Carolina rigs were producing on rock ledges, points and humps. Watermelon anything, black chartreuse and motor oil chartreuse are all good bets for colors and senkos, craws. brush hogs and lizards will all catch fish. Crankbaits like DD22 Normans will produce in deep water. In shallow, rat-l-traps small Bombers, Bandits or Norman Middle/Baby N's will catch the fish. Keep a Knocker rigged on one rod and test it periodically in all depths. Crankbaits colors of slick, chrome with blue or black backs, and chartreuse anything are all working.

Big catfish are roaming the Rio Grande River as this picture of a 50 lb Yellow Cat will attest. It was caught by Jr. Vela while fishing with John Vaughn early Saturday morning in 24 ft of water. Jr had baited up with a live worm ostensibly to catch some bream. This cat was the end result. Some cats are being caught from the shoreline and boat docks by bank fishermen. Worms, shrimp and livers or stinkbait are catching fish

Do not forget to mark your calenders for the O.P.E.C. Tournament scheduled for October 21-23 at the Falcon State Park. This is the 12th Annual event where 3 fish a day , 2-day stringers typically weigh 35 lbs. Guaranteed good food and fishing , good times and a good cause. See www.tackleandrods.com/tourney/opec.htm for details. Next weekend is the Metro City Championship tournament with upwards of three hundred fishermen and women expected.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

September 18, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - September is one of the best months on Lake Fork to catch numbers of bass. While most of the fish caught this time of year aren,t lunkers, the steady action day-in and day-out makes it a favorite of many anglers. September is also tournament season on Lake Fork, so my report will focus on several patterns to help you catch those money fish.

Fork,s water level has continued to slowly drop, currently sitting at 400.24,, about 2,9 below full pool. The water clarity is slightly stained and about normal, while the grass beds are greening up around the lake and growing. Water temps are down considerably with our cooler nights, with temps running in the low 80s during day.

Concerning the location pattern, you,ll find bass spread all over the lake as the water temps cool. In contrast to the summer pattern when bass position was predicated on deep structure, many bass are now following shad and are feeding actively along edges of cover and structure. Whereas structure was they key, now the presence of baitfish is the predominate indicator for a productive spot. Once areas with shad are located, seek edges or funnels that allow schooling bass to corral bait and optimize their feeding opportunities. Typical examples or this are where cover and structure meets, like deep grasslines on points, timber along creek channel bends, or treelines along old fencerows. I,ve caught fish recently from the very backs of large creeks as well as suspended over 30, of water, so pretty much the entire lake is in play right now. Finally, concentrate on windy areas of the lake and your catch rate will be better.

Following are the presentation patterns that have been working best, especially for numbers of keeper-sized fish. Early and late, the topwater bite is hard to beat. Shad colored Pop-R,s and Chug Bugs have produced fast action around pad fields and over grass mats. For a shot at a bigger fish, slow roll a watermelon/pearl Lake Fork Frog just below the surface in pads and around heavy grass on main lake points with deep water nearby. During the day, wacky rigged Lake Fork Twitch worms in watermelon candy and June bug have been consistent on deep grass lines. oz finesse jigs in watermelon or black/brown/amber worked along treelines and creek edges are producing some fish as well. On windy or cloudy days, small wide wobbling crankbaits that run 6, or less, oz traps and oz spinnerbaits allow you to cover more water and catch active fish. Shad or chrome color schemes are top producers for these baits. A little deeper, medium running cranks like a Deep Little N fished through timbered flats are catching good numbers, even on sunny calm days. And don,t forget a Carolina rigged Lake Fork Twitch worm in watermelon or red bug in 10, to 18, along grasslines and on points. Find these schools with your electronics and you,ll catch a limit of keepers in minutes.

For those of you looking for an over-the-slot fish (24+), I,d recommend the following patterns. First, Texas & Carolina rigs fished on 15,-25, deep structure with a 10 Lake Fork Trophy Worm or a Baby Creature are still producing some good fish. Your number of bites on this deep structure will be less than it was in August or will again be in October, but your chances of catching a good fish are usually best on deeper structure during the day. Finding timber and brush piles on deep structure is the key and be sure to leave your bait in the cover until a big bass pulls it out for you. In addition, there are a number of big fish suspended in timber over deep water. Deep diving crankbaits in shad colors brought through the treetops and pitching jigs or Texas rigged creature baits to the timber will produce some giant bass. A great bait to try is the new Lake Fork Tackle Flipper in shades of green or black. You can check it out at the Lake Fork Tackle Pro Shop in Emory. Finally, early and late, Lake Fork Frogs and oz watermelon or black/brown/amber jigs with watermelon red Baby Creature trailers fished around deep grass will produce some lunkers.

Good Fishing,

Tom

September 8, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - - September 3-4, 2005- Atascosa Bass Tournament: Saturday was not a bad day for fishing Falcon, except maybe for a little late afternoon moisture via a fairly quick-moving rainstorm. We sure cannot complain too much about the rain, which totaled almost an inch in three days even though we had to accept some "wet money" for payment of tackle at the store. Compared to July, it look's like we are back in the Rain God's good graces. As a result of the rain, the high temperatures actually dropped into the nineties and even though the humidity increased, it was not as bad as we could have experienced.

Atascosa's Craig White and his wife Patricia both did well with double-digit weights giving them first and third heavy stringers on day 1. Dub Billings and his grandson Shane also did well on the 1st day and Dub had the second-heavy stringer with a weight just south of Craig's 19 plus lbs. Congratulations to Shane who had the big bass weighing 7.02 lbs. The fish was caught in the trees in 15 ft of water on a Rat-L-Trap purchased at Falcon Lake Tackle. Shane, who will be celebrating his 12th birthday this week, weighed in 18.2 lbs and, in addition to capturing Big Bass honors, beat 5 veteran angler's heavy stringer weights with 5 fish. Good job Shane. While many of the fish caught came from either lower or mid lake on plastics (including craws, lizards and worms), crankbaits caught bigger fish and there were a lot of smaller fish that were caught on plastics and culled. Black Neon Chartreuse as well as about anything green or watermelon red caught fish. We had some reports of a good fish caught in the Tigers including a 10lb 4oz fish caught by a Tigre Island property owner from Laredo. If we can get an e-mail of this fish, we would love to share it. Some otherwise good fish were lost on unfortunate break-offs and other mishaps. A total of nine fish were caught by club anglers weighing over 4 lbs (with 4 of these over 5 lbs) including 2 of the five fish caught by Shane Billings

Fifty-fish days were common for many anglers this weekend and 7 limits were weighed compared to 9 short stringers. Although Sunday's results (146 lbs) were off a little from Saturday's (187 lb) numbers, it was after all only a little over a half day on the water Sunday. A six pounder failed to measure up so Shane Billing's fish from Saturday held up as Big Bass for the tournament. Craig's total for the day and a half 10-fish limit was 31.12 lbs and wife Patricia was 2nd with a very close 29.96 lbs. Dennis Bald weighed 29.04 lbs for third and 9 other fishermen weighed in stringers in excess of 20 lbs. Altogether, 16 anglers caught 135 fish weighing 332.85 lbs.

We posted an American Red Cross Banner on our website yesterday and we are pledging 5 % of all website sales through the forseeable future to help with the Hurricane victims recovery. I hope we are covered up with orders

Until next time, pray for the Katriina Hurricane victims, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

August 31, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - This week at Lake Fork remains fair for both size and numbers. Almost all of the good fish we caught in the past week have been suspended in timber or in schools over open water. These suspended fish will bite, but consistently presenting a lure in front of them can be a challenge. Meanwhile, fishing shallow early and late with wacky rigged baits like a Lake Fork Twitch Worm and suspending jerkbaits to schooling fish will catch good numbers on some days, but most of these fish are small. The deep portion of my fishing report remains basically the same, as the method hasn,t changed. The key remains to use your graph to find the schools of bigger fish.

Fork,s water level has continued to slowly drop, currently sitting at 400.69,, about 2,4 below full pool. The water remains a stained green color, due to algae blooms. Water temps are still in the upper 80s and low 90s in the main lake.

The location pattern has stayed the same, with many of the big fish suspended instead of holding on the bottom. Many bass are still relating to humps, ridges and points outside large creeks while others are camped on traditional summertime haunts that are well offshore. With the thermocline effectively creating a deep boundary for the bass at about 28,, I,m concentrating on structure that is 15, to 28, deep. Structure that tops out near the thermocline has been especially good. Timber, whether it is standing, submerged, or in brush piles, has been the key cover.

Deep diving crankbaits in shad patterns have been the best bait many days. Find bass with your electronics on drops and rises in 10, to 18, and bump bottom cover with your crank or for suspended fish over 18, to 30+,, use a stop and go retrieve to trigger these fish. On deep structure from 15, to 28,, Carolina rigged Lake Fork Baby Creatures in shades of watermelon will produce big fish when slowly brought through heavy timber. For bass suspended deeper than 15,, vertically jigging spoons and jigs has caught a few good fish.

Good Fishing,

Tom

August 31, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - - The temperatures continued hot and hotter with highs this week in the 100 degree range all week. The lake rise has leveled off and the high for the month was 282.35 ft. It dropped down to 282.32 ft for the 31st reaching 18.88 ft low. The lake water clarity is fair-to-good in most parts of the lake with temps in the mid-80 to the upper 80-degree range later in the afternoon.
A couple of fishermen from Victoria Tx located a number of schooling fish this morning up the river around Marker 14 and the fish were taking swim baits (Storm Wide Eye Shad), brush hogs and lizards in about any color. They had a combination of small and legal fish to about 3 lbs, but the larger fish alluded them.

Plastic Watermelon Red Zoom Magnum Lizards were the best producing bait. Several other fishermen reported that 15 ft of water was the best depth for bigger fish after the early bite. Speedy Collett reports he is still hauling in big fish using the GDD22 Norman Crankbait and slick has been his favorite color. He has been fishing the ledges and end of points in deep water. Some of his hot spots have got more water with the recent rises and are just beyond what he can reach with the DD22 baits on 12 lb mono. He has resorted to some of the deeper running lures like Luhr Jensen's Hot Lips Express and Deep Secrets.

Veleno fish are still active around the bends of the river and off rocky areas. Local catfishermen are still catching good quantities of catfish to 5lbs and up yesterday fishing in the Marker 8 area. The stinkbait and/or liver around the trees and close to channel drop offs is working well. The fishing pressure has been light this week, but reports lead us to believe this weekend is going to be pretty good fishing.

I would say that right now if you can get out early and work the points, rocky areas and ledges close to deeper water you should catch some good fish. I would try these areas in shallow in 2 to 6 ft depths early in the morning before the sun gets up. As the sun comes out and clouds lift, most of the better fish will move deeper to15 ft - 20 ft or so as indicated above. Schooling activity will be found both early and late in the day up river in creeks and arroyos off the main river channel. Small shad colored crankbaits and spinners as well as rat-l-traps and swim baits will generally catch the schooling fish.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

August 26, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Gunns Guide Service - This week on Lake Fork the lake is 2 ft. down and in the low 90's. Fishing reports this time of year all sound pretty much alike. Start shallow early with top waters and weightless stick baits around shallow grass and wood.

This is a good place to use Lake Fork Tackles new frog. This is an awesome bait! Then move slightly deeper on secondary points with Bandit 100 or 200 cranks. Next move to the timber in 8-20 foot and fish Carolina rigs and power worms or drop shot rigs. If the fish are suspended use deep cranks or count down swim baits. Check creeks and humps with your electronics.

Look for schools of bait and the bass will be close. Watch for schooling bass, this can be a tip to help pattern fish. Observing the location of the schooling fish can tell you what type of structure the fish are feeding over to help you know where to try to intercept them before they school. These schools can feed for some time before they run the shad to the surface. A deep crank can load the boat. Keep a lipless crank or small crank and a weighted Bass Assassin at the ready. Schooling fish blowing up seldom lasts long this time of year but they will start to stay up longer and more frequent as the season starts to change to fall.The school can still be in feed mode after they go back down. when they sound use a swim bait or a deep crank or fish them on the bottom with a drop shot with a shad or watermelon trick worm wacky style. Spoons or tailspinners can be effective from time to time.

August 22, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - (Picture of Michelle Redfearn with a 7 pounder) This week at Lake Fork remains fair for both size and numbers, although it seemed to be improving late in the week. The fishing patterns have basically remained the same, so much of this report is a repeat. Numbers are still averaging around 20, depending on what pattern you concentrate on. For numbers of fish, shallow cover early and late and schooling bass during the day are your best option. For bigger fish, deep diving crankbaits for suspended bass and bass relating to mid-depth structure (10'-18') or Texas & Carolina rigs fished methodically through heavy cover in deeper water (15'-28') are the best options. I've mainly concentrated on the bigger fish out deep, so my report will cover that pattern.

Fork's water level has continued to slowly drop, currently sitting at 400.90', about 2'1" below full pool. The water remains a stained green color, due to algae blooms. Water temps cooled to the mid-80s last week but were back into the upper 80s and low 90s over the weekend.

The location pattern has stayed the same, although many of the big fish have been suspending instead of holding on the bottom. Many bass are still relating to humps, ridges and points outside spawning bays while others are camped on traditional summertime haunts that are well offshore. With the thermocline effectively creating a deep boundary for the bass at about 28', I'm concentrating on structure that is 15' to 28' deep. Structure that tops out near the thermocline has been especially good. Timber, whether it is standing, submerged, or in brush piles, has been the key cover.

Deep diving crankbaits in shad patterns have been generating some strong strikes. Find bass with your electronics on drops and rises in 10' to 18' and bump bottom cover with your crank or for suspended fish over 18' to 30+', use a stop and go retrieve to trigger these fish. On deep structure from 15' to 28', Carolina rigged Lake Fork Baby Creatures in shades of green and Texas rigged Lake Fork 8" worms in Blue Fleck or Watermelon/Red will produce big fish when slowly brought through heavy timber.

Here's hoping you catch the lunker of your dreams. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at 214-683-9572 (days) or 972-635-6027 (evenings) or e-mail me through http://www.LakeForkGuideTrips.com, where your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Good Fishing,

Tom

August 18, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - Falcon Lake Flash Fishing Report- August 17, 2005: Several fishermen from San Antonio have been here for the last couple days fishing the coves in the River north of Zapata. They have averaged 80 or so fish a day up to 3 lb in size. The rat-l-traps and other lipless crankbaits worked great and they usually had at least 2 fish, and sometimes more, following the lure to the boat behind a hooked fish. One of the guys confessed to placing the lure on his rod in front of one of the trailing bass and catching it without even getting the lure in the water. Now that is some reel action.
The lake level has reached 282 ft for the first time since early May 2005 and we are sitting at 19.18 ft low. The days high was 98 degrees and the low was 74 degrees this morning. Lake water temperature is in the mid-eighties to upper 90-degree range. Water clarity is good-to-excellent.
Plastics worked in the 12 to 14' depth off points, humps and high rises is still a productive pattern in watermelon red or watermelon red tail-dipped in chartreuse. Baby Brush Hogs and Brush Hogs have been working as well as lizards.
We received some good news that the NBAA Bass Circuit is going to form a Southern Circuit and Falcon is on the schedule for the 25th and 26th of March, 2006. We will have the forms and info in the store this week and we will add the info to our website. The National Bass Anglers Association has been in operation North of here for sometime , but this will be their first entry into South Texas. The Classic will also be held on one of the South Texas lakes and first place will be a fully rigged Skeeter bass boat. Regional Director Dan Leader was in Zapata today and he will be working with Peggy Umphres Chamber of Commerce Director and Speedy Collett of Beacon Lodge to organize this event. They have some great plans for the future and we are excited about their interest in South Texas. The first Tournament of 2006 will be the South Texas 5 on January 8th, with the Zapata Chamber of Commerce New Legends Tournament (replacement for Tommy Gray Memorial) to be held on January 13th and 14th. Mark your calendars now!
Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

August 12, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - So far in August, we have had very little moisture. We received .15 on the 7th and the lake level has remained in the 280-281 ft range since the 1st reaching 281.82 ft on the 12th of August. Winds have been ranging from 20 mph up to 32 mph gusts; Straight-line winds have been somewhat lower and very fishable. Water clarity has been fair-to-good in most parts of the lake and the lake water temperature is averaging in the mid-85 degree range. Air temperatures have been in the 95 to 98 degree range trending up to just below 100 degrees the last two days.

The larger black bass are being found deeper in 12 to 15 ft. off points in the trees and on drop offs during the day with some fish shallower early mornings or under cloudy conditions. Crankbaits are still catching fish although not as many as plastic magnum lizards, craws and worms. Watermelon and WMred or plum have been the best producing colors in plastic baits while chartreuse or the new "Slick" color Norman crankbaits have been strong in crankbait colors. This time of year, magnum lizards and worms are producing big and we have the lizards to 10 inch, craws to 6 inch, stick worms to 7 inch and snake worms to 12 inch with the largest supply of Berkley 10 inch Power Worms in South Texas including the increasingly hard to find 100 packs. These baits, as well as 5000 others, are available from our Zapata Texas Store and they are all listed on our on-line website store at www.falconlaketackle.com

The McAllen Bass Anglers held their August Tournament here on Falcon last weekend and they had 88 fish of which 8 were 4 lbs or bigger. Altogether 18 fisherman caught 219.13 lbs in this 3-fish limit, two-day event . Big Bass weighed 7.6 lbs. Catfishing up the river and around roosting birds on the lake is still good as is fishing from the shoreline, banks and boat docks. However, for the best results, it is important to get to your spot early before the heat slows down the bite.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

August 11, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - This week at Lake Fork has been fair for both size and numbers. We had a few fish over 7 lbs but none over 8, with numbers averaging 15 to 20 bass for a full day. I have found two different patterns to choose from. For numbers of smaller fish, shallow wood and grass cover early and late and schooling bass during the day are your best option. For big fish, deep diving crankbaits for suspended bass and bass relating to mid-depth structure (10,-18,) and TX or Carolina rigs fished methodically through heavy cover are the best option, although your numbers will usually lower. I,ve mainly concentrated on the bigger fish, so my report will cover that pattern. Beware; these big bass are hitting hard enough to rip the rods out of your hands (see below).

Again this week, we had numerous storms in the area but the lake didn,t receive much rain. The water level has continued to slowly drop, currently sitting at 401.12,, about 1,11 below full pool. The water remains a stained green color, due to continued algae blooms. Water temps remain in the upper 80s to low 90s.

The location pattern has stayed the same, although many of the big fish have been suspending instead of holding on the bottom. Many bass are still relating to humps, ridges and points outside spawning bays while others are camped on traditional summertime haunts that are well offshore. With the thermocline effectively creating a deep boundary for the bass at about 28,, I,m concentrating on structure that is 10, to 28, deep. Timber, whether it is standing, submerged, or in brush piles, has been the key cover.

Deep diving crankbaits in shad patterns have been generating some strong strikes. As a matter of fact, I had one hit it so hard yesterday that if ripped the rod out of my hands and took my lure, rod, and reel down into the depths. (This bass was last seen heading south towards Ray Branch with a Shimano Curado and a Castaway Soft Touch rod in her possession. Please contact the local authorities if you have any information on her whereabouts.) My customer, Greg, also almost had his rod ripped from his hands a couple times, so hang on tight with these big mommas! Find bass with your electronics on drops and rises in 10, to 18, and bump bottom cover with your crank or for suspended fish over 18, to 30+,, use a stop and go retrieve to trigger these fish. On deep structure from 18, to 28,, Carolina rigged Lake Fork Baby Creatures in shades of green and Texas rigged Lake Fork 8 worms in Blue Fleck will produce big fish when slowly brought through heavy timber. oz watermelon jigs with Watermelon/Red Baby Creature trailers are also producing some big fish in the timber. Simply pinch the grub tail off of the Baby Creature and you,ll give your jig an irresistible swimming action.

Good Fishing,

Tom

August 6-7, 2005 Falcon - Submitted by Larry Bridgeman - Tournament Report - McAllen Bass Anglers: Twenty of McAllen's finest fishermen brought their rigs and reels to Falcon State Park last weekend to contest their August Tournament. The big bass of 7 lbs 6 Oz was caught by Abel Garcia (right photo) who had 2nd heavy stringer of 17 lbs 12 oz for the two-day event. The heavy stringer was caught by Eddie Kucia (left photo with a 5-10) weighing 18.01 Oz. The conservation-minded club had reduced this to a three-fish daily limit tournament in consideration of the hot weather. Altogether, 20 fishermen caught 88 bass weighing 219 lbs 13 Oz. There were 6 fish caught over 5 lbs and eight patch fish (over 4 lbs) weighed-in by Anglers.

Most of the fish came off plastic magnum lizards or Yamosenkos in the trees in anywhere from 6 to 20 ft. A depth of 12-16 foot was the best producing depth range. About any color or shade of green, red or purple caught fish.

Similar reports from non-tournament anglers fishing Falcon indicated a lot of fish were being culled to yield average five-fish catches of 22 to 25 lbs. A few spinnerbait fish have been taken, but the crankbait action has slowed up this week.

Schooling bass are still being reported up river in the Arroyos on the US side. Small crankbaits and rat-l-traps have been effective baits. Catfish up river are still hitting shrimp and worms.The water temperature was around the mid-eighties and clarity was fair-to-good. It appears we are still receiving some water from the Salado and it is off color-to-stained. The water is a few degrees cooler on the lower end of the lake.

The lake level is currently at 281.66 ft, which is 21.54 ft low.

Until next time, have a great day on the water and always practice catch and release.

July 30, 2005 - Lake Fork - Submitted by Lake Fork Guide Trips - Fishing has been up and down for us the past week at Lake Fork, primarily due to a couple of changes to the fish,s environment. First, the thermocline has set in about 28, deep. The presence of the thermocline, combined with a rare July cold front left a lot of big fish suspended. As of yesterday, 7/29, the heat was back on and we were marking many more schools relating to the bottom. While 2 to 5 lb fish dominated our catch last week, we did catch a few in the 7 to 8 lb range, just not near as many as we had been catching for most of June and July. For those seeking numbers of fish, finesse baits along the edge of the grass and drop shot rigs out deep produced well, but most of these fish were 3 lbs and less. Conversely, almost every big fish we caught was suspended in treetops or over structure in open water. With the heat returning and dark moon phases returning (new moon 8/5), I expect lots of big females will be caught during the day in the next two weeks.

Although the recent cold front produced a few nice cool days with clouds and north winds, Lake Fork didn,t receive a significant amount of rain. The water level has continued to slowly drop, currently sitting at 401.39,, about 1,7 below full pool. While the water remains clear, it now has a decidedly green tint, due to algae blooms. After falling into the mid-80s, water temps are now reaching the low 90s again in the afternoons.

The location pattern has stayed the same; however, as noted before, some of the big fish have been suspending instead of holding on the bottom. Many bass are still relating to humps, ridges and points outside spawning bays while others are camped on traditional summertime haunts that are well offshore and not anywhere close to spawning areas. With the thermocline effectively creating a deep boundary for the bass at about 28,, I,m concentrating on structure that is 15, to 28, deep. This time of year, my best spot usually changes daily and is determined by the presence of schooling bass. You,ve heard it a thousand times before but it is certainly true"graph deep structure and don,t fish an area unless you mark a school of bass there. Sure, you can certainly catch a few bass on those old reliable holes if you anchor up and methodically fish them or just wait there until the fish start feeding. However, you,ll find the fishing a lot more productive if you fish around those deep schools of bass.

Once I,ve found a school of fish on deep structure, lure selection has been dictated by the bass, position in the water column. For fish relating to the bottom, a Carolina rig with a 1 oz weight and a 4, leader has been our weapon of choice. Lake Fork Tackle,s Baby Creatures, Twitch Worms, Ring Frys & Trophy W