El Salto—Anglers Inn— Mexico

By Ken Penrod

The tall, rugged mountains all around you dominate the landscape and you wonder if God was experimenting the day he formed those heights. There is no vertical or horizontal line like another but there seems to be some vegetation on the lower benches. Near the base of the mountain, where it was flooded 30-years ago, forming Lake El Salto, I feel the “tap-tap” we beg for and instinctively I wrap line quickly on my reel and strike. Game-on! The fight is a real fight. I’ve never caught stronger largemouth. My Mexican guide, Herman, slips a large net under a large bass and my son Dave and I whoop-it-up. Dave Kerrigan and Jon Drever are in another boat not far away and they know something good just happened. It weighs 9-pounds, four ounces—not the 10-pounder I was hoping for. Damn!

We are a band of 12 brought together by John Ennis Jr. that included my son Dave and two of our guides, Jon Drever and Dave Kerrigan. John was happy to have his Father, John Sr, and brother-in-law Mark Millard along. John’s high-school buddy, Dr. Joe Ivers, and two of Joe’s business partners, Joe Roy and Mike Greer round out the dirty-dozen.

From Dulles to Houston to the seaside city of Mazatlan, via Continental Airlines, where Chappy Chapman’s vans await for an hour and one-half ride, north, to Angler’s Inn. The ride is interesting, through desert low lands and very poor neighborhoods where dirt and dust cling to tree leaves and every other surface. I appreciate my life more now and I almost understand the flood of Mexicans that want to leave here--but for now, after six weeks of outdoor shows and seminars—I’m feeling just a bit selfish. I haven’t caught a bass in months—and I’m itching.

At the lodge, when the van doors open, you will not want for anything for the next four days. It seems that empty-hands are not permitted because snacks and drinks are pushed at you constantly. Don’t try to carry your bags! The rooms are nice, not great, but above average. The service is intense and friendly. We are here in February where the average low temperature is about 50-degrees and the average high is 80-degrees. Mid day ocean breezes mitigate the heat though.

You should take at least three baitcasting rods and reels with you, packed in a “Bazooka” carrying case which you will check at the airport. I wrapped my son’s rods and mine in towels before sliding them in the case. I will check a fairly large tackle bag and carry-on a back-pack that contains my reels and cameras. David checked two bags (his clothing and mine).

You must have a passport and your luggage will be examined in Mexico both coming and going--and again in Houston by USA Customs. Be certain that any sharp tools, hooks, fingernail clippers, etc. are packed in the “checked” luggage. Limit your clothing selection to “summer @ home” types and keep in mind that Anglers Inn will do your laundry every day as part of the services. You leave the clothing you want to have laundered in a designated basket and they are on you bed when you come in after the evening session.

I took medium action Gator rods and Shimano reels filled with 15 pound test monofilament. Almost everyone I talked to before the trip recommended heavy action rods and 20-pound test line. You will want to buy your artificial lures in the USA so made several trips to Bass Pro Shops and I also had George Accord of Susquehanna Tackle Company put together an “El Salto Selection” for me which included Fat Free Shads, spinnerbaits, swim baits, lizards and other soft plastics. You will want ½ ounce egg sinkers for Carolina rigs, ¼ ounce bullet weights for lizards and other plastics and 3/0-5/0 wide gap hooks. Eight-inch Senkos and lizards were best and the favored colors seemed to be watermelon although we caught bass on white and black. There are times when topwater lures will work and poppers and buzzbaits should be packed for that event. Be sure to take an accurate digital scale and a cloth measuring tape.

We were at El Salto when the lake was about 12-feet low, approximately 70 degrees, quite clear and the bass were post spawn (with a little spawning activity) under full moon. The boats are 17-foot Trackers with 48 horsepower outboards and tiller, stern mounted Minn Kota trolling motors. The guide will sit on the cowling of the outboard motor and operate the trolling motor—quite efficiently to my surprise.

The lake is about 24,000 surface acres, about 20-miles long and fed by the Elota River in the state of Sinaloa. There is much standing timber in the water but “timber” isn’t a good description. The lake supports a commercial tilapia fishery where fishermen may work for 10-days in a row but must leave for 5-days. The tilapia are caught in gill nets which are virtually everywhere, almost a nuisance. Both bass and tilapia were stocked by state officials. This lake is full of big, fat largemouth bass that feed heavily on tilapia and are much stronger than the bass I’m used to catching. Ten to twelve pound fish are fairly common. When I asked Herman for the best times to catch big bass, he said June and July, January and February.

At 5:30 AM, a host will enter your room and provide a cheerful wakeup with coffee and juice. The dining area is a large, open, pavilion-style area where you order breakfast from the cook to your liking. Immediately after breakfast you are escorted to the lake a hundred yards away where your guide is waiting. Most guides can speak “fair” English but the lodge will provide you with a basic list of questions/ requests, in Mexican and American that you may use to attempt to speak the language. I find hand language works just fine.

We ride as fast as the 48-horsepower motor will push us in the pre-dawn light past old cemeteries, ragged shores, cow pastures and short, stubby shore brush. It’s cool in the morning so bring a wind breaker. The sun is brutal so sun screen is highly recommended. The boat will have a cooler full of water and beer.

My boat didn’t have a sonar unit so I was not pleased about that. We start in the shallows which may be 12-feet deep. There is a wide band of standing trees in the lake with a 10-20 yard opening along the shoreline. My guide liked weighted, 7 or 8-inch Senkos (watermelon) for the early hunt. He would manage the boat nicely while pointing to areas he wanted our baits to ply. He saw every strike Dave and I had, and would utter “feesh” when he did. We averaged 30-50 bass per session, two sessions per day.

At 11:00AM we would return to the lodge where snacks and a delightful lunch was served and there was time for a nap or a gossip session before the afternoon fishing session. At 1:30 we were aboard Herman’s boat again, speeding uplake with a new game plan. The guides are pretty convinced that the bass will pull back to deeper water when the sun’s high, much like many of our lakes. We will use Carolina rigs (8-inch lizards) on dropoffs in 30-100 feet of water. This was our least productive time of day and I would stay inside the trees if I were in charge. Just about 4-PM, Herman would utter “mooove” and off we would go to the trees and shoreline where weighted, 8-inch Senkos were recommended (you can use lizards and worms with equal success I’m certain).

We don’t stop fishing until dusk (about 6:30 PM) and it’s much too soon for me. Back at the lodge—you guessed it, Armondo and his staff have prepared delicious snacks and drinks (great Margaritas) and within an hour dinner is served, usually a Mexican dish, and all is just perfect.

In a nut shell, we are all very experienced anglers and to a man we have concluded that El Salto was well worth the time and money and did live up to her “big bass” reputation. I caught a 7-pound, 12-ounce and a nine-pound, four-ounce largemouth bass; Jon Drever released an eight-pound bass and Joe Roy released an eight-pound, three ounce fish. My son Dave Beahm has several bass in the six pound class and Dave Kerrigan was tough on six to seven pound samples.

John Ennis and his brother-in-law managed a “top water” morning session that netted about 60 bass, and Bryan Murphy and John Wheeler whacked bass on plastics all day long.

 The trip costs about $2000 plus airfare. There is a little store at the Inn where some tackle can be purchased along with souvenirs of sorts. You will not spend a dime on food or drinks though.

On your last day you will be given a tip envelope and 10-15% of the cost of the tip is suggested. I gave my guide a hefty tip and my newest best friend, Armondo received a little extra also.

I didn’t like the fact that the boats didn’t have sonar units or life jackets. That’s the only fault I have with the entire operation. Mexico is a very poor and somewhat hostile land so you should never walk around outside the compound. My best example of this fact is that the Coca Cola truck has a guard armed with a machine gun riding shotgun.

The airlines lost one of our bags (John Wheelers tackle bag) on the way to Mexico and three bags coming home.

  Ken Penrod is the owner/operator of Life Outdoors Unlimited, a 17-man guide service that offers adventures in Maryland , Virginia and Pennsylvania fresh and brackish waters. Ken is a “Legendary Guide in the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. He has written six books and is a regular contributor to the Sportsman’s Magazine. Reach ken at kenpenrod@comcast.net or 240-447-2206. His website, www.penrodsguides.com is very popular where you can obtain weekly fishing reports. With more than 35 years on the Upper Potomac and Tidal Potomac, Ken is known country wide as the “man to hire” in this region.

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