Stan Fagerstrom
11-01-2005, 05:48 AM
Les Melton’s Mexican Miracle
By Stan Fagerstrom
Part 2
Ever hear of anyone catching 27 bass of 10-pounds or more in just six days?
You have if you read my last ifish column. In it I detailed how Les Melton, of Charleston, West Virginia, pulled off this bass fishing miracle. He did it last May at Mexico’s Lake El Salto. In that column I promised I’d provide the details of how Melton caught all those trophy bigmouth. Here’s how he did it.
The key, as Melton will tell you, was finding where those El Salto monsters were holding. In May it wasn’t off the shoreline and it wasn’t around the countless submerged trees, though both of those spots often hold an abundance of smaller bass at the famed bass Mexican lake.
http://www.ifish.net/sfmelton14.jpg
A good many anglers have taken bass of 10-pounds or more from Mexico's Lake El Salto. None that I know of have caught 27 bass of 10-pounds or larger in just six days! That's exactly what the man pictured here did. He's Les Melton, of Charleston, West Virginia.
“The first two days we fished the north end of the lake,” Melton says. “We did get a substantial number of fish, but most of them ran from 5 to 6-pounds. On the third day we began fishing deeper water in the south end of the lake.”
Melton fished by himself on his May El Salto adventure. His guide was Javier, one of the most experienced of the knowledgeable Anglers Inn guide crew. Melton will tell you both of those things---playing a lone hand and not having to share the best spots, plus being able to draw on Javier’s expertise at finding fish---figured in his fantastic success.
And Javier did put him on big fish in the south end of El Salto. The bass still weren’t up against the shore, off points or congregated in the submerged trees. “We found them on the large flats,” Melton says, “there was no obvious cover on the surface. The fish were grouped over ditches and old creek beds in 15 to 25-feet of water. Once we found them it was ‘Katie bar the door’.”
The lure he used most has long been one of the most productive at El Salto. Melton says 90 per cent of his big fish came on a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm. These worms were black with a blue tail. He rigged them Texas Style on a 5/0 wide gap Gamakatsu hook. He used a ½-ounce slip sinker on 30-pound test Magnathin monofilament. The remainder of his big fish came on a 5-inch Storm WildEye Swim Shad in a golden mullet color or on a citrus colored Fat Free Shad crankbait.
http://www.ifish.net/sfwormrig.jpg
Here's the set up Les Melton used to catch 90 percent of his 27 El Salto Lake whoppers. Pictured is a black and blue 10-inch Berkley Power Worm. The worm is rigged on a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook behind a half ounce slip sinker.
Another primary key to Melton’s success, and it’s something that surfaces every time I interview an especially successful worm angler, is the technique he used with his 10-inch worm. Again, there’s no big secret. He just fishes the darn thing s-l-o-w. “I cast,” he says, “and let the worm fall straight down to the bottom. If nothing happens I wiggle my rod tip a little, then reel in a few inches and repeat the process. I spend at least a minute with each retrieve. I expect such a slow retrieve might drive some fishermen crazy, but it works for me. Worms don’t swim fast. I’ve tried different speeds. The slow one works best.”
Have opportunity to visit with Melton and he’ll tell you how important it is to always watch your line while fishing a worm. “Those big fish,” he says, “were in 15 to 25-feet of water. I had to really concentrate on what my line was doing to tell when a fish picked up. When one did I set the hook hard---twice.”
Something else he does is retie his hook after every fish is caught. He also changes his hook at least four or five times a day.
The May trip to was the 23rd time Melton has visited Anglers Inn to fish at El Salto Lake. Despite the excellent success he has had in the past, his results last May were the best ever. “I don’t want to exaggerate,” he says, “but 7-pound fish actually got to looking a bit small.”
If anyone has a right to predict what the future holds for big bass fishing at El Salto Lake it’s this West Virginia expert. He now has 112 bass of 10-pounds or more to his credit. I asked him how he felt about the lake’s future. “El Salto is a well managed lake,” he says, “they’ve done a marvelous job with it. Catch and release is working. I don’t think the lake has peaked. I think the time will come when it’s fairly common to catch 15 to 16-pound fish there.”
Finally, Melton is just as enthusiastic about the job Billy Chapman Jr. has done with Angler’s Inn Lodge as is the fishing in the lake this beautiful lodge overlooks. “I can’t imagine how there could be a better place for a bass fisherman,” he says. “That goes for the staff of Anglers Inn as well as the facility. I’m proud to call them my friends.”
I’ve a strong hunch Chapman and the members of his capable crew are equally proud of Les Melton.
By Stan Fagerstrom
Part 2
Ever hear of anyone catching 27 bass of 10-pounds or more in just six days?
You have if you read my last ifish column. In it I detailed how Les Melton, of Charleston, West Virginia, pulled off this bass fishing miracle. He did it last May at Mexico’s Lake El Salto. In that column I promised I’d provide the details of how Melton caught all those trophy bigmouth. Here’s how he did it.
The key, as Melton will tell you, was finding where those El Salto monsters were holding. In May it wasn’t off the shoreline and it wasn’t around the countless submerged trees, though both of those spots often hold an abundance of smaller bass at the famed bass Mexican lake.
http://www.ifish.net/sfmelton14.jpg
A good many anglers have taken bass of 10-pounds or more from Mexico's Lake El Salto. None that I know of have caught 27 bass of 10-pounds or larger in just six days! That's exactly what the man pictured here did. He's Les Melton, of Charleston, West Virginia.
“The first two days we fished the north end of the lake,” Melton says. “We did get a substantial number of fish, but most of them ran from 5 to 6-pounds. On the third day we began fishing deeper water in the south end of the lake.”
Melton fished by himself on his May El Salto adventure. His guide was Javier, one of the most experienced of the knowledgeable Anglers Inn guide crew. Melton will tell you both of those things---playing a lone hand and not having to share the best spots, plus being able to draw on Javier’s expertise at finding fish---figured in his fantastic success.
And Javier did put him on big fish in the south end of El Salto. The bass still weren’t up against the shore, off points or congregated in the submerged trees. “We found them on the large flats,” Melton says, “there was no obvious cover on the surface. The fish were grouped over ditches and old creek beds in 15 to 25-feet of water. Once we found them it was ‘Katie bar the door’.”
The lure he used most has long been one of the most productive at El Salto. Melton says 90 per cent of his big fish came on a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm. These worms were black with a blue tail. He rigged them Texas Style on a 5/0 wide gap Gamakatsu hook. He used a ½-ounce slip sinker on 30-pound test Magnathin monofilament. The remainder of his big fish came on a 5-inch Storm WildEye Swim Shad in a golden mullet color or on a citrus colored Fat Free Shad crankbait.
http://www.ifish.net/sfwormrig.jpg
Here's the set up Les Melton used to catch 90 percent of his 27 El Salto Lake whoppers. Pictured is a black and blue 10-inch Berkley Power Worm. The worm is rigged on a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook behind a half ounce slip sinker.
Another primary key to Melton’s success, and it’s something that surfaces every time I interview an especially successful worm angler, is the technique he used with his 10-inch worm. Again, there’s no big secret. He just fishes the darn thing s-l-o-w. “I cast,” he says, “and let the worm fall straight down to the bottom. If nothing happens I wiggle my rod tip a little, then reel in a few inches and repeat the process. I spend at least a minute with each retrieve. I expect such a slow retrieve might drive some fishermen crazy, but it works for me. Worms don’t swim fast. I’ve tried different speeds. The slow one works best.”
Have opportunity to visit with Melton and he’ll tell you how important it is to always watch your line while fishing a worm. “Those big fish,” he says, “were in 15 to 25-feet of water. I had to really concentrate on what my line was doing to tell when a fish picked up. When one did I set the hook hard---twice.”
Something else he does is retie his hook after every fish is caught. He also changes his hook at least four or five times a day.
The May trip to was the 23rd time Melton has visited Anglers Inn to fish at El Salto Lake. Despite the excellent success he has had in the past, his results last May were the best ever. “I don’t want to exaggerate,” he says, “but 7-pound fish actually got to looking a bit small.”
If anyone has a right to predict what the future holds for big bass fishing at El Salto Lake it’s this West Virginia expert. He now has 112 bass of 10-pounds or more to his credit. I asked him how he felt about the lake’s future. “El Salto is a well managed lake,” he says, “they’ve done a marvelous job with it. Catch and release is working. I don’t think the lake has peaked. I think the time will come when it’s fairly common to catch 15 to 16-pound fish there.”
Finally, Melton is just as enthusiastic about the job Billy Chapman Jr. has done with Angler’s Inn Lodge as is the fishing in the lake this beautiful lodge overlooks. “I can’t imagine how there could be a better place for a bass fisherman,” he says. “That goes for the staff of Anglers Inn as well as the facility. I’m proud to call them my friends.”
I’ve a strong hunch Chapman and the members of his capable crew are equally proud of Les Melton.