Mid-March tournaments well-attended

Falcon Lake's water level increased in March from 268.31 ft. at the beginning of March to 268.47 ft. by the last day. The water temperature spent most of the month in the 68 to 75 degree range, which provided an excellent opportunity for the fish to fulfill Mother Nature's calling. The four club and two major tournaments held this month found that the fronts and accompanying wind were factors to contend with, but overall it was pretty much routine March weather. The fish were caught primarily on plastics in one to eight feet of water and they were holding on brush, then on big hardwoods mostly in creek channels and then back on brush again. The bite was very light and frequently the only indication of an interested fish was some movement of the line.
Two clubs visited Falcon for their monthly tournaments in mid-March and were blessed with two of the prettiest days of the year. Wind was no factor, skies were bright and sunny and every one of the 50 or so fishermen and ladies enjoyed the weekend. The South Texas Bass Anglers one-day event found Eddie Adams as the top producer with 18.38 lbs. for heavy stringer and a big bass of 5.57 lbs. The San Antonio Police Department's results fell short of their expectations, yielding a partners sweep of 14.50 lbs. (Richard Flores) for the first day heavy stringer and a 5.10 lb. big bass for the top bass (Pat Vance). Attended by some very good fishermen and women, many of the SAPD anglers struggled throughout the weekend losing good fish in some cases and just not locating the right areas in others.
The ladies were well represented in SAPD and Helen Freeman had both the big fish and heavy stringer for the ladies. Susan Osborne had the first day's ladies big bass of 3.10 lbs. Helen's husband Aubrey Freeman out-ounced third place Bill Baty for second heavy stringer overall.
The following weekend, the Chamber of Commerce's Tommy Gray Memorial Tournament fielded 22 teams and some excellent fishermen and ladies for a go at this annual event. Laredoans Tom Haralson and Patrick Starnes, fresh off their win in the Mier, Mexico Tournament, were just too much for the other teams on this particular weekend and they weighed in a hefty 30.80 lbs. to grab the first place money. Team Wallgren came in a very close second with 29.98 lbs. Jo Baby Spinnerbait Co. owners Jim Raulsten and Jim Edwards weighed in 29.57 lbs. for third place and Jim Edwards had the big bass weighing 6.45 lbs.
The last weekend of March found S.W.R.I. Bass Busters at the State Park for their March funfest. Bobbie West claimed the heavy stringer honors, weighing a total of 17.10 lbs. for the weekend, and he weighed a 6.70 lb. kicker fish Saturday for big bass. This looked good until Jim Ewing weighed in his 7.12 lb. big bass Sunday. Charlie Berger claimed 2nd place heavy stringer, narrowly relegating Larry Kreb's 14.30 lbs. to third place. It was about as nice a day Sunday as Saturday was bad. Winds gusted to only 13 mph and temperatures maxed out at 71 degrees.
About three hours after the culmination of the SWRI Tournament, the Nuevo Laredo Big Bass Annual Tournament weighed in at the Mexican Point in Nva. Cd. Guerrero, Tamps. It was a good event and well-attended, drawing about 75 fishermen. The club did an excellent job operating the tournament and I was impressed with the care taken in the handling of bass during weigh-in. At this lake level, the launching and beaching of boats was about perfect, and I saw as many as three boats loading up at one time. Congratulations to Rogelio Valdazo for his heavy stringer of 13.04 lbs. and to Juan Enrique Perez for his 7.04 lb. big bass.

(Larry E. Bridgeman is the owner of Falcon Lake Tackle in Zapata, TX. Visit the Falcon Lake Tackle website at www.tackleandrods.com.)