Monster Bass Lake - Ongoing B.A.S.S. Tournament

[kantuckyII]

First, I bet Ozzie Ohio is going cry the blues he never knew about this lake. Secondly, the local boys would have to this as you know it's going to be hammered the next few years by bass fishermen out of the area! I know I would be upset. Check out the bolded statements I put there.. You can check updates the next couple of days here


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Records Will Fall
By Steve Wright
ESPNOutdoors.com

ZAPATA, Texas— If Matt Reed's practice is any indication, Falcon Lake could produce numbers that will shatter everything in the BASS recordbook.
Classic winner Alton Jones, who is quite familiar with Falcon Lake, is among the favorites in the Lone Star Shootout.
Proof of that starts Thursday when the Bassmaster Elite Series pros begin the Lone Star Shootout presented by Longhorn on this 83,654-acre Rio Grande River reservoir.

Reed caught a five-bass limit estimated at 48 pounds during one of the three practice days this week at Falcon.

"It was the best day of fishing I've had in my life," said the 35-year-old Madisonville, Texas, angler, "especially when you consider that I was pulling up on one spot, catching one, and then going somewhere else."

The BASS single day record for a five-bass limit is 45 pounds, 2 ounces, set by Dean Rojas on Florida's Lake Toho in January 2001. Several of the Elite Series pros think that record and Steve Kennedy's four-day total weight mark of 122-14, set last year at California's Clear Lake, are in jeopardy this week.

"If Kennedy's record isn't broken, something went majorly wrong," said Mike McClelland, who has won three Elite Series titles over the past two-plus seasons of the tour. "I don't think 20 pounds will put you in the top 50 after the first day."

In the first two Elite Series events this year, both in Florida, first at the Harris Chain of Lakes and then at the Kissimmee Chain last month, every angler in the field was hoping for a 4-pound bass that would make a world of difference in his total weight each day. A 4-pounder isn't likely to stay in the livewell long, if at all, this week, according to Reed.

"The guys that fish team tournaments down here won't put a 4-pounder in the livewell," Reed said. "I'm going to put a 4-pounder in the livewell, until I catch something bigger. On the second day of practice, my little one (of his 5 biggest bass) was 7 pounds. But I didn't catch one over 8 that day."

Reed's first practice on Monday was when his eyes started bugging out after he saw what Falcon Lake held. He caught two bass conservatively estimated at 11 pounds each."My scales wouldn't weigh them," Reed said. "I know what a 10-pound bass looks like, and these weren't 10-pounders.

"This is the best fishery I've ever seen, and I've fished some in Mexico that were awesome. This stands right up there with them. I can't believe it, but it does."

The reason Reed was initially skeptical of Falcon's recent reputation is that it hasn't always been that good. In fact, it fell off the charts in the 1990s when low water levels reduced it to a 13,000-acre lake. It stayed low long enough for what passes for timber in southern Texas grew up around the low-water shoreline. Now all that timber is flooded and the Florida-strain largemouth bass have flourished.

"The first big fish I hooked Monday, I never turned him," Reed said. "He just took off and started connecting the dots in that timber. I broke off 50-pound (test) braid trying to get him out.

"Somebody is going to have 100 pounds after three days. I really believe that. It's going to be different than anything we've ever seen. We've always had one or two tournaments (each year) where somebody really catches them sight-fishing. But this is totally different. It's just fishing. It's a lot of fun."

When Reed says "just fishing," he's talking about the fact that bass can be caught in Falcon Lake from the surface to depths of 35 or 40 feet right now. Every angler in the field can fish to his strengths and have a chance to find big fish.

Wind is the only thing that could put a damper on the weights this week, when high temperatures are predicted to be in the 90s every day. The way Falcon is located geographically and it's long, relatively narrow footprint makes it vulnerable to southeast or northwest winds.

"Wind could really hamper your ability to fish the way you want to," McClelland said.
Ish Monroe isn't so sure the records will be broken.
And then there's the opinion of Ish Monroe to put a damper on all this big bass, recordbook talk from Falcon. The 33-year-old Hughson, Calif., resident has spent many days on Clear Lake, where Kennedy set the four-day record, and he has a second home on Texas' Lake Amistad, where Derek Remitz won last year with 111-7, the fourth-highest total in a four-day BASS event.

"It's going to be good," Monroe said. "But 30 pounds a day? That ain't ever been done. At Clear Lake, there are multiple 10-pounders under one (boat) dock. This place doesn't have multiple 10-pounders in one spot.

"It's going to be a totally different ballgame with the pressure from this tournament. I think 10 guys might have 30-pound bags the first day. The second day, maybe two or three guys will have 30 pounds. The third day, maybe one."

Whether the most optimistic or the most pessimistic prediction becomes reality, as Monroe said, "It's going to be good."

That reality begins to unfold with Wednesday's 9 a.m. ET takeoff at the Zapata County public boat ramp at Lake Falcon Park. Daily weigh-ins at the park begin at 5 p.m. ET each day.

[kantuckyII]

First day of tournament *yesterday* produced this fish which took 'Big Bass' 13 lbs 2 oz!

Here's the photo gallery

[OZZIEOHIO]

There catching spawning bass off the beds. theres alot of lakes like that in Texas I caught 14 bass in Texas over 6 Pounds, and none of them were on the same lakes. My 9,3/4 was caught on Tradinghouse lake, and that was about this time of year but 5 other guys came to the wiegh in with a bass over 7 pounds that day. Texas is way above Ohio in bass lakes by far. Its worth the trip if your a avide Bass fisherman or women. I was on lake Fork the week that the guy caught the 18 pounds bass but didnt get to see it. But did see one that wieghed 15 pounds in a tank at a bait shop a few months later. 4000 men and women fishing a tourny and some kid caught it fishing off the bank with minnows 100 yards from where we were camped. We never even fish that area because we felt it was over fished LOL!!!!

I really think the next world record will come from California but Texas could beat it soon also. I know Mexico could break it soon also.

[kantuckyII]

Texas is way above Ohio in bass lakes by far

you'd be hard pressed to find another area of the country where fishing is as bad as it is around here. If I had to do it over again I'd moved when I was a young man. Not to somewhere like Texas (I'd be miserable there I do believe) but maybe Virginia, NC or TN. Oh, and I think one of the best fields a young fellar could get into would be nursing too as you could live anywhere you wanted and find work....work at one of those 12 hour/2 day shift thing and then fish the other 5!

That's a long haul down there Oz! and they're out on in West Texas now too! be like a what 3 day drive? 2 huge days anyway and change

[OZZIEOHIO]

We can be on Sam Rayburn in less the 18 hours pulling a boat. When we leaving? since your buying the gas. LOL!!!!!!!!

[kantuckyII]

I looked it up..it would only take about 500 in gas to go there in back in my truck....Geesh, that's crazy!

[OZZIEOHIO]

I havent went the last 2 years but it was about 150 each way. My buddys rooms on the lake were cheaper than the gas and we stayed a week. LOL!!! We cooked our own meals wich saves alot. Next time instead of going down and fishing one lake im going to try to do a 2 lake trip hit Rayburn for 3 or 4 days then move over to fork for 3 days. We always go to one and stay there the whole week.

[BigOrangeOne]

There catching spawning bass off the beds.

That was the 1st thing that came to my mind when I saw the tail on that fish..

[BigOrangeOne]

We can be on Sam Rayburn in less the 18 hours pulling a boat. When we leaving? since your buying the gas. LOL!!!!!!!!

I'll kick in the Spam and Lemonade for the trip. Is tomorrow too soon to leave??

[OZZIEOHIO]

http://www.sealyoutdoors.com/Payback%20SR.htm

Next week is better.

[kantuckyII]

Check it out..day two! leader has 79 lbs 13 oz! that's 10 fish! that's just slightly less than an eight pound average over two days! that's just nuts! eight guys under him have over 60 lbs and the guy that is in second place now has 76 lbs! that's over a 7 1/2 lb average! Think about it? catching 10 bass over 7 lbs each in just 2 days! that ain't counting all they culled too!

[kantuckyII]

Cry Me A River Guys! ha! wow! from an article..they say that they're catching these bass post spawn guys...anywhere from 2' to 25'. They must be gourging after coming off the nest. Read this excerpt:

I'm absolutely worn out," said Mark Davis after catching an estimated 100 bass Thursday and weighing-in a 4th-place total of 35 pounds, 4 ounces. "My back hurts, my arms are sore. My shoulders are sore."

Several pros remarked on how a 4-pounder at Falcon fights as hard as an 8-pounder anywhere else.

"It's not just the four-pounders," Shaw Grigsby said, "it's the two-pounders and three-pounders too. They hurt you when you set the hook in them.

"I don't know what it is in their environment, but it's almost like river fishing. River fish know how to use current and spend a lot of time in the current. They have a little better muscle structure, and they fight you a little bit harder. "These fish fight you about 20 to 30 percent harder than a river fish. It's pretty impressive."

you know these must be some healthy fish! I bet it's a pain in the butt getting the hooks out of their mouths as well then

[BigOrangeOne]

from an article..they say that they're catching these bass post spawn guys...anywhere from 2' to 25'.

Now those are some pretty big bass.

[BigOrangeOne]

you know these must be some healthy fish! I bet it's a pain in the butt getting the hooks out of their mouths as well then

I heard on the news last night that Jose Conseko is writing a book about some of them.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

THE SPONDING BASS THING KINDA THROWDED ME TWO, BOO.

ON A SERIOUS NOTE, WOWZERS. WHAT A FISHIN TRIP.

[OZZIEOHIO]

THE SPAWNING BASS THING KINDA THROWD ME TO, BOO.

ON A SERIOUS NOTE, WOWZERS. WHAT A FISHIN TRIP

me 3

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I MEANT 2.

[BigOrangeOne]

Oz,
Did you read your last PM, Re: "Lets"

[BigOrangeOne]

We can be on Sam Rayburn in less the 18 hours pulling a boat. When we leaving? since your buying the gas. LOL!!!!!!!!

Ozzie,
I just had an idea. Is Fido in Texas yet? He'd probably rent us a bed in his "suite" pretty cheap wouldn't he?

[OZZIEOHIO]

oz Did you read your last PM, Re: "Lets"

I didnt see it I must have deleted it by mistake send it again.