Falcon is waking up—and when Falcon wakes up, it doesn’t whisper.

After years of drought through the late 1990s, West Texas reservoirs are beginning to show their old muscle again. The water has returned, the forage has rebounded, and now the bass are doing what Falcon has always been known for—growing big and biting heavy.

On January 19, Falcon International Reservoir delivered a statement fish. Bryan Aubin of Zapata landed a 14.4-pound largemouth, earning Toyota ShareLunker honors and reminding anglers across the state that Falcon is back in the conversation.

Aubin’s fish came from six feet of water at 9:00 a.m., with the lake sitting at 60 degrees. The bait was a watermelon red lizard—no frills, just the kind of tried-and-true offering that has fooled big bass for generations. The fish was handled carefully and transported to Robert’s Fish n’ Tackle, an official ShareLunker weigh and holding station, where it awaited pickup.

That kind of care matters—maybe more than the catch itself.

Just weeks earlier, Falcon produced another ShareLunker, No. 474, caught December 20 by Debbie Baker. That fish arrived at the hatchery in rough shape.

“That fish came in very stressed and in poor overall condition,” said Jim Matthews, hatchery manager at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. “The intensive crew has been treating her continuously for stress-related infections, and she has made a very good recovery. She has eaten several rainbow trout, which is a big step toward recovery. DNA testing shows she is a pure Florida bass, so if things continue to improve, we hope to spawn her this season.”

It’s a reminder that these fish aren’t just trophies—they’re brood stock, the foundation for the next generation of giants.

That’s where the network of official ShareLunker holding stations comes in. Certified by inland fisheries biologists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, these stations are equipped to keep big bass alive and healthy. Their personnel are trained, on call around the clock, and ready to receive fish at a moment’s notice—because every hour matters when you’re dealing with a 14-pound bass.

And according to TPWD biologist Randy Myers, Falcon’s run may just be getting started.

“Falcon is beginning to reap the big-fish benefits of water level increases in 2004 and 2008,” Myers said. “The lake is about 12 feet low now, but it completely filled in 2008. There was tremendous bass production in 2004 and 2005, and those fish are growing fast. In most lakes, it takes 10 to 12 years for a bass to reach 13 pounds. Two years ago, Falcon produced a ShareLunker that was only seven years old.”

That’s the kind of growth curve that turns a good lake into a legendary one.

For anglers hoping to write their own chapter, the path is straightforward. Any legally caught largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more—from public or private Texas waters—between October 1 and April 30 qualifies for entry into the Toyota ShareLunker program. A call to program manager David Campbell brings TPWD personnel to your location within 12 hours.

From there, the fish becomes part of something bigger.

At the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, ShareLunker bass are used in selective breeding programs designed to improve size and growth rates statewide. Some offspring are returned to their home waters, while others are stocked across Texas—quietly stacking the odds for future anglers.

Those who enter a fish into the program receive a replica mount, a certificate, ShareLunker gear, and recognition at the annual banquet in Athens. Land the biggest fish of the year, and you’ll earn a lifetime fishing license—a fitting reward for a once-in-a-lifetime catch.

The program itself is powered through support from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation and Gulf States Toyota, a partnership that has helped sustain fisheries, education, and conservation efforts across Texas for decades.

And out on Falcon, where the water still carries a touch of that borderland wildness, the pattern is starting to take shape again.

The lake filled.
The bass fed.
And now, they’re growing into something worth chasing.