Entry 249-5

My Greatest Day of Fishing, and I Didn’t Even Win with Mark Davis

Part 5: Final Day of the Tournament

Question: Mark, tell me about the final day of the tournament.

Davis: The day started out really good. I caught three, 6-pound bass in the first hour. I followed those fish up with several bass in the 5-pound range. But I could sense that this tournament was slipping away from me, because even though I caught numbers of 5- and 6-pound bass, I didn’t catch that 8-pound-plus bass I needed to win. I had a great day of fishing, and I caught lots of bass. I caught almost 27 pounds of bass, but I didn’t catch an 8-pound bass. I knew I needed one bass that would weigh 8 or 9 pounds to win. The smallest bass I caught was a 4 pounder, and if I could replace him with an 8 or a 9 pounder, I could win the tournament. I’d caught one of those 8- or 9-pound fish every day, except the last day of the tournament. Not catching that big fish on the last day of the tournament cost me the win.

Question: As you were going into the weigh-in on the final day of the tournament, did you think, “I might be able to pull this tournament out of the fire”?

Davis: No, I knew I was in trouble, but I’d heard Aaron Martens had an even-worse day than me. As it turned out, he only caught 18 or 19 pounds. I knew someone would catch a 40-pound stringer on that last day and pass Aaron Martens and me, and that’s exactly what happened. Paul Elias passed us with a 39-pound stringer on the last day, and Terry Scroggins passed us to come in second with a 44-pound stringer. I finished in fifth place. Falcon Lake is head-and-shoulders above any lake I’ve ever seen before in my entire life. Even in the heyday of some of our southern reservoirs, most of those lakes weren’t even close to being as productive as Falcon Lake.

My total weight for 4 days of fishing was 128 pounds and a few ounces. You have to remember that’s 20 bass for 4 days of fishing. Now on any other lake we fish, that much weight would have won, but not at Falcon Lake. Even-more amazing is the fact that every contestant who finished in the top 12 caught more than 100 pounds of bass in 4 days of fishing. So, the top 12 had a better than 5-pound average for each five fish they weighed-in every day. Falcon Lake is the best public-bass fishery in the world.

Question: Where’s the lake located?

Davis: It’s in the middle of nowhere in Zapata, Texas. It’s a Rio Grande River impoundment, and it’s right on the border of Texas and Mexico. The lake is due south of San Antonio, right on the border.

Question: Do you think Falcon Lake homes a world-record bass?

Davis: I don’t know if there’s a world-record bass down there. The lake record is over 15 pounds, but there are a lot of 10-pound-plus fish at this lake. If you want to catch a bass that weighs 10-pounds plus and not have to leave the United States, I’d say Falcon Lake is your best chance.

Question: Mark, what did you learn about Strike King’s new Ocho at Falcon?

Davis: The fish really bite it well. Most people won’t think about fishing the Ocho on a Carolina rig, but if you’re fishing for big bass, you can rig the Ocho Texas or Carolina style and really catch bass.

Question: What makes the Ocho different from the Zero, Mark?

Davis: It’s made of different material than the Zero, it has a coffee scent, and it also has a really-good swimming action as it falls.

Question: In mid-April, you fished Lake Amistad, also in south Texas. You only had one day of practice to fish there, didn’t you?

Davis: You might call it a day. I was so tired after fishing Falcon Lake, and I had to drive much of the night to reach Amistad, which was a 5-hour drive. I didn’t arrive until after midnight, so I didn’t get a good feel for what was going on with the lake before we fished it.

Question: Are you glad to be back fishing on the BASS circuit, Mark?

Davis: Yes, I am.

Question: How much did you win for placing fifth in this Falcon Lake tournament?

Davis: I won $17,000, but even after you have to pay a $5,000 dollar entry fee, plus all your expenses, including gas, that’s still not a bad payday. Even the contestants who didn’t win any money said, “I’ve never had as much fun or caught as many fish as I did at Falcon Lake.”

Contents:

• Part 1: Falcon Lake — The Best There Ever Was
• Part 2: Day 1 of the Tournament
• Part 3: Day 2 and 3 of the Tournament
• Part 4: Day 4 of the Tournament
• Part 5: Final Day of the Tournament