Judy and I made a quick trip to Falcon Lake this past weekend to set up a rack of rods @ Robert’s Fish N' Tackle Store in Zapata. I knew that there could be several thousand people come through this next week for the Bassmaster Elite Tourn., and we knew the exposure to the rods would be good. Another reason for the trip was to get in a little fishing to field test our new line of 8’ SwimBait rods. We wanted to see how they would withstand the shock and stress of flipping with 80# braid in trees. These rods proved to be everything we thought they would be. Able to perform in the heaviest of cover and able to swing even the fiercest Falcon Lake bass in the boat.

In my opinion, the ultimate rods for this situation are still the PT05 or the PG104 7’6”, but we also have a new model the GMP-5 & GM-5 (GrassMat Special), same blank but 7’3”. The shorter rod enables you to make more accurate pitches in tight quarters.

We fished Saturday evening for a few hours and had 15-17 bites flipping in 10-12 foot trees. Our best 5 fish weighed 23-25#.

On Sunday, the windy conditions caused us to crawl in the backs of creek channels for the biggest part of the day. We caught 25-30 fish in 10-12 foot trees. Our heaviest 5 fish weighed around 33-35#, including two 8# fish. Both groups of fish were found in the same types of areas which were 10-12 feet depressions on the sides of creek channels. The depressions were lined with larger, dominant looking trees that stood out, they were 2-3 feet deeper than the rest of the flats next to the channels. Both areas had a little more stained water than the other areas where we did not get a bite, so water color was a factor.

We caught our fish flipping a 3/4 oz. Oldham EYEMAX jig with a Strike King Rage Craw. Color really did not matter as we fished 4 different colors and got a bite on every one of them.

Just to prove fishing is good, early Sunday we fished a very short time on windy points throwing a spinner bait and caught a couple of 3-4 pounders very quickly, then we cranked a bit on steep dropping points. Again we caught several 3-4 pounders in a short time. But, like I said, the wind was getting up and our purpose was to field test the 8 footer.

Robert's Fish N' Tackle

The Bassmaster Elite Pros should be in for some fun this week with the tournament starting. I expect to see some massive weights and for records to be set.

I cannot wait to get back down there to fish again, and if you are in Zapata be sure to stop by Robert’s Fish N' Tackle. He has a great selection of tackle and now he has the Power Tackle Line of rods!

Good Fishing to you,

Tim Reneau