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Great Action at Mateos!
By Billy Chapman, Jr.
Visiting anglers have had some red hot bass fishing over the past month
here at Lake Mateos. Some of the best action has been coming on
topwater lures and spinnerbaits.
Some of our experienced clients are calling it the best bass fishing
they’ve ever seen. This includes some of our previous Anglers Inn
visitors with several trips to El Salto under their belts. When you
hear that sort of thing from experienced anglers it gets your attention.
Lake Mateos has been dropping down to excellent levels and the bass are
stating to concentrate in the buck brush. This could be one of the main
reasons that the topwater fishing is as hot as it’s been. Rico Pop’s
and Yellow Magic Pop R lures are working very well early in the morning
and late in the evening.
The reliable old Zara Spook is also getting its share of fish. You have
a choice here. The Spooks often take some really big fish. You may not
boat as many with a Spook but you might hook a dandy. If it’s just
numbers that are of most interest, you’ll likely do better throwing a
Pop R.
We had one March report from Louis Mameli and his fishing partner George
McWaters. Here’s what they had to say about their recent Lake Mateos
adventure.
“Our group had a great time while we were at Lake Mateos in mid-March.
Accommodations were first class and Ramon was the perfect host. He goes
above and beyond to be sure every detail is taken care of."
“During our stay our two boats averaged 50 to 70 bass each day. Most of
our fish were caught on 3/8th-ounce spinnerbaits with white
skirts and used with white grub trailers. Many of these bass were in
the 2 to 4-pound class. These lures got results for us all day long."
“We also had our share of bass in the lunker category. Our biggest fish
this trip was caught with Texas Rigged 10½-inch Ole Monster worms in
junebug and green pumpkin. I had fish of 10-pounds, 9-pounds and a pair
of 8-pounders. I had at least another six fish that ran from 6 to
8-pounds. All were caught on the same Ole Monster worms. The worm
baits produced best in the middle of the day."
“I’ve been to El Salto in the past twice before, but this may have been
our best Mexican trip yet. Thanks for the hospitality, and the great
fishing.”
George McWaters was another of our recent March visitors. Like other
anglers who’ve been here lately, he hammered the fish with spinnerbaits
and plastic worms.
George says: “El Salto is good but Lake Mateos is great! Our most
productive lures were ½-ounce Strike King spinnerbaits in a sexy shad
finish. Those Mateos fish flat out crushed these baits! Our
spinnerbaits were being hammered so hard some of them broke apart after
about 10 fish. We didn’t break 10-pounds this trip but we had several
fish that were close.
“We also caught lots of fish on Zoom plastic worms in both green pumpkin
and junebug colors. I am pretty sure our next trip will also be to Lake
Mateos. Thanks for a great trip and for providing Ramon and Joel to
take care of our needs. Both of those guys are keepers!”
Dave Bennet was another of our March visitors who got into some great
surface fishing. “I had very good luck on topwater using a white
bleeding popper every morning,” Dave says. “The first day I caught 17
fish in the morning right on top. The first morning I had a total of 34
fish by lunchtime. The total for the day for my boat was 85 fish. Our
second day was a little slower, but we still had a good topwater bite.
“Our third day was by far the best. I caught a 7-pound, 2-ounce fish and
a pair of 5-pounders on topwater lures in morning. My partner Randy
Sudik got a 7-pound, 6-ounce beauty that morning on a watermelon and red
flake lizard. The two of us had a total of 118 fish for the day."
“As always your Anglers Inn staff is the best I have ever been around.
Ramon and Joel are always very accommodating.”
Father and son team visited us from California. Here’s what dad has to
say about their recent trip: “Thank you for giving me another
opportunity to spend a wonderful week in Mexico with one of my boys.
Austin and I were at Lake Mateos April 4-9. We flew to Mazatlan late
Saturday and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. The
rooms were very nicely decorated and the resort was right on the beach
(we wish we had booked an extra day or two to play in the pools and the
surf). From what I could see that night, and early the next morning, it
was a beautiful resort in a great location.
The Angler's Inn van picked us up at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning and drove
us to Lake Mateos. From the pictures provided on the website, and the
two previous trips I had made to El Salto, my expectations for the
accommodations were pretty high knowing this was a fairly new resort
location. We were certainly not disappointed!!
We were met in the driveway by the Staff and the customary Margaritas
and Cokes. This place was absolutely beautiful!! We stayed in the
deluxe cabins, #1, and I fell in love with the rock wall shower. All of
our luggage was carried to the room and we had just started to unpack
our fishing equipment when we were greeted by our host, Ramon, with
appetizers and more sodas. Lunch was ready soon after and we were on
the water fishing that afternoon.
Our guide, Jesus, or "Rocky" as he called by the other fishermen, put us
on the fish right away. I was able to get Austin on film on his first
cast catching his first Mexico Bass. What a thrill. This was my second
trip with one of my five boys as a 12 year old birthday trip and
everything with Austin was all about the competition of beating his
older brother; fish on the first cast, bigger fish, more fish per day,
more fish total, trying to catch a bigger fish than Dad... Well, he
beat his brother on everything except the bigger fish than Dad part.
On our second stop Austin had a backlash and while trying to help
him I was dead sticking one-ounce spinner bait down a steep drop-off.
The 7 1/2 pounder just about ripped the pole out of my hand. This was
the biggest fish we landed but we also lost a couple others that were
quite a bit larger. On the next stop Austin was throwing a 1/2 ounce
black and chrome Rattle Trap and caught his biggest fish, a nice 6 1/2
pounder. We caught 25 fish that afternoon and came back on Monday and
caught 55 more. Most of the fish caught on Sunday and Monday
were on white/chartreuse spinner baits, watermelon red Senko's, and both
black/silver and blue/silver Rattle Traps. With clear skies and
bright sun most of the fish were caught on the shady sides of the
outside tree lines in 15-20 feet of water.
On Tuesday and Wednesday the skies were cloudy/partly cloudy and the
wind was blowing all day, much harder in the afternoons. We tried some
of the subtle baits and plastics but the wind had the fish spread out on
flats and roaming the inside tree lines toward the backs of the coves.
Austin was still fishing his 1/2 ounce black/silver Rattle Trap and I
moved up to a 1-ounce blue/silver trying to get some bigger fish. We
caught a lot of fish both days, but we did a lot of chucking and
winding to get them.
Our biggest fish was 7 1/2 pounds, Austin's biggest was the 6 1/2
pounder, and we had numerous fish in the 3-5 pound range. Total fish
caught was 160 in 3 1/2 days, which beat his older brother by 6. That,
and the fact that Austin got to ride the quad during lunch, made his
whole trip a huge success!!!
We both thoroughly enjoyed our time at Lake Mateos and will definitely
plan another trip very soon. Dallas turns 12 in February 2012 and is
already making plans to beat both of his brother's on his birthday trip.
We want to thank our Host's Ramon and Joel for the wonderful time we had
at Lake Mateos. There was always someone there to help us with
anything we needed. The food was excellent, even the sack lunches we
received for the trip back to the Mazatlan airport.
The time I get to spend alone with one of my kids seems to be less and
less because of work schedules and the troubles with the economy. I
really appreciate the time that we got to spend together and especially
the fun we had fishing together. Mexico is my favorite destination for
Bass fishing. I know that I can go there any time of year with one of
my kids and they will never get bored because there are so many fish and
they WILL catch them!! I have traveled all over the US to many famous
lakes that brag about size and numbers, but I have never caught as many
fish as consistently as I have in Mexico. Maybe this is where I should
retire??!!!
Thanks again for a wonderful trip and hope to see you soon.” - Todd
Carpenter
What you’ve just read is just a few of the reports we’ve had from recent
visitors. When was the last time you and your fishing partner took more
than 100 fish in a day’s trip with half of them coming right off the
top?
We don’t have to tell you it doesn’t get much better than that.
And there’s no big mystery where spinnerbait fishing is concerned. Get
the darn thing out there next to the cover and start crankin’. When one
of our Mateos fish almost jerks the rod out of your hands---don’t say we
didn’t warn you!
And here’s something we know a whole lot of anglers heading for either
Lake Mateos or Lake El Salto will find of keen interest. Anglers Inn is
now offering complete Tackle Packages for both El Salto and Mateos. You
no longer have to guess what are the best baits to bring. We’ll help
provide you with them.
These tackle packages are available through the Tackle Warehouse online
store. You can find all the information on our website homepage under
the heading "Anglers Inn Tackle Package by Tackle Warehouse." Just go
to
www.anglersinn.com. These special packages have everything you need
for a three-day fishing trip to either lake.
If you’ve never been here before we know it’s not easy to always pick
the right lures for the different seasons. There’s simply no substitute
for experience and that’s exactly what we’ve got. After years on these
lakes, we know what you need and what puts fish in the boat. You can
get either a tackle package per person or a tackle package per boat.
The Tackle Warehouse will ship the items right to your door.
You needn’t have qualms about ordering on line. It’s safe and secure.
Do be sure that you order far enough in advance so that your packages
have time arrive before your departure.
Get on down here, partner! We’ll be watching for you with a tray full
of fresh and frosty Mexican margaritas! |
