Gizmo's Bassin South of the Border

[gizmo]

Gents this is way over due but at the beginning of last month my father,son, ranch foreman Wade, and I went to Anglers Inn on Lake El Salto just North East of Mazatlan Mexico. We spent three days fishing and Angler's Inn is certainly a first class operation with that flair only found in Mexico. We flew into Mazatlan from DFW. Originally Wade, my son, and I were supposed to fly out of Amarillo but as per typical the flight was cancelled so we had to drive to DFW and meet my Dad to head out. I have to say between this and the Romanian trip I have been seriously disappointed in American Airlines and their lack of customer service. Anyway, once there it would be my first trip to Mexico and wow what a trip it was. Once we cleared customs Anglers Inn employees picked us and our luggage up and loaded us into the van for the hour and a half drive to the lake. Once settled in the van they were prepared with cold Cervesa and cokes and I'm here to tell you it was quite an enjoyable drive. In addition to being a family trip it was also a trip for my ranch foreman who has worked so hard for us over the last several years. It was a small token of our gratitude for the hard work and dedication he has shown to us.
Wade on the left and my Dad, Gizmo Sr, on the right.

My son mini Gizmo

Once at the lodge we settled in and unpacked. They had lunch prepared and afterwards we loaded up to go fishing. Now a quick note, yes its Mexico and yes it's supposed to be hot but holly smokes, the temperature was roughly that of the surface of the sun. No amount of sunscreen on earth could keep the rays at bay. While we will certainly go back perhaps it may be prudent to go a little earlier in the year. Sheesh

So, a little history on the lake. El Salto was impounded in the 80's, if I remember correctly, and when they flooded the valley all of the villages were flooded with it. There are untold numbers of villages that are now underwater and it makes for some really neat scenery. The lake it self sits in the mountains and is a enormous deep lake. It fluctuates over 50 feet a year and while we were there it was just about at its seasonal lowest. Fishing is excellent to mind blowing all year as this made Dad's 6th trip there and he told us that he's never had a bad trip no matter what time of year. The biggest bass are always caught a touch earlier in beginning of spring but double digit fish are commonly caught every day throughout the year. El Salto was stocked with Florida strain largemouth over 20 years ago which have florished in the warm dessert climate. All of these ruins are underwater during the high water times of year.

While we were there lizards in watermelon/red flake, 10 inch black worms with a blue twisty tail, swim baits, and big deep diving crank baits were the key. My personal best largemouth leading up to this trip was 7lbs 9 oz and I was on a mission to beat it. My Dad's best largemouth was caught at El Salto several years ago and weighed over 14 lbs!
Stay tuned more to come!

 

[gizmo]

As always on a new fishing trip the first afternoon was spent getting a feel for the lake. Seth and I boated about 30 fish and my dad and Wade probably doubled that. The heat really kicked my butt though I fought through it. I caught the first few fish on a crank bait before switching to a jig and craw. I used tilapia colors as that's the natural forage fish there and the lake itself is a huge producer for tilapia markets though all bass fishing is catch and release. None of us caught anything of any size this first afternoon with fish averaging around 2 lbs and the largest being a little over 4lbs.
As always with me I get in fishing mode and forgot to take pictures the first afternoon but I remedied that starting the next morning. We went back to the lodge where I drank several, dozen, cold beers and margaritas before having an excellent meal. The food there is out of this world. While there we had steaks, Mexican food of course, and sea food. All of it was outstanding and I'm a sucker for good Mexican food being a native Texan anyway.
We woke the next morning to a beautiful Mexican sunrise and hit the water right after a incredible breakfast buffet.

Now my absolute favorite type of fishing is top water and mornings on El Salto certainly don't disappoint. We caught roughly 50 fish on top water before 10a.m. No big ones yet but my son caught one pushing 5lbs and we were having a blast.

Once the top water bite slowed we switch over to soft plastics and swim baits and absolutely killed them. By the time lunch time arrived, despite drinking at least 20 bottles of water, the heat was killin me. I drank a beer at the bar, skipped lunch, and had a siesta in the arcticly airconditioned room, it was glorious.

 

[gizmo]

After a great nap I woke feeling human again and off to fishing again. The fishing continued to get better and this would be the theme of the trip. I think that's pretty normal as the longer you are at a place the more of the hang of what the fish want you get. We spent most of the afternoon in a cove that we became quite familiar with. Every time we would go there we would absolutely kill them. We finished out the afternoon here and I lost count of how many fish we caught total by the end of the day but Seth and I boated well over a hundred.

 

[gizmo]

The next morning we were up early and headed right to the same spot we left that afternoon. The top water bite was hot and I caught probably 70 fish before the topwater bite slowed. We stayed in the same cove and started fishing deeper water. We continued to kill them but the size of the fish was getting bigger. We lost a few that may or may not have been whoppers and I managed to break the first of three rods I'd end up breaking by the end of the trip. But if your going to catch big fish in copious amounts its bound to happen.
I had just finished cussing over breaking a rod and picked up another that had a lizard on it. I gave it the ol' Bohemian grunt cast and sent it way out to the other side of the channel we were fishing. The best results were from working the baits slow, I mean if you think you were too slow then slow down some more. About 20 ft in front of the boat I hung a log. I started the usual cussing and muttering before I realized that the line was moving. In a panic I rared back and gave the wood to the fish, drag immediately started burning off. I knew I had a good one, now if I can just manage to get it in without breaking another rod or the line. Fortunately I learned through the school of hard knocks in the Brazilian amazon fighting big Peacocks how to land big fish. After a few minutes I got him in and pulled what would be my biggest fish of the trip out.

7 lb 9 oz. An exact tie to my personal best. While I didnt one up it I was glad to catch such a great fish. Little did I know that my Dad had landed a 9lb 10oz bass at about the same time. The first and only time I've lost a big fish contest to him. I gotta tell ya I don't care for humble pie much. Oh well cant win them all. The rest of the day we caught a ton of fish and at lunch we had to change clothes because we had completely sweat through them by noon.

 

[gizmo]

The next day my son caught his biggest largemouth of his life, another 7lb 9 oz fish. I would have sworn that the scale was stuck on 7.9 but we had weight at least 30 or so 5 and 6 lb'ers so I knew it wasnt.

Over the next two days we continued to slay them and while we certainly won the numbers contest between my dad's boat and ours we lost the big fish contest. El Salto is a first class place and Angler's in does a great job. They are very warm and friendly and it's all about service. As far a Mexico goes that area is perfectly safe and we had no problems what so ever. El Salto is a very very long way from the troubles up on the boarder and the area has been compared to the "Montana" of Mexico. It's just a bunch of farms and cattle ranches. I never once felt in danger and we will certainly go back next year. Here's the lodge leader board

Seth and I with our guide Luis

The crew

 

[gillettehunter]

Always wanted to go down and give it a try. I'm not much of a bass fisherman, but it would be fun. Nice pics and sounds like a great trip. Bruce

 

[cpr0312]

Good stuff, thanks for sharing! Nice pics

 

[Royal27]

Great stuff Erik!

Glad to finally get to read. Been waiting.

 

[Bullthrower338]

Awesome trip bro! I love Mexico, I always go to the Beirut of mexico instead of the Montana though! Maybe I need to try the nice side, not sure if my consumption of Pacifico would go up or down though!
Cheers,
Cody

 

[gizmo]

Hey guys I just noticed my typo, my personal best was 7.6lb and the two fish my son an I caught were also 7.6lb. Sorry for the typo, not trying to sneak one in on anyone.

 

[johnnyblues]

Looks like a great place.