If it’s big fish you’re after we can point you in the right direction there, too. The single most effective big bass bait recently has been lizards in a watermelon color. During one five day period this past two weeks every bass of more than 5-pounds that was reported to us came on a watermelon lizard. As is often the situation where plastic baits are concerned, darn near all of the successful big bass anglers had their best success fishing their lizards extremely slow.
Lots of good quality bass have also been coming where schools of shad are located. If you find the bass feeding on shad, don’t hesitate to throw spinnerbaits, crankbaits or swimbaits.
The best cover to work much of the time continues to be off deepwater points, flats and drop offs near submerged timber.
One of our recent visitors was Jarrod Wallace. Jarrod got his biggest bass ever while he was here. Here’s what he had to say about it. “This was my second trip to Anglers Inn over the past two years. This trip I boated a 10-pound, 8-ounce bass as well as several in the 6-pound range. I got all of them on a watermelon lizard with red flakes. The 10-pounder was largest bass I’ve ever caught and it was a dream come true---thanks to Anglers Inn at Lake El Salto.
Chuck Sponsler was another recent guest. Here’s his report: “We fished for three days. My partner and I caught 60 to 80 bass per day with the predominant size ranging from 3 to 5-pounds. Our largest bass weighed 7.5-pounds. The best bite came on 7-inch Zoom Lizards in a watermelon color with red or blue flakes. The fish seemed to prefer the Zoom Lizard over other baits. The bite was best when the lizard was fished very slowly right against the shoreline. If you missed the shore by 3-feet it was best to reel in and cast again.
“We were also successful late in the day in 20 to25-feet of water fishing the same lizards on a slow retrieve. Your guide had to know where the holes were. The big boys were suspended and if you could find the holes, the bite was good on a deep diving crankbait with a medium fast or very fast retrieve. My friend Matt landed a nice size tilapia on a watermelon lizard as can be seen in the picture. He also boated some quality size bass.”
Robert Montgomery, a senior editor at Bassmaster Magazine, has fished El Salto Lake many times. He was here again recently. Here’s how things went for him and his partner on the recent visit. “Norm Klayman and I didn't catch as many quality bass--- fish of from 5 to 8-pounds--- as we usually do, when we fished El Salto for 4 1/2 days. Still, we managed a 10.5, an 8, and 7.5-pound fish along with a half dozen in the 5 to 6-pound range.
“We probably caught a total of 175 fish. Most were in the 1 to 3-pound range. What was impressive was that nearly all of the fish were fat and extremely healthy. I'd estimate that the 3-pounders were just two years old because of their small heads in proportion to their chunky bodies. In a couple of years, they're going to be tearing up tackle!
“The lake was full of small tilapia, which probably is what most of the bass were gorging on. Unfortunately, bass feeding on tilapia were not interested in any of the baits that we offered them. But when we found bass feeding on shad, we caught good numbers of quality fish. We just couldn't find them often because of so many tilapia.
“While most anglers caught their fish on red watermelon lizards, rigged both Texas and Carolina style, we caught most of our fish on 1/2-ounce double willow spinnerbaits with twin tail trailers dipped in chartreuse dye and white X-Rap jerkbaits. We also caught some on 4-inch swimbaits in white and chartreuse and a white Fat Rap crankbait. We caught a few on lizards, including the 8-pounder. A Carolina Rig, with an 18-inch leader and 3/4-ounce weight, worked best for us.
Early and late, we threw spinnerbaits up against the shore on points and through standing timber. We used a very slow retrieve. The bite was much better in the afternoon, with the 10 ½-pounder coming on a spinnerbait about 4:15 p.m. When we found concentrations of bass chasing shad, they'd bite just about anytime. Our best spot was off the end of a point, between the bank and the standing timber, when an afternoon south wind blew through the slot.
Our friends Kirby Davenport and Wiley Hatcher caught most of their fish on lizards, including one that they estimated weighed more than 10-pounds. They also had some good swimbait action at times by throwing across points.
In terms of numbers of fish, this was the slowest action I've seen on El Salto since I first started visiting in 1999. But all those chunky 1 to 3-pounders tell me that El Salto still is a world-class bass fishery. And even on a slow day, I'd rather fish El Salto than any other bass fishery in the world. The wonderful staff, great meals, and first-class accommodations at Anglers Inn help make this my favorite destination.”
There you have it, friends. Better get down here. You’ll have a great chance to get in on some of the best surface fishing we’ll have all season. And that’s not the whole story. Always remember that when you’re on El Salto Lake that bass of a lifetime may be just one cast away!
