TACKLE
TIPS FOR LAKE EL SALTO BASS
Lake
El Salto is about as close to the mythical "dream bass
lake" as you'll ever experience. This lake affords anglers
the opportunity to use a variety of lures and fishing
techniques.
If
topwater fishing is your forte, you'll find excellent
surface action during most of the fishing season at
El Salto. And many of the fish that explode on surface
lures are true trophy bass. If you're a spinnerbait
afficionado, there are plenty of prime pieces of cover
for you to probe on this bass factory. Perhaps deep
crankbaiting is more to your liking. You'll find no
better crankbait fishery in the world than El Salto
Lake. Maybe it's bumping a worm across a point that's
your preferred method for tempting lunker bass. El Salto
has been described as a worm angler's dream lake. So,
as you can clearly see, Lake El Salto will offer you
tremendous opportunities for you to practice your tried
and true fishing techniques, as well as develop new
techniques, because one thing is for certain - you'll
have plenty of rod bending and drag screeching action!
Topwater
Techniques
The
visual image of enticing a huge bass to take a lure
on the surface is one of the most exciting and challenging
methods of fishing on El Salto. However, whether it's
Lake El Salto in Mexico you are fishing, or a bass lake
in the states, the fact is that bass do not feed on
the surface all day long. Anglers, therefore, must recognize
when conditions are favorable to practice this method
of fishing. In general, early morning hours, late afternoon
hours and during periods of cloud cover find bass most
susceptible to a topwater assault at El Salto. Typically,
when the sun is high overhead and the temperature is
hot and sultry, El Salto bass prefer the comfort of
deeper water, so it would be foolish to fish topwater
baits under these conditions when other patterns would
be so much more productive.
Although
a bass might hit a topwater lure in just about any location
you cast it, there are certain high percentage areas
that will increase your odds of tempting more bass on
El Salto. Concentrate your efforts in windblown pockets
and coves, standing timber, shoreline brush, points
and stumps. Bass tend to use cover and structure (such
as brush, stumps, points or standing timber) as ambush
points. It is always wise to either cast as close to
these forms of cover and structure as possible, or,
alternatively, actually cast beyond them and work the
topwater baits right up to them, almost attempting to
glance the cover with your baits.
In
some instances, the bass on El Salto prefer a slow,
deliberate retrieve of topwater lures, while other moments
find them desiring a lure that is aggressively worked
across the surface. Let the fish tell you how to present
your baits. The guides will also be helpful in this
regard as well.
Buzzbaits
Buzzbaits are basically a lure comprised of a durable
wire frame and plastic or rubber skirted material. It
possesses a propeller that rotates around the wire shaft
and creates much surface commotion. Bass experts simply
cannot equate a buzzbait to anything in nature, however
they all agree that it is a bait that tends to attract
a big fish. Buzzbaits can be worked very fast and aggressively
across the surface or, alternatively, you can slow the
bait down during your retrieve and raise your rod tip
to work them just fast enough to keep the prop turning
and the bait on the surface. El Salto bass will take
them either way, so use varying retrieves until the
bass tell you how they want the buzzbait presented.
Typically, anglers will use a rod from 6
to 6-1/2 feet long and of medium/heavy action. A slightly
flexible tip will allow the bass to engulf the buzzbait
before your rapid hook set causes you to pull it out
of its mouth. A fast retrieve reel will allow you to
work them more effectively. Because you will typically
be working these baits around thicker cover and because
bass tend to hit them very aggressively, consider using
line ranging from 17 to 20 lbs.
When
possible, try to cast the buzzbait beyond the cover,
such as a stump or brushpile, then work the bait up
to the cover and actually try to glance off the cover
with the bait. This caroming action off the cover will
often trigger a strike. When a fish strikes your bait,
try to resist the tendency to immediately set the hook.
Although easier said than done, wait to feel the weight
of the fish before setting the hook. Work the bait all
the way back to the boat as, in many cases, a fish may
follow it from the cover and then strike it just feet
from the boat. If you are generating strikes, but missing
fish, consider adding a trailer or "stinger" hook that
extends out beyond the regular hook. In some instances,
the buzzbait is made more enticing by adding a large
grub, plastic twin-tail or lizard as a trailer.
Walking
Baits
Many believe that walking baits are the most underutilized
baits in the arsenal of the bass angler. These baits
typically require the most work (not strength) in terms
of getting the best action, and anglers, typically novice
ones, shy away from them because of this. These types
of lures are extremely effective when you impart the
famous "walk the dog" retrieve, basically a coordinated
series of wrist snaps that cause the bait to zigzag
across the water and resembles an injured or disoriented
baitfish . The gold standard of walking baits is the
Zara Spook, although others are very productive as well,
such as the Gilmore Oddball and MirroLure Top Dog. The
key to these lures is that they emit a lot of action,
but stay in the strike zone for long periods of time.
Cast these lures beyond the target or over a point and
"walk the dog" so that you allow the lure to almost
come in contact with cover.
Poppers
El Salto' bass have a strong affinity to slam popping
plugs. These concave mouthed lures bite the water and
then spit or push it forward, creating a tantalizing
sound and site similar to bass feeding on the surface.
These lures, such as the Rebel Pop-R, Storm Chug Bug,
Gilmore Hoodler, Mann's Chug-N-Spit and Yo-Zuri Popper,
come in an array of sizes and colors and you will need
to experiment to see which they prefer. These baits
can be worked very slow and deliberate, or can be worked
fast and erratic. As with all baits, let the fish tell
you if they want it fast or deliberate. Again, these
baits are most effective when casted beyond cover or
structure and retrieved very close to the cover.
Propeller
Ripping Baits
These plastic or wooden lures have rotating
propellers that allow you to rip the baits across the
surface and displace water and create visible and audible
commotion. These baits are best used when the fish are
really aggressive and attacking topwater lures with
a fury. Some of the very best on El Salto include the
Gilmore Jumper, Gilmore Go Getter, Hedden Baby Torpedo,
Smithwick Devil's Horse and ½-ounce Luhr-Jensen Wood
Chopper. When bass do not seem to be aggressively chasing
baits, these prop lures are best worked slow and deliberate,
allowing a pause between each twitch of the wrist to
move these baits. When the fish are chasing bait, you
can work them more aggressively with a faster ripping
cadence. In some instances, props on the nose and tail
end of the baits produce better, while other situations
finding that bass only prefer baits with props in their
tail section.
Soft
Plastic Jerkbaits and Worms
Popular baits like the Lunker City Slug-Go,
Bass Assassin Shad Assassin and Zoom Fluke, as well
as other variations of this lure, can best be described
as soft plastic jerk baits. These baits are most noted
for their ability to entice shallow oriented bass, or
those feeding or schooling near the surface.
"Baits
like the Slug-Go are so effective because of their unpredictable
or random action," points out professional guide Dave
Masterson, a frequent visitor to El Salto. "This is
one of the primary reasons why they consistently catch
fish when other lures fail to do so. Most of the wood
or hard plastic baits we use are very mechanical in
their action, certainly the opposite of the hapless,
erratic action that one observes of an injured or fleeing
baitfish. When bass are actively feeding, just about
any lure will tempt them. However, when they are negative
or neutral, I want a bait that offers a more realistic
action. That's when I turn to a soft plastic jerk bait
like the Slug-Go.
Very
few baits come in such an outrageous array of colors
as the soft plastic jerk baits. These bright colors
do not appear to repulse fish and serve the purpose
of allowing anglers to carefully observe the baits during
a retrieve. In clear water, many anglers, however, do
prefer natural shad type colors. In off colored water,
anglers might want to consider a bright color such as
merthiolate, hot pink or highway stripe yellow.
"I
believe that the key to the success of these soft plastic
jerk baits," Jeff Peterson "is that they can be worked
across the surface, or allowed to descend or suspend
a foot or two below the surface, a depth where may shallow
water oriented bass tend to cruise, especially during
the spring and fall months. "On many occasions, I have
observed bass honing in on a floating hard plastic or
wood topwater bait, only to nudge it, but never aggressively
strike it. For some reason, bass can be hesitant about
breaking the surface to strike a floating bait. When
working the soft plastic jerk baits you can alter your
speed or retrieval depth to reflect the mood of the
fish."
The
most common retrieve is to keep the rod tip pointing
towards the water. This serves to keep the line out
of the wind and allows you to work the bait unimpeded
by slack line. Use six inch sharp snaps of the wrists
to retrieve the bait. When the fish are aggressively
attacking the bait on or near the surface, you'll be
astonished of how many strikes you'll observe, so keep
the bait within site during the entire retrieve.
"Initially,
try letting the baits flip across the surface like a
wounded shad," says Jeff Peterson, "especially if you
are fishing a school of feeding bass or shad fleeing
at the surface. If the fish are hesitant about taking
the bait on the surface, work it about one to three
feet deep, a depth where you can still visualize the
bait. I find this to be the most effective retrieve
and depth range. I don't do anything fancy, I just snap
the wrist and pause, snap the wrist and pause. The only
real alteration is the speed in which I retrieve the
bait. Sometimes they want to chase it, other times call
for you to work it slowly, literally tantalizing the
fish with the erratic action."
When
initially learning how to fish floating unweighted worms,
such as the Zoom Trick Worm, it probably is best to
rig it Texas style. As one becomes proficient with the
floating worm, you may want to experiment with various
rigging modifications, including fishing it wacky style
by hooking it through the egg sac or center of the worm.
"I always recommend fishing the floating
worm on spinning gear," says Jeff Peterson. "It will
afford you greater distances on the cast, so you can
avoid spooking shallow fish. According to Peterson,
probably the number one problem novice anglers have
when working floating worms is that they set the hook
as soon a they feel the strike or see the fish take
the baits. He advises hesitating a few seconds to allow
the fish to inhale the bait and start swimming away
with it.
If
the fish are deeper, you may elect to fish the stern
weighted hooks from Mustad or the Lunker City insert
weights. The inserts are either pierced across the body
of the bait and then clipped so that no portion of the
insert remains outside the baits or inserted near the
bend of the hook to make them stern weighted.
Subsurface
Techniques
Plastic
Worms and Lizards
Probably no other lure has been responsible
for landing as many Mexican bass as the plastic worm.
It is probably so productive because it can probe the
mid to deep water haunts of El Salto' bass more efficiently
than just about any other lure. The most popular and
productive way to rig worms for the bass of El Salto
is via the Texas rig method. The Texas rig allows you
to fish the worm in a weedless manner, as the hook point
is not exposed to snag into various forms of cover,
but rather is buried into the body of the worm. When
fishing shallow water and thicker cover, worms in the
five to seven inch category are most effective, as they
will not tend to get hung up in the cover as longer
versions. When fishing shallow water, consider a pegged
slip sinker that is between 1/8 and ¼-ounce in weight.
Pegging will not allow the worm to be disassociated
from the weight and will make it more streamlined when
going through cover like brush or trees.
One
of the best methods for catching a true El Salto trophy
bass is to fish plastic worms within and across deep
structure, such as humps, points, old road beds and
submerged standing timber. For this deep structure approach,
consider using plastic worms from 7 to 11 inches in
length and up the weight of your slip sinker to between
¼ and ½ ounce so that you can effectively feel the worm
and weight carom across the bottom.
Plastic lizard are also very appealing to
El Salto' bass. The lizard offers the same tantalizing,
lifelike action of a plastic worm, however might have
a slightly larger profile. The lizard is rigged in the
same manner as the plastic worm.
When
worm fishing, consider rods from 6-1/2 to 7 feet in
length. Rely on line weight between 14 and 20 lbs. Keep
in mind that deep El Salto bass have an affinity to
head for cover once hooked on a plastic worm, so you've
got to really horse them once hooked. The heavier line
will allow you to do so more efficiently. Productive
colors of worms and lizards on El Salto include: pumpkinseed,
pumpkinseed with chartreuse tail, Tequila Sunrise, grape,
red shad and blue shad. Of course, always consider fishing
the style and color worms you have confidence in as
the bass on El Salto are not very finicky.
Crankbaits
Crankbaits
are basically wood or hard plastic fish imitating treble
hook laden lures. They are usually categorized into
three depth ranges - shallow, medium and deep. Typically,
shallow running crankbaits possess either no lip or
a small one. The deeper running lures tend to be heavier,
with elongated lips. Crankbaits are a must for any angler
visiting Huities, especially if he or she is in search
of a trophy bass.
Lipless
Crankbaits
For simply fancasting the water
and attempting to locate fish, few lures will produce
as well as the lipless crankbait, basically a moulded
plastic crankbait that has an internal sound chamber
with shot or BB's to produce an attracting rattling
noise on the retrieve. These baits produce a tight wobble
and can be casted great distances. Although anglers
have had very good success using a yo-yo (rise-and-fall)
retrieve, the majority of these anglers cast these lures
and retrieve them straight back to the boat using a
medium to fast retrieve. Very effective lipless crankbaits
include the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap, Cordell Hot Spot
and Rapala Rattlin' Rap. The ½-ounce size range seems
to work best on El Salto.
Lipped
Crankbaits
You should rely on a lipped crankbait when you want
to get lures to deeper water, say from 6 to 20 feet
or when you want the lure to carom off submerged objects
with less chance of getting hung up. Cast shallow running
crankbaits to banks, shallow points and ridges. Don't
be afraid to cast near cover, but not directly into
it. Bring an array of shallow oriented baits such as
the Rapala Shad Rap, Bill Dance Fat Free Shad in the
2 inch, 3/8-ounce size, Bomber model 6A and 7A, Bill
Norman Deep Little N and Rapala Fat Raps.
Without question, the most popular, as well as most
productive, medium to deep running crankbait on El Salto
is the Bill Dance Fat Free Shad. Although El Salto'
bass will take other large crankbait offerings, the
Fat Free Shad continues to outcatch anything else. Two
must sizes of this bait to bring on your trip to El
Salto are the 2-1/2 inch, ½-ounce model and the 3-inch,
¾-ounce model. Must colors include the threadfin shad,
pearl white, pearl body with red back, firetiger, citrus
shad and blue shad. Fish these baits on ridges, bars,
points and humps. A medium to fast retrieve seems to
be the most productive method to entice El Salto' bass.
El Salto bass tend to school, so if you land a lunker
fish on a deep diving crankbait, keep these fish "hot"
and active by continuing to saturate the water with
these baits. These baits will trigger a bite unlike
any other lure on El Salto.
Spinnerbaits
Spinnerbaits are extremely effective lures,
as they can be fished in a variety of ways. They basically
resemble a safety pin in design. A lead head of varying
weight is combined with a wire framework, sharp hook
and one or more flashing spinner blades which may range
from an oval shape to a long slender willowleaf shape.
A soft-rubber, plastic, silicone or "lumaflex" skirt
is added to cover the hook and to add color and bulk
to entice bass.
A
few basic rules apply when fishing spinnerbaits, however
these are not set in stone and a savvy angler will let
the fish dictate what bait to use and not simply follow
the guidelines set down by other anglers. In general,
however, you should consider a white or baitfish colored
skirted spinnerbait in clear water. In off colored or
dingy water, consider a chartreuse or dark colored skirted
spinnerbait. If you are fishing in clear water, the
flash of a spinnerbait is more important then when you
are fishing in dingy water (where sound and vibration
might be more important), so consider a bait that offers
willowleaf blades. These blades are known for their
flash. In off-colored water, consider a Colorado or
Indiana blade, as they give off more vibration. In clearer
water, you should initially try chrome, gold or white
colored spinnerbait blades, while in off-colored water,
consider chartreuse, gold, black or copper colored blades.
Because El Salto is such a deep lake, consider
a heavier headed spinnerbait (at least a half ounce),
so that you can get the baits down quicker to cover
that might be in 3 to 5 feet of water. You don't necessarily
have to use a super-large bodied bait, just a heavier
head. Bring a selection of spinnerbaits ranging from
¼ to ¾ ounces and with a variety of colored skirts and
blades and with a good selection of the various shapes
of blades. Experiment with single bladed spinnerbaits
as well as tandem bladed baits.
When
fishing shallow water cover, cast past the cover and
work the spinnerbait up to the cover and bump it before
continuing the retrieve. You may want to also consider
"killing" the bait after it bumps the objects before
continuing the retrieve. In deeper water, consider using
single bladed baits and use a yo-yo or rise and fall
retrieve or a slow crawl retrieve. If the fish are not
holding tight to shallow water cover, consider backing
out and working the spinnerbait around submerged cover
in 4 to 8 feet of water. The fish will let you now just
how fast to retrieve these baits and whether they want
a steady or stop and start retrieve.
Consider
using a rod that has a flexible tip, as too many anglers
using stout worm type rods and do not give the fish
a chance to inhale the bait before setting the hook
and pulling it away from them. Typically, with spinnerbaits,
you should rely on line ranging from 14 to 25 lb test
on El Salto.
