So which guides from Fork are also doing trips at Falcon other than James Niggemeyer and Ronnie Kelley? Booking a local guy without a long notice is looking to get harder and harder.
It will be funny when they all start taking their regular Fork customers to Falcon! Next year they will all be looking for new Fork customers!! You can't satisfy people with an amusement park after they have been to DIsney World.....
Next year they will all be looking for new Fork customers!! You can't satisfy people with an amusement park after they have been to DIsney World.....
Oh no, the NEXT LAKE FORK IS HERE? 565 miles away?
Before the forum it was Cooper...
Alan Henry Amistand OH Ivie Conroe Choke Canyon Austin Caddo
I remember the anticipation of Squaw Creek opening and predicting multiple records being broken.
And the cycle continues.
I will be here bumping these posts just as I do every year when Alan Henry was "per acre the best lake in the world"....funny how that was suddenly forgotten.
I was merely pointing out that the Fork guides are taking a huge risk by taking their customers to Falcon. There is ZERO argument as to which lake is better for the past 5 years at a minimum. I was not insulting Fork's beloved share lunker records! The guides may come back home but I feel the customers and their business will stay at Falcon.
Risk how? I don't think you get it...565 miles away....
What would they stay for? Coming to Zapata on business and taking an extended 2 or 3 days off to spend fishing on a good lake? (Dallas/Ft Worth) Isolated.
Flying straight into Zapata, renting a car, fishing for a weekend and fly home? Isolated.
I'm not familiar with Falcon area, but I will say I wouldn't drag my family to Amistad if I cared about keeping them entertained. Isolated.
Falcon is no doubt a great lake. It is isolated, has had LOADS of bad press (true or not), and half of it belongs to a third world country. Isolated.
Of course everyone is going to try it at one time or another, but guides losing their customer base for Falcon? Sure, just move the lake about 50 miles from Houston.
Jersey Dan is the only person I know that fishes Falcon like he did Fork...but is a crazy Yankee. BADABING.
I agree I fish Fork 3 to 5 times a Year. I live near Abilene. It is very unlikly that I will give that up to drive twice as far for falcon. I will make it down to falcon this year and might change my mind but I really dought it.
I take some of my customers down about 3 times a year. I will be there twice in Feb and have some dates open Feb 11-14 if interested. What a lake ! There are several good guides at Falcon also.I sure hope they stop pulling water down there.I know several of us here at Fork when it is slow here go down that way.I have fished all over the country and it is the easiest lake I have ever fished and loaded with Giant Bass ! Should be on every ones bucket list !
If going to Falcon is what your customers want and they still want you as there guide that says alot about what they think of you. I would say take them or you may be replacing customers.
565 miles has nothing at all to do with it. If someone is traveling to take part in a fishing trip be it Fork or Falcon, they can fly into Laredo just as easy as they can Dallas to come to Fork. Zapata is one hour away from Laredo.
Most people take one or two trips a year where they travel, stay multiple nights in an hotel, hire guides, etc. What I am saying is, by the LAKE FORK guides taking customers to Falcon, when it comes time for people to plan their annual fishing trips, where do you think they will want to go? Like Marc Mitchell said, Falcon is unreal for size, numbers, ease of finding them. Falcon has been awesome for years now. It is no flash in the pan like Alan Henry.
I just think the Fork guides are taking a risk by taking their regular customers to Falcon. I think those customers will prefer to go to Falcon in the future because on average, the trips are much more productive.
Cameron..have you ever been to Falcon?? I think if you ever went, we would see you in Tina's eating breakfast tacos with a huge Sombrero on your head. Just my two cents
I was merely pointing out that the Fork guides are taking a huge risk by taking their customers to Falcon. There is ZERO argument as to which lake is better for the past 5 years at a minimum. I was not insulting Fork's beloved share lunker records! The guides may come back home but I feel the customers and their business will stay at Falcon.
That's waaaaay wrong. Plenty of people in DFW prefer to drive only 75 miles for an easy day trip vs. a circumnavigation of 500 miles to Falcon. Plenty of DFW guys can catch fish at Fork. I understand some have to drive 500 miles to catch dumb fish.
Registered: 02/07/10
Posts: 1904
Loc: Lake Palestine
I saw 4 guides down there last week that were fork guides, guess that tells ya boout how fork fishin is right now, but then again falcon is off the chizain!
The thing I would like to know is how are they all of a sudden Falcon guides? Seems like they all started guiding down there this year.
There are some guides from Fork that I personally know are good down at Falcon, but there are some that it seems they took a vacation down there, now all of a sudden, they're a guide down there.
Isn't the fishing on Falcon so easy anyone can be a guide? That's what I read on here.....
Ah, just joshing around stirring the kettle!
_________________________
You can avoid having ulcers by adapting to the situation: If you fall in the mud puddle, check your pockets for fish. ~Author Unknown
Guides are like salesman...you have to move to what the customers want and desires....
Nothing wrong with that. To me a good guide can take you anywhere, anytime and show you a good time.
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You can avoid having ulcers by adapting to the situation: If you fall in the mud puddle, check your pockets for fish. ~Author Unknown
I was merely pointing out that the Fork guides are taking a huge risk by taking their customers to Falcon. There is ZERO argument as to which lake is better for the past 5 years at a minimum. I was not insulting Fork's beloved share lunker records! The guides may come back home but I feel the customers and their business will stay at Falcon.
That's waaaaay wrong. Plenty of people in DFW prefer to drive only 75 miles for an easy day trip vs. a circumnavigation of 500 miles to Falcon. Plenty of DFW guys can catch fish at Fork. I understand some have to drive 500 miles to catch dumb fish.
Not talking about locals going fishing, it is the guide "customers" , the guide's business base, that would prefer to go to Falcon. Don't think so?, I guess the Fork guides just decided they rather do business down South 500 miles away.
Anyway, what's not to love about Fork. Been 5 times in the last 2 weeks. Caught an average of 50 each trip, best sandbass lake in Texas and will only get better!
What guide in their right mind would not want to work on Falcon for a couple of weeks a year and make good money in the process? I'm sure it gets old/monotonous guiding on the same lake 200+ days a year...it's human nature. It's almost like a paid vacation and it says a lot about the quality of the guide if their customers choose to fish Falcon with them rather than a local guide. None that I know of are claiming to be "Falcon guides", they are just taking good existing customers to a new body of water.
Registered: 08/07/10
Posts: 3572
Loc: ..around the way, near Lk Waco
Originally Posted By: Bass_Bustin_Texan
Isn't the fishing on Falcon so easy anyone can be a guide? That's what I read on here.....
Ah, just joshing around stirring the kettle!
Uh oh..I just booked a trip with "Jersey Outfitters"..was this a mistake?..
Both parties are correct......to an extent
And Falcon, IMO, is not going anywhere...unless it dries up...the conditions and environment are ideal for the LMB (and unfortunately, for the Zetas as well) to grow and get sloppy fat (like some of East Fork's finest)..
_________________________
Assistant to the Assistant Traveling Secretary of the Evan O'Brien Fan Club
Jeff Dunford PB: 8.4 (Lake Fork)
Psalms 83:18 (He does have a name and wants us to know and use it, Lord is a title) John 18:36
I think it could be applying to their "vacation" customers. Guys that fly in from Michigan or Indiana or some place up north once or twice a year and book a guide and a hotel for a couple days straight. Those are the ones that could get hooked on a lake and switch their annual pilgrimage from Fork to Falcon. This doesn't have much to do with the guy from DFW who could easily do either one multiple times through out the course of the year.
Dam If I didnt know I woulda thought cam dug the whole lake with one shovel. He is proud
It was 1am and I was bored. I don't care if Falcon produces 8000 sharelunkers, it doesn't affect business on Fork. My whole point...
Plus arguing with the "Great" Brady Winans (Z520 Cranker) is hilarious. He knows guides have been doing this on Falcon for more than 4 years, not hard to see who he is trying to light a fire under.
I'll be bumping this in a year, laughing.
Brady, my falcon rod rack has been empty for over a year now. You came in and said you were going to do this and that and never came back. Guess we can't sell rods anymore since we lost all of our customers to lake Falcon
IMO, the Fork guides are just seizing on the opportunity to take some o their existing Lake Fork customers to fish at Falcon with. They are not going to lose those customers to Falcon lake but rather are working to retain those customers for repeat business at Fork, Monticello, Welsh and Falcon for years to come. This has been going on for quite a few years now and helps to bring needed business to the Zapata economy......everyone wins in the long run.
Not to mention the fact that at this time of year, most guides on Fork are not fully booked. Come February, different story.
I certainly can't blame a man who guides for a living for going elsewhere so he can be booked every day during a historically slow period for guides at Fork.
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"Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out" - Zachary Troy Schrah - a young man with vision far beyond his years.
Registered: 05/16/07
Posts: 146
Loc: Tarrant County, TX
I totally agree with what Steve says in the above post. This is exactly the situation for me. I go down to Falcon with our 'non Falcon' guide because he is a good friend and I like fishing and spending time with him! Plus, he is a STICK and can catch fish out of a bath tub. lol
Would I consider fishing a local guide....sure, and have done it, but the reality is they (locals) are booked WAY in advance and cannot accomodate last minute or an 'on the fly' decision to hit Falcon.
Its 14-15 hours to falcon for me and 8-9 hours to Fork, so either way no one is losing my business due to travel. Fork will alsways get customers no matter what. My BIL is flying in Easter weekend and I gave him a choice between the two and have sent him links to TFF with what Falcon is doing right now. He still chose Fork because he has always heard about it even up north in Mass. and thinks it will be more challenging for him.
Right. This is just the free market at work. It's slow up here and fast on Falcon. If I'm a DFW businessman taking a client for a guided trip,I'm going to Fork,not Falcon. I don't want to entertain my client any longer than I have to. Lol.
Right. This is just the free market at work. It's slow up here and fast on Falcon. If I'm a DFW businessman taking a client for a guided trip,I'm going to Fork,not Falcon. I don't want to entertain my client any longer than I have to. Lol.
FZ1, please refer to yourself in 3rd person. Cameron thinks that it was FZ1's trademark.
Take a vacation, fish champs, book some clients while your there to pay for trip head to amistad for everstart, book some more clients at falcon. Sounds like a good idea. They are just hedging their bets. Its alot easier to move a boat down there than a marina. Everyone knows that fork is dead, people would rather go to falcon and take a chance on getting shot or their heads chopped off than go to fork.
Registered: 10/20/05
Posts: 456
Loc: Lake Fork Texas
Well, just for those that choose Lake Fork. Big bass still bite during the winter months here, and I'm not scared about catching them. I don't plan on spending anytime on Falcon just in case someone needs an up-to-date Lake Fork guide.
Good luck to those who venture south to the border however. Don't forget your plugs, take care on the Mexico side, and stay as long as you can.....
I ive near dallas and i have drove to Falcon the same amount of times I driven to Fork. I just happen to enjoy my time there on the water.
Both are good lakes, but I dont pay attention to the stats of how many SALs came from where, 80's and the 90's are in the past, I only care about what a lake did last year and what it will do this year.
For the record, I'm just down here fishing with some of my regular customers that have never been here before. We are just down having a good time....will they come back to Fork??? They are just about all booked for Fork again, just a fun deal with good customers that would otherwise never come down
For the record, I'm just down here fishing with some of my regular customers that have never been here before. We are just down having a good time....will they come back to Fork??? They are just about all booked for Fork again, just a fun deal with good customers that would otherwise never come down
I am betting this applies to all of the Fork guides down there too............
As a customer I think it would be cool to have a guide that was good on other lakes. If I lived in Texas and went on more then one trip a year I would probably seek out a guide like that......
Like one guy said, it's pretty simple to pattern fish on Falcon. Fork is a renowned trophy, big bass fishery, obviously, but it is not as easy to catch fish there than it is at Falcon, PERIOD. The guides have to stay booked wherever they guide at, that's food on the table and money in the pocket. I would think if they stay at Fork and fight out the winter, there would be many days without a booked trip as opposed to staying pretty much booked every day @ Falcon. Their families may not like them being gone during the winter months, but it's their business. You gotta have that "traveling salesman" mentality in order to be a guide. I wish every one of them the best of luck. I know I wouldn't fish at all today if I tried to make it my profession...........HERE'S TO ALL THE GUIDES OUT THERE
Registered: 08/06/06
Posts: 1760
Loc: Lake Austin, Lake Falcon and C...
I think it is awesome that Lake Fork Guides offer trips 500+ miles away from their family (kids, wives etc) to their clients. In my opinion, Lake Fork can be a tough lake December - January. I don't care how good you "think" you are, it can be tough (wind etc). Lake Falcon on the other hand is in it's prime generally during this time. If I were still guiding, I admittedly would be doing the same thing. For those of you that say "you don't need a guide at Falcon". Well, you are the people that guides don't need. Believe it or not, there are a ton of folks across the country that make a TON of money, who do not own a boat (they could care less). Many of my previous clients could buy not just a Ranger, but the whole damm company if they wanted to (NFL players, NBA players, Executives etc). But, they do not want the BS of boat ownership. They just want to drive their Mercedes or BMW to the Airport and fly into Dallas (Fork) or Laredo (Falcon) and be "pampered". Most of your "Rich" clients do not hang around fishing forums or listen to Fork vs Falcon [censored]. Moral of the story, I would walk 500+ miles to Falcon to feed my family if I had to, so some Fork Guides doing business down there is good business in my book.
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Texas Angler 903-918-9469 Sponsors - Custom Angle Rods, Costa Sunglasses, Santone Lures, Grande Bass
Ha, my wife and kids would kill me if I went without them!
I'm glag ya'll are enjoying it down there! Tight lines!
_________________________
You can avoid having ulcers by adapting to the situation: If you fall in the mud puddle, check your pockets for fish. ~Author Unknown
Right. This is just the free market at work. It's slow up here and fast on Falcon. If I'm a DFW businessman taking a client for a guided trip,I'm going to Fork,not Falcon. I don't want to entertain my client any longer than I have to. Lol.
FZ1, please refer to yourself in 3rd person. Cameron thinks that it was FZ1's trademark.
Registered: 01/01/07
Posts: 4348
Loc: Your sister's house
The Fork guides have their work cut out for them this past week. This lake is not fishing like it was a few months ago. These fish are acting very funny...
The Fork guides have their work cut out for them this past week. This lake is not fishing like it was a few months ago. These fish are acting very funny...
Big Red 12
TFF Guru
Registered: 04/21/05
Posts: 38200
Loc: Crandall, TX
Originally Posted By: Ronnie Kelley
For the record, I'm just down here fishing with some of my regular customers that have never been here before. We are just down having a good time....will they come back to Fork??? They are just about all booked for Fork again, just a fun deal with good customers that would otherwise never come down
Hey, Ronnie, I missed this trip. I got to retire so I can travel. Or, just burn some of my 90+ sick days in 4.5 years. Let me know next time. You still have my number? Just razzing you. Have a good time and enjoy your trip. I am just envious.
I'll chime in on this as I'm right in the middle of it.... I fished with Lake Fork Guide Ronnie Kelley several times this past summer...caught several fish in the 7-9 lb range and no telling how many 5-6 lbrs we caught...From these trips a great friendship has become of it... So when my guide tells me he is Wack'em on Fork...I book a trip with him...
Last month my guide tells me....Lake Falcon is on fire...I'll be there at this time... "do you want to fish a few days with me?" asked Ronnie...Hell Yes I'm there!
To me...it's no different than a guide telling you to cast at the spot...and you might get your arm broke! He tells me fishing is good on Falcon.....I go..just like I cast to that spot... Now as for the fishing here on Falcon....Well these Fork guys are hanging in there....Most days are catching 50 plus fish a day up to 9.14....we are not even counting the number of 6-7lbrs we are hammering right now.... This is some of the best bass fishing I ever seen...almost as good as Lake X... Will I book a Fork trip after fishing this awesome lake? Yep already have...
This has been a great trip...Can't wait to do it again this summer!
All I can say...I listen to the guide...and have a new PB because of it....
How could anybody have a problem with someone fishing or guiding on another lake. If no one is allowed to become a new guide on a lake, then I ask how did the local guys get started? Is there some fishing wizard who has to grant you the powers to fish another lake. We are in Texas and are all blessed to be here surrounded by some of the best lakes in the country, Fork and Falcon especially . I say fish them all and if you can make a living doing that your my hero. Who really cares it could be worse we could be on the Nebraska fishing forum.
To set the record straight I don't know Ronnie Kelley. I just don't think anyone should be questioned about where they decide to fish for the day, week, or month.
Big Green Egg needs to start making some promotional bass baits... I know that with Ronnie huntin' 'em down and Chris throwin' a big green egg bait, he'd surely get his DD with one of those!
Registered: 05/21/03
Posts: 1084
Loc: San Antonio, Texas
As stated in my earlier comment that the guides would not like my comment. For the record I was not referring to guides from Fork only, I was referring to all guides... Additionally, my comment was directed at folks who do intend to take their boat and fish by themselves when not with a guide.
You can talk to James & Tommy at Falcon Lake Tackle, get you some good advise and baits and spend 3-4 extra days there.
If I was extremely wealthy I think I would still own a bass boat and do things myself "most of the time"...
Original comment: Great thing about Falcon Lake is you do not need a guide as much as you may at some other lakes.....
Save you money and stay 3 more days......
The guides probably don't like me saying that; however, that is my opinion...
For the record, I'm just down here fishing with some of my regular customers that have never been here before. We are just down having a good time....will they come back to Fork??? They are just about all booked for Fork again, just a fun deal with good customers that would otherwise never come down
I am betting this applies to all of the Fork guides down there too............
Right on Steve! I've been doing it for past 3 years at Falcon in January. Most of the people I bring are friends more so than clients and would not fish with anyone else. Just having fun on another great Texas lake in the middle of winter until Fork warms up. Headed to Amistad after this... Hope nobody else gets offended about me being in south tx or inviting clients to bring $$ into their local economies
Next year they will all be looking for new Fork customers!! You can't satisfy people with an amusement park after they have been to DIsney World.....
Oh no, the NEXT LAKE FORK IS HERE? 565 miles away?
Before the forum it was Cooper...
Alan Henry Amistand OH Ivie Conroe Choke Canyon Austin Caddo
I remember the anticipation of Squaw Creek opening and predicting multiple records being broken.
And the cycle continues.
I will be here bumping these posts just as I do every year when Alan Henry was "per acre the best lake in the world"....funny how that was suddenly forgotten.
Man, you are a hater on every Falcon Is Great post. Why be such a jealous about Falcon? Its a great lake right now.
For the record, Lake Fork Marina is 535 miles away from the Best Western in Zapata, btw. Have you ever even fished Falcon?
Edited by RedSkeeter (01/17/1207:29 AM) Edit Reason: Inappropriate remark
#7059906 - 01/16/1211:41 PMRe: Fork guides at Falcon
[Re: craigfish]
K.D.
TFF Guru
Registered: 05/04/02
Posts: 10974
Loc: DFW, TX
It's been going on for as far back as I can recall. I remember in the early to mid 90's when the Outdoor Times was published monthly and Lindy Roberts (Ray Roberts Guide) and others used to tell you every year that they were on Amistad or Falcon from Dec to Feb. I don't recall who all it was but there were 3-4 of them. Bill Wilcox might have been one of them. Seems like I remember Lindy would come back for the local boat show and have one heck of a tan every year.
Registered: 06/15/11
Posts: 685
Loc: ON the bush IN Falcon
solid post clint.......Im glad to see ANY possitive press for this wonderful town. Come one, come all and have a good time.....cya on the water.
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Martin (Jay) Greishaw 757-537-5968 Follow me on twitter @highstakesbass email me at jay@highstakesbassin.com Full time local Zapata Falcon Lake bass guide
I'll weigh in as well since I'm right in the middle of this discussion too. I just got back from a trip on Falcn with Jason Hoffman where I caught my new pb.
I won't even get into the argument of which lake is better right now. The fish at Falcon are much further along in the prespawn stage right now at Falcon compared to Fork. See how many Fork guys you can find down there in March and April. Plus, Falcon wasn't impounded yesterday. Maybe in terms of longevity it will become the crown jewel of Texas, but we are years away from that even becoming a sensible argument. Every lake goes in cycles, and if we are being honest we've all listened the next Fork argument only to hear nothing out of the lake a few years later. Heck I've already heard many whispers about Falcon fishing much tougher this year.
For the recordJjason won't lose a single Fork trip out of me becasue of Falcon. Fork is just cheaper and more convenient, even though the fishing might not be quite as good right now. Plus anything I learn on Fork about the lake can be more readily applied at Fork than Falcon. Realistically Ivie is the only real threat to the Fork guides, due to its proximity to the Metroplex. Cam is right. You can't compare two lakes 500+ miles apart. If anything it might help the guys book a few more trips a year. I can't tell you how many times I've called jason to book a trip and someone from MO, or somewhere else has already taken it. If those guys start going to Falcon with him then that is more Fork trips available for the locals.
And if any of the Zapata folks are p'd about the Fork guys being there I will point out that I would of never gone if it wastn't for them. I bet anyone I bought rental cars, lodging, burritos, breakfast tacos, gas, beer, tackle and more beer from was glad to have me.
Man, you are a hater on every Falcon Is Great post. Why be such a jealous about Falcon? Its a great lake right now.
For the record, Lake Fork Marina is 535 miles away from the Best Western in Zapata, btw. Have you ever even fished Falcon?
535 miles, excuse me. I went to public school...I guess I was left behind.
I'm not a hater, hating a body of water isn't politically correct. I find the unreal expectations a bit extreme, but to each his own...only thread I am going to bump is "I give the Falcon Record one month", it isn't going to happen.
Falcon is the best lake in the country, most likely the world...besides Camelot Bell!
My post was aimed at Brady Winans (Z520Cranker), I have a problem with him and his comments...not with a lake. lol.
Sorry if my post offended you...you called me a female dog before your post was edited, but I assure you I am only a bastard.
Sorry if I offended you Falcon guys, I want nothing more than to make fun of Squaw Creek...threads are lacking this year.
I plan on going to Falcon in Feb if things work out, more scared of the locals trying to kill me than the cartel.
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