I’m a die-hard bass fisherman. Ever since I caught my first large smallmouth bass on a small private lake outside of Charleston West Virginia back in 1978, on a $9 K-Mart 200 combo with a black Mister Twister teeny spin, I’ve been “hooked”. I took up weekend tournament fishing in 2002 and I’ve fished all over the country in all different kinds of tournaments from clubs to FLW and BASS Elite series as a non-boater.
Each spring, being a transplanted southern boy living in Minnesota and now in Idaho, I plan one big fishing trip to a major tournament in warmer climates but in 2011, a good friend of mine, Wayne, invited me to spend a week with him at his winter home in Zapata Texas, home of Falcon Lake Reservoir….The land of the Giants!
I started my planning in October 2011 by booking my airline tickets for early February 2012 and by dumb luck, my week would fall during the full moon cycle. As the trip approached, I checked in with Wayne on a monthly, bi-weekly and weekly basis and Wayne sent me pictures of his big fish: 10lb 7oz, 9lb 7 oz etc etc so by the time February rolled around, I was just drooling.
When I arrived in Zapata Texas, the temperature had dropped 20 degrees in 24 hours, the wind started blowing 15-20 mph and we couldn’t get on the lake the first day. So Wayne introduced me to his neighbors and friends and we visited Roberts Fish N’ Tackle & Guide Service www.robertsfishntackle.com and Falcon Lake Tackle www.falconlake.com to get my Texas and Mexico fishing licenses, tackle and trade fish tails.
On Day 2, with the air temperatures in the low 50’s, murky water conditions with temperatures in the 61-63 degree range and the wind blowing 7-10 mph out of the north, we stopped at the Stripes Valero convenience store in Zapata to pickup breakfast; the best breakfast tacos I’ve ever had (this would be repeated each day during the trip). We then drove the 30 miles to Falcon Lake Dam and immediately went to Wayne’s first spot. He handed me a rod and told me where to cast. “Class is now in session!” twenty seconds later on my first cast, I hooked a 5lb fish and I was like a kid on Christmas morning. Keep in mind that catching a 5 lb largemouth to a transplanted Minnesotan is a rare event!
We worked a lot of spots during the day and caught a lot of quality 3-5 lb fish on Carolina rigged Zoom Super Flukes and Strike King KVD 1.5 /2.5 crank baits but Wayne’s mission was to help me best my personal record of a 7lb largemouth that I caught in 1986 on lake Okeechobee. Late in the day, we pulled up on a community hole and we were catching a few fish in the 2-4lb range. Later, another boat pulled up to share the spot but was fishing slightly different structure, and we witnessed one of the “free for all” events that we hear the pros talk about on TV! This guy and his partner caught fish after fish off of a spot that was about 100’ in diameter for almost 45 minutes with the largest bass weighing in at more than 8lbs 6 oz! The difference between them and us was simply the choice we made relative to the structure.
On Day 3, we got up extra early to go fish that magic spot. We arrived before dawn and were ready to “Wack ‘em”. Unfortunately, they weren’t home! The conditions were similar except for the lack of a strong north wind. After only catching one fish on this spot, we began exploring similar spots when I heard, “Get the net, I’ve got a good one on” Wayne was masterfully fighting a monster 9lb 7oz largemouth to the boat that he caught on a Carolina rigged Zoom Super Fluke. He put her in the live well to allow her to recuperate.
We continued to spot hop and caught good quality fish in the 2-5lb range throughout the day on KVD shallow cranks and Carolina rigged Zoom Super Flukes. Given the water temperature was in the low sixties, I also threw football jigs, rattle baits, jerk baits spinner baits and even some large shaky head worms without any success. Late in the day, we pulled up on a spot and Wayne caught a 6lb 1oz and I caught a 6lb 6oz largemouth, both on a Carolina rigged Zoom Super Fluke. Both of these large fish went into the live well for recuperative purposes. What a day of fishing! We drove down to the Dam to check things out, take some pictures and release our fish.
On Day 4, we decided to go north due to the expected strong NE winds and we put in at Beacon Lodge (956-765-4616). The weather was nasty, the water extremely cloudy and the fishing was tough. We worked throughout the day to catch a few fish and it wasn’t until late in the afternoon that we realized our error! We needed to make a color change due to the water clarity. Immediately upon doing so, it was on! So we finished up the day feeling good about our catch but kicking ourselves for being slow to change.
On Day 5, we got up early and put in again at Beacon Lodge. The conditions continued to deteriorate and it was now raining, windy and cold. Keep in mind that Wayne is rather direct and has told all of his friends and reminding me constantly that it was me that brought this cold weather to Texas. At any rate, we began fishing rocky points and wood combination cover with cranks, various rattle baits, spinner baits and Carolina rigs and the only consistent bites were coming on the KVD 1.5 crank and the Carolina rigs. So after our lesson the prior day about being stubborn, we began thinking about what else might work because the quality fish that we were catching were coming from deeper water in the 9-18’ range. I tied on and tried several deep running crank baits (Norman DD22, Rapala DT 16, KVD 6XD) with “No Joy”.
Suddenly, Wayne looked at me and asked “What is the difference between everything you’ve tried and what is working?” I was dumbfounded…..”Rattles” he said, “They don’t want to be rattled to death!” So we dug into his tackle and found a box of really old Poe’s Super Cedar 400 crank baits.
Because they had no rattles, Wayne tied one on and a very few casts later, he shouted “Get the Net” and he caught a 6lb largemouth. I quickly changed to a Poe’s 400 in a different color and got bit as well….a 7lb class fish but I got too excited and lost it before I could land her! We caught several fish on these baits from the same spot and after things cooled down a bit, Wayne switched back to the Carolina rig. I continued to wail away with my crank bait and I noticed that Wayne was just sitting there. Wayne is an experience fisherman and one of the most patient guys I know; he’s putting up with me after all! He made the connection that given the water temperature, weather and our experience, that the fish were telling him to “slow down” so he was dead sticking his bait when a few minutes later, he goes on point and set the hook and landed a 9lb 10 oz largemouth! We put her in the live well to recuperate and high fived the fact that we had caught two fish over 9lbs in the same week!
After he shared with me that he was dead sticking, I decided to slow down my retrieve and simply crawl my crank bait over the bottom rather than burn it. About 30 minutes and a few smaller fish later, my rod (G-Loomis 844 heavy action, Shimano Curado loaded with Suffix 832 20lb braid) loaded up like never before and it was on….I landed my personal best, 8lbs 6oz largemouth! We were ecstatic and Wayne’s job was complete! Not too long afterward, now experienced catching a big fish on a crank bait, my rod was almost ripped out of my hands and I knew that I again had a big fish on, but this time it was clear she would be much larger. Not wanting to rush her, I just maintained pressure as she swam for deeper water when she made a hard lunge and I broke off. Now Wayne got upset with me and said “Let me see your line….” Because he had warned me about using light line and to be sure to carefully tie my knots. When I reeled in, I was both surprised and disappointed but more importantly relieved to see that it wasn’t my knot that failed, but the fish had pulled so hard that the plastic lip was all that was left! She must have been a monster! Although my drag was set properly, a lighter action rod might have allowed me to land that fish.
Wayne changed back to the Poe’s Super Cedar 400, fishing it on a 7’ Heavy Action Carrot Stick, Shimano Curado reel with Trilene 20lb fluorocarbon line.
We continued to fish for awhile congratulating ourselves on how “smart” we were when Wayne said, “I’ve got a good one on” then “She’s gone” and “no she was coming to me…this is a good fish, get the net” a few moments later a fish made a splash akin to a kid dropping a watermelon off of the high dive at the local pool. All I could say was “Oh My Gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh”. Now I’m getting so excited that Wayne becomes concerned that I’m going to fall out of the boat and he looks at me and says: “settle down and get the net”. I do so and I’m ready but he says “Not yet, she’s too green” Wayne is as cool as can be and fights this pig for 3-4 minutes and feeds her line and let’s her surge. He’s confident because, as it turns out, this will be his 53rd largemouth over 9lbs; this season this will make his 10th fish over 9lbs with half of them over 10lbs!
When she’s had enough, he tells me to put the net in the water and brings her to it. The lesson here is that if the net is in the water, she won’t get spooked because “it’s just like a tree”, but if I swat at her with the net, she’ll make another run and my get off! We get her in the boat and Wayne’s expression was priceless; “We are fishing exactly what they are wanting” he said as he showed me how she totally ate his crank bait! We immediately put her in the live well to rest and recuperate. After weighing her later, a whopping 12lbs 6 oz., Wayne was just a tad bit disappointed that she would not best his 13lb+ personal record! I commented how lucky he was to have caught three fish over 9lbs in as many days and he looked at me, smiled and said in a self deprecating way: “God takes care of his dummies….” I laughed out loud and said “Dummy, yeah right….fifty-three fish over 9lbs?...You ain’t no dummy”! We then took pictures and released our three big girls but pictures cannot grasp the beauty and magnificence of fish in this size class!
Before dawn on Day 6, my final day to fish, the weather was terrible and even though it had been more than six days since we had seen the sun shine, we were energized. We returned to our big fish spot to find that the water temperature had dropped over three degrees! We slowed down, sped up, changed baits, changed colors but only caught a single 3lb fish! We would return to this spot several times throughout the day to no avail. The big girls had left the house!
Incidentally, before traveling to Zapata, I was just a bit concerned about the crime rates given the media attention that followed the jet skier murder in 2010. However, I was proud to see that the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol, Texas Fish & Wildlife service and Local law enforcement agencies were highly visible, and “en force” in the area! Also, we probably caught more than 150 fish during the week all but two over two pounds and released all but one fish that died from being gill hooked!
Fishing is full of highs and lows and difficult decisions. As in life, we must be aware of the conditions around us, the information constantly flowing to us albeit so subtle and maintain an open mind and be willing to change so we can be successful!
Falcon Lake is truly the “Lake of the Giants” and I’m forever “ruined” as everything really is bigger in Texas! and I dream of returning to Falcon Lake Texas!