Warmer weather and spawning on the lake

Yesterday was about as nice a day as you could have asked for including light winds, warm 70-degree temperatures, and lake temperatures in the upper 60 to low 70-degree range. The lake level has continued to increase and was at 290.65 feet yesterday and if you do not get here by next week, the Island just east of the Veleño Bridge may no longer exist. Yesterday when I drove over the bridge, the island had shrunk to about the size of a foreign SUV front end. I hope someone does not run over it with his or her boat.

There are a lot of new folks in town fishing including a group from Tennessee who are spending some quality time fishing Falcon. There are also a number of Club Tournaments and also fishermen from Bass Champs here checking out the location of tournament fish. Those are the ones about twice the size of what are being caught right now. Yes, the average Falcon Big Bass being caught is four to about six pounds right now as the fishery struggles to regain her bite since the last series of cold fronts.

The smaller fish seem to have somewhat developed a resistance to the colder water temperatures (or alternately, there are so many of them than in past years that they need to feed more aggressively). We have noticed a slow down in the numbers of fish reported caught, as well as the size of fish, when lake water temperatures drop much below 65 degrees. So far this year, based on reports received and documented, the larger fish seem to need water temperatures of about 68 or 70 degrees to get comfortable and start moving on to the beds in an attempt to make deposits at the local bank. When we have seen these temperatures reached, the smaller fish daily catch is usually excellent with 50 a day or so per boat catches. When temperatures fall to the 60-degree range, the bigger fish are not usually showing themselves, and if appearing at all, they seem to be in deeper water to 30 feet and often suspended. Above 70 degrees, we have usually started to see an increase in the spawn and with fish moving in shallow. The numbers of fish per day caught per boat have increased (or at least the reported catches so indicate) when the water warms. Yesterday we were in the 66 to 68-degree range. Fishermen were catching 20 to 30 fish up to five or six pounds for the big fish on average. This is a generalization and exceptions are always noted and/or encountered.

It does appear, from the number of schools of baby bass being reported, that at least a significant number of bass have made it through the spawn. Several of our locals have reported catching fish that are described as long with bruised sides, bloody tails, and no sign of eggs, probably indicating it is one of the recent spawners. In fact, one fisherman who guides here and in some other lakes in South Texas reported a day where every big fish he caught appeared to have spawned. Another report was pretty much directly opposite. It would appear we are somewhat in the middle and the canoe may be tipping towards a successful partial spawn. Most of the fish being caught right now are coming out of the four-to-six foot depths and some even deeper, while plastic Brush Hogs are still the preferred lure being used by the majority of the fishermen. Watermelon red is still the dominant color, but some other green-colored baits are also working.

Whether it is worms, lizards, stick worms, tubes or grubs in magnum, short, medium, or finesse, we have a wide selection in numerous manufacturer's top baits. If you need crankbaits, you can find them at Falcon Lake Tackle in surface to one-foot shallow, midrange deep, and ultra deep with an unparalleled selection of magnum 30-plus baits. Keep in mind that Falcon Lake Tackle is unusually well stocked with lures of all kinds in just about every color that the big bass fishermen use on Mexico, South Texas, or other lakes from the west to the east and in the northern lakes as well. The inventory we have built through the marketing and sale of these baits all over the world via our website enables us to meet your demands and those of fishermen and women all over the US and in foreign countries as well. Check out www.falconlaketackle.com and click Order on the top bar to get started. Scroll to the bottom of the policies page that comes up and click on the fish.

You may have heard we are selling Falcon Lake Tackle and I assure you it is reluctantly and strictly because of age and health. Business in the store and on the website e-store has never been better and Falcon Lake is generating some great quantities of bass and catfish. The business, inventory, commercial property and website site can be purchased or, just the inventory. Included also are good living quarters above the store, shop space and additional land adjacent to and behind the store with abundant concrete patios, parking under 6 ft security fencing. Through our on-line E-Store, we have sold tackle to fishermen and women in six countries and 46 states. Check out the details on this great opportunity under the contact information section of our website.

Most people shopping with us remark that Falcon Lake Tackle has the most extensive selection of tackle and marine supplies of any store they have visited. We try to anticipate needs as well as demand and we do not just keep a few packages in stock like some stores that are a mile wide and an inch deep. The hot baits are almost always available and we keep an adequate number of Mexico licenses and boat permits available by mail or in the store to meet the needs of fishermen that want to fish in Mexico.

Catfish are still biting with night crawlers and stinkbait being two of the successful baits reported. Some crappie activity is being reported around docks and since most of these fish are close to spawning, we want to encourage you to release those bigger fish so the chances of their recovery as a fishable species at Falcon can be enhanced. The 1,500 mature crappie stocked here last year by TPWD could yield millions of these wonderful eating fish, but not if they are all caught, killed, and eaten by fishermen and women too greedy to give them a chance to spawn. The same is true for the white bass. A total of 174 of these fish were caught, transported, and released through the effort of 25 Falcon faithfuls who braved cold weather and made several trips to Choke (with a number of Parks and Wildlife biologists) to transport and seed a new population of whites in Falcon. Their survival is precarious and everyone's help is needed. If we can keep them out of the nets and skillets long enough to spawn, we could see millions of whites back in the lake by next year. Not so if they are all caught and killed before they spawn.

Fishers of Men inaugural tournament at Falcon is this Saturday. It is based at Falcon's Beacon Lodge as is the Bass Champs Tournament the following weekend. We have the entry forms available at Falcon Lake Tackle.

Until next time, enjoy the good fishing on Falcon and always practice catch and release with the big fish.

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