Falcon Not Exactly Floundering

Day 1 Falcon Leader Keith Combs, BASS Photo

Falcon Lake isn't as dazzling as in '08, when Paul Elias set the Elite Series record for four days of fishing and when everyone was catching limits of jumbo fish. In fact, most pros have reported not getting a tremendous number of bites and having to grind it out their limits. That said, this big impoundment along the Texas/Mexico border obviously is still a pretty impressive fishery. Leader Keith Combs, who brought plentiful local knowledge into the tournament, weighed in five fish that averaged very close to 7 pounds (34-13). To put that into perspective, Combs' Day 1 weight would have landed him in eighth place for all four days last week at the Sabine River.

Combs wasn't alone with an impressive catch. Sixteen anglers brought in more than 25 pounds on Day 1, and 45 anglers broke the 20-pound mark. Three quarters of the field brought a limit to the scales. Big fish for the day was a tie between Edwin Evers and Rick Morris, both of whom toted a 9-11 to the scales. Contrasted with last week, when limits were very tough to come by, and decent fish were even tougher to find, Falcon still probably seems quite impressive to most of the Elite Series field.

No one ever says a tremendous amount about patterns after only one day of a four-day tournament, but reports I've heard suggest that fish are being caught both shallow and deep. Some bass are still up on the beds or staging just after the spawn, while others have already moved offshore. Combs focused on key deep-water areas that he expected to produce big fish -- if they produced at all --and said he had to work for his catch. Cliff Prince of Palatka, Florida, who is in second place after the first day, split his efforts between deep structure and shallow trees, which he fished by flipping.

They'll be back at it in another hour or so. Watch the Bassmaster blog for regular updates and even a few peeks at big fish anglers catch during the day.

Sabine Survived -- On to Falcon

Todd Faircloth of Jasper Texas won the Elite Series opener on the Sabine River with a four-day weight of 49 pounds, 6 ounces. BASS photo by James Overstreet

I feel safe saying that most Elite Series pros are happy to have put the very challenging Sabine River Challenge in the rear-view mirror and to be beginning practice on the legendary big-bass waters of Falcon Lake. Falcon, from my understanding, is not quite what it was in 2008 when Paul Elias broke the four-day record with his 132-pound, 8-ounce winning weight and everyone was hauling in monster bags. It's still Falcon, though, and when contrasted with the stingy Sabine and its muddy equipment-wrecking waters, Falcon is likely to look mighty grand.

Todd Faircloth won the Sabine event comfortably, topping second place finisher Dean Rojas by 6 1/2 pounds. Despite the big winning margin, Faircloth's four-day weight of 49 pounds, 6-ounces was the second lowest winning weight in the history of the Elite Series. The same weight at Falcon would have landed him in 51st place and outside the money at Falcon in 2008.

To give a better picture of the Sabine River event's toughness, 12th-place finisher Dennis Tietje weighed in 31 pounds, 5 ounces over four days. The last time the pros were at Falcon, the biggest single-day bag would have outweighed Tietje's four-day catch by more than 10 pounds. The weight for making the cut after two days and cashing a check at the Sabine was 10-pounds, 11 ounces. That meant catching a limit each day of fish that averaged a little more than a pound. If an angler was catching 2 pounders, three fish per day was sufficient to take away a check.

I don't know exactly what Falcon's fertile waters will produce this week, but I'm pretty sure that 1- and 2-pounders won't do the job.