Stan Fagerstrom
10-30-2001, 08:06 AM
Bass, Panfish & Products
By Stan Fagerstrom
I’ve been getting questions recently from bass fishermen who want to know more about to tremendous bass fishing now available at certain Mexican lakes.
El Salto is one of those lakes. This lake has had a tremendous amount of publicity over the past couple of years. I was there in late April. I’ll be going back in December. The question I get most often where El Salto is concerned usually goes like this: “Is that El Salto Lake I keep reading and hearing about as good as they say it is?”
The answer to that my friend is yes. And you can print that YES !! in caps and add a couple of exclamation points.
Some of the readers I’ve heard from want to know more of the specifics where El Salto is concerned. Let’s start with it’s location. El Salto is in the Sierra Madre Mountains about 90 miles northeast of Mazatlan. It has to be one of the most consistent producers of big bass the world has ever known.
There were six anglers in the party of which I was a member when we were there in April. In just three days the six of us boated 40 bass of 8-pounds or more. The largest of the bunch weighed 11-pounds, 2-ounces. And believe it or, this isn’t an especially unusual catch at this Mexican bass fishing paradise.
El Salto is a relatively new impoundment. It was created by the damming of a river about 16-years ago. Billy Chapman Jr., one of the top operators of Mexican fishing resorts, was responsible for the newly formed lake to get a plant of Florida strain largemouth. Forage fish were also introduced and the rest is history.
For the past few years El Salto has been kicking out big bass in numbers that are difficult to believe. I had heard the stories. And I had my own doubts before I got there late last April. If there’s ever been a lake that matches El Salto’s production, even comes close for that matter, I’ve not seen it.
Remember I’m not talking about the large number of bass El Salto produces. What I’m saying is there has rarely, if ever, been a lake that kicks out really big fish as consistently.
My fishing partner the three days I spent there earlier this year was John Friesze, the former National Football League quarterback. The first day we were out together John boated two bass that weighed more than 10-pounds. My best was 8-pounds, 14 ounces.
The marketing director for G. Loomis Rods is Bruce Holt. Bruce is a good friend. He was at El Salto for the first time about a year ago. In three days he caught four bass of more than 10-pounds. The largest was a potbellied monster weighing 13-pounds, 4-ounces.
I could take the next 10 pages to document similar experiences other anglers from all over the country have had at El Salto Lake. Will that kind of big fish production hold up? I don’t know. New impoundments have a history of peaking. They produce like gangbusters in the beginning, then taper off.
But El Salto has some things going for it that others lakes often lack. For one thing, the lake’s fish grow like crazy. Biologists estimate they’re gaining as much as 2-pounds per year, and that’s a bunch. Until this year Billy Chapman had the only fishing resort on the lake. It’s called Anglers Inn and it’s a dandy. It’s where I stayed when I was there in late April. Chapman, to his everlasting credit, insists that anglers fishing out of his resort practice catch and release. A few small fish are kept for meals now and then, but those big brutes all go back into the water.
Right now the record largemouth out of El Salto is 18.5-pounds. And listen to this: The guy who caught that 18.5-pound fish wound up boating a 17-pounder the same day. Holy mackerel, Martha! If that doesn’t give you a near terminal case of the bass fishin’ fits, you better stick to trolling for trout.
I’ve seen operations in the past at some Mexican and Central American bass fishing operations where it was all catch and kill. Seeing all those big dead bass was a sickening sight. No wonder the good fishing in those lakes didn’t stand up. You’ll see none of that at Billy Chapman’s El Salto operation.
http://www.ifish.net/Grassi0001.jpg
If you’re into bass fishing as deeply as I am, you owe it to yourself to consider an El Salto trip yourself. I’m not the only one saying there has never been anything like El Salto for big bass production. If you read Bassmaster magazine and some of the other national publications you know there are others saying the same thing. The fishing down there right now is really something.
And you won’t go wrong making Anglers Inn your headquarters while you are there. Over the past half century I’ve seen my share of fishing lodges in many different places from Argentina to Alaska and from New Mexico to New Zealand. Few will take better care or you than Chapman’s staff does down there south of the border. His resort is right on the lake’s shore. It’s as clean as your kitchen and the food is excellent.
You can book your trip to El Salto with Hook Sportfishing Charters out of Newport Beach, California. The toll-free number is 1 800 583-8133. The guy who runs Hook Sportfishing is Steve Babbidge. Steve is a friend of mine. He’ll treat you right and you can depend on what he tells you.
If you access to a computer, by all means take a look at the Hook Sportfishing Web Site.
The information provided at that site is detailed and it’s complete. You won’t have to guess what lures to bring, what to wear or what kind of weather to expect. It’s all right there for you.
Short Casts---I spent last week at another Mexican bass lake. That one was Aguamilpa and it’s also in the Sierra Madre Mountains north of the city of Tepic. More on that one later…Bass fishing will slow down h ere in the Pacific Northwest as water temperatures drop, but don’t hang up your gear yet. I’ve had excellent success at times in the past when I managed to be on a lake when the largemouth went on one of their not uncommon fall feeding binges…Crappie fishing can also be hot at this time of year. The problem with those good eating little buggers isn’t in the catching. That, in fact, is the easy part. The hard part comes in finding where the heck they are located…A final thought: If you’re putting your level wind reels in storage for a time, back its drag all the way off. You’re asking for trouble if you fail to do so.
By Stan Fagerstrom
I’ve been getting questions recently from bass fishermen who want to know more about to tremendous bass fishing now available at certain Mexican lakes.
El Salto is one of those lakes. This lake has had a tremendous amount of publicity over the past couple of years. I was there in late April. I’ll be going back in December. The question I get most often where El Salto is concerned usually goes like this: “Is that El Salto Lake I keep reading and hearing about as good as they say it is?”
The answer to that my friend is yes. And you can print that YES !! in caps and add a couple of exclamation points.
Some of the readers I’ve heard from want to know more of the specifics where El Salto is concerned. Let’s start with it’s location. El Salto is in the Sierra Madre Mountains about 90 miles northeast of Mazatlan. It has to be one of the most consistent producers of big bass the world has ever known.
There were six anglers in the party of which I was a member when we were there in April. In just three days the six of us boated 40 bass of 8-pounds or more. The largest of the bunch weighed 11-pounds, 2-ounces. And believe it or, this isn’t an especially unusual catch at this Mexican bass fishing paradise.
El Salto is a relatively new impoundment. It was created by the damming of a river about 16-years ago. Billy Chapman Jr., one of the top operators of Mexican fishing resorts, was responsible for the newly formed lake to get a plant of Florida strain largemouth. Forage fish were also introduced and the rest is history.
For the past few years El Salto has been kicking out big bass in numbers that are difficult to believe. I had heard the stories. And I had my own doubts before I got there late last April. If there’s ever been a lake that matches El Salto’s production, even comes close for that matter, I’ve not seen it.
Remember I’m not talking about the large number of bass El Salto produces. What I’m saying is there has rarely, if ever, been a lake that kicks out really big fish as consistently.
My fishing partner the three days I spent there earlier this year was John Friesze, the former National Football League quarterback. The first day we were out together John boated two bass that weighed more than 10-pounds. My best was 8-pounds, 14 ounces.
The marketing director for G. Loomis Rods is Bruce Holt. Bruce is a good friend. He was at El Salto for the first time about a year ago. In three days he caught four bass of more than 10-pounds. The largest was a potbellied monster weighing 13-pounds, 4-ounces.
I could take the next 10 pages to document similar experiences other anglers from all over the country have had at El Salto Lake. Will that kind of big fish production hold up? I don’t know. New impoundments have a history of peaking. They produce like gangbusters in the beginning, then taper off.
But El Salto has some things going for it that others lakes often lack. For one thing, the lake’s fish grow like crazy. Biologists estimate they’re gaining as much as 2-pounds per year, and that’s a bunch. Until this year Billy Chapman had the only fishing resort on the lake. It’s called Anglers Inn and it’s a dandy. It’s where I stayed when I was there in late April. Chapman, to his everlasting credit, insists that anglers fishing out of his resort practice catch and release. A few small fish are kept for meals now and then, but those big brutes all go back into the water.
Right now the record largemouth out of El Salto is 18.5-pounds. And listen to this: The guy who caught that 18.5-pound fish wound up boating a 17-pounder the same day. Holy mackerel, Martha! If that doesn’t give you a near terminal case of the bass fishin’ fits, you better stick to trolling for trout.
I’ve seen operations in the past at some Mexican and Central American bass fishing operations where it was all catch and kill. Seeing all those big dead bass was a sickening sight. No wonder the good fishing in those lakes didn’t stand up. You’ll see none of that at Billy Chapman’s El Salto operation.
http://www.ifish.net/Grassi0001.jpg
If you’re into bass fishing as deeply as I am, you owe it to yourself to consider an El Salto trip yourself. I’m not the only one saying there has never been anything like El Salto for big bass production. If you read Bassmaster magazine and some of the other national publications you know there are others saying the same thing. The fishing down there right now is really something.
And you won’t go wrong making Anglers Inn your headquarters while you are there. Over the past half century I’ve seen my share of fishing lodges in many different places from Argentina to Alaska and from New Mexico to New Zealand. Few will take better care or you than Chapman’s staff does down there south of the border. His resort is right on the lake’s shore. It’s as clean as your kitchen and the food is excellent.
You can book your trip to El Salto with Hook Sportfishing Charters out of Newport Beach, California. The toll-free number is 1 800 583-8133. The guy who runs Hook Sportfishing is Steve Babbidge. Steve is a friend of mine. He’ll treat you right and you can depend on what he tells you.
If you access to a computer, by all means take a look at the Hook Sportfishing Web Site.
The information provided at that site is detailed and it’s complete. You won’t have to guess what lures to bring, what to wear or what kind of weather to expect. It’s all right there for you.
Short Casts---I spent last week at another Mexican bass lake. That one was Aguamilpa and it’s also in the Sierra Madre Mountains north of the city of Tepic. More on that one later…Bass fishing will slow down h ere in the Pacific Northwest as water temperatures drop, but don’t hang up your gear yet. I’ve had excellent success at times in the past when I managed to be on a lake when the largemouth went on one of their not uncommon fall feeding binges…Crappie fishing can also be hot at this time of year. The problem with those good eating little buggers isn’t in the catching. That, in fact, is the easy part. The hard part comes in finding where the heck they are located…A final thought: If you’re putting your level wind reels in storage for a time, back its drag all the way off. You’re asking for trouble if you fail to do so.