Anglers Inn

Billy and Anglers Inn Staff,

To say that we have been waiting for this trip for a long time is an understatement. This trip was given to me by my father for my high school graduation gift. Soon after graduation I started college and was too busy to book the trip. Five years later, at college graduation, we decide to book the trip. Two days before we were set to leave, I decide to get into an accident and crush my hand. Well one year, two plates, and 12 screws later we re-booked the trip.

This time it started off rough. First our flight was delayed, then it was cancelled. After sprinting through airports to catch last minute connecting flights, we arrived in Mazatlan. By this time we had been traveling for about 17 hours and were exhausted. Needless to say our bags with clothes and tackle did not make it. It all started to look up when we saw the friendly face of the Angler's Inn representative waiting at the gate.

From this point on we did not have to worry about a thing. He assured us that he would locate our luggage and deliver it to our rooms. From there we jumped in the van for the ride to the lodge. Well about 18 cervezas later we arrived at the lodge. By this time it was 10:30 pm and there was Sammy waiting with 2 margaritas.

Now about the fishing.....We had to borrow tackle for the first day due to our lost luggage. To our surprise, they had everything we needed and we caught 72 fish the first day! I caught 43 of the 72 and my dad caught 29. As always he can't keep up (so I thought). We had a few over 5 with the biggest at 6 lbs. The bait of the day was a wacky rigged 5 inch watermelon senko. As promised by Anglers Inn, they had found our luggage and tackle and it was waiting in our rooms when we got back.

The second day went from LOW to HIGH!! We caught 22 fish in the morning. I caught 16 and my dad caught 6. We dropped a 6 and a 5 lb fish. Then the old man decided to remind me that he did teach me everything I know about fishing. That afternoon, we caught 28 fish with 13 of them over 5 lbs!!! The old man finally redeemed himself boating 19 compared to my 9. He caught 11 of the 13 fish over 5. He caught a 7 lb 5 oz, a 7 lb 2 oz, a 6 lb 4 oz, a 6 lb, and 7 fish in the 5-6 lb range. Most of those were caught in about 45 minutes with a lot of back to back catches. I caught 2 of the 13 big ones with a 6 lb 1 oz and a 5 lb. Almost all of our big fish came on 10.5 inch watermelon red zoom worms.

The third day was unbelievable!! It went from high to higher!! We caught a total of 53 fish sticking with watermelon red 10.5 inch worms and a few 4-5 inch swim baits. We caught 22 fish that morning. Dad only caught 7 fish, BUT 4 were over 5 lbs. He started off with an 8 lb monster followed by a 6 lb 8 oz, and 3 fish in the 5 to 6 pound range. I caught 15 with a 5 lb 8 oz and a 5 lb 2 oz on back to back casts!! That afternoon started off pretty good when Dad boated another 6 lb 8 oz fish. I followed that up by a 7 lb stud. The afternoon went on with 8 more 4 to 4.5 lb fish, THEN IT STARTED!!! With 45 minutes left to fish we pulled up to a spot not far from the lodge. Dad caught a 6 lb fish on the first cast!! We then caught a few small ones. A few minutes after that I caught a 6 lb 8 oz brute. ON THE VERY NEXT CAST, I caught a 7 lb 5 oz monster. THREE CASTS LATER, I caught my biggest fish of the trip thus far a 7 lb 10 oz monster!!! Then about 2 minutes later Dad boated a 5 lber and a few small ones. I followed that with a 4.5 lb fish to end the afternoon. We caught a total of 31 fish that afternoon with Dad catching 15 to my 16. If you were not keeping track that is a 5 fish stringer of 32+ lbs in only 45 minutes of fishing!!!!!

Ok so on the last day plans changed. Since we were having the time of our lives, we decided to stay and fish another half day instead of going to Mazatlan and MAN WAS THAT A GREAT DECISION!!!

By this time we had run out of 10.5 inch watermelon red worms so we found some 10 inch watermelon power worms in the tackle shop at the lodge. We caught 28 fish in the morning. My dad smoked me catching 19 to my 9. He caught a 7 lb 7 oz, a 7 lb, and 2 over 5. I caught 2 at 5 lbs.

The final afternoon started off slower than normal. We started catching 2-4 lb fish every cast toward the end of the afternoon. I caught a 5 lb fish then we moved to my honey hole (where we had caught that impressive stringer over 32 lbs in 45 minutes the night before) for the last stop. With 5 minutes left to fish, I got a bite and set the hook. I had him on for a minute then he spit the hook. I made a second cast to the same spot and got another bite. Missed it. WITH ONLY 2 MINUTES LEFT TO FISH, I made a third cast in the same spot. Got a bite and Hooked a fish. Our guide barely got him in the net. THEN THE YELLING STARTED!!

It was the biggest fish of the trip and of my life....A 10 lb 1 oz monster!!!!

We ended up catching 29 fish that afternoon. I caught 21 to dad's 8. That is a total of 58 fish the last day.

It was a perfect ending to a perfect trip!!! The guides, the staff, the service, the scenery, and oh I almost forgot the fishing are UNBELIEVABLE!!! I cannot say enough about the service here!! Even when calling to book a trip or get information, the Angler's Inn representatives are very friendly and eager to help. We highly recommend anyone to go here, a first class place!! FYI, we only went after big fish but anyone can go after numbers and easily catch 100- 150 fish per day!!

We caught 233 fish this trip! With 9 fish over 7 lbs and no telling how many over 5. Our top 10 fish went 75 lbs for a 7.5 lb average per fish!!

Thanks Angler's Inn for making this the trip of a lifetime!!! We will be back!!!

Thanks for everything,

Bryan and Gerald Johnson