Falcon International Reservoir Tops List of Best Bass Lakes in the U.S.

ATHENS—Fabled Falcon has been ranked the number one bass lake in the country by the editors of Bassmaster magazine, but the good news doesn’t stop there.

Another Texas-Mexico border reservoir, Amistad, is number six on the list, and six other Texas reservoirs made the top 100.

The Texas lakes on the list with their rankings are:

No. 1—Falcon

No. 6—Amistad

No. 15—Toledo Bend (shared with Louisiana)

No. 19—Sam Rayburn

No. 26—Fork

No. 39—Choke Canyon

No. 64—Conroe

No. 88—O.H. Ivie

“The list was compiled in a months-long process that included research from state fisheries agencies, nominations from B.A.S.S. Federation Nation tournament organizers and a panel of widely traveled professional anglers, fishing writers and others,” stated a press release issued by B.A.S.S.

Falcon is legendary among professional bass anglers for its winning four-day bag of 132.5 pounds during the 2008 Bassmaster Elite Series tournament. Tournament-winning catches regularly average eight pounds per fish.

The eight reservoirs in Texas making the top 100 list are the most for any state. Florida has seven.

Of the states bordering Texas, three Arkansas lakes made the list, along with three each from Louisiana and Oklahoma and two from New Mexico.

“This supports the opinion we’ve long had that Texas has the best largemouth bass fishing in the nation,” said Dave Terre, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland Fisheries Division chief of research and management. “The aggressive Florida largemouth bass stocking program in Texas coupled with the outstanding efforts of our fisheries biologists who direct our management efforts are responsible for making fishing great in Texas.”

Bassmaster editor James Hall said the rankings are based on a variety of factors, not just opinions. “The method was as scientific as we could make it,” he said. The 100 Best Bass Lakes list used state fisheries agencies electrofishing and creel survey data, tournament catch data and accessibility and fish stocking practices. The final list was developed by a panel that considered the current fishability of each lake, its history, big fish catches, overall quantity potential and the aesthetics of the surrounding area.

Bassmaster plans to make the list an annual undertaking. Details on each lake on the list can be found athttp://bassmaster.com/news/100-best-bass-lakes.