Recent tournaments produce little action
Alamo, Quality, Hawg Hunters, and the S.A.P.D. from San Antonio plus the Uvalde Bass Club scheduled tournaments here at Falcon the weekend of Jan 17-18, and an estimated 100-plus teams arrived for the fish-off. Not a great many boats made it early to pre-fish, so when the few that arrived Friday let the word out that some fish were showing up in the Veleno, it was pretty much a Baskin Robbins "take a number" proposition on Saturday and Sunday.
We never found but one fisherman who talked about catching fish in the Salinillas, but we talked to a number of folks who were in there and never had a bump. The Little and Big Tigers, Coyote, and Goose Bay produced very little action according to reports received. Temperatures Saturday reached the 80s in the afternoon and winds gusted out of the NW up to 20 mph. We all had hopes that the worst was over Saturday, but Sunday the front strengthened and it was a cooler day in the 60s and winds were gusting over 30 mph. Water temperatures were in the mid-60s in the upper lake and about three to five degrees warmer in the lower lake. We concluded from all reports that lures of preference for the weekend were plastics (watermelon red anything), small shad-colored crankbaits, and spinnerbaits, in that order.
As many as 10 to 15 boats were fishing on both sides of the Veleno Bridge , and even though a lot of fishermen were pounding the surrounding waters into a froth, only a few good fish were weighed. The best stringer came out of the lower lake where anglers from Quality and Alamo based their tournaments and weigh-ins were at the State Park. A four-fish 17.63 lb. stringer caught by Steve Rickett took Heavy Stringer honors for Quality Bass Club and as far as I know, for all five tournaments. The 7.03 lb. anchor bass from this stringer also grabbed Big Bass honors. Watermelon Red Lizards was the winning combination.
The next major event scheduled for Falcon is the Tommy Gray Memorial Tournament on February 14. This would be a great opportunity to pre-fish for the Bass Champs and B.A.S.S. Federation Tournaments being held on the next weekend, February 21 and 22, respectively. Forms and rules for these tournaments and/or links to download can be found on our Tournament Schedule page at www.falconlaketackle.com.
Fishing Report
Water clarity varied from clear in the lower end to stained in some areas of the upper lake and river. Water temperature is in the 66-68 degree range. Small (under14-inch) black bass are fair-to-good on watermelon red baits in flukes, brushhogs, lizards, and senkos. Some bass including the larger fish up to seven pounds are working the beds and have been caught on plastic baits, spinnerbaits with combination gold/nickel willow blades, and shallow running shad-colored crankbaits in five feet of water, mainly in coves and traditional bedding areas. Some good fish have been caught in the Veleno and this weekend the area near the lower end of the lake produced a 17.63 lb. four-fish stringer with a 7.03 lb. big bass. Five bass clubs held their tournaments at Falcon this weekend and results are posted at www.falconlaketackle.com.
Striper action was not reported and was slow. Neither the white bass nor crappie exist in adequate numbers to be considered fishable species. The State Park and Zapata County Ramps were both working, as were most of the lakefront motels and RV park ramps. The ramp at El Tigre Island was closed last year to the public and residents reported it was not working at this level. Joel Ruiz reported that the San Ignacio Ramp is working only for small boats.
Launching below the dam on the Río Grande is recommended only with small boats and 4x4 vehicles. Fishing varies from day-to-day based on a number of factors. The amount of water being released seems to have a direct impact on the fishing, but for the last few weeks fishing has been reported as fair-to-good. Catfishing has been good-to-excellent on live bait, especially for the larger cats. Shrimp and stink bait have produced limit catches in several areas including marker 8, Marker 9, and in the river holes. Beacon Lodge fishermen have been using beef liver to catch limits and near-limits of catfish up the river.
The Honey Hole Tournament was contested last weekend on Jan. 11 and the winners were Jimmy and AR Johnson. They had five fish weighing 18.94 lbs., including a 5.94 lb. big bass. The Tommy Gray Memorial Tournament will be based at Beacon Lodge on the 14th and 15th of February, as will the Bass Champs Tournament the following week on Feb. 21. A fully rigged Skeeter Bass Boat will be awarded to the winners. The B.A.S.S. Federation Tournament will be held on the day following Bass Champs, Feb. 22. Forms for those tournaments can be downloaded via the links on our Tournament Schedule page.
(Larry E. Bridgeman is the owner of Falcon Lake Tackle in Zapata , TX . Visit the Falcon Lake Tackle website at www.tackleandrods.com.)
