I’ll tell you what, the Sabine River tournament was something else. I’ve never fished any tournament, anywhere — except for a Classic, of course — where the crowds were as big, or as enthusiastic, as they were there. (Elite attendance records smashed in Orange)
Everybody seemed like they were having a good time, too. They were hanging around smiling, taking pictures, getting autographs and just enjoying the day. That was especially true on Saturday. I’ll never forget those crowds.
And from my perspective, the fishing was a positive. The Sabine is a long river, not a lake or reservoir. That means there was plenty of water to fish without having to rub rails with the other guys. It was possible to find a spot and fish it all by yourself. I like that.
So what if the fish were a little small or didn’t bite as easily as they do in some places. Not every tournament needs to be a slugfest with weights approaching 100 pounds. Sometimes it’s nice to get back to our roots and try to catch the tough ones. That’s what we do — fish. They’re not supposed to jump in the boat.
But that one’s over. Now it’s time to attack Falcon. I’m good with that. I haven’t really thawed out from Oklahoma if you want to know the truth. The Sabine helped but even there we had ice on the boat covers the first morning. That won’t happen here. It’s well over 100 degrees today, although I think it’s supposed to drop into the 90s later this week. Those temperatures are Chris Lane’s kind of fishing weather. You can work, sweat and catch fish.
How many fish is an open question. We might be hitting it at just the right time or we might be a week or so off. This is Falcon so it should be good either way. I’m guessing there’ll be a number of really heavy bags. I wouldn’t be surprised to see stuff pushing the 40-pound class. I will be surprised if we catch as much weight as we did last time, though. Things would have to be almost perfect for that to happen.
Last year I had a 2-pounder and a 3-pounder in my sack at one of the weigh-ins. Hopefully, I won’t bring in anything that small this year. I packed some serious flipping sticks, heavy line and big worms. I have what I need this time.
It’s weird but one of the problems with fish as big as they are in Falcon is getting them to the boat. Most of our ordinary bass tackle, even the real heavy stuff, isn’t tough enough to pull 10-pound-plus bass out of the standing timber and maze of underwater brush that you find in some areas of that lake. That’s a heck of a problem, isn’t it?
It’s springtime. Take someone fishing.