Lake El Salto is still the king of big bass catches

By BILL RICE
WON Staff Writer

MAZATLAN, MEX. — I’ve had 7 trips to Lake El Salto over the past 9 years, and every year I am convinced again that this lake still has the best opportunity for someone to catch more big bass than they’ve ever caught in a single day, and 7 to 10+ pounders are likely to be caught by most anglers, regardless of their skill level.

Our latest trip to the fabulous Anglers Inn at El Salto again proved that “numbers” were high daily and although the early December trip didn’t produce a 10-plus for most of the anglers on the WON-hosted trip, great numbers of 6, 7 and 8 pounders were caught by most of the 21 anglers on this trip. And that isn’t bad, with many of the anglers catching their biggest bass ever.

The largest bass of the trip were landed by Mark Christmann of Sacramento, who had 9 and 11 pounders in his catch of 50 to 75 fish each of the 4 days of fishing. Larry Elshere of Miners Oaks boated an 8-1/2 pounder and Jim Comrie of Murrieta tagged an 8-1 lunker. All of the anglers on this trip scored with dozens of fish from 4 to 7 pounds.

It was a wonderful “package” put together by WON and Billy Chapman of Anglers Inn. The anglers were offered 4 days for the regular lodge price of 3, plus WON advertisers stepped up to provide hundreds of dollars in tackle to each of the anglers.

As usual the number of fish caught was excellent with most anglers getting at least 50 fish a day (75 to 100 was generally the count) on all types of lures. The bass were found at depths of shallow to about 25 feet deep, in coves, brushy banks and points, sunken trees and deep-water ledges. It didn’t seem to matter the lures of choice by the anglers as just about everything worked well.

And the anglers had plenty to throw at the bass in addition to their own tackle, with an excellent supply of products from various WON advertisers. There were 21 WON readers who came along on this trip and received tackle products to use, led by Okuma Fishing Tackle with anglers “testing” some of their new products. Each angler received an Okuma Aveon baitcasting reel and a matching Okuma Guide Select rod, a retail value of $200 for each outfit, from Marc Mills, the marketing specialist for Okuma.

Pradco provided a huge assortment of lures which were distributed to the fishermen at Anglers Inn, including Yum 10” ribbontail plastic worms, Yum 7” zellamander plastics and Big Show Paddle Worms (all in several colors), Xcalibur lipless rattlebaits, Rebel Pop-R surface plugs, Booyah spinnerbaits, Heddon Wake Baits and Silver Thread Excalibur mono line.

The anglers also received samples of Tru-Tungsten weighted soft plastics and bass casting weights, Picasso spinnerbaits and 6” Picasso creature plastics in watermelon seed/red flake and other colors, Money Lures swim baits and Owner Hooks.

Here are some of the comments, and catches, made by the WON readers who joined our December trip to Lake El Salto. Most of the anglers were at the lake for the first time:

• James Comrie of Murrieta boated an 8-1 bass that hit on a Splash-It surface plug. He also caught bass on lipless crank baits, swim baits and Carolina-rigged zoom lizards in watermelon and pumpkin colors. “We all had a great time. The best bass fishing anywhere we've been. The guides were excellent and the staff was unbelievable. We were treated like V.I.P.'s. 100 fish days on topwater! We caught fish on crank baits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, lizards, and plastic worms. Average size 5 to 6 lbs. and fish up to 8 lbs. daily. Can't wait to come back. I did try the Okuma rod and reel and had no problems with them. The crank baits and small swim baits produced fish. See you on the next trip, we had a great time!!”

• Chris Comrie (brother of James) of Huntington Beach topped his catches with 8-2 and 9-0 lunkers, mostly on Splash-It topwater lures. “The service at the lodge is great.”

• Jason Christmann of Camarillo (WON BASS tournament angler) used rattle baits, plastic worms and Storm Wild Eye swim baits to catch bass up to 5-5 on his first trip to El Salto.

• Mark Christmann (Jason’s father) of Sacramento topped the group with his best ever 9-0 and 11-0 whoppers. “The 9-pound bass I caught on a blue/black back rattle bait. Hooked him in about 2 feet of water. The 11-pound fish was caught on a Storm Wild Eye Shad in open water approximately 10-12 feet deep. I threw the lure into some bait that was boiling on the surface and after 3 casts I had no hits. After a few more casts the water became calm again and I thought I had lost an opportunity for my big fish on our last day of fishing. One more cast and almost immediately I felt a huge hit, but due to the way these fish fight I wasn't sure how big the fish was (even the 3-pound fish hit hard), not until he started stripping line off my reel. I immediately checked my drag, as I only had 12-pound test on the reel and my brother-in-law (Rob Szczepanek) had just lost a big fish because the fish wrapped his line around a tree. Our guide (Oscar) immediately went for the net and in a calm voice said ‘Big Fish Mike’ which he followed up with ‘easy Mike, easy.’ I don't think he could pronounce Mark so he always called me Mike (no problem, he was a terrific guide). Lake El Salto is a great place for both the veteran and novice fisherman like myself. Although I have fished several times with my son Jason, I am by no means an expert in fishing for large bass. The accommodations and staff at the Anglers Inn were beyond my expectations. We met a lot of great people and enjoyed the excellent fishing. I would not hesitate to book this trip again, especially when you consider in just under 4 hours out of LAX you can being pursuing double-digit bass on a huge lake with an excellent guide.”

• Sheldon Brown of Arcadia: He bagged about 50 fish per day on lipless crank baits and plastic worms, while topping his catch with a 6-2 bass. “Great trip. Lot's of fish. I used the Okuma rods and reels for the first time. The 6'6" is better than the 7-foot model. I caught a lot of fish on both topwater lures and lipless rattle baits that were donated by Pradco. Mark Mills was a great help and really knew his products.”

• Steve Babbidge of Fountain Valley used Rat-L-Traps, Wild Eye Shads, Yum plastic worms and Rico and Pop-R surface plugs. “On one afternoon Gary (Opthal) and I had 2 fish over 8 pounds and 3 more over 7 pounds. We also caught about 100 fish a day! We all thought that it was super of Okuma to set the anglers up with their new rods and reels. It was an eye opening experience to test out their equipment and we really appreciated Okuma's and specifically Mills' support during the trip. Marc was an invaluable asset to the quality of the fishing experience. His fishing and product knowledge was awesome!”

• Joe Edmonds of Altadena included a 7-4 lunker with his 50 fish per day average, using Spooks, Pop R surface plugs, rattle baits and swim baits. “That was a great trip! We had a lot of fun and caught a lot of good fish. Yes, we did use the Okuma rods and reels. The rods are decent rods with good feel and action strong enough to bounce 4- and 5-pounders. The rattle baits caught a lot of fish. Overall the topwater and lip less cranks were best. Overall a great trip and great company thanks again.”

• Phil Fatchko of Hawthorne caught dozens of bass on Splash-It surface plugs and Yum plastic worms.

• Jim Sims of Lake Havasu City reported 75-100 bass per day with his action on black/blue Yum plastics and Xcalibur rattle baits. “My top fish was 6-14. I did like Okuma outfit, but it just didn't fit the style of fishing I caught most of my fish on. I was using heavier tackle. I have since used it (at Lake Havasu) and like it. The rattle trap style lure was fantastic. I must have caught 75 fish on it in one day. In one area Joe (Edmonds) and I were catching a fish on almost every cast. Most of the paint and finish was chewed off before the day was over. I thought it was a great trip with fantastic accommodations and better fishing.”

• Robert Szczepanek of Moorpark bagged a 7-pounder among his 50-75 fish days on swim baits and plastics. “The service was perfect and the accommodations couldn’t be better. The tackle I used included the small swim baits, but most of our fish were caught on the Storm swimbaits that were 2-3" long.”

• George “Red” Sanders of San Luis Obispo averaged about 60 bass per day with a big fish of 7 pounds. Many of the fish were taken on Sammy surface lures. It was his third trip to the lake.

• John White (WON BASS tournament angler) of San Luis Obispo said he bagged 60-80 fish per day with a topper at 5 1/2 pounds. Mostly he used black/blue 10” Yum ribbontail plastic worms and surface plugs. It was his fourth trip to El Salto and it probably won’t be his last.

• Marc Mills, marketing director of Okuma Fishing Tackle: “Lake El Salto is one of the best bass angling lakes on earth. If you’re a pro you can appreciate the fishing experiences and the quality of fish you’re able to catch, but if you’re not pro, after fishing El Salto you will become one.”

• Gary Opthal of Burbank used Rat-L-Trips, plastic worms and Rico and Pop-R surface plugs to score with 8-0 and 8-5 lunkers among dozens of daily bass catches.

• Larry Elshere (WON BASS tournament angler) of Minors Oaks: “It was incredible fishing. Yes we did use the Okuma rod and reel. The reel casts great. The drag system is okay. The rod is great for top water, like the Spook and Sammy. We did the best on the Yum 10'' Ribbontail, in the Mardi Gras and Watermelon Black Flake colors. These were the most productive colors. We Texas- and Carolina- rigged them with the Picasso Pro Metal Worm Weights 3/8 and 1/2 ounce. We caught over 300 fish on the above products. The other worm we used was the 10''black with blue tail Power Worm. We also did very well on the SPRO gold lipless crankbait. I had the most fun using the 4'' and 5'' Storm swimbaits. I used the white with blue back color. We caught the bigger fish on the swimbaits. I bagged 7-1/2 and 8-1/2 pounders on them. What a blast. This was a great trip. We didn't get any 10 pounders, but that is fishing. The Anglers Inn is an incredible place. The people and service is second to none. The food was awesome. The boats were fine. The guides where great. What else can I say? The only way the trip could have been better, was to have my own Triton TR21 with me. I will go back someday. “

• Eric Elshere (Larry’s son, also a WON BASS tournament angler) of Miners Oaks bagged several 7-1/2 pounders, averaged 80-90 fish per day. One day he boated 125 bass! It was also his first time at El Salto and he scored big on swim baits and lipless rattle baits.

• Gary Dovak of La Jolla averaged over 40 fish per day and topped his first El Salto trip catch with a 7-1/2 pounder on a plastic worm.

• Kevin Grove of McCall, Idaho averaged over 40 fish per day, including a 7-3/4 pounder on a plastic worm. “I loved it. It’s definitely a 5-Star resort.”

• Floyd Maldonado of La Puente caught biggest bass ever, a 7-1/2 pounder and caught a couple of hundred fish.

Personally, I used the Okuma GS-C-661MH, 6’6” medium-heavy casting rod every day, along with other tackle I brought down. Rigged with 15 lb. test mono, we tested the Okuma and it proved to be an excellent rod both for plastic worm fishing and also casting the zara Spook surface plug or the Excaliber Xr50 lipless crank bait. Using a 3/8-ounce sliding sinker, 10-inch Yum plastic worm on an Owner 5/0 hook, I caught dozens of 3 to 6 pound bass and never had a problem setting the hook or fighting the fish with this rod.”

Accommodations at El Salto, of course, were at Billy Chapman Jr.’s Anglers Inn, one of the finest resorts in all of Mexico — and an excellent place to bring your wife. One trip here and she’ll be an avid bass angler. Located right on the shores of El Salto, the resort features deluxe rooms and meals, a tackle shop and if you get weary there is spa service right there. The spa provides manicures, pedicures, massages and facials.

As usual, the service is outstanding with Billy’s staff always right there to tend to every need. They put all your tackle into safe keeping each night, load the boat in the morning, and even provide transportation to and from the lake each day even though it’s only a hundred yard ride from the lodge rooms.

Each morning, the staff awakes you with cups of coffee at your room, then you head down for a hearty buffet breakfast, After that, it’s off to the fleet of fishing boats and guides waiting on the bank. All of Chapman’s guides are locals who know all the best fishing spots on the lake and you’ll take off just before dawn and fish until about 11:30 a.m. Then it’s lunchtime at the lodge, followed by a short nap for a couple of hours.

You go back to fishing about 2 p.m. and fish until near dark. You’ll finish off the day with a sumptuous meal — baby back ribs, steak, etc. — it’s different, and delicious, every night. Most of the anglers will be back in bed by 9 or 10 p.m., expecting another early wake up call at about 5 a.m.

The Super-17 Tracker boats are powered by 48-hp. Yamaha outboards and guides operate 55-lb. Thrust Minn-Kota trolling motors to position the anglers into the best fishing spots. Humminbird depth finders are the newest addition to the boats.

I fished 4 days with Marc Mills and we each had several fish up to 8 pounds and uncountable numbers of 3 to 6 pounders. We scored well on all of these lures: Yum 10” ribbontail purple and black/blue plastic worms, zoom lizards, Excalibur cranks (especially the lipless cranks), Bomber Fat Free Shad crank baits, Booyah white spinnerbaits, Rebel Pop-R and Heddon zara Spook surface plugs, Money Lures swimbaits , 8-inch black Yamamoto single tail grubs and Picasso 6” creature plastics and spinnerbaits.

I’ve personally had trips to El Salto when I’ve caught more big bass catch (5 bass from 10.1 to 12.5 pounds in one day totaling 57.1 pounds, and my wife recorded a 13.8 pounder in a 5-bass catch weighing nearly 50 pounds on the same day), but the numbers have always been good and this trip was no exception.

When you can go out and catch upwards of 75 or 100 bass a day on a variety of lures (plastic worms, spinnerbaits, crank baits and swim baits) you have had a marvelous day — and this is what you get at El Salto. Mills and I caught dozens of fish over 5 pounds every day. Where could you do any better?

The Anglers Inn season is September 15 to July 31. The rainy season here is August 1 to September 15. Daytime temperatures are generally 75 to 85 in November/December, and cooling to around 62 to 72 at night. January to April temperatures will range 76 to 86 during days and 50 to 60 at nights. May to July weather will generally be 85 to 95 during the days and 72 to 82 at night.

All services including meals, bar (the margaritas are awesome!), lodging, boats, guides, etc. are included in the trip packages offered by Anglers Inn. The staff services each room daily (my wife loves this) while you are out fishing, and they even provide daily laundry service. For information and/or reservations, contact Steve Babbidge at Hook Adventure Travel, (800) 583-8133 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Internet info is also available at www.hookadventuretravel.com.

Lake El Salto is located approximately 90 miles north of Mazatlan via paved highway and Chapman’s staff is at the airport to greet you vans to take you to the lake. Best air service is operated by Alaska Airlines out of Los Angeles daily.

The lake was created in 1986 when the Elota River was dammed for irrigation and flood-control. El Salto covers approximately 25,000 during the rainy season, but will drop to about 17,000 acres during the summer low-water periods. It was originally stocked by the government with Florida-strain bass, but Chapman added to their with about 20,000 more fingerlings.

Today many bass anglers from all over the U.S. consider El Salto as the best bass fishery in the world both for quantity and the number of big fish. Most every “big name” tournament angler on the national scene, and those who have television shows, have been to Lake El Salto and continually rave about its capabilities. And for good reason.