Anglers Inn International
March Fishing Report

The usual numbers weren’t there in those months, but anglers were reporting solid numbers with big bass being caught. Warmer temperatures bring better fishing. This month, the bite has been picking up in a big way. The springtime bite has busted on the scene at all Mexico locations, giving anglers a reason once again to flock to Anglers Inn International.

The hot baits from both El Salto and Mateos are 8-inch Zoom Lizards, 5-6 inch Senkos, 4” and 5” swimbaits, crankbaits and Rat L Traps. The ever-popular Black/Blue 10-inch worms are always working this time of year. In short, this means that whatever technique anglers want to use works to catch big bass on El Salto and Mateos.

Jimmy Murata, TV host from Japan has fish El Salto many times and hit it big this month taking a 12 + on a deep diving crank bait. Congratulations, Jimmy! All of us at Anglers Inn are praying for our Japanese friends and wish them well.

Hard core anglers aren’t the only people visiting Anglers Inn International in Mexico: Mark and Kim Owens have been visiting El Salto for seven years now, and every single year the couple enjoys the fishing catching as well as the world class service. Mark’s testimony tells the entire story:

“Our first morning out on the water, I mentioned to our guide, that we wanted to fish for that monster bass. The Boss said that we may not catch very many fish, but you might get that big fish that my wife was looking for. I told him Kim was just looking for that 10-pound fish of a lifetime. We were on the water at gray light and he was off to his Honey Hole, and it was game on. We had a 9-4, 7-10, 7-4, 6-8, two 6-0, and a few 5’s and 4’s. The fishing was up and down, but we expected this. I think the cold front had the bass in a suspended pattern. We stuck with our game plan and it paid off big time. I stuck a 9-10, but it hit like a freight train. The guide insisted that Kim and I keep at it because there was big fish there. Sure enough, Kim set the hook on her dream fish and the fight was on. She handled that monster like a pro, and glided it to the net. The fish weighed in, a straight up 10-0. She went crazy. She had that school kid smile that was priceless. Kim and I had a wonderful stay visiting with all of the Anglers Inn International, and the fishing was awesome as always.” “Kim’s 10 pounder came on a Carolina rigged 8’Zoom Lizard (watermelon/red flake), but the ten-inch Black/Blue Tail Power Worms were good, too. Our most productive bait was a Storm 5”, Wildeye Swimbait (shad pattern) and the Money Minnow.”

Anglers Inn at Lake El Salto is a great couples retreat. This is what Elaine and Vernon Merrifield from Colorado have to say about their recent trip: “Elaine and I just returned from some good fishing and relaxation at your lodge, Anglers Inn. We only fished in the mornings thus freeing up our afternoons for massages, reading and resting. Hate to admit it but she really put it on me. She landed two giant bass each over 8 pounds. I weighed them myself. She also beat me in numbers during both morning sessions. We were using watermelon lizards with a chartreuse tail. The guide rigged these Texas style and Carolina style. It seemed to us that the Carolina style was the most productive. I also used the old stand-by Bill Dance crank bait successfully. As always the watermelon, 6 inch Senkos worked early in the morning. The guide rigged them "wacky style" The last morning she beat me 29-12. I'm not use to that kind of treatment. Our guide seem to really enjoy the butt kicking I was getting. As always the staff was fabulous and I'm sure we each gained a few pounds during our stay. Thanks again for a wonderful holiday. We will return soon. Vernon Merrifield

We’ve been seeing a rise on Mateos waters as well. The cool down suspended those fish as well, but the bulk of our anglers were cashing in with big numbers.

Seasoned Lake Mateos visitor, Mike Marrone enjoyed another voyage to one of his favorite fishing spots this past March and had an unbelievable time.

“Another trip to Lake Mateos is in the books. I must say that the team at Mateos headed by Ramon and Julio is customer service excellence at its finest. The service that I’ve experienced at the Anglers Inn International resort on Lake Mateos is unlike any experience. The entire staff goes above and beyond the call of duty to make my stay enjoyable. The fishing, though a little tougher than our previous trip, was still solid. I averaged a little over 20 fish per day with some nice quality fish in the mix. On one of the stops my partner and I fished a high spot in the middle section of the lake and we nailed two nine-pound lunkers. These two fish were caught in the same spot within three casts of each other. We also went on to nail a seven pounder and two other fish over the five-pound mark off the same spot. The primary hot bait we used was the Citrus Shad pattern Fat Free Shad the medium size. We also had success on the Zoom 8-inch Lizards in Watermelon/Red and Watermelon with Chartreuse Tails Texas-rigged. The other group we were with found windy banks and made parallel casts at about 15 to 20 feet depth and kept the bait bouncing along the bottom in their most productive depths. I also caught several quality fish on the River to Sea white 4-inch swimbait, bottom bouncing on the high spots in the lake. Bottom line, it was another great experience and I will return.”

Anglers Inn International has been touting the new bass boats that are being introduced to El Salto and right now they are making their way through customs and should arrive within a couple of weeks. They are 18’6” aluminum hull bass boats with more deck space (2 large casting decks), length, width, storage space, elevated fishing seats, front & rear trolling motors this fishing machine is in a class by itself. These boats will be tops on any lake in Mexico and worth the trip to Mexico just to fish out of them.

Anglers Inn International is introducing a few summer specials for any level angler. The Super Season Specials can save potential anglers $500 on a regular 4 nights/3.5 days of fishing when celebrating the holidays with Anglers Inn International.

Our staff and experienced guides are widely known to be the best and at Anglers Inn International we pride ourselves on our service. We want any angler or non-angler to come enjoy the great amenities that we have to offer. I guarantee that you will enjoy your stay with our famed staff, excellent accommodations and the greatest bass fishing on the planet!

Anglers Inn International
February Fishing Report

All Anglers Inn International properties in Mexico experienced record low temperatures. Mazatlan, El Salto and Mateos recorded lows in the low 30s for the months of January and February, but that didn’t stop the action.

The usual numbers weren’t there in those months, but anglers were reporting solid numbers with big bass being caught. Warmer temperatures bring better fishing. This month, the bite has been picking up in a big way. The springtime bite has busted on the scene at all Mexico locations, giving anglers a reason once again to flock to Anglers Inn International.

The hot baits from both El Salto and Mateos are 8-inch Zoom Lizards, 5-6 inch Senkos, 4” and 5” swimbaits, crankbaits and Rat L Traps. The ever-popular Black/Blue 10-inch worms are always working this time of year. In short, this means that whatever technique anglers want to use works to catch big bass on El Salto and Mateos.

Jimmy Murata, TV host from Japan has fish El Salto many times and hit it big this month taking a 12 + on a deep diving crank bait. Congratulations, Jimmy! All of us at Anglers Inn are praying for our Japanese friends and wish them well.

Hard core anglers aren’t the only people visiting Anglers Inn International in Mexico: Mark and Kim Owens have been visiting El Salto for seven years now, and every single year the couple enjoys the fishing catching as well as the world class service. Mark’s testimony tells the entire story:

“Our first morning out on the water, I mentioned to our guide, that we wanted to fish for that monster bass. The Boss said that we may not catch very many fish, but you might get that big fish that my wife was looking for. I told him Kim was just looking for that 10-pound fish of a lifetime. We were on the water at gray light and he was off to his Honey Hole, and it was game on. We had a 9-4, 7-10, 7-4, 6-8, two 6-0, and a few 5’s and 4’s. The fishing was up and down, but we expected this. I think the cold front had the bass in a suspended pattern. We stuck with our game plan and it paid off big time. I stuck a 9-10, but it hit like a freight train. The guide insisted that Kim and I keep at it because there was big fish there. Sure enough, Kim set the hook on her dream fish and the fight was on. She handled that monster like a pro, and glided it to the net. The fish weighed in, a straight up 10-0. She went crazy. She had that school kid smile that was priceless. Kim and I had a wonderful stay visiting with all of the Anglers Inn International, and the fishing was awesome as always.” “Kim’s 10 pounder came on a Carolina rigged 8’Zoom Lizard (watermelon/red flake), but the ten-inch Black/Blue Tail Power Worms were good, too. Our most productive bait was a Storm 5”, Wildeye Swimbait (shad pattern) and the Money Minnow.”

Anglers Inn at Lake El Salto is a great couples retreat. This is what Elaine and Vernon Merrifield from Colorado have to say about their recent trip: “Elaine and I just returned from some good fishing and relaxation at your lodge, Anglers Inn. We only fished in the mornings thus freeing up our afternoons for massages, reading and resting. Hate to admit it but she really put it on me. She landed two giant bass each over 8 pounds. I weighed them myself. She also beat me in numbers during both morning sessions. We were using watermelon lizards with a chartreuse tail. The guide rigged these Texas style and Carolina style. It seemed to us that the Carolina style was the most productive. I also used the old stand-by Bill Dance crank bait successfully. As always the watermelon, 6 inch Senkos worked early in the morning. The guide rigged them "wacky style" The last morning she beat me 29-12. I'm not use to that kind of treatment. Our guide seem to really enjoy the butt kicking I was getting. As always the staff was fabulous and I'm sure we each gained a few pounds during our stay. Thanks again for a wonderful holiday. We will return soon. Vernon Merrifield

We’ve been seeing a rise on Mateos waters as well. The cool down suspended those fish as well, but the bulk of our anglers were cashing in with big numbers.

Seasoned Lake Mateos visitor, Mike Marrone enjoyed another voyage to one of his favorite fishing spots this past March and had an unbelievable time.

“Another trip to Lake Mateos is in the books. I must say that the team at Mateos headed by Ramon and Julio is customer service excellence at its finest. The service that I’ve experienced at the Anglers Inn International resort on Lake Mateos is unlike any experience. The entire staff goes above and beyond the call of duty to make my stay enjoyable. The fishing, though a little tougher than our previous trip, was still solid. I averaged a little over 20 fish per day with some nice quality fish in the mix. On one of the stops my partner and I fished a high spot in the middle section of the lake and we nailed two nine-pound lunkers. These two fish were caught in the same spot within three casts of each other. We also went on to nail a seven pounder and two other fish over the five-pound mark off the same spot. The primary hot bait we used was the Citrus Shad pattern Fat Free Shad the medium size. We also had success on the Zoom 8-inch Lizards in Watermelon/Red and Watermelon with Chartreuse Tails Texas-rigged. The other group we were with found windy banks and made parallel casts at about 15 to 20 feet depth and kept the bait bouncing along the bottom in their most productive depths. I also caught several quality fish on the River to Sea white 4-inch swimbait, bottom bouncing on the high spots in the lake. Bottom line, it was another great experience and I will return.”

Anglers Inn International has been touting the new bass boats that are being introduced to El Salto and right now they are making their way through customs and should arrive within a couple of weeks. They are 18’6” aluminum hull bass boats with more deck space (2 large casting decks), length, width, storage space, elevated fishing seats, front & rear trolling motors this fishing machine is in a class by itself. These boats will be tops on any lake in Mexico and worth the trip to Mexico just to fish out of them.

Anglers Inn International is introducing a few summer specials for any level angler. The Super Season Specials can save potential anglers $500 on a regular 4 nights/3.5 days of fishing when celebrating the holidays with Anglers Inn International.

Our staff and experienced guides are widely known to be the best and at Anglers Inn International we pride ourselves on our service. We want any angler or non-angler to come enjoy the great amenities that we have to offer. I guarantee that you will enjoy your stay with our famed staff, excellent accommodations and the greatest bass fishing on the planet!

Anglers Inn International
October 2010 Fishing Report



This past September has been a big month for the Chapman family. Anglers Inn International enters its 21st season on Lake El Salto, and the staff has been feverishly gearing up the lodge to make ready for the upcoming season. The lake has come up 48 feet in the past couple months. Last year our water was very low, but this year El Salto will be at full capacity. This should provide ample opportunity to hauling in numerous fish over 10-pounds. My lovely wife, Magalhi, and I welcomed our son Dylan Kenneth Chapman Perez on September 8, 2010. Weighing in at 7-pounds, 7-ounces, Dylan has been our main focus throughout the past month. We are truly excited to have Dylan in our lives, and look forward to this new journey. When we left off in July we had one of the most successful endings to a season that I ever recall. Part of the success was partly due to the lake level falling to drastically low levels, concentrating many of the larger fish into smaller areas. With water temperatures rising, our guides focused on fishing around timber. Temperatures cooled down and water levels rose, which pushed the fish toward the banks. It is the perfect time for anglers to make their way to El Salto for some exciting top-water fishing. Anglers that come to El Salto can expect to be safe and sound while enjoying the best bass fishing in the world. To catch those fish, the go to color has continued to be a 10-inch Berkley PowerBait Power Worm in black and blue. You will always have a ton of success with that bait here on El Salto. Anglers looking to benefit from rising waters tend to throw top-water baits this time of year, but I’ve got to warn you that the top-water bite can last all day sometimes so be prepared. The anglers here are also having great success with 4-and 5-inch swimbaits.

Anglers Inn International staff has been busy around the lodge preparing for an exciting 2010-2011 season, which opened October 1, 2010 for Lake El Salto and Saltwater Fishing. The Lake Mateos season begins on November 1, 2010. This 2010-2011 season for Anglers Inn brings quite a few changes that should excite all anglers. We are preparing to roll out a newly designed website along with reduced pricing, of course the same great service is guaranteed with every trip booked with Anglers Inn International. Our prices are reduced so anyone can come enjoy a few days of relaxation while catching world-class fish. Potential anglers can visit www.anglersinn.com to find out more about our exciting new offers. Our staff is widely known to be the best and at Anglers Inn International we pride ourselves on our service. We want any angler or non-angler to come enjoy the great amenities that we have to offer. Anglers Inn Offshore, VIP Dock and facilities at the Marina Mazatlan are first class, providing the same unparalleled service that has become synonymous with Anglers Inn operations. The bottom line is that Anglers Inn International and its affiliates can handle every conceivable family sportsman vacation. We also have an Anglers Inn Sportsman's Club Family Vacation Specialist and a Travel Specialist to assist you in every aspect of your vacation. Give us one shot at your family vacation.

ANGLER'S INN
FISHING REPORT UPDATE
April 2010

By Billy Chapman, Jr.

Martin and his four best friends grew up together in Thayer, Mo. They went all through school together, graduating from Thayer High School, Class of 1966. Over the years, they kept in touch and try to reunite for fishing or hunting trips whenever possible. This year, Martin convinced the others to make the biggest trip of their lives and visit Anglers Inn at Lake El Salto. They didn’t leave disappointed. “This trip was very special,” said J.W. Nelson of Salem, Ark. “We started fishing at 5 years old and fished all of our lives. This year, we wanted to go to the best place where everybody could catch a lot of fish and have a great time. That’s Anglers Inn at Lake El Salto. Jerry told us about it, but it was more than we expected.” Each of the five caught a personal best largemouth bass. Jerry caught a 9.5- and a 10-pounder on back-to-back casts with a 10-inch black and blue Berkley Power Worm fished Texas style in about 15 feet of water. Lewis Childers, who still lives in Thayer, caught a 10-pounder on a 12-inch green pumpkin plastic worm. His cousin, Keith Childers of Marshfield, Mo., and Nelson each landed bass approaching 8 pounds. “The fishing was absolutely awesome,” Martin said. “The fish averaged about 4 pounds, but we caught a lot of 5- to 7-pound fish. Our best baits were 8-inch lizards, but my best bait was a 10-inch worm. Green pumpkin was the better color in the morning. Then, bass wanted black and blue. The key for bigger bass was fishing a steep bank with timber on it close to deep water where the bank broke into a creek channel 10 to 14 feet deep.” John Sawyer topped them all. The Jonesboro, Ark., angler landed a 12.3-pounder, one of the largest fish caught this season at Lake El Salto. The fish inhaled a white six-inch swimbait, but John had a little help from his guide, Armando. “On the morning I caught the big one, I already had 37 fish including several 6-pounders that mostly hit 8-inch lizards,” Sawyer said. “I decided to try something that I never used before. We got to a cove and I asked Armando to show me how to work a swimming minnow swimbait. He made one cast, said this is how to fish it, set the hook and gave me the rod. People don’t have to be great fishermen to catch big ones at Lake El Salto if they just listen to their guide.” Besides the lunker, Sawyer caught more than 110 bass with many in the 3- to 9-pound range at Lake El Salto. In all, the five amigos landed more than 500 bass in 2.5 days, which included five personal best bass and three double-digit bucketmouths. They also tempted a frenzied school of jack crevalle with topwaters off Mazatlan before heading home. “For the first hour at El Salto, we had a lot of topwater action, mostly on Pop-Rs in white or chrome with blue or gray backs,” Jerry said. “As soon as the sun got on the water, fish went about 6 to 8 feet deep and deeper as the sun rose. We caught some of our biggest bass on plastics in 10 to 12 feet of water near submerged trees, but also caught some on white and chartreuse spinnerbaits. On the final day, we fished a flat bank in two feet of water at 11 a.m. and started ripping fish on a spinnerbait.” At both El Salto and Mateos, topwaters produced excellent action. Brett Whitehead of California caught a 10.5-pounder on a silver and black Zara Spook almost a lunchtime. Wesley Wolfe of North Carolina caught a 10-pound, 13-ounce lunker on a Sammy topwater bait, again at midday. He also caught several fish in the 6.5- to 8-pound range. For consistent big-fish action, though, swimbaits topped the list. Slowly retrieve a 5-inch Yum Money Minnow in hologram shad, Tennessee shad or foxy shad just over the bottom. Use a weighed hook inserted into the plastic and barely poking out the back. Count down 10 to 15 seconds so the bait sinks and retrieve it as slowly as possible. Texan Tim Barber caught a 10-pounder on a Yum Money Minnow on his first cast near a point. His partner, Danny Hale caught a 9.8-pounder on an identical bait. Fellow Texan, Steve Barnett caught his two biggest fish, one a 9.5-pounder, on a hologram shad Money Minnow. He also caught some big ones on Carolina-rigged black and blue lizards. Other significant El Salto catches, Bill Arwood of Ohio landed a 10-pounder that smashed a chrome and blue Rat-L-Trap. Fishing with his son, Jagar, Darin Halbleib of Texas caught his 10-pounder on a black and blue jig. Jagar caught most of his fish on watermelon lizards with some topping 7 pounds. Phil Thomas of Florida caught a 10-pounder on an 8-inch watermelon red flake lizard in 15 feet of water. Art Tatum and Michelle Healy didn’t catch monsters, but they used watermelon lizards and motoroil worms to catch more than 100 bass a day with a 4-pound average. Michelle landed one nearly 8 pounds, shy of her 10.4-pounder from a previous trip. “Anglers Inn is the Disneyland for fishing,” Michelle said. “I’ve been to Lake El Salto twice this year and absolutely love it. I had the most amazing massage I’ve ever had and the food is incredible. I can’t wait to come back.”

ANGLER'S INN
FISHING REPORT UPDATE
March 2010

By Billy Chapman, Jr.

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.”

ANGLER'S INN
FISHING REPORT UPDATE
February 2010

Fish Deep Cliffs for the Biggest Bass

By Billy Chapman, Jr.

Lake El Salto continues to hold big bass, but turned into quite a numbers lake in the past few weeks. Leonard Mailes of Oklahoma, achieved a lifetime milestone and topped the weekly lunker list with an 11.3-pounder, which sucked up a lizard. He and his fishing partner, Floyd Duncan landed 305 bass in three days. Floyd caught an 8-pound, 10-ounce lunker. “Catching a bass over 10-pounds at Lake El Salto was on my ‘bucket list.’ Most of our fish were caught on Zoom 8-inch magnum lizards in watermelon redflake and senkos fished wacky style,” Mailes explained. “We caught lots of fish in the 5- to 7-pound range. This was my ninth trip to Anglers Inn El Salto and -- as usual -- everything was excellent. The accommodations, food, boats, guides and fishing was great. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again next year.” Trip Copeland of Georgia, enjoyed a good birthday, catching several fish in the 6- to 8-pound range and topping it off with a 10.5-pounder. The big one hit a watermelon senko, one of the hottest baits lately. Dave Precht, editor-in-chief of Bassmaster magazine also scored with a 10-pounder that smacked a watermelon lizard. In 3.5 days of fishing, Precht and eight friends caught many bass in the 4- to 6-pound range and some larger ones. They also caught fish on 12-inch black and blue or watermelon worms, 3/4-ounce chrome and blue lipless crankbaits plus Yellow Magic and Pop-R topwaters.  “The most and biggest fish came on 8-inch watermelon Texas-rigged lizards fished as deep as 18 to 20 feet in the back of coves,” Precht said. “We also caught some around the trees in water 10 to 12 feet deep. During the warmer part of the day, we fished deeper holes. I pulled a lizard out of the tree and was reeling the bait really fast by the boat to prepare for another cast when my biggest one hit.” Not counting anything weighing less than 2 pounds, Terry Connolly of Chicago and five friends landed more than 685 pounds of bass in five days. The tally included two topping 8 pounds, 10 exceeding 7 pounds and 12 weighing more than 6 pounds. They caught most of their fish on soft plastics, white spinnerbaits and Zara Spooks. "We really enjoyed the trip," Connolly said. "The service and food were beyond good; they were great. I can't wait to go again next year."

ANGLER'S INN
FISHING REPORT UPDATE
January 2010

FISH THE PLASTIC OFF THE POINTS
By Billy Chapman, Jr.

Enjoying that cold weather up North? Here in sunny old Mexico, we’re catching big bass from Lakes El Salto while wearing shorts and flip-flops.

With tilapia hiding near the banks, bass hold tight on points in one to four feet of water. At first light, white surface poppers produce good action. “Tilapia are up on the banks in the morning with bass feeding on them,” said Bradley Hallman, a professional angler from Norman, Okla. “That’s why a Pop-R works so well on Lake El Salto. People might catch 20 fish in the first couple hours with a Pop-R, Rico or similar bait.” Bradley and his wife, Dawn, visited Lake El Salto this week to catch bass, fished in the Sea of Cortez out of Mazatlan and enjoyed a stay at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay. Anglers Inn International serves as the exclusive Sportsman’s Club for all six Pueblo Bonito properties. “This is the best lake that I’ve ever fished – and I’ve fished a lot of good lakes,” the pro said. “The fishing is unreal. The accommodations are first-rate.” Fishing strictly topwaters on fly tackle, Will Van Rees from Los Angeles enticed a 9-pounder into hitting a white Pearly Popper. He joined his father, Norm, mother Diane and older brother Nick from Kansas City. Dedicated fly fishermen, they tallied many bass in the 3- to 5-pound range with some larger fish. “Topwaters have been really good in the morning, but not quite as good as senkos,” Bradley explained. “As the morning progresses, bass move down the slopes into six to 12 feet of water. People are catching 30 to 40 fish by 9 a.m. on senkos with many bass in the 2- to 5-pound range, plus some in the 7- to 9-pound range.” Steven and Jill Svrcek from Apple Valley, Minn., tried to catch 100 fish in four hours one morning. I’m sorry to say, they didn’t achieve their goal, landing only 98 before lunch! However, they did lose several lunkers. The Svrceks caught 14 bass in their first 18 minutes with most hitting in the 2- to 5-pound range. Some topped 6 pounds. They wacky rigged senkos around flooded timber or dragged watermelon red flake lizards through six to 12 feet of water.

Ando Takeshi, a bass pro from Tokyo, Japan, caught a 9.8-pounder on a Texas-rigged chartreuse senko. He and Emily Kamata landed quite a few other bass in the 4- to 6-pound range. “We had a great time,” Takeshi said. “Normally, I use darker colors like green pumpkin, but for bigger fish, I like to use brighter colors like chartreuse.” As the day warms, fish big lizards or black and blue jigs tipped with craws. Also try slow-rolling green and blue spinnerbaits through eight to 20 feet of water. Run blue and chartreuse deep-running crankbaits parallel to ridges or creek channel edges in 15 to 25 feet of water in the afternoon. “At mid-day, bass move into deeper water,” Bradley said. “That’s a good time to throw a Texas-rigged 10-inch worm. I caught a lot of big fish on a brown jig with a blue craw trailer, a watermelon or green pumpkin 10-inch worm and a Norman DD-22 crankbait.” Bernie Kuhel of San Diego used a 10-inch black and blue Berkley Power Worm one afternoon to land the lunker of the week, an 11-pounder. Fishing with his brother Ray from Virginia Beach, Va., that morning, Bernie caught a 9-pounder on a watermelon senko.