Large catches keep anglers' hopes high

Our fishing reports, while not plentiful this time of year, have been very good overall. Quantities of small-to-medium size fish have been good or even excellent at times, with catches of 50 or more fish up to five pounds. Fish in the five pound and up category, while not as plentiful, have still been frequent and large enough to keep all fishermen's hopes high.

Last weekend, the McAllen Bass Anglers 18 participants caught and weighed 15 bass over four pounds in their day and a half tournament.

This week local and Mexico hunting/fishing outfitter/guide Carlos Olivares decided that his son, five year old Carlos, Jr., was old enough to wet a line. Carlos eased him into the fishing game by putting him on an11 lb. 8 oz . fish the first time out. That is a pretty awesome start for a bass fisherman of any age. The fish reportedly went for a Watermelon Red Zoom Lizard on the 12 th of July. This is just more proof that if you set your young fishermen up with good equipment, they are quite capable of hauling in the big ones. I doubt this fish would have made it into the boat on a Zebco 202.

The lake has continued to drop and based on the report we received from the Watermaster, Falcon Lake started the week at 278.94 feet , or 22.26 feet low. This means the we are holding only 43.78 percent of the water that is available at the conservation level of 301.20 feet . Amistad on the other hand is holding 88.47 percent of its capacity. I think this is exactly what Senator Zaffirini was referring to at the time of the hearing here in Zapata when she stated that the Watermaster was playing leap frog over Falcon. While we cannot place this solely at the Watermaster's door, it is unlikely the situation will be changed by anything other than a new water treaty with Mexico and that does not appear to be on the State Department's agenda.

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, TX. Visit the Falcon Lake Tackle website at www.tackleandrods.com .)