They had a lil segment on the evening news here in san antonio on ksat12 about amistad about the rising water and interviweing the water guys at the dam... Also said if the lake where to rise 12ft or higher they would release alot more waster then what they are doing now. People down stream where informed about the flooding as well.

Anyone got any suggestions on the best way to fish it now?

shallow

Amistad as of 7:30 am was at 1108.03 and still rising. According to the NWS and AHPS, it should continue to rise for the next week or longer.

Hey Carl what do you think the odds are of the "powers at be" letting Amistad reach full pool?

Very Good.

Don't hold your breath , but this time they may not have a choice. The international bridge at Presidio is pretty much underwater plus their levee was breeched. Nice article in San Antonio Express about it today. If you ever have been across that bridge, you know how deep that is . That is a ton of water, hence the "historic flood" talk they have been rumbling about. They had a nice pic of the water going over the bridge. It was all the way up to the guard house where they take your money when you cross. With the level raising here pretty much 3/4 of a foot a day, by next week we should be full capacity. That should make James down at Falcon Tackle VERY happy. That is , if that sorry watermaster down there doesn't let it all out again. Keep your fingers crossed. Current level 1108.30 7PM today. 8.70 ft. low conservation pool of 1117.00 . Last report today was that all 7 resevoirs on the Conchas river in Mexico were going over the spillway thanks to those two tropical storms. So this is going to go on for a while. They got dumped on rain wise in Mexico pretty bad from the pacific storms.

sounds like i'll have to figure big blue out again on my next trip

James just might be cracking a smile..

I, like many other Amistad and Falcon fans, have been watching the river above Big Bend for weeks. If you read my site, you know that I am always on the lookout for anything that even resembles a river rise.. In the food chain of Rio Grande water, Falcon is the "shad" so to speak... As in the bottom of the food chain.

But the way I see it, this all started out with Greed.. The unwillingness to release any water before hand, because we just might need it this spring.. All these lakes were supposedly built for Flood Control..

In defense of the water masters, if there is any, is the fact that they are trying to juggle the needs of a lot of people, with no info on what is to come.. And I don't know if I could do any better.. But I know I couldn't do much worse..

But I could sure do better on methods to irrigate the valley below Falcon.. It's about as wasteful as it gets..

But Amistad should have started releasing water TWO WEEKS ago.. And maybe could have prevented some of this flooding along the Rio Grande between Amistad and Falcon..

I hear from the American folks with the IBWC, and I have spoken with them several times since we have bought the store, that they talk to their Mexican counterparts all the time.. Wasn't it obvious as to what was about to happen?

And correct me if I am wrong but I believe that Mexicos ownership of water In Amistad and Falcon was below 20%.. I guess this is their way of putting their water back in the lakes..

In any case, we will be glad to take any water we get, with thanks to you folks at the Big Friendly for passing it along.. But next time, don't wait so long..

And don't worry about the Amistad bass that come down the river.. Our bass will eat em'... :-)

See you on the water..

James

Both heads of the U.S/Mexico IBWC offices were killed in a plane crash recently after checking out the rising waters in Presidio and Ojinaga.

Who can remember the last time both lakes were full???

I can remember Falcon being slightly above full pool,Amistad was full as well.I think it was the late 80s or early 90s.The water in Falcon was crystal clear from the salanius at the dam to the hedonia up the river,and all the way past the old town in the salado as well.Falcon at full pool again? I didnt think it would happen.If it does fill up and hold for a couple years I think it will almost be scary how good the fishing will be.Falcon had hydrilla in it back then especially in the lower end of the lake.Not just a few patches here and there either.It was every where and matted up pretty much year round.

Are the fish moving shallow with the rising water on Amistad as well? We haven't heard how the fishing has been with all of the rising water.

The San Antonio newspaper reported today that a presideo county official stated that the rio concho must shed 30 trillion gallons of water before the dams and flood control systems can return to normal...I dont know where he got the number 30 trillion but if he is anywhere close i dont see how both Lakes will not fill up and remain that way for quite sometime.According to my math which is highly suspect I admit....I think that 30 trillion gallons of water = 92,066,619.4 acre feet.(92 million).I dont how much that is but it sounds like a lot.

Here is a website for lake levels if interested.

http://wiid.twdb.state.tx.us/ims/resinfo/BushButton/lakeStatus.asp

For easy figuring Falcon at 20 low at 86,000 acres thats 1,720,000 acre ft of water needed. Amistad at 10 ft 69,000 acres 690,000 acre ft needed. Total of 2,410,000 acre ft to fill both that still alot left. Amazing.