Anyone else have a very bad experience the last 2 days? 25+ MPH Winds, Heavy Chop, Cold Fronts, SLOW Fishing: Between two of us, 32 total yesterday, 15 total today , Average fish 2.5 pounds, No fish over 4.5 pounds... : (

Interested to hear if others faired well or similar. Disappointing outing that I saved up a lot of money for and major let down. Heading back home with tail between my legs and demoralized. Wish I could say at least it was a fun 'experience' but the 2 days weren't even enjoyable. Where did all the big girls go?

It's easy to post and read the Good reports but here unfortunately is a bad one. But I guess fishing is fishing right? Here's to hoping I can redeem myself quickly lol.

amen can't be perfect conditions every time it's when you go back the next time that it pays off

last february when we were there the wind would start blowing around 10am every day and blew 15-25mph every day, but we still had a GREAT trip. We averaged at least 40 fish a day over 4 lbs and probably 25 a day over 5. Largest for the trip was 9lbs 9oz

Three years ago this month I made my first trip down there for a 2 1/2 day trip. You just caught 42 more fish than we did on that trip. Monster cold front came in and it was ugly. It does happen. Every trip since has been awesome.

Man I'm more worried about hitting the weather right than anything. 11 hour drive for me all on a whim that it will be perfect conditions... lol damnit!

It happens down there. A bass is a bass, no matter where you are. People are gonna comment on here and tell you stories on how they caught all these big fish today or last cold front with heavy winds. Dont let them bother you. Fishing can get tough down there. I have experienced it. Hopefully it will pick up in the next day or two.

Thats reality. Nothing is automatic...except when I get down there in about 10 days!,

just step back and look at it. I'd be more than happy to catch 15 fish in the middle of winter right now

Unfortunately it was not an even split. So for me 9 and 3 respectively. Very depressing.

Falcon is not always what TFF makes it out to be, it is a lake full of Florida bass. I have made several 11hr trips down there and had my teeth kicked in, but I also had a few that will keep me going back till I cant no more. I find that if you can stand the heat August-September is some of the best and most predictable fishing IMO. Dont give up start saving $ again and give it another shot

That's the problem. It's a different computation for those that live farther away. Longer lead time and no idea what kind of weather. If you live 200 miles away,no big deal:If you live 500 miles away,it is a big deal.

If you guys think you can come out here without putting in any work you are going to be in for a huge surprise. The lake is not fishing how it was 6 months to a year ago. You have to earn your fish these days.

Yup, Falcon can serve you a nice big piece of Humble pie for sure. I went down to practise for basschamps and slaughtered em, had 30+ lbs the first HALF day, 40+ the second and then bailed out on Sunday. Went back two weeks later and couldnt put together a 20 lb sack! Though it is only 233 miles for us as opposed to 500 or more for some, so the trip can be made often.

Jersey,
I was scheduled to come down tomorrow and fish Friday thru Sunday. But with this front, should I possibly hold off?

I have no idea. I haven't fished the past few days. Flip a coin.

Disappointing? That's way better than you could do on most lakes in the country right now....



Weather looks like it's going to be really nice this weekend. I'm heading down Thursday night for sure.

you can catch fish in the nastiest conditions. I drive 7 hours for the next couple of weeks them my drive will be 3 minutes:). Like Jersey said you won't just be able to drop a bait in the water and catch fish. It is worth the time when you find that spot though:) Keeps me driving down there

What would you say it cost for 2-3 days of fishing down there? I would love to go now, but with coaching soccer till April, I'll be out of luck.

Don't feel too bad. I drive the 500 miles from KC to Fork every spring, usually late february. It sucks when you don't do well but just knowing you have a shot at a toad keeps me coming back. Usually the week before or after we leave they are tearing them up too. We'll hit it right one of these days just like you will.

$600-$700. Depending on where you stay, what you eat, how much you run...

3 tanks of truck gas each way from Dallas.

Well D-Hobbs is headed that way so get ready to see some sure nuff "Toads"!!!!!

We did well enough yesterday. I think ur keeping way to much score to have any fun.
If u were out there today outside the first couple of hours this morning ur trying way to hard. I know the wind was 30 plus at many times today. Tomorrow as well but then it gets better.
15 and 30 fish and it's a failure. Ha!
Ease up brother its fishing.

Okay, here is the way I see it. There are a lot of other fishermen who struggle on their trips to Falcon...they just don't post when they do. Most people only post when they catch 'em real good.

You hit some tough winds and you don't live there to keep on top of them. Don't feel like you are the only guys to have had a disappointing Falcon trip. You will get 'em next time!

Well I have been doing this 3-4 day trip for 8 years now, seen bout any weather that can be had, have had trip that produced as few as 15 - 20 and as many as 200,.....is still the best fishery in the country. Never used a guide here either and I still feel like i had the best time ever...but this year Im steppin out, going to hook up with Jim Behnken and I'm pumped up!!!! So looking forward to learning a lot about this lake. I wished I lived closer to it.

That is the way it is this time of year hit it right and it is on hit the weather and it gets tough 42 lb 13 oz yesterday and 27 pounds today. Read my reports.

Dakicka,

Don't get bumbed out man......falcon is not handing out many free Passes to anyone.......u were one Stumble on a ledge or hump away from having a great trip.

Looking forward to that 20 hour drive, Feb 15th!

I travel 2500 miles each way to fish Falcon. It's never a bad trip for me because I get to see my folks, and I get to spend a couple of days on the lake with my brother. I personally just love being down there, getting some big fish is just icing on the cake. You want to fish some brutal conditions, come on up north and see what folks have to endure just to get a line wet during the winter time. I'll take Falcon at it's worst over winter fishing up here.

hey i think i hoped in your boat and took pics of your two tens a few months ago? I think you had a Ranger and we were in the mouth of the tiger

This dude, ^^^^^ my new hero (at least until Jersey pops the 12# barrier), he's everywhere...u can't stop him, only hope to contain him...


'Kicka...hang in there, buddy, and return home safely...like Bill said, that's not a terrible day for January (at 99% of all other lakes), you'll slay 'em on another trip..

RX, YOU'RE NOT W/BUNCH OF CRAZIES @ THE COVE ARE YA?

Yep, went Dec.7 - 14. Rained about the whole time I was there. Did manage a 5 lber and lost a sure DD at the boat. Then caught a wave wrong and my ignition switch broke and left early. But I will return.

Falcon bass absolutely HATE northers. Heck, they won't hardly bite in the summer if the wind switches to the north. I used to go around the first week of February every year, but the last few years I've postponed my trip until late March. Yes, I'll miss most of the spawn, but I'll also miss most of the cold fronts. I went 5 times last year between mid March and Memorial Day. The best 2 trips were late April and early May. Caught fish all day every day and had good weather.

Mother nature sure can put a damper on things.

I think People get the Idea that Falcon is an easy trip and all you have to do is show up and load the boat. It doesn't work that way on any lake unless you have good reliable info before you hit the water.

From my time there in January, Being able to read your electronics and Pattern fish was crucial to having a good trip.

A northern wind is going to slow thing down anywhere, especially Florida bass

Headed down Thursday, hope it gets better. On the bright side i'll be fishing and not working.

Hey bud don't feel bad I went sat and sun for the first time.... Never even seen falcon and had no idea where to start... Sat we caught 1 14in fish on a jig and I was devastated!!!! But after talking to a few fishermen and getting some ideas & and a half [censored] strategy we caught about 15 today (sat) biggest prob 4 lbs and got off the water at noon.... Man I wished would have stayed a lil longer cause it cleared up as soon as we got off the lake ( go figure) but just learn from this trip and prep for your next one..... Good luck!!!!

JUst got in from Falcon an hour ago....and yes it was tough this weekend. We only got into them 1 day and it was from 4-6pm and we caught over 40 fish. Thursday my buddy boated a 9 and Saturday was a skunk. Today we boated 4 fish. We only fished our side the entire trip. We watched the Laredo Lobos club weigh in this afternoon and saw a few 6's, 7's and an 8 weighed in......all came from mexico side. The winning weight was 29lbs I believe.

I just got back Saturday, we fished 3 days with two different guides, out of the 3 days and 6 fishermen (incl guide ) we had one boat catch 20 fish, the other days were about 10 fish days, it was pretty tough, muddy rising water from Amistad, gates open on Falcon, cold fronts, fish do not know what to do, guides were at a loss also, they were turning trips down because they could not get on any fish, we did get a couple of 8,s and one 9.

I know what the expectation is when folks book guides down there, but damn, that is a heck of a trip anywhere else.

I was just looking at our pics from last year and most of our better fish, 6 to 9 lbs, were from Feb 22 to May 19th. It may just be too early to expect great days fishing. Also Falcon is a completely different lake from last year, being 30' low. I really believe, our best days, are ahead of us, even though my honey hole from last year is high and dry. We just need to work a little harder at finding them this year.

Good report,HK,thanks!

I have to vent a little here. I spent the last four days at Falcon and like it has been said already any day at Falcon is a great day.

That said, the fishing was difficult mainly because the wind blew two out of the four days which makes it difficult for me to fish and navigate the lake. We had good catchs every day, however I never found fish shallow and had to stay outside on the main lake. Now that is not the rant.

The rant here is that I realize folks travel from all over the USA to fish Falcon and expect a personal best fishing experience and it can happen. But like Dan said it takes work and you need to invest time to learn how to fish the lake in all kinds of conditions. The alternative is to hire a guide that has already invested the time.

What is not acceptable is to fish along and and move in on folks that are catching fish or just idle by them and GPS their spot to fish it later.

I had two instances where this happened to me and it is hard not to lose all control. One instance I was fishing a deeper spot and had dropped a marker bouy to help stay on a school of fish we located. I fish out of a 15 ft Alweld Jon Boat with a 60 HP motor and was trying hard to fish in the wind. It was blowing 20 out of the N and I would take waves over the nose every few waves. Not to worry I do it all the time.

We were putting the smack down on them when a boat idled over, he observed us from a pretty good distance, to my bouy and asked if it was mine. I said of course it is. He smiled and hit his GPS and idled away. The next day he was on my spot before we got there.

It happened again on Sunday in a completely different spot and the guy cut me off and GPS'd the spot again. I have to tell you that that is just BS. I work my [censored] off to find these fish and unfortunately it happens more now then ever.

Just because fishing is tough there is no excuse for that behavior.

Welcome to Lake Fork.

I had two honey holes down at Falcon that my wife and I fished for the last 3-4 years all to ourselves... Along comes a guide and starts turning these spots into community holes.. it was nothing in the past to load the boat with fish up to 10 #s, definitely a bag of 25 #S every trip... Now 25 #s is a super day on either spot if you can get on them before all these folks that are taken to them cover them up.... We used to get 30-40+ #s on a regular basis... Only thing saving either hole is that they are super transistion spots...

I will echo with what was said above with the lack of respect. I don’t have much time so I will make it real brief.

There is a new era of Falcon Fisherman this year who have finally have gotten permission from their wife to come down and fish. These are mostly your Dallas and Lake Fork clowns.

What I am seeing on the water from you guys is DISGUSTING me.

Multiple days this week I have seen boats (equipped with power poles of course) who were pounding the bank in 2 ft of water turn the boat around and head directly towards me inching their way in throwing their RIG when I’m putting on a clinic. These guys then wave their buddies over who are driving down the main lake to come join in on my off-shore fish. Literally waving with both hands.

Then you have people who will scan your sh*t and you hear the amateur double beep after that.

All of you guys who are robbing off-shore spots from people who put in countless hours of work and dedication to find these fish. I hope your prop gets torn off by a gill net.

I'm getting pi*sed. Some of you have already been caught on video and some of you will also uploaded to the Falcon wall of shame when I get back home.

Fished falcon sunday from 7am to noon. Fishing was tough. 3 of us managed 17 fish to 5 lbs, but they all came from one 10 to 13 ft drop with rocks and brush.

I know it is a good thing that the lake is going back up; however, I was hoping that it would continue going down so that we have to go back to launching off the points... That would put us back like it used to be with just the regulars, the ones that fish Falcon 12 months a year, not just during the spawn/cold months....

We had that happen two years ago to us. This dude kept on encroaching each time we would set the hook, about every cast. We found fish in the tree tops and it was "on". We were off shore and this dude got close enough where I could start throwing my c-rig at him and almost hit him. Lucky for him it only resorted to a verbal confrontation. And then he had the audacity to say..."this lake used to be fun to fish until you young whippersnappers started coming down and ruining it for us that's been here a long time". WHAT? That dude came in on us. He must of been smoking crack. The guy in the back was too ashamed to even look our way.

i'm not liking what i'm hearing with the crowds. sounds like there's a ton of bank beating barneys down there right now. looks like next week i'll be out a little deeper going after prespawners. oh wait, that's all i like to do down there anyways....

It was happening last year also. I pulled up to my honey hole and there were 3 boats already there, they GPS me the day before, so I waited a respectable distance, Dan you know how far, fishing where I was setting waiting for them to leave. If I had been there and they encroached on me it would have been a different story, that's why I didn't get very close to them. When they left, I pulled in and started throwing my secret weapon and slayed them. They could see me and boy did they look mad. This happened more than once and all I could think was, Welcome to the new world of electronics.

Since were ranting here......There's a lot of guys down there that are not using any common sense either. On two occasions I was fishing main lake points that literally have a foot or less of water with ROCK bottoms just outside the bushes and had guys drive under power between me and the Edge of the point I was fishing. On both occasions we yelled and screamed and waved our hands at them because if I didn't they were going to be buying a new lower unit or having some major fiberglass work being done. Part of me wanted to let them trash their chit for their rudeness but in good conscience I am not that kind of guy. That lake has an unbelievable amount of pressure on it right now, barely eaked out 25lbs on the one day in 3 that it didn't blow, but there's a boat it seems on every point or rock pile.

I don't like what I'm hearing in this thread, I think it's time we all take a stand and quit fishing Falcon. It's to far away, wind always a problem, can't catch a 40#stringer anymore. The lake will be a dry hole by the time you get there. Strangers from the north are hurting the fishing. Not to mention bodies floating around and constant gun fire from the west shoreline. Just no reason to go down there anymore. Listen to your wives and girl friends, they no what's best for you. Fish Fork.....Forget Falcon.

I agree. I witnessed at least 3 cartel gun fights this weekend. Everyone should stay away

Gotta brag on a buddy a little. Rick Collis had 5 best of 50lbs the other day. Bigger was 11-11 and smallest of the bag was 9-2...whoa!!!

Sound the same as it did at Lake Fork in the 90`s But it was people from all over the US

Falcon is overrated.

White man catch big fish, brag on internet, big fish go away. Indian catch big fish EAT it, don't tell no one, have plenty big fish.

Last year may have been the last harrah for a few years.

Here it is guys. I'm going to be honest with you. This lake is not magical like it was the past few years. I'm dead serious. Ive been catching monsters, but I'm burning a full tank of gas a day and literally driving 100 miles a day on the water doing so. The days of catching 20-30 fish on one spot are non existent and that is the problem that everyone is having. I've had 2 separate big schools of fish since I have been here for 3 weeks. BTW Bass Champs reports are similar its all 1 fish here another there. Hate to break it to you, but those magical days of giants schools may be done with. Very sad. The fishing may pick up. 50/50 but I would not be surprised if conditions remained the same. As in newbies only catching less than a handful of fish a day and guides only catching 15-20 a day with 3 people in the boat.

And BTW the most disturbing and saddening thing of all is the magnum fluke bite is DEAD as in non existent and that is the truth. The magnum Fluke and Falcon were hand and hand and everyone who has ever fished this lake knows that. It's dead for who knows how long or if it ever does come back...

Dan did you just bury Falcon?

I'm sure this forum is responsible for ruining a lot of honey holes and good fishing lakes....