Research and Field Contributions: José Carlos Mendoza, Camilo Vidal.
This article is part of an ongoing Nomonday editorial research project documenting the biggest bass records from Mexico’s reservoirs.
15.63 Pounds and a Remarkably Well-Documented Cross-Border Story.
On a reservoir divided by an international border, Falcon’s official record bass came from the Salado Arm — on the Mexican side.
Falcon Lake occupies a unique place in North American bass fishing. Its massive body of water stretches across the Texas–Tamaulipas border along the Rio Grande, and for decades its name has been associated with big bass, demanding tournaments, and a fishing culture shared by anglers from both countries.
On the U.S. side, its official name is Falcon International Reservoir. In Mexico, it is known as Presa Falcon. From a fishing perspective, however, both sides are part of the same system: more than 83,000 acres of water, dramatic water-level fluctuations, flooded timber, rock, points, old roads, and offshore structure.
Texas Parks & Wildlife has long regarded Falcon as one of Texas’ premier bass fisheries. Tournament-winning weights here can require five-fish bags averaging five or even six pounds per bass — a good indication of the caliber of fish this reservoir has produced.
And Falcon’s record lives up to that reputation
On January 7, 2011, American guide Tommy Law caught a 15.63-pound (7.09 kg) bass measuring 28 inches — a fish that, at the time of this research, remains Falcon’s official largemouth bass record. But one detail makes the story particularly interesting.
The fish came from the Salado Arm, on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake.
Falcon Lake stretches across the Texas–Tamaulipas border and has long been one of the most recognizable big-bass fisheries along the border.
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A Record With a Paper Trail
Among the Mexican bass records we have researched, Falcon stands out as an unusually well-documented case.
Official lake record: Tommy Law — 15.63 lb (7.09 kg) — January 7, 2011
Length: 28 inches
Status: Official water-body record
Record authority: Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Catch location: Salado Arm, Mexican side of Falcon Lake
Almost every part of this story can be traced.
Texas Parks & Wildlife maintains a public database of water-body fishing records. Falcon’s listing identifies Tommy Law as the largemouth bass record holder with a fish weighing 15.63 pounds (7.09 kg), measuring 28 inches, and caught on January 7, 2011.
The same fish also appears in the Texas Top 50 Largemouth Bass, where it ranked No. 47 at the time of this research. That puts Falcon in a very different statistical environment from many of the Mexican reservoirs we have investigated.
Texas has maintained public fishing records for decades, organized by water body, species, weight, length, angler, and other details. For an investigation like this one, that infrastructure changes the nature of the work. Instead of reconstructing a record from scattered stories and memories, it is possible to follow the catch from the day on the water through certification and into a permanent public database.
Because Falcon is a binational reservoir, it sits directly between those two worlds.
January 7, 2011
The record story began like any other guide trip. Tommy Law, of Outlaw Guide Service, was fishing with Jeff Archie and his wife Stephany, visitors from Tennessee who had come to Falcon looking for big bass.
They did not have to wait long.
The first major fish of the morning was a 13-pounder (5.90 kg) caught by Jeff on a football jig in about 16 feet of water. According to Law, the fish measured 27 inches long with a 21.5-inch girth. Then came another bass weighing about 7 pounds. Later, one of Law’s friends arrived with another giant that needed to be weighed: 12 pounds, 14 ounces.
Falcon was on fire.
That prompted Tommy to make a move and return to an area where, just one week earlier, he had caught a five-fish limit approaching 42 pounds. The opportunities started again. Stephany lost a bass estimated at around 9 pounds after the fish jumped and threw the lure. The group continued catching quality fish until it was finally time to head back.
Then came one last cast.
One Last Cast
Law was working a Texas-rigged soft plastic in approximately 18 feet of water near a drop into 25 feet. He felt something subtle — almost a “mushy” sensation — and set the hook. For the first second or two, the fish barely moved.
Then it exploded.
When the bass came to the surface, Tommy knew immediately that this was a different class of fish. Jeff grabbed it and brought it into the boat. The first reading on their handheld scale was approximately 15 pounds, 9 ounces. The number seemed so high that Law asked Jeff to read the display again. It showed the same thing.
They called Falcon Lake Tackle.
Tommy Law and the January 7, 2011 fishing session on Falcon Lake. The sequence includes the 15.63-pound record bass, other trophy fish caught that day, and the eventual release of the record fish. Photos: Wired2Fish.
From a Boat Scale to the Official Record Book
James from Falcon Lake Tackle and a Texas Parks & Wildlife officer met Law at the boat ramp. There, the bass was officially weighed and certified at 15.63 pounds (7.09 kg).
Falcon’s previous record had stood at 15.12 pounds (6.86 kg) since 1991. Twenty years passed before Law finally broke it. The new mark entered the Texas Parks & Wildlife record system and, at the time of this research, remains the official Falcon record.
That process is what makes this particular catch so different from several others in our series: there is a clear documentary chain connecting the catch, the weigh-in, certification, institutional registration, and the preservation of the record over time.
The Mexican Connection: The Salado Arm
One part of the story makes Falcon’s record especially relevant from the Mexican side of the border. Major League Fishing reported that Law caught the fish in the Salado Arm, on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake.
The Salado Arm is formed where the Rio Salado enters Falcon from Tamaulipas. Among bass anglers, the area is known for its structure, depth changes, flooded timber, rock, and cover associated with the river channel.
So on a reservoir that literally straddles two countries, the official record recognized and maintained by Texas came from Mexican water. That single detail captures much of what makes Falcon unique: one reservoir, two countries, and a bass-fishing culture that constantly crosses the border.
The Salado Arm lies on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake. Major League Fishing reported that Tommy Law caught the 15.63-pound record bass in this general area. The exact location of the catch has not been publicly disclosed.
47 Pounds, 9 Ounces for Five Fish
A 15.63-pound bass would have made the day historic by itself. But the rest of the fishing helps put into perspective what was happening on Falcon at the time.
By the end of the day, Tommy Law estimated that his best five bass would have weighed approximately 47 pounds, 9 ounces.
Jeff had already caught a 13-pounder. Another angler nearby had weighed a fish just shy of 13 pounds. And several other quality bass had been caught throughout the day. The record was not simply one freak fish appearing out of nowhere.
It happened during one of those remarkable days when an entire lake seems determined to prove its reputation. That context helps explain why Falcon became such an important name in both American and Mexican bass fishing.
A Record Bass That Went Back Into the Lake
After the official weigh-in and certification, the record bass was released alive. Jeff Archie’s 13-pound fish had also been released earlier that morning. Law specifically noted this when recounting the trip: both trophy bass went back into Falcon in good condition. That final piece matters. The fish that became Falcon’s official record did not end its story on a wall. It went back into the lake.
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Falcon and the Value of Keeping Records
Researching this series has taken us into very different kinds of bass-record stories.
At Lake Baccarac, the record story lives partly through decades of collective memory among guides, lodges, anglers, and specialized media, alongside a second catch documented on video. At Cristo Roto, an official tournament record coexists with a heavier bass whose weigh-in was documented publicly on video.
Falcon shows us another model.
Here, a public record system allows the history of the catch to be followed with unusual precision: angler, weight, length, date, water body, and record category. That kind of record keeping does more than preserve a number.
It preserves the history of a fishery.
It allows anglers to compare generations of trophy bass.
And it means that more than fifteen years after that January morning in 2011, we can still determine what happened, how the fish was validated, and where the catch stands within the history of Texas bass fishing and Falcon Lake.
What We Can Confirm Today
At the time of this research, five points can be stated clearly.
- First, Tommy Law holds Falcon Lake’s official largemouth bass record with a 15.63-pound (7.09 kg) fish measuring 28 inches, caught on January 7, 2011.
- Second, the record remains listed in the public Texas Parks & Wildlife database at the time of this review.
- Third, the catch appears in the Texas Top 50 Largemouth Bass and ranked No. 47 when this article was researched.
- Fourth, according to Major League Fishing, the fish was caught in the Salado Arm on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake.
- Fifth, the bass was officially certified and then released alive.
One Lake, Two Countries, One Record
Falcon has something none of the other reservoirs in this series shares in quite the same way. Its story belongs to Mexico and the United States at the same time.
- The record is maintained by Texas.
- The angler was American.
- The system preserving the record is American.
But the bass came from the Salado Arm in Tamaulipas. That intersection of water, records, anglers, and two fishing cultures is a big part of what makes Falcon different.
More than fifteen years later, Tommy Law’s 15.63-pound bass remains the official benchmark for Falcon Lake and one of the largest largemouth bass recorded in Texas history.
And the place where that story began sits on the Mexican side of the border.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Falcon Lake Bass Record
What is the Falcon Lake bass record?
Where was the Falcon Lake record bass caught?
Does Tommy Law still hold the Falcon Lake record?
Was the record bass released?
Why is Falcon Lake important to bass fishing?
Sources Consulted
- Texas Parks & Wildlife Department — Water Body Records for Falcon
- Texas Parks & Wildlife Department — Texas Top 50 Largemouth Bass
- Texas Parks & Wildlife Department — Fishing Falcon Reservoir
- Major League Fishing — New Falcon Lake Record
- Wired2Fish — New Falcon Lake Record Bass
- Nomonday editorial research and document review
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