Well, I just got back from Falcon Lake. I went down to pick up the motor home for the upcoming Elite season. Unfortunately, I didn't get to use it much last year due to the violence down there, but I was glad to see it was where I left it!
While we were there, we fished for a day and a half. It didn't take long for us to find them, either. There are fish at all depths, but a lot of them are in heavy prespawn mode. The water temperatures ranged from about 58-61, depending on where you were. That's actually pretty cool water for Falcon.
I equate Falcon to South Florida. When the water gets down in that 60-degree range, the bass are more sluggish than they are normally. All that means is that you have to soak your Yum Dinger longer. We caught most of our fish on Dingers and creature baits. They were holed up in the heart of the trees.
In our time there, we didn't count how many fish we caught, but it was probably around 70. We had a lot of quality fish, too, including the one you see in the photo that was a few ounces shy of 10 pounds. I'm always talking about catching my personal best down there, and I think I had a shot at that fish this week.
I hooked one in the top of a tree, but I never got to see it. It may have been another 10-pounder, but I don't think so. This was a brute of a bass that ended up breaking me off. I was using 65-pound braid and a 30-pound-test fluorocarbon leader. It takes a lot to break that mess, but this fish was really powerful. I actually got it out of the tree, and when it shook its head side to side, my line jumped 10 inches left to right. But there was nothing I could do. When she decided she was going the other direction, she went.
When you're flipping the trees at Falcon, you tighten down the drag tight. So, in an open-water situation that fish would not have broken me off because I would have had some drag to play with. But in that situation, your first goal is to get them out of the trees. When you hook them in close range like that, you're at the mercy of these giant fish. That one has haunted me ever since. I really would have liked to have seen that fish.
Falcon always leaves me hungry for more; unfortunately, I may not be able to make another trip before the season starts. Still, I may try to slip in another trip before then.
This weekend I'm going to be speaking at a church in Killeen, Texas, which I'm looking forward to very much. I'm taking my dog Sandy with me for the presentation. I really enjoy speaking to groups of men like this and draw parallels from the Bible to fishing. It's amazing how many there are. I'm thankful that God is letting me be a part of something that is so easy to relate to spiritual things.
I had meetings in Dallas yesterday, and I'm getting the materials for my boat wrap tomorrow, which should be on the boat next week. Check back for some photos (if all goes well).
One last thing: This Sunday, I'm flying out to Florida to prefish (more like scout — I probably won't fish) for the upcoming Elite event on the Harris Chain. I'll be borrowing a friend's Skeeter and running around looking at things. I'll let you all know how it goes next week.
Stay tuned!