Air Temp: 59°/65°F early morning & late evening. Siesta Time 79°/87°F
Water Temp: 70°/ 74°F
Average number of bass per boat per day: 60-80
Largest bass caught: 11 pounds
Productive Baits of Past Two Weeks:
Topwater Baits:
Lobina Lures Rio Rico poppers or Yellow Magics: white, white with sparkles and bleeding shad.
Heddon Zara Spook and Lucky Craft Sammy: shad, chrome with black top and white
Swimbaits:
Storm WildEye 4 & 5 -inch Swim Shads: pearl & bunker are hot colors
Yum Money Minnows or Basstrix: 5-inch in bluegill, hologram shad and herring with 5/0 or 6/0, 1/8 oz weighted hook
Plastics:
Eight-inch Zoom Lizards: watermelon red flake & watermelon
Berkley Power Worms: 10-inch, black with blue tail and green pumpkin
Yamamoto Senkos, Yum Dingers or Bass Pro Shops 5, 6 & 7 inch Stinkos: pumpkinseed, watermelon red flake and black with blue flake - A small bullet weight goes very well with these baits in 1/8 and 1/16-ounce
Zoom Super Flukes: pearl white
Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper in Penetration and Dirty Sanchez
Crankbaits:
Rapala DT series in 10 and16: Hot Mustard and Parrot
Rat-L-Traps: ½ & ¾-ounce in silver with blue back and silver with black back
Bomber Fat Free Shad deep diver in citrus shad and Dance’s Tennessee Shad
Lucky Craft CB D20 in Green Apple and Aurora Black.
Spinnerbaits:
Booyah double willow blade: 1/2 and 3/4 ounce in white/chartreuse and white
Comments:
At Anglers Inn El Salto, we’re proud to offer special couples packages for folks who want to share the experience of visiting our lodge with their spouse or significant other. We know many wives are hesitant at first to visit a fishing camp with their husbands, but almost invariably, when they have an opportunity to experience first-hand our great accommodations, food and service, they fall in love with Anglers Inn and come back many times. Most of them find they enjoy the great fishing action as well, even if they’re not experienced anglers.
We recently were visited by three couples who came to Anglers Inn together: Norman and Dana Fowler, Norman’s parents Paul and Norma, and the Fowler’s cousin Jody Barrios and her husband Dennis. Norman and Dana wrote back to tell us they all enjoyed a fabulous vacation.
“I know this is probably not your typical fishing report,” said Dana, “but I want all families out there who like to fish to know how family-friendly Anglers Inn is and for the women especially, it is not just all about fishing. My husband Norman and his dad have been going to El Salto for about eight years. One year they took our oldest son Daniel (14 at the time) and the following year they took our youngest son Seth (age 11). Norman usually books a year in advance, and when it is nine months from the time to go, the countdown begins at our house, and he can tell you each morning exactly how many days there are to go before they leave again for El Salto. That tells you how anxious he is to get there!
“This year we decided to take advantage of the couple’s package and us three women packed our bags and went along,” she continued. “We had a great time. It was a pleasure to wake up each morning to coffee or juice served in your room by the friendly and ever-efficient staff, and then to go to the dining area for breakfast where we could choose from the large variety of breakfast foods that were offered. By 6 o’clock, each couple was usually in their own boat with a guide. And believe me, the guides were wonderful and full of patience. They changed the women’s lures, took out the bird nests, got us loose when we hung up on a tree, and even took the lures out of the fish. Because of them, our husbands were able to fish without us interrupting them.”
None of the women were seasoned anglers like their husbands, but they were catching fish like pros as soon as the fishing began.
“The very first morning, we were catching a lot of 5- and 6-pounders,” said Dana. “We were using mostly Money Minnows, Senkos, swimbaits and lizards. I liked fishing with the Money Minnow best because you were pretty likely to get a nice fish with it, but I used a variety of lures like watermelon lizards on Carolina rigs. Norma used the 8-inch watermelon lizard but liked the swimbait the best. Jody stayed mostly with a wacky-rigged Senko, which she used to catch her big 7.4 bass on.”
According to Norman, this was one of his best trips as far as the average size of the bass went. “During each session, morning and evening, I had at least one fish of 7 pounds or better,” he said. “In the mornings, the pattern seemed to be finding underwater humps and fishing for the large fish as they moved up. During afternoons, we fished deep water leading up to flats and usually caught three to four quality fish. We could have fished different patterns and baits and caught a lot more fish, but I was after size and not too worried about numbers.
“The main baits we used were 5-inch Money Minnows on white jig heads,” Norman continued. “The colors of the jig head and lure didn't seem to matter much because I ran out of white and switched to bass color and didn't see a drop off in fish. The fish would hit about anything. We fished Storm 5-inch swimbaits and caught quality fish, and when we fished 4-inch swimbaits we caught a few more although the average size fell off. My second biggest fish, an 8.4, came on a Bill Dance Citrus Shad crankbait. When the fishing would slow down our guide would put a green lizard on a Carolina rig for my wife and the action would usually pick up some for her. We also did well fishing a 3/4-ounce, white, double-willow spinnerbait.”
Of course, fun fishing is just one part of the overall Anglers Inn experience. When the morning fishing ended and they came back to the lodge, Dana, Norma and Jody were in for some additional treats.
“When we would go in for lunch at 11o’clock, another fabulous meal was waiting,” Dana said. “And because the boats did not go out again until 2 o’clock, we had time to choose from a facial, pedicure, manicure or a massage, or we could just take a siesta. Talk about being spoiled! We took advantage of everything. The massages were wonderful!”
Everyone in the group caught quality fish. Norman caught the biggest at 9 pounds, 4 ounces, while Norma and Dennis tied, each catching 8-pounders using swimbaits. Paul followed close behind with a 7.9 on a watermelon lizard. Dana caught a 7.5 on a Carolina rig, and Jody followed real close with a 7.4. Those are good bass anywhere you fish.
“We took hundreds of pictures,” said Dana. “The lake and surrounding area are beautiful; there’s always something different to see. At night, it was wonderful to relax after another great meal and compare notes of the day’s count. We were surprised to find each couple had caught a fish at the same time and took pictures. Dennis even caught two fish on one lure at the same time. He said he thought he had a monster of a fish.
“In the coming spring, Norman plans to take our two daughters Macey and Kasey, on their first fishing trip to Lake El Salto,” Dana said. “And yes, us women are planning on going back, too. In fact the count down will soon begin.”
Enough said. Have you planned your next visit to Anglers Inn El Salto? Give us a call to talk fishing or to make preparations for your next trip. Time is going by.
Date: March 24th, 2009 Name: Lake Baccarac Lodge Hottest Baits: spinnerbaits, pop' rs, 5 inch senkos, 7 inch watermelon russdingers, black and blue 1 oz jigs, lizards Hottest Colors: white spinners, pop'rs, senkos gray/white...watermelon seed / red flake, chrome Zara Spook Date Fished: March 18th - March 22nd Comments: Bass fishing has slowed some but boats have still managed good numbers fishing in shallows . The bigger bass being caught around the inlands and on the main lake points using swimbaits and russdingers. Harry Scott caught two bass over 11 yesterday. Dan True reported 14 bass over 7 pounds using Watermelon Russdingers.
Date: March 14th, 2009 Name: Lake Baccarac Lodge Hottest Baits: spinnerbaits, pop' rs, 5 inch senkos, 4 inch motor oil colored senkos, black and blue 1 oz jigs, lizards Hottest Colors: white spinners, popin image baby bass, senkos gray/white...watermelon seed / red flake Date Fished: March 10th - March 14th Comments: March 10th Excellent - Whitehead caught 91 bass today with Guide Ramon 11.2, 9.8, 9.4, 9.2, 8.10, 8.4, 8.2, 7.4 being the biggest bass.
March 11th and 12th and the Friday the 13th Russ reports excellent results with 12 more bass over 11 caught on the Lake Senkos seem to be the best bite and we are starting to see some very good topwater bass action.
Date: March 10th, 2009 Name: Lake Baccarac Lodge Hottest Baits: spinnerbaits, pop' rs, 5 inch senkos, 4 inch motor oil colored senkos, black and blue 1 oz jigs, lizards Hottest Colors: white spinners, popin image baby bass, senkos gray/white...watermelon seed / red flake Date Fished: March 5th - March 10th Comments: March 5th to March 9th report: Russ reporting great big bass action over the weekend. The Lizard bite is the best with some really good Zara Spook action early morning. It seems that the best boats are catching upward of 80 bass per day with Gary Whitehead catching 110 fish the morning of the 8th.
This report just in from Jack Anslover who just returned from his bass fishing trip: " Better trip than last year at the same time" reports Jack. His big bass was 12.9 pounds. Mike Smith also caught an 11.8 and Jesse Smith 9.8 pound bass with boats in his group catching over 100 bass a day using 6 inch Pumpkin Lizards. Mike Smiths best day was 140 bass.
The morning of the 9th of March: WOW Mike Hinnekkamp group reported excellent fishing results the first morning on the water with 7 of the 12 in the group catching bass over 10 and breaking their personal best: 7 inch watermelon and pumpkin seed senkos worked best in the shallows. Bass fishing today at Lake Baccarac is outstanding according to all anglers at the lodge.
We now have a bigger plane operating out of El Paso direct to the Lodge at Lake Baccarac so on many of the flights we have 2 extra seats. We also have a couple of spots that we have discounted deep.
Date: March 5th, 2009 Name: Lake Baccarac Hottest Baits: spinnerbaits, pop' rs, 5 inch senkos, 4 inch motor oil colored senkos, black and blue 1 oz jigs Hottest Colors: white spinners, popin image baby bass, senkos gray/white...watermelon seed / red flake Date Fished: March 2nd - March 5th Comments: March 3 - update from Russ Johnson at the lodge: Alan Sharp from Pampa, TX caught three bass over 10 lbs. Most boats catching 80 largemouth per day, excellent day on the water at Lake Baccarac Lodge! The largemouth bass are concentrated in the back of the coves; using watermelon lizards and white spinnerbaits is producing the best numbers, while the big fish are coming on suspending swimbaits. We look forward to having you down at the lodge!
March 3 - from Terry: Wow! What an incredible big bass day with Greg Riggle catching two bass over 11 lbs.! Gustavo Alameda and his friend Paco came all of the way from Spain to fish Baccarac and they say that this is the best fishing trip of their lives. Since arriving last Friday, they have caught six bass over 10 lbs. James Bradley's group out of Texas also caught two fish over 12 lbs. I'm sure James, who was not able to come with them, will be mad he could not make the trip!
Lures: White spinnerbaits, 1 oz. are will the hot lure. Many boats are catching 80 bass a day.
Date: March 2nd, 2009 Name: Lake Huites Lodge Hottest Baits: 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits, Storm pearl swimbaits, Poppin Image topwater, small crankbaits, 6 inch white Senkos, 4 inch watermelon Senkos, 6 inch watermelon lizards, KUT TAIL worm Yamamoto Hottest Colors: bone colored topwater, white spinnerbaits, baby bass, storm 6inch swimbaits, storm swim baits in pearl Date Fished: Feb 27th - March 2nd Comments: The numbers of bass have been very low, but there are decent sized fish being caught. In the recent bass fishing tournament, there were 10 bass caught, weighing in at 72 lbs. The patterns are the same, with swimbaits being the best producers. The weather is HOT - 100 degree high but a cool front is expected in the next day or so.
Date: March 2nd, 2009 Name: Lake Baccarac Lodge Hottest Baits: spinnerbaits, pop' rs, 5 inch senkos, 4 inch motor oil colored senkos, black and blue 1 oz jigs Hottest Colors: white spinners, popin image baby bass, senkos gray/white...watermelon seed / red flake Date Fished: Feb. 27th - March 2nd Comments: 24th - The Mike Wilson party, whose group fished Feb. 27 - March 1, reports: "We had another great trip. Not as many bass as last year, but not bad. We had 4 bass over 10 and 4 over 9 lbs. We also had boats that caught up to 80 largemouth a day. The food and service were fist class. Hot weather and cold margaritas just go together. We can't wait until next year. Thanks for everything." From the lodge: The bass fishing was up on Sunday, March 1st and also today, March 2nd. The action has improved quite a bit. The weather is HOT! Close to 100 degrees but a cool front is expected to move in to the Baccarac area the next day or so.
Air Temp: 48°/56°F early morning & late evening. Siesta Time 79°/82°F
Water Temp: 68°/ 72°F
Average number of bass per boat per day: 40-60
Largest bass caught: 13.7 pounds
Productive Baits of Past Two Weeks:
Topwater Baits:
Lobina Lures Rio Rico poppers or Yellow Magics: white, white with sparkles and bleeding shad.
Heddon Zara Spook and Lucky Craft Sammy: shad, chrome with black top and white
Swimbaits:
Storm WildEye 4 & 5 -inch Swim Shads: pearl & bunker are hot colors
Yum Money Minnows or Basstrix: 5-inch in bluegill, hologram shad and herring with 5/0 or 6/0, 1/8 oz weighted hook
Plastics:
Eight-inch Zoom Lizards: watermelon red flake & watermelon
Berkley Power Worms: 10-inch, black with blue tail and green pumpkin
Yamamoto Senkos, Yum Dingers or Bass Pro Shops 5, 6 & 7 inch Stinkos: pumpkinseed, watermelon red flake and black with blue flake - A small bullet weight goes very well with these baits in 1/8 and 1/16-ounce
Zoom Super Flukes: pearl white
Crankbaits:
Rapala X-Rap or 4- to 5-inch jerkbaits: white and shad
Rat-L-Traps: ½ & ¾-ounce in silver with blue back and silver with black back
Bomber Fat Free Shad deep diver in citrus shad
Spinnerbaits:
Booyah double willow blade: ½-ounce in white/chartreuse
Comments:
A full moon rose over Lake El Salto during this report period, and that was good news for visiting anglers. February’s full moon marks prime time for spawning bass down here south of the border, and the fishing has been hot. Here’s what some recent guests had to say about their trip, starting with our friend Bruce Holt, executive director of G. Loomis Rods and a lifelong angler, who says he enjoyed some of the most incredible fishing action he’s ever experienced during his recent visit.
“When it comes to consistently catching big bass, Mexico’s Lake El Salto is where it’s at,” he said. “The bass grow big, and they are aggressive. Pound for pound, there isn’t a bass anywhere that fights harder than those in El Salto. There are tons of fish in the 4- to 7-pound range, with fish up to 15 pounds available. I have taken several El Salto bass over 10 pounds, with the biggest being 13 pounds, 5 ounces. El Salto is about as good as it gets. I can’t remember the number of fish I’ve taken there in the 5- to 9-pound range. Having just spent a few days on the lake with fishing buddy Renaud Pelletier, I was reminded just how good the fishing can get, not to mention the unbelievable service that Billy Chapman, Jr.’s Anglers Inn crew provide.” Bruce and Renaud caught some really quality fish on their trip, with four around the 8-pound mark. One morning, they had 20 bass of five pounds or more in about a 90-minute period. On another day, they say a “wolf pack” of 4- to 8-pounders attacked a school of shad off a secondary point right in front of their boat. They hooked several before they moved off, but adrenalin coursed through their veins for the rest of the afternoon!
“We were so excited it was hard to settle down,” Bruce told us. “We caught most of our bigger fish on 5- and 6-inch soft-plastic swimbaits like Strike King’s Shadalicious or an 8-inch Mission Fish in deep water – 15 to 24 feet. We did really well with a Bomber Fat Free Shad (Citrus color, ¾-ounce size). Zoom watermelon 8-inch lizards caught us a number of bass, but those fish were smaller on the average than those caught on big crankbaits and swimbaits. Another great big-fish bait is Yamamoto’s 7-inch Senko in watermelon/black flake or watermelon/red flake, fished on flats around timber or around cover along the shoreline. “The one thing that really makes the difference in a fishing trip is the lodge,” Bruce continued. “A bad day at most lodges is just that. But at Billy Chapman, Jr.’s Anglers Inn, even the bad days are great. The food, the surroundings and the staff’s attention to detail and your every need make even the worst day of fishing great!”
Bruce’s friend Renaud Pelletier is a three-time qualifier for the Bassmasters Classic and a serious, successful tournament fisherman in the Northwest. “If you're looking for a way to shed wintertime cabin fever,” he said, “there's no better escape than to Lake El Salto in Mexico. On my fourth trip to Billy Chapman, Jr.'s Anglers Inn in ten years, we got exactly what my bass-starved ego needed. Bruce and I spent four days there and caught plenty enough of those hard-fighting Mexican bass to tide me over till they start biting up here in the Northwest. The accommodations, service and friendly attention of the Anglers Inn staff and guides made the trip exceptional.”
Renaud said that while they didn’t catch any bass over 10 pounds, as is common at El Salto, they caught plenty of fish in the 5- to 8-pound range and many more 3- to 5-pounders. “Our most consistent pattern for larger fish was using 4- to 6-inch swimbaits fished slowly along the bottom in 10 to 15 feet over offshore humps and creek ledges,” he reported. “Heavier weighted-keel hooks rigged Texas style in shad and minnow-colored Berkley Hollow Bellies and Basstrix worked best. I also got into a good bite with a 6-inch Mission Fish, landing two over 7 pounds on consecutive casts. In one midday stretch, we caught four in the 7-pound class in less than half an hour.”
Renaud said their next best pattern was cranking 3/4-ounce, deep-running Bomber Fat Free Shad crankbaits in Citrus Shad color over creek channel swings. “On day three, we had an incredible hour and a half stretch where we took 20 or more bass over 5 pounds and another 20 between 3 and 5,” he said. “And man do those crank fish get mad when hooked. I had forgotten how aggressive and strong they are down there. I also caught two or three quality fish each morning and evening on an 8-inch MS Slammer wake bait, the largest of which was 7.5 pounds. It seemed most of the better fish were not relating to shallow shoreline cover on this trip except for very early and late. “Of course, we caught many good fish on the standby Salto plastics like 8-inch Zoom lizards, 10-inch Berkley Power Worms and larger Senkos,” he continued. “You can't go to Mexico without them! Just prior to our trip, a party whacked some 8- to 10-pounders on a 7-inch Senko. Watermelon black, watermelon red and green pumpkin for lizards and Senkos worked best. The black/blue tail Power worm was also a consistent producer.
“I can't say enough about Anglers Inn Lodge,” Renaud said in wrapping up. “The atmosphere generated by those people, along with the fantastic food, great rooms and their caring attention to all your needs make for a truly unique and fun experience. And then, by any standards, you’re going to get great bass fishing with competent guides and excellent boats amidst spectacular desert mountain scenery. I can't wait till my next trip!” Greg Gant just turned 50 years old, and his wife Arlyne got him a great birthday gift: a fantasy fishing trip to Anglers Inn on Lake El Salto! “We were so pleasantly surprised at the accommodations and the nicest people we have ever had taking care of our needs,” Greg told us after their visit. “Jose and the rest of the Anglers Inn’s staff were like having old friends to spend time with. And my guide Aaron knew all the great places to fish, the lures to use and the methods to make the fish bite best. I caught between 120 and 150 bass in three days of fishing, including two 8-pounders, five 7-pounders and many 5- to 6-pounders. On the last evening, Aaron encouraged Greg to try a Zara Spook on the shady points, and they got on a pattern that produced several fish over 5 pounds, along with a couple of 7-pounders. “I just love topwater action,” said Greg, “and late each afternoon, I caught quite a few nice bass fishing surface lures. Of course, Senkos and Rat-L-Traps (I used a Lucky Craft LVR7) produced most of the fish.”
Arlyne fished with Greg one afternoon for a couple of hours, and Greg said Aaron was very patient and fun with helping her. “We had only booked a three-day fishing trip,” Greg said, “but we wished we had spent the whole week at Anglers Inn. All the positive feedback I had read online made me leery. But those reports did not do this resort justice. We were treated better at Billy Chapman, Jr.’s Anglers Inn than we have been treated at five-star hotels in some of our big U.S. cities. If someone is reading this and trying to decide where to stay on El Salto, look no further. I’ve told many of my friends and fishing club members about this great trip, and several are planning trips in the near future. I’ll be back soon, too!”
Imagine a trip where you catch not one, not two, not three but four bass over 10 pounds. Jan and David Hudson experienced just that on their recent visit. Their biggest fish, and the biggest reported during these two weeks, was a 13.7-pounder caught on a Storm swimbait. A Carolina-rigged 10-inch watermelon worm enticed an 11-pound, 3-ounce bass for them, and they caught a 10.2 and 10.7 fishing chrome/black and clear/chartreuse top Zara Spooks in early morning and late afternoon. “We also caught a ton of 7s, 8s and 9s on the Yamamoto Senko with a small weight,” Jan said. “About three-fourths of our fish were caught in back of pockets or creeks, or on pre-spawn areas on the main lake. A few came off of main lake flats, areas with standing timber. I believe our success was due to the fact we were fishing with lighter line—12- to14-pound-test. But you have to be brave enough to try it. I lost two monsters. We were shaking off 5-pounders. “Thank you and all the people at Anglers Inn,” she said. “David and I had a trip of a lifetime. We’ll be seeing you again soon.”
As you can see from these reports, the numbers of bass being caught have been a bit slower than normal, but the number of quality fish being caught has been excellent.
Contact Us Today to Catch Trophy Bass at Anglers Inn on Lake El Salto - Toll Free 888-479-2277
Comments: Returned safe and sound from our Baccarac trip, first class service as always and awesome bass size more than made up for the slower number of bites than normal. Our group was looking for size and we definitely found it. Our 6 guys in 3 boats totaled 10 bass over 10 lbs and 32 over 8 lbs in 4 days. In my boat, each day we had phenomenal 5 bass limits of 46.5, 44, 42, and 45 lbs. On the last day, Jay and Gary combined for a 5 fish limit of 49.5 lbs with a 10-15, 10-8, 10-4, 10-4, & 7-8. What a day!! 3 anglers came with the sole mission of catching their first 10 lb bass and all accomplished the feat. Chad and Jay each caught two 10s, while Gary caught 4 bass over ten. Overall the size was awesome, with all but 1 of our anglers catching a bass over 9 lbs. Overall, our biggest bass were 11-5 for me, 11-4 for Chad, and 10-15 for Gary. Numbers of bass remained low, but almost all of the fish being caught are big, with only a few under 4 lbs caught the entire trip and the average size running around 6 or 7 pounds. Just unbelievable average size—if I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. . Top baits were chrome Zara Spook or Chug Bug style topwaters and white soft plastic swimbaits like Basstrix style paddle tails or Live Magic Shads. Casting to schooling fish and points with bushes were our best patterns.
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 2nd, 2008 Name: Lake Huites Lodge Hottest Baits: Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, topwater Hottest Colors: bone colored topwater, white spinnerbaits, baby bass Date Fished: Nov 25th to Dec. 2nd Comments: The lake is in great shape and the best fishing is up in the canyons. Topwater in the canyons right now is very good with Zara Spooks and buzzbaits working for the best numbers. The Rio Fuerte has yielded the biggest bass on 6 inch watermelon Lizards
Date: November 1st - 15th, 2008 Name: Anglers Inn Lake El Salto
Hottest Baits:
Storm WildEye Swim Shads: 4- and 5-inch in shad, white with chartreuse top and pearl.
Rat-L-Traps: ½ and ¾-ounce in silver with blue back and silver with black back.
Rapala X-Rap and 4- to 5-inch jerkbaits in white, clown and shad.
Lobina Lures Rio Rico poppers: white, white with sparkles and bleeding shad.
Heddon Zara Spook and Lucky Craft Sammy in clear, chrome with black top and white body.
Zoom Lizards: 8-inch, watermelon, watermelon red flake, black with blue tail.
Berkley Power Worms: 10-inch in black with blue tail.
Yamamoto Senkos, Yum Dingers and Bass Pro Shops Stinkos: 5- and 6-inch, watermelon, watermelon red flake and black with blue flake.
Zoom Super Flukes: Pearl White
Bomber Fat Free Shad and Rapala DT16 medium- and deep-diving crankbaits in citrus shad, hot mustard and fire tiger.
Yum Money Minnows: 5 inch in bluegill, hologram shad and herring with 5/0 weighted hook.
Water Temp : 78° - 82°F
Air Temp: 70°-75°F (early morning & late evening); 84°-90°F (siesta time). Largest Bass Caught: 11 pounds, 12 ounces Comments:
The weather south of the border has finally started cooling down, and the big bass bite is on. The numbers of bass being caught are lower than normal, but the quality of those being landed is unbelievable. During one recent afternoon, one of our guests landed five fish over 8 pounds, and these catches were even more exciting because all these brawlers were caught on top with Zara Spooks. Dave Bennet landed the biggest bass during the first half of November, a whopping 11-3/4-pounder, plus several largemouths in the 9- and 10-pound range. The topwater bite has been on and off, but big fish are being caught on Spooks, Ricos and buzzbaits. Another go-to bait is the faithful Senko in the 6-inch size and also Zoom Super Flukes in Pearl color. These soft-plastic jerkbaits are excellent follow-up baits if you miss a lunker on a topwater, so be sure to bring plenty when you visit. It seems that rigging the Senkos wacky style and adding a small bullet weight to get the lure down quicker has been most productive.
During the midday bite, smaller swimbaits have been working very well. Four-inch Storm WildEye Swim Shads in Pearl, Shiner Chartreuse and Shad colors have been deadly. A couple of friends from Arizona, Joe and Erik Goldenson, did well on the 5-inch model and had this to say:
“Our first day of fishing was slow on topwater Ricos. My son Erik and I caught a few fish before mid-morning, all of which were in the 5- to 9-pound range with no little ones. Then, from 10 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., we got into a WildEye Swim Shad (5-inch, shad color) bite. I wound up with 12 fish from 5 to 8 pounds, and Erik caught three more—a 7, 8 and 9! ‘What's going on here?’ we asked our favorite and regular guide, Armando. He said the weather and time of the year were such that the numbers of fish being caught were down but the size was two to three times bigger than usual. We proved him to be the Oracle at Delphi! That afternoon was slow, with only about six fish caught between my son and me, but the sizes were between 6 and 9 pounds once again! “The second day was very slow for me, but Erik caught two 7s and a 9 on a Rico at first light. Topwater at its best! As usual, Erik out fished me, catching 10 fish between 6 and 8 pounds.
“The last day was slow in the morning,” Joe continued. “But we returned to the area where we experienced that marvelous swim bait bite the first day and Bang! Erik got his biggest bass ever, a 10-pounder. It was a great fight and good netting prowess by Armando. The rest of the day was slow in numbers again, but we caught 5s, 6s and 8s! “Overall we counted an average of 20 fish per day, not our usual numbers action but the size does count! El Salto once again proved its "SALT" as the saying goes. Bragging rights aside, the thrill of getting the ‘big one’ is wonderful as well as humbling. I'm glad we ‘catch and release’ because someone else can enjoy the thrill of getting those fish again. “I want to thank Billy Chapman, Jr. and the great staff for their usual great service. The massages after fishing really helped this old guy recover from a fishing aches and cramps. My son Erik feels the same. See you all next year at El Salto or Mateos.”
John Alvarez was down for his fifth trip this month and reported it was the best yet. “I didn’t think with the lake up so much the fishing would be that great for me because I haven’t had much luck in the past at that level,” he said. “But man was I wrong. I personally had the biggest average weight and the biggest overall size (8 pounds, 14 ounces). Although some guys didn’t catch as many as usual for that time of year, the size was definitely up. The biggest bass caught by anyone in our group was a 9-pound, 4-ounce hawg caught by Jason, but while we were there, a 10-pound, 6-ounce fish was on the board. It is amazing that fish that size are caught in your lake. “The guides were awesome as usual,” John said. “Although I didn’t fish with my favorite guide this trip, Luis put us on the fish every day. Even when the fish weren’t very active, it didn’t take long for him to find us bait or a spot that would yield a ton of fish. Swim bait, swim bait, swim bait: that was the lure of the trip for me. I had never fished one with much luck, but I’m a firm believer now. Even when the bass weren’t hitting a certain color, all I did was change to another and they were on it.
Brett Bankston from FL. wrote to say, “I want to thank everyone at the Anglers Inn for saving my vacation. My brother and I had bought an offshore fishing trip out of Mazatlan this past spring. We bought it at a CCA auction and had been told it would be a striped marlin fishing trip of a lifetime. But after one day offshore we realized the fishing was off. “We were going to spend the next two days at the beach but then we saw an advertisement for El Salto and Anglers Inn. We arranged transportation from Mazatlan and left early one morning for El Salto. We were treated like kings from the time we arrived. The food and drink were top shelf, and the fishing was outstanding. Each of us caught at least 80 fish per day, including 10 bass over 6 pounds and two over 10. I can’t' wait to go back.”
Many of you have enjoyed articles written by our friend Robert Montgomery, senior writer for ESPN/BASS publications. He was just down for some fishing, too, and says, “I just enjoyed some of the best fishing I've experienced at El Salto in several years. I always like going there, and I always catch fish. But this time, the quality of the fish was exceptional. In 4-1/2 days of fishing, my friend Dave Burkhardt of Triple Fish International and I caught two 9s, several 8s and bunches of 7s. We also lost several that might have been double digit. “The average size of the bass we caught probably was 4 pounds or better, the best that I've ever seen,” Robert reported. “That should translate into some terrific fishing for big bass during the next several years. Also, every fish was fat and feisty, as they fed all day long on shad and tilapia. The problem with all of that bait was getting the attention of the bass so that they would bite our lures. We averaged 30 to 40 fish a day. But on one afternoon, we boated 41. “We caught most of our fish on Rapala X-Rap jerkbaits, either throwing to feeding fish or into shallows along brushy shorelines,” he continued. “Color didn't seem to matter, but we used mostly glass ghost, silver and hot steel. During middle of the day, we boated a few on Texas-rigged worms, red shad and blue/black. “The topwater bite was inconsistent, but we did catch some quality fish on Sammys, especially on the final afternoon. Again, we threw to feeding fish, as well as across points and onto shallow flats where we thought they would be feeding. While the bites were few, they were ferocious and worth the wait. “I'm already planning my next trip to El Salto, my favorite place to fish for bass.” Dave Burkhardt sent a note as well, exclaiming, “Over the TOP! Where else in the world of bass fishing can you have 8-pound-plus fish blowing up on topwaters! Be still my heart!!!
“The best fish on my November trip weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces, and I caught dozens in the 5- to 8-pound range,” Dave said. “Quality fish! With the sheer numbers of bass and abundant food source (tilapia fry), Angler’s Inn will continue to be the best bass fishing in the world. Combine the fishery with an attentive staff plus the wonderful accommodations and you have bass fishing heaven.” Willie Toppino enjoyed a visit with his girlfriend Loretta who caught her biggest bass ever, an 8-pounder, on a lizard during their first day of fishing. “She then caught a couple of 7 pounders on topwaters,” Willie said, “which were her biggest ever on topwaters, and I got a 10-pounder on a junebug-colored Senko. On our last afternoon, I experienced the best worm bite I have ever experienced. We released 26 bass in an hour and a half up to 6 pounds, all caught on a junebug Senko. I have been fishing all over North, South and Central America for the past 15 years, and your lodge is the best. All your staff was very friendly and helpful, and the accommodations were excellent. We will definitely be coming back.”
Marty and Valerie wrote to say their trip to El Salto “was a perfect combination of exciting fishing and pampered luxury resort vacation. On the very first cast in the morning, Val caught an 8-pound bass on a Rico topwater, and it kept getting better all day,” Marty said. “Our guide put us on fish throughout the day. Overall we caught 185 bass in three days, with many 5- to 9-pound fish. Marty topped his all time record with an 11-pound monster bass on a blue shad swimbait. It was hard to tell who was more excited, Marty or Martin the guide. Every evening Val sat at dinner and looking out over the moon glowed lake would say, ‘I can't believe how beautiful it is here.’ We already have our date set for next year, but can't decide which of your fabulous venues to visit. We decided we should alternate years between El Salto and Mateos or stay a few extra days and split the time between them. “Thanks for letting us stay at your place in El Salto,” they said. “The extra touch made us feel like much more than members but friends as well, and the staff treated us like royalty. We were humbled to say the least. Please thank everybody at Anglers Inn for the champion effort to assure our vacation was all that it could be. Can't wait to be with you all again.”
As you can see, great fishing is alive and well at El Salto with numerous big bass being caught. For those anglers who are on the way to visit us, be sure to get the recommended baits, and for those of you who are thinking about coming down to fish El Salto, now is the time! Call us for more information.
Contact Us to Catch Trophy Bass at Anglers Inn on Lake El Salto - Toll Free 888-479-2277
Hottest Colors: bone colored topwater, white spinnerbaits, baby bass
Comments: We fished from Oct 26th to Nov 1st and had mixed results but overall fishing at Lake Huites is what you would expect ...Lots of action with bass up to 9 pounds Most fish being caught on shallow running Rapala crankbait in Baby Bass color. I fished a couple of afternoons with Tachi and Perla Salazar and had excellent results up the Rio Fuerte way past the reforma. The canyons also produced great numbers of bass on Firetiger crankbaits. I truly think that over the next couple of weeks bass fishing at Huites will go nuts on topwater.
Comments: The numbers of bass were down compared to past trips but the size of the bass caught at Lake Baccarac was incredible. In four days we caught well over 100 bass that weighed 7lbs or more. The topwater bite was outstanding. I have never experienced big bass exploding on a topwater bait the way they did this trip. I can't say enough about Manuel our guide, the food, the accommodations, the staff and Russ is always helpful and fun to talk to. Can't wait to go back to Baccarac in April. Very important The best bait today Oct 31st was storm 7 inch suspending swimbaits... Unreal results .... bring em if you got em
Date: September 15th - 30th, 2008 Name: Anglers Inn Lake El Salto
Hottest Baits:
Zoom Lizards: 8-inch, watermelon, watermelon red flake, black with blue tail, and junebug.
Berkley Power Worms: 10-inch in black with blue tail, red shad and junebug.
Yamamoto Senkos, Yum Dingers and Bass Pro Shops Stinkos: 5- and 6-inch, watermelon, watermelon red flake and black with blue flake.
Storm WildEye Swim Shads: 4- and 5-inch in shad, white with chartreuse top and bunker.
Rat-L-Traps: ½ and ¾-ounce in silver with blue back and silver with black back.
Lobina Lures Rio Rico poppers: white, white with sparkles and bleeding shad.
Spinnerbaits: ½ and ¾-ounce with double silver willow blades in white and white/chartreuse.
Bomber Fat Free Shad and Rapala DT16 medium- and deep-diving crankbaits in citrus shad, hot mustard and fire tiger.
Heddon Zara Spook and Lucky Craft Sammy in clear, chrome with black top and white body.
Rapala X-Rap and 4- to 5-inch jerkbaits in white, clown and shad.
Water Temp : 80°-82°F
Air Temp: 82°-85°F (early morning); 89°-98°F (lunch time) 82°-85°F (late afternoon). Largest Bass Caught: 10 pounds, 4 ounce Comments:
New Season at El Salto Starting Off Right - By Billy Chapman
There’s good news for anglers planning a visit to Anglers Inn El Salto. We have not experienced torrential hurricane rains this year like those two years ago that caused the lake to rise more than 20 feet in just one day. Instead, the lake filled slowly over a longer period of time, which is much better for bass fishing. As the new fishing season started, the water level was at slightly more than full pool, with about a foot of water going over the spillway. The water level now has stabilized, and with few more rains to come, we are expecting another great season.
Bass patterns the past two weeks have been normal for a warm month like September, with most of the best fish being caught in deeper water. Swimbaits, plastics lizards and crankbaits have been the best midday lures. And during early morning and late afternoon, topwater plugs, Senkos and spinnerbaits have been doing the trick.
Here’s what some of our recent guests had to say about their trips.
Mike Ishikawa came down with his friend Lance Withee, but unfortunately for this pair of hardcore anglers, Lance found out he had a kidney stone, and, instead of fishing, had to spend his time at Sharp Medical Hospital in Mazatlan. Mike managed to get in a day and a half on the water, nevertheless. “I fished a full day on September 17 and a half day on September 18,” Mike said. “My last trip to Anglers Inn in March 2007 was spectacular, with my friend Bob and me catching 475 bass in 3-1/2 days. I was not expecting the same results this time because the lake was brim full and it was raining upon our arrival.
“Well, the fishing was just as spectacular as our March trip, and the quality was unbelievable. My first day ended with 107 bass, including 19 between 5 and 8 pounds. Trees that usually grow above the exposed shoreline were now overhanging the water, providing great bass cover. We could bass crashing baitfish under the trees. In the morning, we had a ball throwing wacky-rigged Senkos to the edge of the trees. The bass would attack even before the lure had a chance to sink to the bottom. Later in the morning, we switched to Rat-L-Traps, and, in the afternoon, Texas-rigged Senkos, Robo-worms and 10-inch Berkley red-shad worms worked just great.”
Day 2 was excellent for Mike as well. “What an incredible morning,” he said. “Our guide found a shallow bay loaded with large bass. We threw Rico poppers and landed nothing but large bass, many times with double hookups. One 7-pounder attacked the popper four times before I finally set the hook. After the surface bite slowed slightly, we moved to a deeper section of the same bay, and jerkbaits and wacky Senkos revived the hot bite all over again. The final count for the half-day of fishing was 58 bass, most over 3 pounds. These included bass weighing 6-5, 5-6, 3-7, 3-8 and one topping 9 pounds. I’m convinced anytime is a great time to experience the fantastic fishing at Anglers Inn.”
And how about Mike’s friend Lance? Well, he’s doing just fine and sent us this note: “Words aren’t adequate to express the depth of my gratitude to you and your organization for all you did for me. Thanks to you, I am now back in San Diego and well into recovery mode. Without you, I am well aware I could have floundered around in pain and confusion, and things could have been very different. Thank you for getting personally involved from the outset, and thank you again for your care, concern and attention throughout the rest of the ordeal. I am looking forward to visiting Angler's Inn again in December and many more times in the future. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!”
Ronnie and Leslie Corbin, also were among the September visitors and here’s what they have to say: "After arriving at the lodge in the early afternoon, we went out for an afternoon of fishing. On our second stop, we got into a bite off the point of an island. My wife Leslie, who is new to bass fishing, landed a 9.4-pound bass using a Norman DD14 crankbait in the chartreuse/blue color. What a thrill! I landed a 7.10-pound bass on chrome Norman. It was a great afternoon. Although we found high water and scattered bass, we experienced excellent topwater bites early morning and tons of quality bass up to 9 pounds.
My last cast produced a 8.3 pound bass in front of the lodge on a 10" Berkley powerworm in the black/blue color." Vern Leder and his two sons recently fished El Salto as well, and here is what Vern had to say: “Any time I can go with my boys and they catch enough fish to make them want to go again is a successful trip. We are ready to come back! “My son Henry landed some nice bass, including two 8-pound-plus fish. His most productive baits were a junebug lizard and Pop-Rs. Drew also landed an 8.11-pound bass and said to tell you there was great fishing in early morning on topwaters and in late afternoon on worms and swimbaits.”
John Christie came down with the Leders and it was he who caught the biggest bass of the group, a real hawg that tipped the scales at 10.4 pounds. He caught this monster bucketmouth on a 5-inch swimbait and also landed a 9.6-pounder the same afternoon.
And how about these impressive numbers from Benton, Arkansas, angler Tracy Harmon?
Top 5 bass per day: Day 1 – 44 pounds Day 2 – 37 pounds Day 3 – 37 pounds Day 4 – 30 pounds
Tracy’s 20 biggest bass weighed in at an impressive 148 pounds. His biggest weighed 9 pounds, and he landed many bass in the 5- to 8-pound range. As one can see, the fishing at El Salto is stronger than ever. With the weather starting to cool down, the topwater bite should be getting even stronger, and those big bass will be moving out of 20- to 30-foot depths and holding closer to the surface.
This report we have a tie for the big fish between John Christie and Robert Roupeman. Both anglers reported their biggest bass weighing 10.4 pounds. Have you caught your 10-pounder yet?
Contact Us Today to Catch Trophy Bass at Lake El Salto - Toll Free 888-479-2277
