Robert Amaya knows Falcon Reservoir like his own house.
When you grow up on the lake, watch your dad guide clients for 30 years, and run your own guide service and tackle shop, you tend to know where to look for big bass.
And Amaya does.
He proved that again on Sunday, Feb. 5, when he boated a huge bass weighing 14.86 pounds. The fish bested his former previous best of 13.1 pounds.
“We had a cold front come in and it was really nasty,” Amaya said. “That’s when you catch those big fish. I was fishing a long bank with rock close to a creek channel. I knew it was a good one because when the big ones hit, they hit like a freight train.”
Amaya caught the fish using an old-school lure, a wooden Poe’s 400 crankbait.
“I like to fish the big stuff like those old wooden baits,” he said.
Amaya said the water is down 27 feet on Falcon right now, making the lake fish small.
“The spawn is running a little late this year,” he said. “In two to three weeks, it should be on. Right now, working points and ditches is working to catch bass. As soon as the huisache starts to bloom, the fish will be spawning.”
Amaya kept the big bass in the livewell at his bait shop to take a few pictures, and then released her back into the lake.
“I predict the lake record will fall this year,” he said. “We are coming into the best time to catch one of the giants. My dream is to have one of my clients catch the lake record. That is what they pay me for.”
Amaya said in another year, he might go look for the same fish that he recently caught, hoping she has gained a few pounds.
“I got a good look at her, so I’ll know her again if I catch her,” he said. “She had pretty eyes.”
