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By Jim Taibi
Lake Mateos. What an amazing place. Bandmates Tim Tuttle, Mike Baca
and I, along with Tim’s brother Terry headed down to Lake Mateos in
mid-January to find out for ourselves what this place is all about. The
four of us are all veterans of Anglers Inn at El Salto with over twenty
trips between us.
What we found upon arrival was a beautiful new lodge in a tropical
jungle- like location. As usual Ramon and Joel were there to greet us
with Margarita’s and appetizers as our bags and tackle were whisked off
to our cabins. The new rooms at Mateos are very spacious and
well-appointed. The new amenities have been well thought out and we
couldn’t have been more comfortable or content. Being able to relax
outside at night with the river valley in full view was very special.
Anglers Inn at Mateos is a masterpiece in my opinion. Billy has done it
again. The lodge is very roomy and open with a great feel to it.
 The inside and outside dining areas and bar are very comfortable and there are great views of the river valley from all of the outside areas. The fire pit is a great place to relax after one of Delfino’s amazing meals or a soothing massage at the spa. Speaking of the food, the new lodge has not missed a beat in preparing the dishes that Anglers Inn is famous for. Anyone who has been to Anglers at El Salto will recognize the excellent quality and presentation of the classic meals and service style.
Day one on Mateos was as much about the discovery of a new lake as it was about the fishing. The first thing you’ll notice is how massive this body of water is. At 55,000 surface acres it dwarfs El Salto by comparison. There are endless brush-lined banks and countless bays and coves with more diverse structure and cover that any one angler can fathom.
There are two main river systems entering the North end of the lake. We had our best fishing in the Humaya River arm area. We fished coves that were brimming with small tilapia and quality bass. Water hyacinth and a very unique type of brush make for excellent spinnerbait and topwater fishing.
We caught all of our topwater fish on Rio Rico’s, Super Spooks and Spro Bronzeye Frogs. By far the lure of choice for Mateos has to be the 3/4oz. titanium-framed spinnerbait in chartreuse/white or solid chartreuse with gold blades. We slow-rolled the spinnerbaits on the outside of the tree line for our better fish. A Rapala DT-16 crankbait in the bluegill color was another good bait to use on the steeper rocky points.
There are many, many bass in Lake Mateos. Some small and some large. When we got in an area that was producing smaller fish we would simply move to another location and usually found solid three to five pound bass.
Make no doubt that there are giant bass to be caught in Mateos. We had fish of seven and eight pounds on this trip. There may not be the numbers of huge bass that El Salto is famous for, but if you want to catch quality fish all day long with unmatched scenery and serenity than you should definitely give Mateos a try. I found it to be a little bit more “fisherman friendly” and laid back than El Salto. I had the impression that a lot of these fish had never seen a lure before. It’s nice to fish all day without seeing another boat or angler.
There is great fishing, great fun and great memories to be had at Anglers Inn-Lake Mateos. The new fleet of bigger, faster boats and eager guides and staff are waiting to make your vacation one of the best of your life.
My partners and I are all chomping at the bit to get back to Lake Mateos.
We have already booked our second trip for December of this year.
Hope to see you there! Jim
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