John Felsher

Five Friends Each Score Personal Best Bass

By Billy Chapman Jr.

As the host and producer of various outdoors television shows for Bass Pro Shops and a 2008 inductee into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame, Jerry Martin fished and hunted around the world. In all that time, he never caught a double-digit bass until he fished Lake El Salto recently.

Lake El Salto

Martin and his four best friends grew up together in Thayer, Mo. They went all through school together, graduating from Thayer High School, Class of 1966. Over the years, they kept in touch and try to reunite for fishing or hunting trips whenever possible. This year, Martin convinced the others to make the biggest trip of their lives and visit Anglers Inn at Lake El Salto. They didn't leave disappointed.

"This trip was very special," said J.W. Nelson of Salem, Ark. "We started fishing at 5 years old and fished all of our lives. This year, we wanted to go to the best place where everybody could catch a lot of fish and have a great time. That's Anglers Inn at Lake El Salto. Jerry told us about it, but it was more than we expected."

Each of the five caught a personal best largemouth bass. Jerry caught a 9.5- and a 10-pounder on back-to-back casts with a 10-inch black and blue Berkley Power Worm fished Texas style in about 15 feet of water. Lewis Childers, who still lives in Thayer, caught a 10-pounder on a 12-inch green pumpkin plastic worm. His cousin, Keith Childers of Marshfield, Mo., and Nelson each landed bass approaching 8 pounds.

"The fishing was absolutely awesome," Martin said. "The fish averaged about 4 pounds, but we caught a lot of 5- to 7-pound fish. Our best baits were 8-inch lizards, but my best bait was a 10-inch worm. Green pumpkin was the better color in the morning. Then, bass wanted black and blue. The key for bigger bass was fishing a steep bank with timber on it close to deep water where the bank broke into a creek channel 10 to 14 feet deep."

John Sawyer topped them all. The Jonesboro, Ark., angler landed a 12.3-pounder, one of the largest fish caught this season at Lake El Salto. The fish inhaled a white six-inch swimbait, but John had a little help from his guide, Armando.

"On the morning I caught the big one, I already had 37 fish including several 6-pounders that mostly hit 8-inch lizards," Sawyer said. "I decided to try something that I never used before. We got to a cove and I asked Armando to show me how to work a swimming minnow swimbait. He made one cast, said this is how to fish it, set the hook and gave me the rod. People don't have to be great fishermen to catch big ones at Lake El Salto if they just listen to their guide."

Besides the lunker, Sawyer caught more than 110 bass with many in the 3- to 9-pound range at Lake El Salto. In all, the five amigos landed more than 500 bass in 2.5 days, which included five personal best bass and three double-digit bucketmouths. They also tempted a frenzied school of jack crevalle with topwaters off Mazatlan before heading home.

"For the first hour at El Salto, we had a lot of topwater action, mostly on Pop-Rs in white or chrome with blue or gray backs," Jerry said. "As soon as the sun got on the water, fish went about 6 to 8 feet deep and deeper as the sun rose. We caught some of our biggest bass on plastics in 10 to 12 feet of water near submerged trees, but also caught some on white and chartreuse spinnerbaits. On the final day, we fished a flat bank in two feet of water at 11 a.m. and started ripping fish on a spinnerbait."

At both El Salto and Mateos, topwaters produced excellent action. Brett Whitehead of California caught a 10.5-pounder on a silver and black Zara Spook almost a lunchtime. Wesley Wolfe of North Carolina caught a 10-pound, 13-ounce lunker on a Sammy topwater bait, again at midday. He also caught several fish in the 6.5- to 8-pound range.

For consistent big-fish action, though, swimbaits topped the list. Slowly retrieve a 5-inch Yum Money Minnow in hologram shad, Tennessee shad or foxy shad just over the bottom. Use a weighed hook inserted into the plastic and barely poking out the back. Count down 10 to 15 seconds so the bait sinks and retrieve it as slowly as possible.

Texan Tim Barber caught a 10-pounder on a Yum Money Minnow on his first cast near a point. His partner, Danny Hale caught a 9.8-pounder on an identical bait. Fellow Texan, Steve Barnett caught his two biggest fish, one a 9.5-pounder, on a hologram shad Money Minnow. He also caught some big ones on Carolina-rigged black and blue lizards.

Other significant El Salto catches, Bill Arwood of Ohio landed a 10-pounder that smashed a chrome and blue Rat-L-Trap. Fishing with his son, Jagar, Darin Halbleib of Texas caught his 10-pounder on a black and blue jig. Jagar caught most of his fish on watermelon lizards with some topping 7 pounds.

Phil Thomas of Florida caught a 10-pounder on an 8-inch watermelon red flake lizard in 15 feet of water. Art Tatum and Michelle Healy didn't catch monsters, but they used watermelon lizards and motoroil worms to catch more than 100 bass a day with a 4-pound average. Michelle landed one nearly 8 pounds, shy of her 10.4-pounder from a previous trip.

"Anglers Inn is the Disneyland for fishing," Michelle said. "I've been to Lake El Salto twice this year and absolutely love it. I had the most amazing massage I've ever had and the food is incredible. I can't wait to come back."

Lake Mateos

At Lake Mateos, anglers frequently land more than 120 bass a day, as Pennsylvania angler Daniel Slavek did recently. He joined a group led by Dr. Louis Mameli of Georgia fishing with eight friends and family members. Each of them consistently caught 100 bass a day with many in the 5- to 8-pound range. Hot baits included citrus crankbaits, chartreuse and white spinnerbaits, white topwater baits or watermelon lizards.

"Lake Mateos is one of the best places I've ever fished," Slavek said. "I caught a bunch of 5- and 6-pounders. The lodge is beautiful and the service is outstanding."

Mike Marrone of Big 5 Sporting Goods in California led a group that fished both Lakes El Salto and Mateos. They also fished with the Anglers Inn International Offshore Division in the Sea of Cortez out of Mazatlan.

"Lake Mateos is gorgeous, but the fishing is off the charts," Marrone said. "Our first day was our slowest. We only caught 68 bass with several in the 5- to 7-pound range. On the last morning at Mateos, we caught more than 80 fish on XCalibur Zell Pops in white or foxy shad. It was the best topwater bite I've ever experienced in my life. We caught fish for two solid hours. After the topwater bite subsided, we whacked bass on senkos and Texas-rigged lizards. In four hours, we caught well over 100 fish. Our top 20 that morning were all over 5 pounds with several over 7 and one 8.5-pounder."

For more info or for booking your next Anglers Inn International adventure, call 1-800-GOTA-FISH, (468-2347) or send an e-mail to info@anglersinn.com. On line, see www.anglersinn.com.

Roosters running in waters off Mazatlan

By Billy Chapman, Jr.

Roosterfish dominate the saltwater action out of Mazatlan this week. After staying at the Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay, Mike and Melinda Hickey of Alabama experienced some outstanding rooster action in the Sea of Cortez. Trolling mullets, they landed 12 of the spectacular fish with such impressive dorsal fins. The biggest weighed 32 pounds.

One of the most highly sought game fish off the Pacific Coast of Mexico, roosterfish can exceed 100 pounds and may stretch four feet long. A member of the jack family, they range throughout the warmer waters of the Pacific Ocean from California to Peru.

Like the Hickeys, most people tempt these finicky fish with live bait or by trolling fresh baits. Anglers can also cast for these terrific fighters. Anglers Inn International Offshore Division runs center-console boats configured specifically for casting plugs at roosterfish. Besides roosters, anglers might also catch corvina, snook, mackerel and other species on lures.

Many of our clients enjoy bass fishing at my lodges at Lakes El Salto and Mateos, so we designed our boats to incorporate details found in bass boats, only larger. Our 28-foot center console boats provide safe, stable and comfortable platforms for anglers who want to throw lures at saltwater fish, much like in bass fishing. We can plan combination trips where anglers can also visit one of my freshwater lodges for a few days of trophy bass fishing.

Also like in bass fishing, we believe in leaving something for tomorrow. All our crews practice STRICT catch and release on billfish, roosterfish and snook. However, anglers can keep food species, such as snapper, grouper and dorado. We can even cook it for you!

While chasing roosters, look for birds. A swarming flock of birds diving into the water could indicate a school of feeding fish, particularly jack crevalle. Get upwind of these frantic schools and drift into them, casting various spoons and topwater baits. Keep a live bait rigged on a drift line for any cruising roosters that might also want to feast upon the baitfish school.

Offshore, more billfish moved into the area as the water warms and clears. Start looking for billfish about 15 miles from shore. Water temperatures range in the high 70s. Anglers might pick up sailfish, striped marlin or blue marlin. Good numbers of dorado, mackerel and mako sharks also swim in the waters off Mazatlan.

Coming all the way from Nome, Alaska, Cheri and Katie Kruschek spent a week in Mazatlan to celebrate Katie's 20th birthday. They stayed at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay, where Anglers Inn International serves as the exclusive sportsmen's outfitter for the 5-Star resort. The mother-daughter team often fishes the rivers of Alaska for salmon, but seldom fish in salt water. They spent a morning trolling for dorado aboard an Anglers Inn International Offshore Division center console boat, catching Katie's biggest fish ever, a 20-pound dorado. The fish hit a squid jig.

"Spring break just happened to fall on my birthday, so my mother and I decided to go somewhere beautiful and warm," Katie said. "I heard a lot about Mazatlan from friends so we came down to see it for ourselves. It might sound odd to some people for a mother and daughter to go off on vacation alone to another country, but we have a great time together. I've been fishing ever since I can remember, but haven't done much in saltwater. Catching the dorado was a lot of fun. We had just put the lines in the water and it hit right away. It was my first dorado and biggest fish ever."

The Anglers Inn International Offshore Division can plan an adventure specifically catered to your needs. We offer guided surf trips, kayak operations plus light tackle casting, bottom fishing and bluewater trolling. To book your next adventure in Mexico, call Anglers Inn International at 1-800-GOTA-FISH, (468-2347) or send an e-mail to info@anglersinn.com. On line, see www.anglersinn.com.

John Felsher

About The Author: John Felsher

Company: JohnNFelsher.com

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Bio: John N. Felsher is a full-time freelance writer and photographer. Since 1977, he's written more than 1,320 bylined articles in more than 100 magazines. Currently, he writes a monthly column for huntingandfishingusa.com and a bi-monthly column in Sports Unlimited magazine (www.sumag.com/SUOutdoorswithJohnNFelsher/tabid/495/Default.aspx) among other things. He is also the national fishing writer for Examiner.com (www.examiner.com/x-16491-Fishing-Examiner). He is also the public relations director for Anglers Inn International, (www.anglersinn.com) which runs fishing lodges in Mexico and Brazil. To see his resume and work samples, see his e-zine at www.JohnNFelsher.com. Contact him through his website, www.JohnNFelsher.com or send a message to j.felsher@hotmail.com.

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