Falcon Lake Round Up

by Larry E. Bridgeman

McAllen Bass Anglers report great tourney

So far in August, we have had very little moisture. We received .15 of an inch Aug. 7 and the lake level has remained in the 280- 281 ft range since Aug. 1, which is 21.54 feet low. It reached 281.82 ft . Aug. 12.

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 recently.

Twenty of McAllen 's finest fishermen brought their rigs and reels to Falcon State Park earlier this month to compete in the August tournament.

Abel Garcia, who had the second heaviest stringer of 17 lbs .- 12 oz . for the two-day event, caught the big bass of 7 lbs .- 6 oz . Eddie Kucia with a weight of 18.01 oz . caught the heavy stringer.

The conservation-minded club reduced the tournament to a three-fish daily limit event in consideration of the hot weather. Altogether, 20 fishermen caught 88 bass weighing 219 lbs .- 13 oz . There were six fish caught over five pounds 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 feet of water. A depth of 12- 16 feet was the best producing depth range. Colors and shades of green, red, or purple fish were caught.

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 pounds . A few spinnerbait fish have been taken, but the crankbait action has slowed up this week.

Schooling bass are still being reported upriver in the ar roy os on the U.S. side. Small crankbaits and rat-l-traps have been effective baits. 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.

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 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 5,000 others, are available from our Zapata, Texas Store and they are all listed on our on-line website store at www.falconlaketackle.com

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

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