Texas Border Bass Fishing For years anglers searching for fishing adventures full of trophy size largemouth bass probed a variety of Mexican big bass factories. From Lake Guerrero to El Salto, these south-of-the-border lakes produced an incredible amount of big fish during their prime. However, in recent years it has become evident that US fishermen heading into Mexico were passing up a pair of the best big bass lakes in North America. Rio Grande River impoundments Falcon and Amistad have gained national attention lately for the quantity of quality fish their waters yield. This has never been more evident than in recent BASS events when records toppled one after another. Despite each being southern border impoundments and although they're located relatively close together, these two reservoirs fish much different from one another. In fact, as bass transition from winter to spring, fishing styles on the two lakes are in stark contrast of each other. A is for Amistad For years Lake Amistad was known primarily as a watersport destination. Deep, clear water - quite a contrast from most Texas lakes - attracted boaters, water skiers, swimmers and divers in droves.  Over time, however, bass fishermen found it hard to ignore the number of quality largemouth taken from Amistad's depths. But, as anglers flocked to Amistad, they found the crystal clear waters do more than attract watersport enthusiasts. They also cause its resident black bass to behave much differently than they do on most lakes in the Lone Star State. “During February and into March you'll start seeing a transition on Amistad. Basically, the bass will start moving up,” said South Texas bass pro Dennis Lala. Lala, who finished third in the co-angler division of the BASS Elite Series `Battle on the Border' on Lake Amistad in 2007, has fished various competitive events on Amistad for over two decades. Through the years he has learned a few things about patterning late winter and early spring bass on this sprawling border impoundment. “Amistad is different than most Texas lakes because it's so deep and so clear,” Lala explained. “It's not unusual to see fish spawning in 25 feet of water on Amistad. Typically, they prefer to spawn in 15 to 20 feet. They don't get up in 2 to 4 feet like spawning fish on other Texas lakes. But, because the water's so clear and the light can penetrate so deep, they don't have to. “The other thing about Amistad is its size. This lake is so big that you'll have pre-spawn, spawning and post-spawn fish at different spots on the lake all at the same time. It's not unusual to see as much as an 8 degree difference in water temperature from end of Amistad to the other. Those fish up north are going to spawn much sooner than the ones down by the dam. But, they're all going to act about the same as they go through the process.” According to Lala, the key to finding deep spawning bass such as those on Amistad is to located areas of distinctly different depths. “Like I said, those fish like to spawn in about 15 to 20 feet of water,” said Lala. “But, just before they spawn, they'll be holding in 40 to 70 feet. The thing is, you want to find an area where these two depths come together because those fish like to hang in that deep water until they absolutely have to move up and spawn. And, once they spawn, they go right back off into the deeper water. “What you'd like to do is to find a large flat or creek channel with a hump in the middle that's surrounded by 40 to 60 feet of water. You get a hump with about 15 feet of water on top of it that's surrounded by 40 feet of water, you'll have fish on it from February through April on Amistad. “The absolute best scenario, though, is to find two underwater points running out to about 40 or 50 feet with a canyon in between them. Find a hump that rises up to about 15 feet inside that canyon and you'll find bass. If you just keep you boat off a ways and work a swim bait, crankbait or Carolina-rig around that hump, you'll catch some fish. “Later in spring, as the water really starts to warm, you'll find some spawning fish moving up a little shallower. But again, I'm not talking about 2 feet like you'll see on other Texas lakes. The fish that spawn later will spawn shallower, but they'll still be in 8 to 10 feet of water.” As the fish transition through the spawn into a post spawn pattern, Lala advises anglers to stay close to where they found spawning fish. “Those fish don't move far from where they spawned,” Lala said. “Basically, they just drop back down into that deeper water. “One of the best areas to find post spawn fish are ledges or points about 15 or 20 feet deep that drop off to 60, 70, 80 feet or more of water. Those ledges will hold a lot of suspended bass. Those fish will hang there until they're ready to get up on that shelf and spawn. As soon as they're through spawning, they go right back down in that deeper water off the side of the ledge. “In that situation, you want to put your boat over the shallow water and cast out over the ledge. Or, you can position your boat right on the break and cast down the ledge, working the deep water side. And remember, the spawn on Amsitad lasts several months, so you may have post spawn fish and prespawn fish both suspended along those ledges.” When it comes to lure selection, Lala says a wide variety of baits and techniques will work. However, he warns anglers not to get too consumed with choosing the perfect bait. “When you go to Amistad, you don't need to know what they're hitting. Don't even ask. The most important thing on Amistad - always, regardless of the time of year - is how deep the fish are. Don't ask what they're hitting. That won't help you. Ask how deep the fish are holding. That's all you need to know. “Once you find out how deep the fish are, you can catch them on just about anything you can fish at that depth. I absolutely love throwing Carolina-rigged fluke-style baits like the Berkley Power Jerkshad. But, a lot of folks do real well on crankbaits and swimbaits. The key is to get a bait you're comfortable with working at the right depth - whatever depth that happens to be at the time. As his final words of wisdom, Lala suggests anglers decide on what they want to do before putting the boat in the water. “Amistad is so big, you really need to have an idea where you're going to fish before you take off,” Lala stated. “Personally, I like fishing from the dam to about 7 miles up. That's where the biggest bass tend to be. Above Box Canyon, say 18 to 24 miles up, those fish are a little smaller. But, they are more reliable. So, especially if you're fishing in a tournament, you need to decide if you want smaller, reliable fish or if you're going to roll the dice and go for the bigger fish down on the lower end of the lake.” Falcon is full of big bass In stark contrast to Amistad's deep, clear water, Falcon if closer to a traditional Texas bass factory - relatively shallow with plenty of `colored' water. The color of the water will vary from green to tannin to brown depending on the weather and other conditions, but there is typically some sort of `tint' to Falcon's fluids. Much to the relief of the angling community, Falcon has seen much more of those tinted fluids in recent years. After a decade-long drought had nearly emptied the lake, Falcon began to refill in 2004. That year, the lake level rose to within a dozen feet of pool level. However, those waters slowly subsided in subsequent years. But, before it could once again fall to dangerously low levels, rains began falling in the Falcon Reservoir watershed. Today, for the first time in nearly 20 years, Falcon is full. “I think we're going to have something really special happen here at Falcon,” said guide Speedy Collett of Beacon Lodge. Collett, who also fishes the FLW Stren and Texas Tournament Trail series as well as other tournament circuits, has seen his share of bass lakes. But, he claims to have never seen anything like Falcon. “Certainly anyone who saw the 2008 Elite Series event on Falcon saw the kind of quality bass this lake can produce. But, since then, we've had another water level rise. So, this year (2009) will be a little different - it's going to be even better.” Like Amistad, Falcon sees bass at various stages of the spawning cycle throughout late winter and early spring. “Falcon isn't a small lake, but it fishes much bigger than it is,” said Collett. “Basically, from January through March, you have both prespawn and post spawn fish on Falcon. This year, because we have so much newly flooded brush and timber - and I mean miles of flooded timber beyond where you can take your boat - I wouldn't even waste time getting to spawning fish. Instead, I'd focus on catching the prespawn and post spawn fish.” Prior to the spawn, Collett says anglers should concentrate on the various creeks and drains that empty into Falcon. “Prespawn fish will be staging in the creeks,” Collett explained. “They won't be all the way back in there, but about halfway up, along the edges of the flooded brush. But, these fish will be feeding good. “Although there will be some areas we just won't be able to get to because of the flooded brush, the other side of that is our water has cleared up some. In the creeks, for instance, we usually only have about a foot and a half of visibility. Now, we have 4 to 6 feet of visibility. So, I'd expect to the spawn to be a little deeper. And, I'd expect these prespawn fish to hold in their staging area a little later than normal. “When I'm fishing these prespawn fish, I like using a moving bait. Spinnerbaits, cranks, things like that. I want something I can cover water with, but still get down fairly deep. Those bigger fish will be holding deeper than the smaller ones, even prespawn. They'll be along the old brushline more than the new one. So use a bait you can get down to them, but use something you can cover a lot of water with as well.” Once the fish transition to post spawn, Collett says he won't change much except the speed and depth he's working is bait. “Once the fish are through spawning, they'll be back out on the edge of the new brushline. At that point, shallow running crankbaits and swimbaits will work best. You want a swimming bait that you can work slow and shallow along the edge of that brush. “Later in the spring, say April and into May, we'll see the fish back on the points in 18 to 20 feet of water. In fact, at that time 30 feet won't be too deep to fish. That's when you want to switch to deep diving cranks, big plastics on Carolina-rigs, and football jigs. “The only other thing I would say is to rig heavy. We've got so much brush that it's not unusual to hook a fish you can't pull out. If you're serious about catching some of these big fish we've got, you need some serious tackle to get them out of the brush. There's nothing worse than finally hooking a big bass then not being able to get her out of the brush.”