El Salto Lake Report

[Pepe]

El Salto Report November 7, 2017

Today is our second, of six days of fishing here.  This is my 7th trip here in the past 3 years. I am fishing with my favorite partner, my wife of 40 years (a country girl who got this city boy interested in the sport).  

We have bass fished in Mexico, almost exclusively in the winter months, for the past 20 years at Huites, Baccarac, Guerrero, Picachos and El Salto.  This is the first time we have fished in November.  One of the first things that is obvious is that it is warmer, but the topwater bite has been better than it usually is in Jan & Feb.  

The lake is at its fullest this time of year; the rainy season having just ended with little irrigation demand. The rains weren't extremely heavy this year so the lake is at 70%

We are up at 4:45 am and on the water at civil twilight, around 5:30, after breakfast.  We have been doing well on popper baits, worked with short pulls, until the sun becomes a factor.  With cloud cover it lasted until 8:30 today with very few, if any, short fish.  Best this morning was a 6.67 followed by multiple 5’s and many feisty 3 - 4’s.  Texas rigged green & green red 8” lizards were most successful after the topwater bite ended, though I did catch some fish on a white mag fluke and 6” green/red senko.  Another first-time group caught 48 fish on a lipless crankbait this morning, though many were small. 

This is a lake that rewards very much according to your skill level.  The guides will quickly assess what level you are at and are very instructive, to the degree you are willing to accept guidance.  For instance, we caught very few shorts because we are able to cast to targets, fish deep & shallow and detect light bites.  It is a great place to hone technique because you know the fish are there. 

With respect to size and number of fish expectations - always a controversial subject, you will need to decide for yourself what stories/reports to give full credence to.  My advice is that if you want to be absolutely sure to catch a double digit fish, leave your scale at home.  Having said that, if your prime motive is to have (very) strong fish on the end of the line there are many legitimate 3.5-6’ bass that, in my opinion, are the best size for pure sport. 

Getting here is easy, as there are direct flights to Mazatlan from several USA hubs including Dallas & Phoenix.  We leave STL at 6 AM and are on the lake fishing by 2:30 PM. We always feel safe and have not had any problems with stomach bugs.  

 

[Ketchup]

Nice report.  Tho i never see myself going down there due to the obvious safety concerns, that lake would be a top destination otherwise. Good luck on the rest of your exciting vacation. 

[Mitch f]

Great info Pepe!

I went to Guerrero in the late 90’s. Got pick pocketed at Houston  hobby on the way down and lost my wallet with $400 cash. I saw the guy act strange as I was entering the restroom and he acted like he ran into me on the way through the door. Anyway the trip was prepaid and I ended up going down and coming back through the border with no problems. I ended up winning a tourney between the guys and won my $400 back.

The highlight of the trip was in the first 5 minutes of fishing. My buddy caught an 11 pounder on his third or forth cast on a C/rigged 8” Zoom green pumpkin lizard with a chartreuse tail.