After the dink fest on the Sabine River, Elite Series pros were eager to get over to Falcon Lake for a true Texas-sized bass tournament complete with all the big fish a guy can whack on.

That’s not what they’re finding in practice. When the Elite Series visited in ’08, Peter “T” Thliveros said, “Well, I guess we killed another (lake).” He meant that news of Falcon’s phenomenal fishing was sure to draw too many visitors for the lake to handle.

It appears he may have been partly correct. Along with the influx of anglers, many of whom have laid the filet knife to tons of big Falcon Lake specimens, the lake has experienced a lack of rehydration. Water levels are way down and prime spawning habitat is said to be high and dry.

The combination – overharvest of the biggest bass and lack of successful reproduction for a few years – has rendered Falcon a shell of the fishery it once was.

There are still some good fish in the lake. And some of the 100 Elite Series pros will put together some solid stringers. But don’t expect to see the record-smashing performances of a few years ago.

One lake that is exceeding all reasonable expectations right now is Tennessee’s Lake Chickamauga. The ‘Chick’ has turned out some 40-pound-plus limits this winter and just this week Chris Coleman of Chattanooga caught a 13.90-pounder that nearly threatened the state record. As far as anyone can tell, Coleman’s catch is the largest to ever come out of Chickamauga. Last month Coleman caught an 11.4 out of Chick.

Most of that action is coming on umbrella rigs. Keep an eye on the lake as the weather warms. Umbrella rigs are most effective when cold weather pushes shad into balls. But the action may continue throughout the summer. If so, the FLW Tour event on Lake Chick in late June could be the heavyweight slugfest that Elite Series pros thought they were in for at Falcon.