bass fishing in mexico

[ub2m4]

New to the sight and have learned a lot already. My son wants to take me bass fishing in Mexico next fall 2008. How do we pick through the many different bass camps and packages? What is the best lake to fish and how is the fall for fishing? Just not sure how to pick an outfitter and don't want to get ripped. Looked at Cabelas outfitter site. Is this a reasonable approach? Our bass fishing skills are intermediate. Thanks for any suggestions.

[Raul]

Ok, here´s the deal, I live in Mexico, from all the "famous" lakes we have in Mexico some are quite overrated and some are not known to anglers outside Mexico, if I were on the hunt for the fish of a lifetime I wouldn´t even sniff at lakes like El Salto or Lake Guerrero; I´m not saying they are bad lakes, on the contrary, they are good lakes but ...... for a trophy, I mean a real trophy ( a 10 pounder is not a "trophy" down here, trophy is a teen pounder ) the lakes I would go are Lake Baccarac in Sinaloa ( home of the Mexican and LatinoAmerican record of LMB, shy under 20 pounds ) as my first choice and Sugar Lake in Tamaulipas ( where a string of 20 pounds in a tournament places you somewhere around the 35 th place ) as my second choice. Those two are the ones I would go.

Now if all you want to do is have a good time, catch lots of 5 pounders and have the possibility of catching a 10 pounder then El Salto, Huites, Mateos, Aguamilpa and Lake Guerrero are good choices.

Which outfitter ? the best outfitters are Terry Hollan ( Reel Mexican Adventures ) and Billy Champan ( BassAdventures ) both run a chain of lodges in those lakes, they are expensive but they give you simply the best service.

[Raul]

Forgot to add, if you don´t have a passport apply for it as soon as you can, there´s a huge delay between the time you apply for your passport and the time it actually arrives, don´t let them catch you with your pants down on that matter.

My wife applied for passport renewal a couple of months ago and she´s still waiting for it to arrive.

[dampeoples]

Raul,
That's great info man, we're planning a trip down there next year with a group of guys, i'll hit you up for info when the time comes

[Fish2win]

I wrote this in my weekly column about 2 weeks ago. Hope this helps. The guy that the article is about is in Knoxville Tennessee. I am sure he would be most helpful if you needed to ask more info. Fish2win

Chris Henderson the manager at One Limit Bait Shop in Farragut just returned from what many of us would consider the fishing trip of a life time. Chris was the quest of Shimano Tackle at El Salto in Mexico.
Shimano invited its best retailers from across the country to come to El Salto to test the new line of rods and reels that will soon be debuting at shops across the country. What better location to test the new tackle. El Salto is arguably the best bass lake in the world at this time
We are talking world class fishing where the throw backs weight 3 to 4 lbs.
Chris traveled from Knoxville to Houston. Next was a short hop to Mazatlan Mexico. Finally he was greeted by staff from the Anglers Inn for the short 1 ½ hour drive into the mountains of Mexico to El Salto.
Anglers Inn is great fishing lodge complete with tackle shop, restaurant, air conditioned rooms and cable TV. This would be home base for the next few days. The daily routine consisted of fishing from 5:30 AM until 12:30. From 12:30 until 3:30 was lunch and siesta. Then back on the lake until sundown.
Chris reports that the number of 4 to 7 lb bass caught was incredible. The first two days he fished with a guide catching 100 bass per day. The average catch for the group was between 50 and 70 fish per day all in this industrial size class. The single biggest fish caught that week was a little over 12 lbs. El Salto has bass over 14. These were not bedding bass caught with shiners over grass beds. These fish were caught with conventional tackle. The best baits were magnum crankbait, Storm swimbaits, 10 inch worms and 8 inch lizards.
The El Salto bass become big and mean feeding on a diet of Tilapias. These protein rich bait fish along with the extended growing season create a tremendous group of big bass. Chris mentioned that even with catching nearly 400 bass along with his partner catching close to the same none of the fish had old hook marks in their mouths. This lake has an incredible number of these big fish.
On the final day Chris elected to tell his guide "Quiero sacar una lobina grande" translated it means, I want to fish for big fish only. On this day Chris caught around 40 to 50 bass but that 15 lb beauty eluded him. The single biggest bass Chris caught this week was 7 ½ lbs but the number of 5 and 6 lb bass he caught was unbelievable.

[George_Welcome]

I will back up Raul 100%. Presently the best is Baccarac and Terry Hollan is the best. If you want it memorable: http://www.lakebaccaraclodge.com/
Terry's partner at the lake, Rene Salazar ensures that the lodge runs first class, and that the guides are top notch.

[Rebbasser]

Raul, I just read an article on Sugar Lake. Only about 12 miles other side of the river from McAllen if I remember right. Looks like a great lake.

[patchino22]

Mexico sounds like the place to be. I have a couple of questions though.

1. Can you bring your own gear?
2. If so, will you have problems getting that through customs?

I dont have much experience traveling outside the states so I am not sure how all of this would work.

[Raul]

Yes you can bring your own gear ( don´t bring a truckload ) the law allows you to bring 4 rods & 4 reels per person new or used as a part of your personal lugage, no limit on the ammount of baits and terminal tackle they are considered as part of your your gear.

Customs don´t bother into checking, when they see baits they don´t care. Also you can bring 1 camera ( photo or movie ) per person.

When you travel by air to Mexico they give you in the plane a Customs slip you need to fill in, in that slip it asks you if you are traveling with more than 300 dollars worth of merchandise ( for taxation purposes ), you cross where it says NO regardless of how much your gear is worth.

Reb

Sugar lake is one of the best little known lakes in Mexico, it has a lot better fishing than Amistad, got a padawan living in Nvo Laredo that fishes Sugar Lake regularily and he always shows very good catches. Only problem with those lakes you know what it is, if it gets windy it gets pretty scary, kinda like Choke Canyon with it´s 6 ft waves ( well I don´t know if they are 6 ft but they shure fell like if they were ) .