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Lake
Mateos Fishing
Report
Topwater Baits:
Swimbaits:
Spinnerbaits:
Plastics:
Crackbaits:
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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! |