Bassin' at the Border (Falcon Lake April, 2013)

Some of you may know that my Dad and I have been planning a trip down to Falcon Lake in Texas for some time now....and I am sad to say that it came and went way too fast!  If I could some up the trip in one word it would be IN-FREAKIN-CREDIBLE!  The size and power of these giant Florida strain bass are just unbelievable.

Three days we were out there with guide Jay Greishaw of www.highstakesbassin.com.   We started each morning around 6:30-7:00 AM and finished up about 3 PM.   In that stretch of time my Dad and I hooked, landed and lost more quality bass then we ever have in our entire fishing career.  I will have to admit it wasn't a numbers blowout with around 25-35 fish caught each day between the two of us....but the quality was second to none.   That was the whole purpose of the trip, to potentially hook into a fish of a lifetime....and we did!

With the drought down in Zapata, Texas in full swing we knew right away that good water was going to be slim.  The lake was nearly 30 feet down with the main lake markers looking like sky scrapers sticking out of the water.

The main areas we targeted were deeper rock piles, ledges, humps, and brush.   Deep crankbaits, texas rigs and carolina rigs were pretty much all we threw.  Jay knew exactly where to go, what areas to hit, and knew exactly what the fish were dialed in on.   For the first time in a long time I threw a texas rigged worm...and not just any worm...a 10" Berkley power worm....and even threw a 12" Mag ol' Monster Zoom ribbon tail worm when the time called for it.   Deep cranks meant DEEEEP cranks....5XD's are medium cranks to them down there....we were dredging the bottom of every rock pile every time we had the chance.

Alright, alright....enough details....here are the stats....

Top 5 lost fish...estimated by Jay....
1) 12 lbs
2) 10 lbs
3) 9 lbs
4) 8 lbs
5) 7 lbs
Total: 46 lb bag

Top 5 landed fish...weighed
1) 6.74
2) 6.5
3) 6.0
4) 6.0
5) 5.5
Total: 30.74 lbs

Both my Dad and I landed new personal bests with mine at 6.74 lbs and my Dad's at 6.0 lbs.   What really just blew me away was the size of these fish...not so much on girth, but length.  My 6.74 lber was easily pushing 24 inches.   When you see a 12 lb bass sky rocket towards the surface of the water with a mouth the size of a dinner plate....it is an indescribable sight!

Now on to the pictures!

One of Dad's first fish of the trip on a crankbait

First bass for me of the trip...also on a crankbait

Dad's new PB at 6 lbs

Another 5+ lber

5.5 lber caught on a C-rig....you know it's big when you rod stops mid hook set!

Getting better at 6 lbs...

Getting even better at 6.5 lbs

New PB at 6.74 lbs!

Just to give you a comparison as to how large these fish were....a 4 lber a few weeks ago compared to my new PB of 6.74 lbs

And to think how much bigger the mouth was on that 12 lber I lost on day 1!!!  That fish will haunt me for a looong time!

Only way to fly on bigger water....2012 Ranger Z522 Comanche....sweeeet!

Sunday morning came....and man did it rain!  Glad we could bring some of our Illinois flooding down to Texas!

Best picture of the trip...getting a double with my Dad...somehow he always catches the bigger one.

Funniest moment of the trip...playing a fish on a crankbait for 5 minutes only to find out it was a soft shell turtle the size of an F150!

If you have the opportunity to ever get down to Falcon Lake or any other big bass lake...do it!  Just an unbelievable trip that will be in the memory books for a long time....just thankful I was able to do it with my Dad.

A huge shout out as well to Jay Greishaw, easily the best guide I have booked a trip with.   He did whatever he could to make the trip great....learned a lot from him and will definitely be down again for a second visit. 

Tight lines everyone,

Fluke