Major bass tournaments on the horizon;
tips for a successful fishing pattern

The big news for the month was the 10.48-lb. bass caught by Ed Ferris during the Nov. 16 Southwest Research Institute's (SWRI) Bass Busters Club Tournament.
Although bass tournament activity scheduled for December is on the light side (only the Southwest Research Institute's (SWRI) Bass Busters Championship Club Tournament Dec. 7-8), Falcon Lake will host three major tournaments in January, plus an unspecified number of club tournaments. The Honey Hole Organization will kick off the month with a Jan. 5 event. The B.A.S.S. Federation Tournament is scheduled for Jan. 12 and media will close out the month with their Jan. 26 event, which promises to attract over 100 teams. Also, mark your calendars now for the Zapata Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Tommy Gray Memorial Bass Tournament that has been scheduled for the fourth weekend in March (22-23).
November's lake level started out at 266.72 feet (having risen from 256.23’ on Oct. 1) and ended up at 268.26’, which, at 32.94-feet low, has left us with all the main ramps operational, as well as some of the private ramps such as Siesta Shores and Beacon Lodge. Fishing has continued fair to excellent during the month, depending mostly on the lake temperature and wind conditions. We experienced a drop of 10 degrees during November, which made it a total drop since Oct. 14 of 24 degrees.
The first tournament of the month on Nov. 2 and 3 featured 23 anglers from the San Antonio Bass Club. One angler characterized the weather as "brief periods of nice weather in between long periods of cold/windy and rainy weather." Bob Hahn scored first day heavy stringer of 16.54 lbs. and first place big bass of 5.71 lbs. The second day of the tournament was a little more tolerable as far as weather goes, and several folks made a serious run at the heavy stringer holder, including Bob Hahn's boy, who had fish for Sunday, but had to settle for second place with 19.28 lbs. Bob held on for first with 20.19 lbs., and Wayne Bell had 15.67 lbs. for third place. Bob and his son also had heavy team-stringer with a boat total of 39.47 lbs.
Most of the fish were caught on white/blue-shad spinnerbaits with twin silver/blue sparkle willowleaf blades in four to 10 feet of water on hardwoods. Some fish were caught on Zoom plastic lizards and brushhogs in watermelon red and or black/chartreuse. One father/son team used Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps to catch over seven pounds of fish in the Government Cove and State Park Cove area of the lake.
The middle of November saw a pick-up in activity, if not in the bite, and the Nov. 16-17 dates were contested by two clubs, which included 39 fishermen and women from the Universal City Bass Club and 22 anglers and their guests from the SWRI Bass Busters.

Universal City Bass Club
1st Heavy Stringer - Chuck Friske, 17.32 lbs.
1st Big Bass - Chuck Friske, 6.76 lbs.
2nd Heavy Stringer - Greg Hignite, 11.39 lbs.
3rd Heavy Stringer - Brian Hunter, 11.27 lbs.
1st Heavy Stringer Ladies - Cris Hunter, 7.68 lbs.
1st Ladies Big Bass - Regina Mix, 6.42 lbs.
1st Heavy Stringer Boat - Cris and Brian Hunter, 18.95 lbs.

Club guest Ed Ferris weighed the Big Bass of the tournament at 10.48 lbs. This fish came from over ten foot of water on a hardwood using a plastic gourd green Texas-rigged Wacky Worm. This hardwood tree was surrounded by willows and was on the edge of a drop-off into a deep creek in State Park Cove. Ed caught a second fish on Sunday, giving him heavy stringer honors with 13.52 lbs. Camp Steele, on for first place with 13.52 lbs., and it was Doug Black who captured third place with 10.46 lbs.
The pattern that Ed Ferris used to score his 10.48-lb. fish and used by other successful fishermen this month is still producing fish as of this writing on Dec. 5. A lot of fishermen are going zip to one or two fish and they are doing one or more things different than the folks who have caught one up to a limit or more of good fish.
First, there are 80% to 90% of the hardwoods that hold no fish at all. Remember this, "all hardwoods are not created equal." One fisherman reported as many as seven fish on one hardwood and one of the seven was a 13-lb. striper. Stripers have shown up in a number of other locations holding bass as well, and they have been caught off the same type lures as black bass, including spinnerbaits and plastic baits. The difference in hardwoods holding fish is plain and simple. First, find a channel holding 15 to 18 feet of water and follow it back to where there is 10 feet of water on the edge of the drop off. Start from there and work back into shallower water. Somewhere between the 10-foot and the three-foot hardwood location should be holding fish.
If the hardwood has multiple trunks or if it is surrounded by willows, or salt cedars, or some other vegetation, so much the better. Fish this type of hardwood and always make multiple casts to the same target. Sometimes you will need to "dead stick" the bait or "soak it". This means leaving it sit at the base of the tree without moving it. Watch the line and if it starts to move off to the side, set the hook. Do not waste time on other types of water unless you have found and fished a number of the preferred locations and found no fish. One other thing that can make the difference between success and failure is the simple size of the bait or even the weight. A 1/8-ounce Tungsten Mega weight can be enough to carry a bait the distance you need to reach, and it can result in a much smaller splash and drop action than, say, a 3/4-ounce lead bullet sinker. Depending upon how spooky the fish may be, size alone may be enough to deter a pickup.
Many times you have to experiment with the size and reaction of the fish. Last weekend eight-inch redbug lizards produced some nice fish when the line just started moving off the tree and the angler set the hook. An actual strike was never noticed in eight fish caught. Other times a four or five-inch lizard may be what they want, and a big bait will just spook them. As a general rule, the colder the water the smaller the bait that may need to be presented, but not always is a general rule going to be applicable. Sometimes a larger lure just moved slower will do the trick, especially if it looks like what they have been feeding on.
Kill only what you are going to eat, practice catch and release on all black bass, and carefully handle the black bass so as to minimize removal of the slime coating and avoid damage to the lower jaw. The best and easiest release is to remove the hook while they are in the water. Remember, one mature bass can lay 50,000 or more eggs.

Unfinished business
The first Falcon Lake Task Force meeting has been scheduled for Dec. 13, and it should be interesting to see what kind of spin will be placed on the progress (or lack thereof) reported by the various parties. Congressman Rodriguez established this Task Force during the hearing held in Zapata in October.

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