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Local Mexico Lakes Fishing Reports
June 15, 2015: It has been a while since I updated this page.. And lots of things have happened since I last wrote.. Both El Cuchillo and Sugar lake have been running over for months, and still are.. El Cuchillo has settled around full pool, and Sugar is still at about 120%.. But it should be leveling off in a week or two if releases persist.. Fishing has been spotty but pretty good at Sugar.. Some quality fish are being caught but I hear they are scattered. Some days are awesome and some days are poor.. Sounds like fishing to me.. But Better quality than Falcon for sure when it come to big fish.. I was at El Cuchillo a few weeks back, and it was over pool and dropping hard while we were there.. Fishing was decent, but numbers of bigger fish were hard to come by.. It is settling down now and fishing should stabilize there pretty quick. People ask me all the time is it safe to go to Mexico.. Your guess is a good as mine, but we had no problems going and coming.. And I plan on a trip to Sugar before too long.. And a trip back to Pichachos and El Salto in October.. You must ultimately make the choice whether you want to venture into Mexico.. I'm getting old.. And there's still some Mexican bass I want to catch before I die.. Call me anytime for up to date info on any Mexican lake.. I hear a lot of stuff..
March 2015 Pichachos Trip You know, sometimes you just gotta get out of town. And after having our asses kicked down here in January and February and the first half of March, I was needing some time off. I hadn't been out of Zapata in over six weeks.. And while Zapata does offer about anything a man could want, (Maybe not everything a woman wants) it was time to see some different country.. It wasn't new country, but it was different country.. In another country.. And while the title of this story doesn't make you wonder where I, or should I say we, were off to; unless you have been living behind the worm bar, you know that we headed to Mexico to whack hell out of a bunch of mean ass bass. And have some fun, eat like kings, and and maybe share an adult beverage or two. Or three.. And since I have been talking Pichachos up, a bunch of buddies of mine decided they wanted to go along to jerk on a bunch of these fish as well.. The more the merrier.. Ted Wayland and his son Brad, who lives on Picwick in Alabama came along.. Of course Ted is the one guilty of getting me to Pichachos in the first place. Jim Edwards and Gary Harlan came along.. Both guides here on Falcon.. Rocky and Brian from southern Louisiana came along.. Cold beer champions and providers of many sacks of crawfish to Falcon Lake Tackle.. If you noticed the stock price of Pacifico Light rising, they are the reason.. They love fishing Falcon, and we met them years ago.. You've heard the saying that "If you can't run with the big dogs, then stay on the porch.." Well when it comes to drinking beer, I'm the one in the shade.. And of course someone you have probably heard me talk of before, Dave Krantz, from Georgia, and his buddy Justice from Alabama. Dave and I go to Argentina every year dove hunting together.. So it was not too hard to talk him into this trip.. He and Justice are also Falcon regulars. So it was a pretty international trip.. Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Georgia, and Alabama were all represented.. With some heavy Tennessee influence as well.. I warned all these guys about traveling with me, and it did not take the Bendele airport curse long to kick in. Dave and Justice were going a day early to go sailfishing.. Sure enough, Dave missed his flight out of Atlanta.. Justice watched the scenery at El Cid on the beach an extra day.. Gary, Jim, and I, flew from Laredo to Dallas. Rocky and Brian flew from Baton Rouge to Dallas. Brad flew from Memphis to San Antonio and on to Dallas with Ted. And we all flew Dallas to Mazatlan on the same flight.. Of course after consuming a few Bloody Mary's in the airport.. I think I had one on the 6:00 am flight to Dallas.. Tomato juice is a great way to start the day.. We arrived at Mazatlan on time.. And my rod case did not.. Here we go again.. But they assured me they would find it and deliver it to the lodge.. Probably tomorrow.. Anyway when we got to Mazatlan the boys from Ron Speed Adventures picked us up and Ron was with them. He suggested, since we were early, and were not going to fish that day, that we go have lunch at La Costa Marinera, a beach front restaurant with a lot of Mazatlan style.. So we did.. And we did it up right..
About six hundred dollars later we stumbled back to the vans, after consuming massive quantities of seafood that was excellent, and several dozen top shelf margaritas that a two pounder could have swam around in.. It was a great time and we got our team bonding done..
I told the van driver that I was driving and he handed me the keys.. I think I did a fine job.. We arrived at the lodge unscathed, after a nice drive thru the scenic country surrounded by mountains and what I'd call a jungle, full of trees and plants I have no name for. It is about an hour out to the lodge from the airport. And of course anytime you are in transit beer and soft drinks are available.. So the party rolled on.. We unloaded our bags and equipment and went down to the outdoor kitchen to check things out and have a few margaritas.. So far this sounds more like a drinking trip than a fishing trip.. We talked with a bunch of anglers who were finishing up their trips and queried them on what and where and how deep. And we got every answer known to man.. Sounded like the fish were biting.. No matter how you wanted to fish or what you wanted to fish with... I might even have a chance.. The first evening meal is kinda blurry to me.. But I remember what it was, and I'd had it before.. It was a Ron Speed invention called the shrimp wheel.. They weave these giant shrimp together in a circle around a crosscut carrot. It is awesome.. And day one was certainly a shrimp overload.. We headed to bed about I have no idea when and I slept like a log.. Musta been the long day of travel.. The first two days there I fished with Ron, and we were on a big fish mission.. We fished a lot of open deep water the first day, and Ron threw a big spinnerbait most of the day. I threw plastics of course, and caught a lot more fish than he did. He was fishing for bigguns.. I was fishing for fish.. We caught about thirty five fish before noon, with no monsters, the biggest going around four pounds. At the dinner table there was a lot of talk about the numbers of fish, and a lot of guys really caught them good fishing a little shallower than we were fishing.. But I figured that. Biggest fish of our group was a six something that would hold up for the day as big bass in our little contest.. We took a short nap and were back on the water by two thirty.. Ron was still throwing the spinner and an occasional big plastic.. I was stuck on the the Mag Fluke.. We were still looking for Mister Big, but we did not catch him, and our afternoon total of fish was about twenty. With still nothing bigger than a four.. We came in about dark, and happy hour was on, and we had a few margaritas waiting on dinner.. Of course the talk was all about fish.. And all the boats reported great numbers of fish. I am sure we were low man on the totem pole, but neither Ron or I really gave a shit.. We was looking for Mister Big..
Supper was a giant Mexican buffet with a little.. A lot of everything. Fajitas, a giant Tamale, and all kinds of side dishes.. Good groceries and good company and a lot of interaction with all the fishermen there. And before too long eyelids started to droop and the crowd was thinning out. We wasn't too far behind the masses and the adrenaline was running thin. We had a couple of whiskeys and made our way towards bed.. I stopped by Dave's tent on the way home and he was sitting in a rocking chair on his porch with a big shit eatin grin on his face.. He told me that he had been fishing for over sixty years and he had never had a day like this one.. I would bet that a lot of folks that fish Pichachos would say the same thing.. They had over one hundred and fifty fish, most of them coming from the same general area near a point with a big tree on it in San Marcos creek.. I know the area well and promised to avoid it.. Maybe.. The bed felt great and I had the A/C cranked up with nothing but my nose sticking out of the blankets.. And I don't think I woke up till was coffee was delivered at five in the morning.. A big breakfast was served every morning with eggs and sausage and bacon and waffles and pancakes and whatever else you wanted.. You can plan on putting on about five pounds when you make this trip.. And of course dinner and supper are always followed by desert.. And all you want of it.. I'm still doing my two sit ups a day trying to get rid of it.. Day two Ron and I headed out again with a little different agenda. We fished the backs of creeks and some roadbeds, still looking for some big fish, but I was a lot closer to a lot of hardwoods.. And if you get Jimmie flippin.. He's gonna kick some ass.. And he did.. I caught a 4.88 in the morning, which would turn out to be the big fish for our group on day two. A lot of fours were caught, but mine was biggest.. We also caught a good many fish, probably about fifty before lunch.. It was a lot of fun and I was starting to get some sore spots on my ribs.. These fish are mean son of a bitches and they will make you work getting them to the boat.. These are not my ribs as my stomach is pretty washboardy.. But one of our groups.. Secret is safe with me..
We headed in for lunch and a nap, and were back out by two thirty. And then we ran into the mother lode of fish. We were well up the lake and we caught a few where we caught them in the morning, near a flat that drops off into very deep water near the river channel.. We made a move about a half mile up the lake and fished a ridge that Ron knew before the lake turned into river.. The fish were living on that thing that afternoon and we proceeded to whack the hell out of em on just about anything you threw.. I was going through my bag trying to find something they wouldn't bite. And whatever it was, was better with the tail dipped in chartreuse. And these were good quality fish in the three to four pound range. I quit trying to count, but we caught a lot of em.. It was a good day, Tater.. We headed back to camp for happy hour and dinner, and they served a giant Rib-Eye that was an excellent piece of meat.. After which a couple of more Jacks were imbibed and that one pound of Angus started to make me loose consciousness.. I headed up the hill to bed, but some of the boys hung out to help stimulate beer sales on the Mexican west coast.. At breakfast in the morning, they were moving a little slow, but they made sure there was plenty of beer in the boat to get them to noon.. Rocky and Brian are professionals around brewed products.. I knew they were, and their place in Pichachos history is surely set.. The guides and boat boys were incredulous at the the volume of equipment needed to make it through the day. "Donde esta los Coon Asses? Dos cajas de hielo in lancha numero cinco!" On day number three, we switched up partners a bit. Jim went with Ron, and I went with Gary. Of course Gary and I have spent many a day together in a boat, and we were fixin to have a good one.. I made the guide take us up to the dam, because I have really whacked them there before. And we caught a few fish, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. I have caught my biggest there, and seen a few other bigguns come from there as well.
The lake was about 12 feet low. We poked around in some deep canyons catching a few here and there, and we decided to make a move back towards camp. Our guide said he knew where some fish had been piled up a few days before, and we had about an hour to kill before lunch. He took us to an offshore island that was sloping out to the main lake and it had a lot of deep laydowns on it. First thing you know, it is on.. We are whacking em left and right, and all nice fish, and the hour we had till lunch flew by.. We were late for dinner.. We ate lunch and Gary and I looked at each other and decide to cut nap time short.. We had left em biting and we took about a thirty minute time out and hit the lake, of course back to the same spot we went.. And for the next three hours we absolutely smacked the hell out of three to four and a half pound fish. I think we counted twelve doubles.. I was throwing a Mag Fluke in W/M Red with chartreuse dye on the tail. But it did not matter. Gary was throwing a Mag U-Vibe I think.. But the dye did get you bit immediately.. Everybody was catching fish.. Jim and Ron got on em in creek channel on deep crankbaits.. The Cajuns were Carolina rigging the Mag U-Vibe and whacking em on some main lake points. Dave and Justice were still smacking em in San Marcos.. Ted and Brad were catching them flipping some shallow trees.. It was a great day for all and we headed in to supper and happy hours.. They served shrimp that night.. All kinds of it.. Fried.. Scampi, Bacon wrapped.. Split and grilled.. Aye yi yi.. You can't eat it all.. Seems like it always happens once on the trip.. And it is not planned, scheduled, forethought, or otherwise prearranged.. But it happens.. One night it seems you just end up twisting one off.. And we did.. I am not at all sure what time we went to bed, but there was a lot of empty glass around the place as we stumbled off.. I even went up to my room and and brought down my back up bottle of Jack.. Good thing I only brought one.. We deleted all the incriminating pictures the next morning.. To protect the guilty.. Well most of em.. Ted had a really good time..
Day four dawned a little foggy.. But we was all up and at breakfast.. And when they dropped the green flag we all stood on the gas.. The skies were clear and bright.. I fished with Rocky the last day, and Gary fished with Brian. We started off the morning island hopping in San Marcos creek, and we were pitching to shallow trees.. My specialty.. I had not thrown a Senko at all and I put one on first thing.. W/M Red Magic and dipped the tail.. I killed em on it.. Lots of small fish but like I said, I came here to get bit. We were talking to some netters right by us, and they showed us one of them fresh water lobsters, crawfish, longastino, shrimp thingys they had caught in the net.. I had a pic of one's pincher sticking out of a fish's gullet last time I went. Anyway, these things are different than anything I have seen in the states.. And if it has a tail or a shell on it I have eaten it.. Including armadillos.. But I ain't eaten one of these.. And those guys said I wasn't eating this one either.. They were..
We crossed the lake later and before lunch we probably caught fifty fish, with a few gooduns mixed in.. We headed towards the spot Gary and I killed em on the day before, but some other folks had seen us there, as it is close to camp.. No sweat.. We went across the lake to finish the morning and flipped some trees in about six to eight feet of water and we hammered em pretty good.. The dinner bell rang and we headed in for lunch and to pack our shit, as the next group of anglers were due to hit camp that afternoon. We had decided to be on the bank by four thirty, so we skipped the nap and hit the water. Rocky and I and Gary and Brian kinda played tag that afternoon, and we caught fish in a lot of places. But our last stop was was a place where Rocky and Brian had really whacked them on day three with crankbaits. We ended up tied to a tree and each other and we smacked them right up till quitting time pretty good. I caught a three pounder on my last cast, and that was a good way to punctuate the trip.. We cleaned up a bit and and packed the last of our equipment and got in the vans on our way to Mazatlan and El Cid Castilla, on the beach.. But not before we were interrogated by the newcomers, whom I knew a few of.. After checking in and cleaning up, we headed for Casa Country.. Kinda of a Mexican cowboy restaurant and bar and dance hall all in one.. It was Saturday night and it was on.. Great food and service and I highly recommend the place.. Loud, but entertaining.. Most of us old folks headed for the sack pretty early. But the youngsters, the Coon Asses, stayed out for a night on the town.. They looked like road kill the next morning.. But we all made it on the van to the airport about eight thirty.. That was the last time the entire group was together and the bullshit was flowing.. It was a great time. After dealing with the airline at the desk about checking our bags, which was a small disaster, because they would only take pesos, no dollars or credit cards, we got our stuff checked and we made it to our respective gates in plenty of time. So I figured the Bendele airport curse had been satisfied by that little thirty minute adventure. Not.. We flew to Dallas just fine.. But I think Dallas hates me.. Which I can't understand.. I'm a Cowboys fan.. But I hate the Mavericks.. Maybe it is just Cuban.. I don't know.. We got off the plane, and headed to baggage check.. Where we waited for over an hour for our bags to show up.. Which had to be run thru customs and immigration and be rechecked.. I knew we were screwed.. We had over two hours to make our connection once we landed which would have been no sweat. Maybe the the baggage handlers had diarrhea.. I don't know.. So we got thru customs, rechecked our luggage, and ran towards the terminal to check the board. Guess what.. Our flight had been canceled.. We headed to the American desk and a woman who could have given a shit if I fell over dead said, "Just give me your passports.. You're on the nine o'clock flight.." I didn't want to be on the nine o'clock flight.. But I was.. It would have been nice if she'd have said, "I'm sorry for the problems sir.. And I hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience.." But she didn't.. Maybe she should be re-tasked to baggage handling.. I hate flying on American.. So we had four hours to kill in an airport.. Fortunately I am heavily experienced in this category.. "I'll take Airport Bar Hopping for two thousand , Alex.. And make it a true daily double.."
So I figured the worst was behind us.. But when we got to Laredo, Jim's and my baggage did not show up.. Gary's did.. And we all checked our baggage side by side.. They only had five hours to get it in the right place.. I hate flying American.. So we got to Zapata about midnight thirty, after filing a lost baggage claim.. If you have any questions about this trip please do not hesitate to call or e-mail me. Ron Speed has a great staff and they are a well oiled machine. You will have a great time and catch a ton of fish. The service is awesome, the food is great, and the fishing is hard to beat. The lodge was full and they handled it with no problems.. They have it down. Tell em' I sent you.. October Pichachos Trip: After going to Pichachos in May, it was not too hard for a buddy to talk me into going back. Being his partner had to reschedule.. Damn the luck.. So my buddy Ted Wayland and I, and six other fellows headed down south to put the smackdown on those Pichachos bass.. There were two father and sons on this one, and a couple of business partners from the Dallas area. And while we were a bit of an eclectic group, we were a fish catchin machine. I'll leave out the names to protect the innocent.. And those associated with them..
One set of father and sons stayed the prior night to fishing in Mazatlan, and the rest stayed the night after fishing. All stayed at El Sid on the beach and it is a nice motel. But I heard there was a homosexual convention there over the weekend and it is probably for the best that we got exempted from staying there.. I am not homophobic, but I do have homodislikesea.. In any case we got to the lake on Friday afternoon, and proceeded to get ready for the next three days of fishing. Which, by the way, included unwrapping four brand new Express bass boats. These new boats are seventeen footers with four stroke sixty horsepower Yamahas on them with twenty-four volt trolling motors and Lowrance depthfinders with downscan.. Pretty sweet little rigs.. They fish two guys with a guide just fine.. In any case all went well and we were ready for our guides to arrive the next morning.. Before we fished the next day we all caught a good number of fish off the bank, right around the camp. But soon drinking Margaritas interrupted our riparian pleasure and the sun dropped below the mountains... And not too much later we had our bellies full and the eyelids started to droop.. We had been up since 4:30 and I hit the sack about dark thirty.. We were on the west coast after all.. Anticipation was high the first morning, and we headed out at daylight in search of some topwater fish. And while we found a few on a frog and a buzzbait, it was not as stellar morning for us on topwaters. Some of the fellows whacked them on Zoom Horney Toads.. But shortly after sunrise we made our way to the halfway points in a couple of creeks and proceeded to catch a bunch of fish. And before too long we made our way down towards the dam and fished some steep walls of rock.. And we hammered em.. Ted caught the biggest fish that our boat would see the first morning, and it went just a bit over six pounds. And it was in a treetop in twenty plus feet of water.. There is just no telling where the fish are going to be on Pichachos.. They are everywhere.. We headed in for lunch and a nap.. This nap stuff is really not too bad when you start getting my age.. We headed back out at 2:00. We went up the lake a bit and into the back of a couple of creeks, and my biggest problem was separating my brain from the last time I was there in May. We had over twenty eight feet of new water to contend with, and of course none of my "spots" were anything like they were five months ago.. And after I got myself to forget what we did back then fishing got a lot easier.. And we started to catch flipping fish like crazy.. No fish over four pounds that afternoon, but lots of two to three pound meanies.. But that's what we were expecting on this lake.. Supper was once again overwhelming, and those long days of fishing and a couple pitchers of margaritas tends to make the bed sound pretty good.. And it was.. More on the food later.. On day two we decided to head up the river because we had a few spots up there in the spring that were unreal. And we knew the water would be deeper but we knew the structure would be similar. And it was. The first point we stopped on had a few fish on it.. Like a few hundred.. Ted's first cast brought a four pounder to the boat.. And a half dozen just like him swimming with him.. I threw my lizard at his fish and instantly had one on.. And it was on.. For the next two hours we beat on em and caught a shit load of fish.. Sixty something I think.. No babies.. All quality fish.. But no whoppers..
We headed in for lunch and swapped fish stories with the other fellows, and everybody was catching fish.. I think we won the numbers game that morning with seventy something by the time we got in.. Damn lot of fun.. It was naptime and there were a few clouds making some noise on the mountains. But when we got up it looked like most of the action was to the east and going away, so we jumped in the boat and headed back towards the river to try out another of our secret spots.. But when we got close to the river the skies started to darken and we thought we might slip into a pocket and fish and wait to see what happened.. And what happened was this.. We got to test the bilge pumps in the new boat.. That's what happened.. A bad ass storm blew up right on top of us with some Ben Franklin style electricity.. And we headed to the very back of a skinny drain to wait it out.. We had a good canopy of trees over us and it kept the raindrops from breaking the skin.. It rained.. And we sat there looking at each other like I can't believe we are this stupid.. You could not have gotten wetter in the shower.. I promise.. After about thirty minutes it let up enough to see and the lightning had passed and we headed back to the lodge to get some dry clothes.. Ted said he was not going back out. He said it was fixin' to scotch.. And it did.. So me and Manuel went back out and fished a bunch of new water.. And we caught them sporadically, and probably put about thirty fish in the boat before it got dark.. I let him fish and continued his pitchin' lesson.. He bout got it figured out. The third and final day we headed back into the creek they call San Marcos. And that creek is the scene of the crime where me and a buddy just absolutely killed em last Mothers day. Of course there was about two stories of water on top of where we caught them last time.. We caught a few top water fish on some shallow points and fished our way to the back side of an island. And it was Katie bar the door.. The back of this island was guarded by a shit load of giant floating tree trunks and laydowns. And there were two to four fish on every piece of lumber.. It was a jerkfest and the Plum Ol Monster was irresistible to them fish.. You could see packs of four to six fish swimming in those woods.. Super clear water.. And they weren't spooky at all.. Flippers paradise.. It wasn't bed fishing.. But a lot of it was sight fishing.. After lunch and the prerequisite nap, we headed back to the same general area, and started to look for similar places as the morning.. And we found several. We caught a bunch of fish but not as good as the morning.. So we decided to move to the area near the dam for the last two hours of our trip. Those fish had been liking those steep walls.. We started on the west side, in the shade of the bluffs, pitching the Ol Monster up against those huge walls. And we caught the pretty good with a fish coming every other cast or so.. And we caught a few decent fish and a five pounder..
It was starting to get sundown, and the east side of the lake was now in the shade, so we made a move across the lake, which is only about two hundred and fifty yards wide near the dam. Twilight lasts for an easy hour on this part of the lake, due to the high walls. And there is a ledge on the east side that drops from about fourteen feet to the river, and on it there are two old roadbeds that they used when building the dam.. We sat there in the same spot for an hour and a half just whacking the fish.. Mostly two and a half to threes.. Every cast.. It was a great way to end the trip.. We came in with lights on.. I had heard of these fresh water shrimp in this lake, and earlier in the day I had caught one with his beady little eyes and whiskers sticking out of this fish's gullet... And his head looked just like a saltwater shrimp.. Only bigger.. But right before dark I caught one with a long pincher sticking out of his throat.. And his pincher arm was at least six inches long. Like a souped up crawfish.. But thinner pinchers and longer arms.. I was trying to pull it out.. And the fish kept trying to swallow it.. I let him have it.. He had entertained me, after all.
The food on this trip was awesome, and we had everything from steak to giant shrimp.. Including this shrimp wheel thingy.. It was awesome and giant.. You will not go hungry around this place. This camp is run by Ron Speed Jr. of course, and he has a talented staff of help at the camp. You are royalty while you are there and you don't touch a thing.. Laundry service is also available so you don't have to drag a bunch of clothes along. Your guide will do as much or as little as you like.. I ran the Trolling Motor the entire time because I am a control freak.. But they will do it all for you if you like. I don't think Ted took five fish off his line the entire time.. I didn't either.. For a change I had zero airline problems, so maybe I have turned the tide in that category.. If you are interested in a trip to Pichachos or El Salto, or even Peacock bass fishing in the Amazon just give them a holler.. Tell em I sent you.. They have top of the line lodges and equipment at all their destinations.. And if I can answer any questions for you please give me a call.. August 14, 2014: I have not been updating the Mexico fishing report mush as of late, due of course to the fact that I have just not been going. Not for a reason of fear, but maybe for a reason of uneasiness.. Do I think you'd have problems over there? No.. Can I guarantee that? No.. That being said, Sugar Lake has been putting out some quality fish, for those who who have ventured there. Mostly points and humps in the mainlake.. Las Blancas is closed from what we hear, as very low water levels have launching and running the lake a bit tough. Pichachos is still cranking out the fish with a few true giants mixed in. I have no reservations about going to Pichachos, and if you want info on a trip there please feel free to contact me for info.. I will get you hooked up with the right people. It is undoubtedly the hottest lake in the universe right now, and should only get better in the next couple of years for size of fish. May 2014: Pichachos Trip You know every time I sit down to post something it seems like I am making excuses about the fishing.. Or bitching about something.. And I don't want to do either one today. Cause the fishing is really not too bad.. Maybe our expectations are just a bit out of whack.. Life ain't always easy.. Neither is fishing.. Well not here at Falcon anyway.. But I just came back from a place where it is.. Holy shit.. I told you last week that I was headed down to this new lake in Mexico called Picachos.. I am not sure what Picachos means.. But I would give it a definition something like this.. Picachos. N/ Body of water held in place by a concrete dam, then stuffed with giant trees and what water was left filled with bass.. Lot of em and mean son of a bitches to boot.. Do not leave a lizard dangling in the water.. If you're not paying attention.. The fishing was awesome and more on that in a minute.. This was the travel trip nightmare of all times.. Well maybe not for you but it was for me.. No.. No bomb threat at the airport like last time I was there.. That trip only wasted two days.. No gangsta problems.. Everything in Mexico was awesome.. This nightmare was created by the airline.. It all seems fuzzy to me now but it went something like this.. We had a 6:00 am flight on Wednesday so we got a motel near the airport just to make the logistics simple and easy on the wives.. Bad enough getting up for a six o'clock flight when you are close, but it is a hard hour to the airport from the ranch.. Besides, it is easier to get some team bonding going on before the trip in a hotel bar than just sitting at home.. Anyway.. We were up and at em early and at the airport by four in the morning.. Glowing with anticipation.. (Faron young and Carly Simon in one whack..) We were informed that our plane was having some mechanical difficulties.. And we would be boarding an hour late. And then maybe another hour late.. Someone left the lights on and the battery was dead.. I'm Serious.. So they got some jumper cables and got it started.. And then went and flew it around to charge it back up.. And we got ready to board.. We were in line. And then it wouldn't restart.. Or some shit.. And then "Ladies and Gentlemen we regret to inform you that this flight has been cancelled.." That was the only flight out to Phoenix for the day and the next day the flight was not offered.. So they rescheduled us to Dallas to Phoenix to Mazatlan.. The next day.. So after a lot of hand wringing and bitching we went to another motel and back to the bar to drown our sorrows. We decided we could all add a day to the trip after five of us spent an hour on the phone to work things out.. On all ends.. But we got it done and went to bed with that great anticipation part deaux.. That flight was not quite as early but we were up and at em and on the plane in the early am.. And we sat on the plane for two hours at the gate.. Waiting for a thunderstorm to clear DFW.. And then the inevitable announce came over the PA.. "Folks another plane needs this gate so we are going to have to take you off the plane.." So we got off.. Knowing we were going to miss our connection in Dallas.. And no way make it to the lake for another day.. Shit.. Here we go again.. We found a flight to Dallas that afternoon, and then a straight flight to Maztalan.. But not till the next day.. If we wanted to take it.. But it meant cutting a day off our fishing time.. So after more hand wringing, bitching and anguish we decided three days would better than nothing.. So we stayed the night in Dallas. Three freaking nights in a row in hotels and still no farther than Dallas.. I could have pulled my boat to lake by now and have already fished a day.. And I don't know about you but if I hang around a hotel for three days I can go through some foldin money just being there.. And I find stuff to eat and drink in airports real reasonable.. Of course I did the end to end terminal tour trying to find the best bloody mary.. I think it was a tie. But I can't remember.. We finally got there on I don't know what day and fished the afternoon.. And we whacked em.. I thought.. Me and my partner caught about eighty in four hours.. Best going about five pounds.. Buts lots of three to fours.. And mean.. And willing..
The next three days went similarly, but on Sunday we got em figured out and absolutely killed em in the morning and in the evening.. All fishing days were separated by lunch and a short nap.. On Sunday morning we found a wolf pack of fish in the middle of nowhere suspended in some tree tops down about ten feet. We were throwing some DD-22's and when you felt the trees we would just almost stop the bait and Wham! It was awesome and reminded me of Falcon a few years back.. And we caught them almost every cast for two hours.. Most of these fish were three to five pounders. All solid chunky bad asses.. That was after we slayed them on buzzbaits and Chug-Bugs at daylight.. The buzzbait bite was awesome for about thirty minutes on the same point.. Loaded with two to three pounders.. Every cast.. What a place to make a video.. After lunch it was a hot bitch and we did not go out till 2:30.. And we fished in the shade of some giant rock walls that are easy to find.. And we caught em good, including a six pounder my buddy caught. And at about 5:30 we headed into a creek that was full of big trees and lots of twenty foot deep flats.. And we were catching them just blind casting towards trees and brush lines.. Too deep to flip and the trees make it hard to get a fish up from the bottom.. So we were fishing the open spots between deep trees. We got to a spot and we doubled up with four pounders.. And did it again.. There was a tree handy that the breeze wanted to hold us against and we ended up tied to it.. For two and a half hours.. Till the sun went down.. And the moon came up.. I have no idea how many fish we caught. But for two hours solid we never went a cast without getting bit. Our "Guide" was constantly netting fish two at a time while we turned our ribs purple.. Literally.. Only two of these fish were over five pounds. Only three or four were under three.. Mostly cookie cutter four and four and a half pound bad asses.. At first we were casting and after a few minutes we were just letting it free spool to the bottom with your thumb on the spool.. It rarely made it to the bottom. If it did it was just click it and hop it once. And it was on.. Freaking awesome.. My buddy said that absolutely that was the best fishing day of his life. It was certainly a top five for me. Maybe top three.. But I only say that because we did not catch any monsters.. All of the other boats reported similar periods during their days.. When you found one of those wolf packs it was freakin on.. Hard to describe without being there.. My buddy used a dozen packs of Zoom 8" lizards in Kudzu.. They hated that bait.. Then he used all we had in W/M Red.. I was using the Mag Fluke in W/M Magic and Red till I ran out.. And several assorted colors I took along as a test worked well also.. And I think I caught a little bigger fish on the Fluke than the Lizard.. But shit we caught em on everything.. But that lizard is a numbers bait I guarantee.. We did not catch any fish that came close to double digit in size. There were a lot of sevens caught in the group.. My big fish was also a bit over seven..
The lodge is in its infancy, but they are getting things worked out.. Still no A/C.. But it cooled off nice at night.. Food is decent.. Drinks all you want and bottled water abounds.. But this is not a Orvis rated fish camp.. But if you want in on the ground floor you sometimes gotta put up with a few growing pains.. I'd go again in a heartbeat.. Lookin at the calendar. . That's where the story should end.. But Hell no.. We were still in Mexico and needed to get home.. Back to Maztalan for a one night stay at El Cid on the Pacific.. Nice Hotel.. Great food and drink all around.. Flight out at 12:30 for Phoenix.. No sweat.. Got thru customs.. Got to the gate.. Hour and a half to kill before the flight to Dallas and on to San Antonio.. Giant hamburger and a few cold beers.. Off to the gate.. What the hell you mean the flight is two plus hours late?? Here we go again.. Our plane shows up.. We get on and get off in Dallas bout midnight.. Whole airport in Chaos.. They will not give us a motel because their co-ops are full.. Offer us a cot.. I say.. Well I won't write that here.. But I ain't sleepin in no airport where some idiot can piss on my head while I am asleep.. We call a cab and rent a motel on our own dime.. For now.. But I ain't through callin and writin just yet.. They can't even get us all on the same flight back to SA in the morning.. I find a flight to Laredo.. Other guys finally get settled on a 6:00 am flight. After getting to motel at 1:45.. Not a lot of sleep.. I didn't fly till noon so at least I got some sleep.. Go to Laredo and had wife pick me up there.. Halfway home she realizes she left her phone at airport.. Back to Laredo we go.. Finally got back to shop at 3:45.. Kissed the ground.. I don't recommend any of you guys travel with me..
January 28, 2014: It has been almost a year since I wrote about Sugar, or any other Mexican lake for that matter.. And mostly because I don't feel comfortable sending anyone over there. Not that I would not go, and I plan to before too long. I do not know of any guides that are taking clients over there either. I don't think you would have a problem, but Mexico is still in a volatile state in the border regions. So if you do go of course you are going at your own risk.. As will I be when I do decide to make a trip. I hear that the lake is putting out some good fish, but not a lot of numbers. Spinnerbaits in less than eight feet of water is what I have been hearing. Some squarebill fish are also being caught. The lake is full at this writing, and actually overfull just a bit. They are releasing a bit of water for some irrigation. El Cuchillo is at 80% and hopefully this water will mitigate the drawdown on Falcon this spring. Just a FYI.. February 19, 2013: It has been a long time since I did a report on Sugar.. Not because I haven't gone, and certainly not because the fishing has not been good. I'm just still a bit leery about the travel between the border and the lake. And I do still hear stories quite often about "incidents" on the road . A couple of people I know have been stopped on the road, and while I don't think anybody over there wants to mess with a fisherman, they may want to know if you are up to anything else.. Both the Federales and the Cartels.. I just go there to fish.. And I stay at the lake till I am headed home.. Always early in the afternoon or early morning. I do not travel the roads at night.. I have been to Sugar twice in the last six weeks, and the latest trip was as good as the prior. And a few folks I know have been over and had trips of a lifetime.. I have had a couple of those over there, and I hope to have some more before my time is through.. That is the lure of Sugar.. It can be fantastic. But like we have said before, it does have its dangers.. But we had no problems last week.. Except that I ran out of Plum Ol Monsters.. I had to pay a premium for some from from my boatmate.. We boated thirty two fish on Tuesday, and about ten on Wednesday morning, before we gave in to the wind and put it on the trailer. The biggest fish of the trip was a seven pounder, but we caught a lot of nice chunky three to five pound fish.. And they were jacked up.. Mean as a junkyard dog, and full of piss and vinegar.. Most of the fish we caught were in the back half of the lake, and most were relating to rocky banks with a lot of hard woods on them. Banks that ran from east to west were the best.. North sides of the shores were better.. Warmer water.. And If I had figured it out before lunch, we'd a murdered em.. The wind prevented us from fishing there on day two.. Or at least I was not willing to put up with it.. I don't live that far away.. We flipped mostly, as the reported spinnerbait bite was not happening.. But the trip we had been there before we knocked em out on the blades.. But they was on the Ol Monster. And the bite was as light as as a feather. If you flipped your bait in a tree, and went to pick it up, and there was nothing there.. You better be setting the hook. And once I figured it out I was on em.. Old Fashioned flippin fun.. We never took a picture of a fish.. No whoppers.. But I know they're in there.. I AM NOT telling you that all is good when traveling in Mexico. And if you venture there it is at your own risk. But when you get my age, some risks become more acceptable.. And some less.. I'll answer any questions that you might have if you e-mail or give me a call.. I'm sure I won't stay away too long.. May 31, 2012: Well it finally happened.. I couldn't stand it any longer. And after searching around for a fishing partner, I finally got Jim Edwards to go with me.. Or should I say that I went with him, since we took his rig.. And it didn't hurt that he has fished the lake more than me.. A lot more.. Two years ago, on my second to last trip over there, we put out some monster brush piles. At the time the lake was full, and we had about twelve to fourteen feet of water on top of them.. Four of the six are showing right now, as the lake is about fifteen feet low. And it didn't matter anyway, as the fish were not in the brush, they were on rocks.. Humps and ledges and points. But it did not hurt to have a brush pile on some of them, as those last six were not the only ones ever put out.. There are a lot of brush piles in Sugar. At this level, there is not a lot of timber in the front half of the lake. And we did not flip very much, as there were not a lot of trees that were in the kind of water we were looking for. Besides, these fish, we soon found out, were wanting a crankbait. We caught some fish on XD's and Normans, but the fish went crazy over a Spro Little John in Chartreuse and Blue.. They loved it.. And I am sure we caught eighty percent of our fish on this bait. We fished Tuesday till two, and went in for a nap.. Came back out at five and fished till dark. Two tens and an eight an a half came off the same spot in fifteen minutes, thirty minutes before sundown. We did not slay them by Sugar standards, but I am judging it against some incredible trips. We had 42-43 pounds for our best five on Tuesday, and Mid thirties on Wednesday.. We had two over ten, two over nine, two over eight and a half, and too many five to sevens to count. And we caught a ton of small fish as well. There are humps and bumps and ridges all over this lake, and caution needs to be exercised when you are not in the middle of the lake.. It is not a minefield, but caution will prevent some problems.. We stayed at Sugar Lake Motel, and all was quiet and we had no problems coming or going. There were two bass boats on the lake on Tuesday.. Four on Wednesday.. They also cooked for us on demand, and Noe Santos is a good host. Contacting them before your trip can be a bit of a challenge. I do have numbers if you want them. I am sure that there will be more unrest in the areas near the border, and making the decision to go should not be taken without some consideration.. I am not getting any younger.. You're all big Boys.. You decide if a trip over suits you or not. I just couldn't wait any longer.. Wednesday AM.. From the Motel.. That's Camargo in the distance across the lake..
Can't beat the sunsets in this part of the woods.. May 1, 2012: While things have cooled off a little along the border, the fishing on Sugar and Las Blancas have been on fire.. I have heard some reports lately of incredible stringers from both lakes. Especially Sugar, as more folks have been fishing it. But a recent tournament on Las Blancas yielded a bunch of giant sacks, and a new lake record I hear. Somewhere a bit over thirteen pounds. But for numbers of giants, sugar has been turning out the eight to fourteen pound fish.. Lots of DD's I hear. Five or six over nine pounds in a day have been reported by several folks I know that have been there. I hear big spinners, flukes, and jigs have been tearing them up. Now for the caveat.. Mexico is still seeing spotty violence in the areas near the border.. But it has cooled down a bit.. A big Mexican army presence has done a lot to reduce the amount of incidents. But I am sure we do not hear of all of them. So what I am hearing I am passing along to you. If I went I would travel early, and certainly not be on the roads after dark.. But it is up to you to decide whether you go or not.. I'm still on the fence.. But it is driving me crazy.. And I do need to pick up some Hornitos.. Let me know how you do if you go.. And I will pass on the latest info I have if you call me before you get there.. June 9, 2011: It has been a long while since I wrote anything about Sugar lake, or any of the other semi local lakes in northern Mexico for that matter.. And for good reason. Things south of the border have just been too hostile for me to recommend that anyone venture over that way. But as of late quite a few folks have been traveling to Sugar, with no reported instances of any problems. I am still not advising that you take a trip over there, but only you can make the decision whether to go or not. From all the reports we have received, the fishing has been awesome. And that is not too hard to imagine. There has been next to zero fishing pressure on the lake, and it has had the same great water conditions that Falcon has experienced the last few years. But I have not wanted to report too much on it as I do not want to be the one that made you decide to go. I do believe that conditions have improved a good deal with all the Mexican military presence along the border. But DO NOT think that there have been no problems in the region. There have and there will probably be more to come. Reports say that there is a very big military presence on the roads from Miguel Aleman to the lake. And often times on the journey there you will probably get stopped and checked out by the army. But that has been the case all along. Now to the fishing. Reports are nothing short of stellar, and in the last month or two we have heard of several fifty pound sacks being caught in the course of a day. And the numbers are supposed to be awesome as well. Flipping the brush on rocky banks is producing a lot of fish. But if I was going I would be dragging a big ass crankbait or a jig or fluke on some deep humps out in the open water. Also cranking the ends of long points should be a killer right now.. But this is all dreaming for me, as I am not about to go there while the fishing is so good here at home. You may think differently, and if you head there I am sure you will whack em good.. Let me know how you do.. January 11, 2011: Things have remained unstable in Mexico and we are still advising folks to stay away from border area lakes inside Mexico. There is much military presence in the area, and hopefully things will be good to go in the near future.. But for now.. Stay and fish Falcon.. August 11, 2010: It's been a long time since I have updated this page, but have addressed the problems a lot on our Flash Report. And as of now we are still advising folks to stay out of Mexico. The situation is still a bit volatile. I wish it were different. And we do think it has improved some.. But we still do not advise taking a trip to Sugar or Las Blancas. We'll let you know any new news when things change.. March 16, 2010: I have not reported on Sugar or Las Blancas lately, mostly due to the fact that the fishing has been kind of slow. But that is something to report. The last person that I know of that went to Las Blancas was Charlie Haralson, about three weeks ago. And they did well.. But right after that happened, all hell has broken out in Mexico, and I did not feel right posting a report that might encourage you to travel there. And since then, I know of two parties that have gone to Sugar. And they both did well. But right now is not the time to go.. There is just too much danger in traveling to any of the border towns across the river. Until things settle down, I am not going there.. No matter how good the fishing might be. And I don't recommend that you do either. None of the guides that travel there all the time are going. That should tell you something. I'll let you know when I hear things are better.. October 5, 2009: Several locals ventured to Sugar this week, and I was lucky enough to be one of them. On Tuesday Gary Harlan and Doug Fett, who both guide here on Falcon and Sugar, made the journey and found it to be very rewarding. They caught around twenty five fish with a lot of nice, mean, and fat fish mixed in. Their big fish of the day was a nine pound plus fish that was caught off a rocky point. It was caught early and a bigger fish was not landed. But they reported that most all the fish they caught were four to six pound meanies.. It does not take long to get a thirty pound plus sack like that. They caught most of their fish on Crankbaits and worms, fishing points and humps. Yesterday I went with Jim Edwards and one of his clients, and I was along to open gates, fix flats, and fetch drinks. And of course I got to fish a bit too.. I caught a 7.68 on my third cast so my day was made. We caught most of our fish on Crankbaits and Senkos. The best baits of the day were Norman DD-22's in Tennessee Shad and Pearl Clown. The Pearl Clown was the best thing going. It was followed by the Yum Dinger in green Pumpkin Purple, and either the six or seven inch variety worked well. We fished a lot of spots, and we caught a fish on most every stop. But catching a fish on every stop was was not the desired intent.. We did not find them just stacked up anywhere. We had a best five that went 38.68, so you can't bitch too much.. Big fish of the day was an 8.68... All in all a good day, but we did not whack the numbers. But all good solid fish.. August 4, 2009: We went to Sugar yesterday with high expectations, and maybe I am a little spoiled, but I think that we had a poor day. At least compared to what I have gotten used to. We fished Sunday evening in a gale, and the only thing I caught was a few good sunset pics. But I had high hopes for Monday morning, being we could be on the lake so early. Our first stop produced no fish, and it is one of the places I like best on the lake. Not a good sign. We fished an open water hump next and caught a couple of threes, but no concentration of fish. We then fished a couple of points that I really like, and did our best on them. Of course we caught a few here and there while doing some poking around. We did not fish our best, as we missed a few on the hook set, and broke off a few on the hook set as well. And there are always those who have lassoed you to whatever they can find in the water.. I think I broke a personal record for consecutive casts where a crankbait was lost.. Hope Tommy doesn't check my crankbait box or he'll probably want to take it out of my pay.. Final score: 17 fish boated. Eight or so more we had on.. And misfires around seven or eight that should have been fish. (Daydreaming or lighting a cigar etc...) Could have had something to do with the Tecates on Sunday Night.. Big fish weighed 5-9. It came on a crankbait but most of our fish were caught on the green pumpkin purple dinger. We stayed at El Mirador motel right next to the dam. Awesome room.. Great A/C and lots of space. Little pricey at $90 for two people. But it did include two boat launches.. No food or drinks as we took our own. Clean as a pin.. Here's a couple pics from Sunday evening.. But unfortunately there are no fish featured in them..
July 2, 2009: There have been a lot voyages to Sugar lately, and for good reason.. The big fish are on the bite. I have been twice in the last month and had good results on both trips. But nothing like some of the folks I have talked to.. My measly stringers have been around thirty pounds, usually mixing an eight or nine pounder. I have spoken with a bunch of customers of guides in the last few weeks, and they have all had good trips to Sugar. Last week Speed Collette had a trip and his clients caught an eleven plus, and that did not make the big fish of the trip. They had a 14-8 big bass, with a few eights mixed in. Still waiting on a pic of that fish.. Speedy and Jim Edwards made a fun trip over yesterday, and they had a 14-08, 11-08, 9-03, 8-13, and a 8-09. I did the Math. That's 52.56 pounds for five.. They caught all their big fish on crankbaits..
I was over there on Tuesday with Gary Harlan, and we caught a lot of fish, and some good ones.. But not like that. We got a 9-2 in the boat, and had several others escape the net or break us off, and one of them for sure was in the nine pound class. We caught most of our fish on soft plastics, and did best on the Green Pumpkin Purple Dinger in the 6" version.
If you have the ways and means, now is a good time to make your way to Sugar. May 30, 2009: There have been a lot of folks visiting Sugar Lake as of late, and most all of them have been reporting good results. Good numbers and good sized fish are the norm at Sugar right now, with some whoppers mixed in. A lot of the local guides here at Falcon will also take you to Sugar, and they have been tearing them up over there. I hear that Sugar has caught a couple feet of water in the last two weeks, as water is being released from El Cuchillo, which is slightly over full pool. So I am guessing that Sugar is around 6-7 feet low at this time. Our buddy Jimbo Beard caught this nice 10.6 over there last week.
He said they had a 6.8 on at the same time.. Lots of times you will find a lot of good fish ganged up in the same areas. I went to Las Blancas last week, and the lake is about three feet low. Much of the grass is at the top of the water, and it limited me as to the spots I like to fish. I like to fish over the top of the grass a lot more than I like fishing in it, so I had a poor day. But we still caught a decent number of fish, but nothing like I am used to. And no whoppers. We caught most of our fish on grass edges, and with swim baits over the top where we could, mostly on main lake grass beds. The new Passport regulations go into effect on June first, and you are supposed to have a passport or a pass card to reenter the USA. But after reading some stuff on the Border Patrol website, it still does not look like they will not allow you back in with proper ID.. But if you are planning a trip to Mexico, just go get your passport and make it easy on yourself. May 7, 2009: Sugar was good to us again today. Although the plans I had in my mind were not exactly played out. I intended to catch a bunch of fish crankin several deep spots and the ends of some points. And in the first five minutes I had two in the boat on the crankbait.. But it did not last. And we had to try some of the shallow flipping that we were so successful with last week.. But the lake had dropped a foot easily, and many of the areas where we caught fish were devoid of anything with a scale. And we moved out to what would seem likely places they'd have went.. But not enough action to keep us interested. But on one of my favorite points, after trying the deep crankbaits with minimal success, we hammered them on Dingers in the Green Pumpkin Purple color. And the bigger the bait the bigger the fish.. Throw the seven inchers if you go.. And be sure and use a deep enough hook to allow the bait to bunch up a bit in the middle of the hook when you set the hook. That big Dinger is a lot of bait.. On the last stop of the day, we got into a mess of three pounders that were stacked like crackers on a long gentle point on the east side of the lake near the dam. It was awesome.. If you go, you will do good if you fish the points that head out to deep water.. They are all over the lake.. And when you hit the right one you can wear them out.. We wanted to fish some open water humps, but the wind was a bit much to fight. Maybe next trip. I know the crankbaits will kill them.. But this trip was all about the plastic.. April 28, 2009: Went to Sugar on Monday with a buddy from Bracketville. We left FLT at 6:00 AM and had no problems at the border or anywhere in between. Going or coming. Although I did see a suspicious looking swine or two.. But they were both wearing masks.. The wind was blowing when we got there, and we launched at the ramp right against the dam on the North side. And being the wind was blowing so hard, we fished in the area of the spillway for the first few hours. And it was a productive time, as we caught about six or eight flipping the bushes near rocky shorelines, all within a quarter mile of the spillway. And as luck would have it, the storms that were near San Antonio created an outflow from the north and settled the winds to about 6-10 MPH. Awesome.. We ran to the back of the lake past the San Juan river influx, and fished the areas around the Garcias, or three fingers, whichever you want to call it.. These fish are still spawning and after we figgured out that they were so shallow we commenced to whack them in several areas that had gravel shorelines with a lot of brush. And as always the most nasty, gnarly, and thickest bushes had fish in, on, and around them.. We lost a lot of fish, broke off a few on the hookset, and slow reaction master me, allowed five or six to tie me up in the bottom of the trees. But I got a look at most of them and I don't think any of them were giants. Most of the fish we caught were between 2.5 and five pounds, and the biggest was a 5-13. We caught most of the fish flipping, but we did catch a few on crankbaits. The 7" Dinger in Green Pumpkin Neon was working for my partner, but of course I was throwing the Ol Monster in Plum. The Dinger may have caught a few more of the bigger fish, but the numbers were pretty even on the amount of bites. We unhooked 23 in the boat fish, but we had at least 12-15 fish that threw the bait or tied us up, or due to operator error we did not stick. And in our defense, you're just not going to get all these fish in the boat in this kind of cover. And when I say we caught fish shallow, I mean shallow. I caught at least six fish in water less than knee deep.. And a lot of bites came in less than five feet of water. We also caught some fish on the spinner baits. The SOB in Tilapia was working in areas where you could throw it.. But we are both plastic freaks and we stuck with that most of the day.. I just love flipping shallow trees.. But I guess that is no surprise. And if there is any fish meaner than Falcon fish, these are them.. And if you were in a tree and did not set the hook immediately, the dance was pretty much over.. Someone asked me why I go to Sugar all the time.. And it is certainly not that I am mad at Falcon. I just gotta leave the country to get a day off!! Call me if you are planing a trip down there and I'll point you in the right direction or get you hooked up with a guide that knows the ropes and the spots. See you on the Water! April 17, 2009: Went back to Sugar yesterday, and we headed out with one thing in mind.. Catching a big fish.. Or two or three.. We targeted mainly deep humps and rockpiles in the middle of the lake. Football jigs and Big deep diver cranks were what we threw a lot of.. We had less than spectacular results, but we did manage to catch a few nice fish. The biggest boated fish of the day was about an eight pounder, and it was caught on a rocky point in about five feet of water..(Plum Ol Monster) I told you we were fishing deep.. There are still some spawning fish on Sugar, and this one was no exception.. Most of the bottom of her tail was gone and she was a fat as a corn fed heifer or a talk show host..(No disrespect meant to the fish)
I went with local guide Jim Edwards, and this guy knows where every hump and bump on the lake is.. And we fished a lot of them.. Problem was that the fish just were not cooperating.. Jim had a hog on, but a slow net man and a Fluorocarbon line did not equal boating the fish.. We caught about a dozen, and I know we could have caught more numbers flipping the brush.. But we were looking for big open water fish.. Maybe next time..
April 9, 2009: I made a one day trip to Sugar, and a close as it is, I should do it more.. The lake is about four feet low, and a lot of the long points are starting to come into play. We caught fish on soft plastics, and it really did not seem to matter what we threw.. Of course the Plum Ol Monster was whacking them, But I caught them good on the Plum Mag lizard also.. And the Red Shad Berkley power worm was doing just fine as well in the 10" version. We caught most fish flipping the bushes and trees, and there are a ton of them in play right now. We caught fish on every stop, and most of them were in water in about ten feet deep, but we caught them shallower and deeper.. But the flipping bite was best. We did catch several fish on cranks, and I can only see the hard bait getting better and better as it warms up. Those long rocky points and humps are the real deal when the water warms up.. Coming soon. The best fish of the day came on a Plum Lizard in four feet of water.. A big fat eight pounder that had not spawned yet.. I'd like to post a pic of her but she did not hang around long enough to sign any autographs.. In other words, she came unbuttoned right at the boat.. And yes I am guessing at the weight.. But I am always conservative.. :-) I think if a man spent a day or two over there you could figgure them out a little better.. But fishing close to a good drop off was definitely a key.. We saw NO fry in the lake.. The water was off color in the main lake, but clearer in areas near the dam.. Water temps were about 71 degrees. There were darn few shad or tilapia on the surface.. Flip them trees! February 18, 2009: I got a chance to escape the shop yesterday, and local guide Gary Harlan and I decided it was a good day to play Hooky with some hooks.. And it worked out pretty darn good. We have been struggling a bit to get a lot of bites on Falcon, and the word is out that the bass are hard at it on Las Blancas. Turns out the rumor is true, as we caught forty plus fish in the kinda short day we fished. Las Blancas is 52 miles from the front door of our shop, and as the crow flies, it is 12 miles from the Las Blancas ramp to the the dam on Falcon. But you can't get there by Crow, and it takes a roundabout way to get there.. Welcome to Mexico.. But the roads are great and the ramp is great and the lake looks great.. I have no idea how many acres Blancas covers, but I am guessing around 15,000. It has a dam that also serves as a spillway, so running around in the dark is not a good idea in that area.. The Dam has high wall on either end, but lower in the middle section, probably four hundred yards wide. And water is just barely topping the dam.
The lake is full of Hydrilla, and we fished primarily over the top of the grass on this trip. We did not fish deep, but we did fish a few of the inundated structures in the lake.. And caught fish. There are several old ranch houses and barns etc. in the water. And we caught fish on all of them.
We caught most fish above the grass, and spinner baits worked well..
But the best baits were hard baits, like the King Shad from Strike King. I was using the Sexy Shad pattern. Also a Smithwick Rogue worked very well.. They would hammer that baby..
Of course the Plum Ol Monster catches fish wherever it goes.. If you get a chance to make it to Las Blancas, I am sure you will enjoy the trip.. It is not known for a lot of big fish, but lots of bites.. Gary Harlan guides there also so give him a call if you want to take a no hassle trip.. I'm headed back soon.. January 19, 2008: There have been a few folks heading to Mexico for some fishing in the last few days, and as the weather warms, these lakes are starting to get going too. Local Guide John Williams had a great day for numbers at Las Blancas last week, and he is headed back tomorrow. He said that they caught a lot of smaller fish in the two to three pound range, but the biggest was a five. They caught a lot of fish on traps and any bait that will work over the top of the grass. There has been a good topwater bite reported for the last few weeks. I hear there is a lot of Crappie in the lake also, and I need to get me some of that. Sugar is sill reportedly a little slow, and I would guess that it is fishing a lot like Falcon. It is at full pool. El Cuchillo is doing very well we hear, with a lot of good fish being caught. Creek channels and flats a filling up with spawning fish. We hear thru the grapevine that some big fish are being caught in less than ten feet of water.. I'm headed for Blanco ASAP... November 15, 2008: There have been a lot of folks from Zapata and out of town that have been at Sugar lately. The lake is at full pool and the fishing is improving day to day. We had some friends fish there for a week and they had some good days and some not so good days. Their best days saw around twenty fish caught, and a Carolina Rig was the most productive for them. They caught a lot of four to five pound fish, but they did not break the double digit mark while they were there. Other folks that we have talked to recently said that they caught the better fish on a very deep spinner bait with a very slow retrieve. Long points were best for both parties. And if there were some dead trees around it was a good thing. Las Blancas: Nacho De La Garza was in this week and he reported excellent fishing on Blanco. The Hydrilla is backing off a bit and the fish are relating to the edges of the grass.. He said he caught a ten pounder off his dock last week. Blanco is a small lake and is also about an hour and a half from the front door of FLT.. Easy day trip. If you would like to try it give Nacho a call at 01152 81 83 667481. El Cuchillo: Still full to the brim and reports have come across my desk that say it is a little slow. But this is hearsay only.. I have not spoken to anyone who has actually fished there lately.. I'll keep my ears open.. And I'll try to keep up with this page a little better..
September 29, 2008: Sugar lake is full to the brim, having caught about six feet of water in the last week or so. The fishing remains very good, and crankbaits and big spinner baits are the order of the day. Fish flooded bushes and shorelines with the spinnerbaits, and rocky points and humps with the Cranks. The Norman DD-22 in Tropical Shad or Chartreuse/Blue are excellent choices right now. Blanco is also full and producing some fish, but from reports we have gotten, but it is not setting the world on fire. The water is about two feet over the grass and some shallow running crankbaits are catching some fish. Poking a jig thru holes in the mats is also catching some better fish. Cuchillo is full also, but we have no reports from there lately..
September 12, 2008: I went to Sugar yesterday with one of our local guides, Gary Harlan, and we caught a boat load of fish.. We boated an easy sixty five fish, and had another twenty five on easy.. Those damn Crankbaits.. You catch a lot.. But you loose a lot. These fish at Sugar are prone to acrobatics.. We caught most fish (90%) on a Norman DD-22 in Chartreuse and Blue, the 181 color. We have been catching a lot of big fish lately, but yesterday we traded size for numbers.. We caught two fish over six pounds, but a ton of fours and fives..
This fish weighed 6.2 pounds, and was only 19" long. The girth and length equals weight scale is out the window at Sugar.. These are some of the Fattest and Meanest fish around..
August 4, 2008: If there is any better fishing than on Falcon right now it is on Sugar lake. Monster stringers are being caught by most all of our local guides, and even I caught a twelve there last week. Forty pound stringers have been caught on multiple trips in the last two months, and thirty five pounds is typical for the boat while fishing with the right guides.. Several of our locals are headed to Lake Guerrero for this weekends big tournament for bragging rights between the two neighboring countries. Should be interesting.. Contact us to schedule your no hassle trip to Sugar or Blanco or Agua Milpa.. We'll hook you up with someone who knows the ropes. June 15, 2008: Sugar is about 10-12 feet low from just guessing, and the fishing is hot.. One of our local guides had a trip there yesterday, and they had 41 pounds for their best five fish. The big fish was just over eleven pounds, but the numbers of fives and sixes and sevens were reportedly awesome. Most fish came on crankbaits. Call us if your looking for something a little different and we'll put you in touch with a guide who will get you there.. May 30, 2008: We have had no real reports from anywhere other that Guerrero and Sugar here lately. We had a group of fellows that fished Guerrero last month, and they said the fishing was fair, but not awesome. They stopped here at Falcon on their way home, and said they did better here. Sugar lake is as hot as a two dollar pistol, with big stringers being caught on a daily basis. A couple of our local guides went last Wednesday, and they had a 51 pound stringer.. Supposedly they went to move brushpiles.. I guess they were using DD-22's to move the brush.. Bruce Fox has an all inclusive trip over there, with food, room and fishing.. He is on our guide page.. And Most all of the local guides will will make a day trip with you. April 24, 2008: With the lake being off limits for Bass Champs anglers this week, two of our local guides headed for Sugar Lake. Gary Harlan and Jim Edwards had a huge day on Monday, catching big numbers and a some nice sized fish also.. They said the lake was down six or eight feet, and a lot of the mid lake humps are starting to pop out of the water. Big crankbaits caught the lions share of the fish, but Worms ad Jigs were also catching fish. If you've always wanted to take a Mexico trip, the maybe now is the time.. Both of these guides are on our guide page and and DO take trips to Sugar. Give them a call.. They said it was AWESOME.. March 29, 2008: We have heard a lot of good and bad about Sugar lake lately.. And most of it was bad. Not that the water was off color or anything, but just that the fishing has been slow.. And that there are nets EVERYWHERE. We have several good customers that frequent Sugar, and most of them report that this spring just has not been near as good as the last few years. We have heard of the occasional successful trip, but most have been less than spectacular.. We'll let you know if we hear anything super.. Sugar Lake- September 17-18-19, 2007 Two Medina County Anglers made their way to Sugar lake and had some incredible results according to their report. Guy Davis from Hondo, and Ram Pichardo from Devine spent three days on the lake and what they caught was amazing! Each day they caught about 30 fish, and on the first day they averaged about 7 pounds, with three over 10 pounds and a big fish of 11.03. On day two they also caught three over ten pounds, and a big fish of 14.11. On their final day of fishing they only managed one fish over ten, but it was a 12.02. The water temps were around 84 degrees. Most of their fish were caught on DD22's in 20-22 feet of water. They also report catching a few fish on spinner baits. While at sugar they stayed at the Corona Motel. Camera incompatibilities prevented us from having some pics but we should have them up shortly. Sounds like we're heading to Sugar very soon! Stay tuned for pics.. March
1 2007:
March 3-4, 2007- The final of the FRONTERIZO Tournament was held
February
24, 2007: Nicolas Rocha and
his fishing partner Jorge were in second place in the Circuito Internacional Fronterizo
tournament with a
February
19.2007: Jimbo
Beard followed up his victory in the Uvalde Bass Club
February 3, 2007: Some of our customers returned recently from Sugar Lake with some poor fishing reports. Apparently the cold weather has affected fishing more at Sugar than at Falcon. Two days fishing produced only three small Bass. October 7, 2006: Some of our neighbors (James Bendele) made a trip to Sugar and launched at the Sugar Lake Motel. They pulled up on a point where fish had been taken previously. Shortly. another boat anchored off the point, then another, then a third. There were fortunately plenty of fish to go around. They moved into the deeper water 20 ft and cast up to about 14 ft. They were catching fish to 4 lbs on watermelon red lizards and red shad worms. The other boats were shallower and had to settle for the smaller fish. The bigger fish were not located and may still be out deeper, They
took some pictures of the Dam extension added to permit the water to rise above
the
Lake Baccarac Report-May 1,2006: Some of our friends from McAllen Bass Club spent three days at Barraca recently and they caught 700 Bass to 11 Lbs. Three weighed over 9 Lbs and the majority were over 3 Lbs. The lake is low, about 45% conservation compared to 75% last year. Their first-class guide was Rene Salazar and most of their fish were caught on crankbaits and worms. Baccarac
Lodge Report May 2006: We thought fishing couldn't get any better, but it has.
Danny Westfall from Phoenix, Arizona called and started his report by saying,
"There is no way the fishing can get any better. It was a dream trip. Topwater
in the morning and evening, and every other presentation working during the day."
Danny's group caught fish up to 12 lbs., crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Jason Loris
revisited the lodge this year and has already caught a 13 even, a 12.12 and an
11.14. Tim Schumacher caught an 11.14. The fishing remains productive all over
the lake. Lake Baccarac guides Sixto, Eddie, Juan, Martin and Teddy are doing
an incredible job. The lodge will be staying open until July 4th. If you are already
coming down to see us, call for a fishing report and if you are thinking of coming,
don't miss the opportunity to be part of this great bass action. Courtesy of Baccarac
Lodge.. Jimbo
fished with Ken Eliason on a number of days and Ken's take on Sugar was that for
big bass, he preferred Sugar to Falcon. For numbers of fish Ken had to give the
nod to Falcon. Jimbo almost exclusively used 10" Red Shad Berkley Power Worms, both at Sugar as well as at Falcon. The gentlemen from Mexico were using Watermelon Red Brush Hogs. Ken was using a variety of plastics,but toward the end of his trek he came in and bought a 100 pk of 10" RS Berkleys. He asked we not tell Jimbo. Ok Ken, your secret is safe with us. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report February 26, 2006-I received an e-mail from one of our customers who just returned from 10 days at Lake Guerrerro. They caught a lot of fish but nothing over 5 or 6 lbs. He was asking about a rumor that a new motel was going in at Cuchillo with a good ramp?? Anyone know anything let me hear from you. Mexico
Lakes Fishing Report February 1, 2006 -
Lake Guerrerro Uvalde fishermen
of the year for 2005 Jimbo Beard and Ken Eliason, Minnesota made a trip
to Sugar Lake in Mexico last week and fishing was so good they made another trip
this week. Tuesday they caught a total of 62 bass and all were over the minimum
length limit of 14 inches. Some of the 14 inch fish weighed 2 1/2 lbs. Included
in the 62 catch were 3 fish over 8 lbs, 2 over 7 lbs and a 6 lb bass as well.
Jimbo usues primarily A 10" red shad power worm so we know what his fish
were attracted to and Ken was using up all his old baits and according to him,
"one was about as good as the other." Jimbo estimated his five best
fish would have weighed right at 37 lbs. All the fish were shalllow and on the
nest or close to it. Carlos has opened the Las Olives (don't bet on the spelling) over on the water at Nuevo Guerrero and his swimming pool, restaurant and guide service is operational. Give Carlos a call at Falcon Heights at 956-848-5229 or on his cell phone at 512-848-5695 to book reservations. Mexico
Lakes Fishing Report January 24, 2006- Lake
Baccarac: Another great day at Lake Baccarac! With cooler than normal weather
and the water temperature over the last few days dropping to 68 degrees, we have
seen our first trio of big fish in shallow water. Mike Blaha of Salina, KS, fishing
with Sixto Figeroa, concentrated on only big fish today and had a total of number
fish caught - 75, with most of them being in the 6 to 7 lb. range. The big fish
caught in the back of a cove was 13.50 Lbs. Barry Vest of Georgia, fishing with
our guide Mario, reported 150 fish caught today, and the big fish coming today
at 4:00 p.m. using a spinnerbait on a shallow point that weighed 11.40 Lbs. (Report
Courtesy of Reel Mexican Adventures) Mexico Lakes Fishing Report January 17, 2006- Jimbo Beard from Uvalde and Ken Elliason from Minnesota made a quick trip to Sugar Lake Monday Jan 16. 2006. According to their reports fishing was good, but they never found the big bass scoring only a 4 1/2 lb big bass. The plastics and spinnerbaits they used caught the most fish and it was very similar to Falcon as far as depths and patterns.. Carlos Olivares was in the store on Thursday and he reports that Las Blancas has dropped a little in level and he has caugt fish to 9.1 lbs while prefishing for Saturday's Fronterizo Internacional Torneo. The grass is level is dropping a little and fishing sould be good for the tournament. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report December 15, 2005- A group of 4 fishermen from Tulsa Oklahoma just stopped by the store to relate their experiences from fishing the Northern Mexico Grand Slam i.e.,Las Blancas, Sugar and El Cuchillo this past week. They reported the bite was mostly on small junior class bass and the week's big bass was an 8 lber from Cuchillo. This was the only big fish caught all week. Lake El Cuchillo at China is 12 ft over conservation and high lake levels exist at the other lakes as well. Bites from big bass were virtually non-existent and the action on small fish was slow-to-fair. Falcon is definitely better than that right now. Until next time, have a great day on the water. Mexican Lake Report-Sugar Lake-Nov 30, 2005: A group of South Texas fishermen recently visited Sugar Lake and reported good fishing with multiple 8 pounders. Fishing is similar to Falcon with a number of good 3-5 lb fish on platics, spinnerbaits and crankbaits.The fishing was good, but they report the lake water level is very high and has the lower Restaurant shut down due to water having risen to the point it has flooded over the floor. The fishermen, who have requested that we not reveal their names, decided (after fishing the day) to make a run that evening into the next town a sleepy little village called Comales for food and drink. Apparently while they were having a drink (the only Gringos in the place) they encountered a group of armed Mexican Banditios and were kidnapped, pistol whipped and threatened. To make it short, they very much feared for their lives. Multiple shots were fired into the air and/or ground, their vehicle was commandeered and at one point, at least one of the fishermen was separated and taken outside where he was forced to kneel and a gun was held to his head execution style. Actually, the gun was discharged just inches from his head and the fishermen remaining inside thought he had been killed. Several of the fishermen being held fortunately spoke fluent Spanish, but that was not much help as the Banditos were interested more in ravaging the fishermen than discussing their catch at Sugar. They took the groups Drivers licenses and made some inquiries by phone into their identities and tried to determine whether they were US Agents. The group of armed assailants while holding the group hostage apparently encountered a second group of armed Mexicans and it appeared to one fisherman that perhaps the second group was a rival drug gang or possibly out of uniform government forces like Federales. It looked like a battle might be in the offing between the two groups at any time. According to our source the leader of the second group got hold of their vehicle keys and they were returned and told to get out. They exited the sleepy little village like the Dukes of Hazzard. This encounter would most likely not have occurred if they had remained at Noe's Motel that evening after fishing instead of going into town. It might not have happened if they had stopped at a different place. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. A recent newspaper article (as well as customers in Rio Grande City) indicates multiple kidnappings have occurred in Border towns from the US side (as well as in Mexico) that have not been widely reported. While some speculation is that many of these are drug related, the reality is you need to stay out of places where these types of encounters might confront you.
Nuevo Laredo has had multiple incidents of kidnapping and killings as have most
other Mexico Border towns and the US is no longer impervious to these activities.
We do not want to alarm you, but travel in Mexico needs to be done cautiously
if at all. We definitely recommend that you stay out of places you are not familiar
with or that may be subject to visitation by drug runners and other Banditos.
Right now, it appears to me that is about anywhere in Mexico. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report November 2006 - Speedy Collett had some folks from the West Texas Sportsman here filming a movie on fishing Las Blancas, Sugar and Falcon. According to Speedy Las Blancas water quality is stil an issue as Nicolas Rocha reported in June. They managed to catch some fish including a 7 Lb Big Bass but a lot of time was spent looking for decent water. They had a little better luck at Sugar with an 8 Lb fish as big bass. The water level is quite high. The best fish and the best fishing was found right here on Falcon where they caught a 9.13 Lb bass and lost one even bigger. They caught a lot of fish, but the big ones came on crankbaits in 15 to 20 ft water off hardwood and willow points. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report October 20, 2006 - El Cuchillo 17 October, Sugar Lake October 18-19, 2005: Jimbo Beard and a fishing buddy Al Haughney loaded up followning last weelend's Uvalde tournament here on Falcon and headed for China, Mexico. They found some high water, not-to-great fishing and they decided to head back north, staying just long enough to determine that El Cuchillo "the knife" was not cutting it. They were told that a weekend tournament produced a heavy stringer of 13 lbs. Since Falcon was off-limits for OPEC until the 20th, they decided to stop at Sugar and see if the water rise was impacting this Reservoir. Rumors of an 18 lb fish (still unsubstantiated) caught by the El Suca Lodge guide earlier this year fueled their curosity and peaked their interests. They were able to catch some fish in the 4 to 6 lb range, but the high water levels did not help the bite and the big bass elluded them. Lake Las Blancas-August 26, 2005 Report from Nicolas Rocha Laredo Tx-I was out at Las Blancas last weekend. Ramp is working great. Fishing is kind of off because of sour water that is murky-to-dark color. Las Blancas used to be crystal clear water, but too much water came into the lake. I think it will take about 3-5 weeks for water quality to get better. I am use to fishing very different patterns in the lake. Fish would not hit the normal baits of SENKOS and WORMS. We got a lot of strikes on Rat-L-Traps on top the the hydrilla, yet you get a lot of tangles since you can’t see the hydrilla. I caught good quality fish 3-4 pounds about 5 and many small ones. The lake is not producing the good stringers right now. Lakes Baccarac/Huites- August 25, 2005 Courtesy Of Terry Hollan http://www.lakebaccaraclodge.com www.mexicanadventures.com Lake Huites is within just a few feet of being full again. The water is crystal clear, and the numbers of bass caught are excellent! We caught over 100 bass between 1 1/2 and 6 lbs. the firsts two hours we fished. Recently, the lake has been stocked with Florida bass again, trying to improve the bloodline. In the canyons and in the Chimney Pass River, fish can be caught at almost every point. Lake Baccarac is 90% full and the water is clear and the fishing is very good. Most all of the fish are on the long main lake points and the open lake structure and once we found one fish, there would always be ten more to catch out of the same hole. Fish up to 12 1/2 lbs. were caught using rattletraps in 25 feet of water. When they stopped biting on rattletraps, you could use carolina rigged watermelon seed lizards. If you are coming in the next 60 days, expect clearer water than normal for this time of year and make sure you have new line on your reels. We had two big fish break a new 20 lb. test line. We are still having rains daily. See you at the lodge. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- Las Blancas June 2, 2005: Nicloas Rocha and his partner fished Las Blancas last weekend and their results were excellent. Launching at the public amp and fishing mostly in the river area, the plastic bite was good and they scored over fifty bass to 4 1/2 lbs. Report: Fishing at the Blancas was great. Caught over 60 fish between us. Although the best one was a 4.5 pounder, we had plenty of 2 pounders. Fishing was over deep brush and vertical presentation. We fished all of the river and the action was great. Senko in all natural colors. The Yamamoto grub was great!!! I will be at Zapata probably some time in the week. Nicloas Rocha-Laredo TX Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- Las Blancas, Sugar Lake, Baccarac, Feb 16, 2005: Fishing in the Mexico lakes has been steadily improving and we recently had reports of a 15 lb bass caught at Sugar Lake by a fisherman from Mexico. Some of our local fishermen have caught some good fish using plastic baits like green or red colored anything. The brush hog baits have been very effective. Meanwhile bass continue to be caught in and around the grass at Las Blancas and Speedy Collett says some of the grass has started to die off and has resulted in a clearing of some areas previously unaccessible. Fishing in the river has been very good and I hear the lake record is now somewhere north of 8 lbs. We had a report of a good results in a 2 day tournament of 18 kilos heavy stringer primarily on jig and pig baits. Just
got an e-mail today from Reel Mexico Adventuers of an 18.3 lb fish Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- Las Blancas, August 9, 2004: Charlie Haralson and one of his friends fished Las Blancas Saturday and they reported that their success was about twice what they experienced Sunday on Falcon. It appears that the bite, which went South along with the rise in lake level over June and July, has reappeared now that the lake level has fallen. They had some early morning action on topwater baits, but the biggest and best fish came off jigs fished either in hardwoods or in the hydrila on edges of drop offs and on points through holes in the weed cover. Recent reports indicate fishermen have had an occasional fish on lipless cranbaits and some Senko action has also been reported. Charlie said his 5 best fish would have weighed close to 28 lbs and over 25 fish were caught. Their big bass weighed north of 7 lbs. This sweet little lake is just 15 miles from Falcon dam and is inside the checkpoint so no Visa is required. A Mexican fishing license and Las Blancas lake permit is required to legally fish the lake and a boat permit is also necessary if you take your boat into Mexico. The lake permits are available from Senor Barrera at Barrera's Screen Printing and Embroidery in Roma at 956-849-7170. This is located next to the monument shop across the street from the El Rancho motel on US Highway 83. We have the Mexico Fishing Licenses and boat permits at Falcon Lake Tackle. You may want to call ahead and reserve these documents and schedule a pick up time. Speedy Collett reports that he has received some reports from Sugar Lake that the bass and catfish are biting again and he is going over to check it out one day this week. Watch for an update as soon as we hear from him. July 2004: A couple of the locals who frequent this impoundent stopped by the store last week and let us in on the skinny as regards the lake permits. Apparently the official who was previously responsible for the permits was removed from the permitting and lake management responsibilities. The new permit issuance authority is Senor Barrera. He has a business in Roma Texas called Barrera's Screen Printing and Embroidery. It is located near the El Ranch Motel next to a monument shop on Hwy 83. Speedy Collett is over there today trying to establish contact. I will let you know more when additional info becomes available. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- Sugar & Las Blancas, July 5, 2004: Sugar Lake is still running over the spillway and while a lot of 10" to 16" fish were reportedly caught by Tom Haralson on Monday (30+), the bigger fish were never located. Tom reports that there is no sign of grass developing at Sugar at this time. We had another group from Laredo who fished Las Blancas Lake this weekend and they reported having results similiar to the tournament results on the 27th posted below, i.e., 5 to 10 fish per person tops.
Mexico
Lakes Fishing Report- Sugar Lake, etc-November 16, 2004: Mexico
Lakes Fishing Report- Sugar Lake,etc-October 22, 2004:
Reports from Las Blancas indicate the moss is still a problem for fishermen, but if you can find an opening fishing is still good. Fishing
is continuing strong at El Cuchillo based on reports from recent anglers. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- El Cuchillo, August 25, 2004: Charlie and Tom Haralson, Speedy Collett and some other locals traveled to China Mexico's El Cuchillo Lake for a Mexico block-style fishing tournament last weekend and had some good results in fishing if not in winning. They caught a lot of fish in the 4 lb and up class and they weighed the allowable 2-fish limit in every block returning them their entry fees and gas money. Several 7 LB fish were weighed by other contestants and over 100 fishermen participated. Crankbaits and Carolina-rigged plastics produced the most strikes and they were working juisache trees on points in 25 to 30 ft of water. The fish were suspended just above the trees and they would go for baits worked just above the tree tops. Charlie said they lost some good fish (and crankbaits) to the trees. If you are interested in a trip to El Cuchillo, give Charlie a call at 956-763-6175 or call Speedy Collett at Beacon Lodge 956-765-4616. Fish are also biting at Sugar Lake and Las Blancas so it is a good time to arrange a trip to all three. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- Las Blancas, August 9, 2004: Charlie Haralson and one of his friends fished Las Blancas Saturday and they reported that their success was about twice what they experienced Sunday on Falcon. It appears that the bite, which went South along with the rise in lake level over June and July, has reappeared now that the lake level has fallen. They had some early morning action on topwater baits, but the biggest and best fish came off jigs fished either in hardwoods or in the hydrila on edges of drop offs and on points through holes in the weed cover. Recent reports indicate fishermen have had an occasional fish on lipless cranbaits and some Senko action has also been reported. Charlie said his 5 best fish would have weighed close to 28 lbs and over 25 fish were caught. Their big bass weighed north of 7 lbs. This sweet little lake is just 15 miles from Falcon dam and is inside the checkpoint so no Visa is required. A Mexican fishing license and Las Blancas lake permit is required to legally fish the lake and a boat permit is also necessary if you take your boat into Mexico. The lake permits are available from Senor Barrera at Barrera's Screen Printing and Embroidery in Roma at 956-849-7170. This is located next to the monument shop across the street from the El Rancho motel on US Highway 83. We have the Mexico Fishing Licenses and boat permits at Falcon Lake Tackle. You may want to call ahead and reserve these documents and schedule a pick up time. Speedy Collett reports that he has received some reports from Sugar Lake that the bass and catfish are biting again and he is going over to check it out one day this week. Watch for an update as soon as we hear from him. July 2004: A couple of the locals who frequent this impoundent stopped by the store last week and let us in on the skinny as regards the lake permits. Apparently the official who was previously responsible for the permits was removed from the permitting and lake management responsibilities. The new permit issuance authority is Senor Barrera. He has a business in Roma Texas called Barrera's Screen Printing and Embroidery. It is located near the El Ranch Motel next to a monument shop on Hwy 83. Speedy Collett is over there today trying to establish contact. I will let you know more when additional info becomes available. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- Sugar & Las Blancas, July 5, 2004: Sugar Lake is still running over the spillway and while a lot of 10" to 16" fish were reportedly caught by Tom Haralson on Monday (30+), the bigger fish were never located. Tom reports that there is no sign of grass developing at Sugar at this time. We had another group from Laredo who fished Las Blancas Lake this weekend and they reported having results similiar to the tournament results on the 27th posted below, i.e., 5 to 10 fish per person tops. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- Las Blancas, June 29, 2004: Several of the participants that fished the June 27th tournament at Las Blancas stopped by the store and gave us a report. The tournament weighed one fish per participant and the big fish and first place weighed just north of seven pounds. Tom Haralson's sixth place fish weighed 4 lbs., just a few ounces under the second place fish. Reports received from several participants indicate the typical number of fish caught per angler was somewhere between 5 and 10 fish. Fishing was tough with the grass proving to be an impediment for most folks. Most productive lures were senko type baits in green pumpkin and also Oldham 1 1/4 Oz Little Gator jigs with Zoom super chunk trailers. For those of you contemplating fishing this lake, we received a partial clarification about the permit situation. Apparently there has been a change in responsibility for issuance of permits. The tournament folks were informed that the old permits, (which were still honored) were being replaced by new official documents. Beacon had purchased a book of these original documents earlier and had sold them to some fishermen. We do not have any info on where these permits can be purchased or who is in charge at this time. We will continue to try and make a connection with the responsible folks and get a clear understanding of who, where, etc. We do understand the original permits are still valid. Mexico
Lakes Fishing Report- Las Blancas, June 21, 2004: The lake level is being dropped even as I write this report and the grass is still presenting some difficulty for fishermen inexperienced with fishing these conditions. Fish are buried deep in the grass and conventional lures are not effective. It is going to take some heavy hydrilla sinkers and the like to get to the fish. The
River is starting to show grass also, and it takes a pretty skilled Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- Las Blancas, June 15, 2004: We understand Speedy Collett and a couple friends went to Las Blancas this weekend and did not have the normal "Big Bite" we have come to expect from this jewel. We talked to Roy Graham and according to his reports less than 10 fish were boated. Apparently there is abundant hydrilla lot of moss in the lake (about 2/3 covered?) and fishing conditions were difficult. It figures that about the time I get my Blancas Grande all-weld PolarKraft ready to fish with papers, depthfinders and temp gauge the fishing goes South. While
I was in Mexico taking my Niece and Sister over to Miguel Aleman for cabrito,
I stopped over in Mier to see Senor Saldana about buying a book of permits. He
was out and I spoke with his wife who informed me that they were no longer selling
permits and they were not required. At least I think that is what she said. I
threw it back several different ways and it came back as "imposible"
in all cases. We will try to get Speedy to confirm this, but as of this time,
I am of the understanding it is not required. If not, that simplifies the process.
Launching is working good at the public launch area next to the canal. Mexico Lakes Fishing Report- June 2, 2004: Several boats from Zapata and Laredo made it over to Las Blancas last weekend and found the water lower as a result of releases having been made recently. The fish have apparently gone deeper and fishing the edges of the moss (which is overly abundant) in about 20 ft of water over drop-offs produced some fish on jigs and Texas rigged plastics. A few fish came on a variety of other baits from the river area, but the most fish any of the seven fishermen caught was 13 and big fish was about 4 lbs. A larger fish was hooked and brought to the surface, but she decided not to visit the boat to meet Speedy and his friends. Launching at the public area is working at this level and the Haralson brothers (Tom and Charlie) launched there in Charlie's new Skeeter without any problems. The bite seems to have slowed and will probably not return to its pre-rise, big bite-status until the level stabilizes. May 7, 2004:The big story right now from Mexico is Water, Water and more water. Several weeks ago, Ramiro Torres, owner of the Holiday Restaurant here in Zapata and some of his buddies made a trip to Lake Guerrero in Mexico and brought back some stories of 50 to 60 fish caught per day, mostly in the three pound class with an occasional fish to 5 lbs. The blow was on and they never made it out of the Corona River to fish the main lake. They fished out of Campo La Isla and had a very enjoyable trip. I fished out of this camp some years ago and they claim it is even better now. The good news at La Isla is that you can always fish the river if the blow is on. We will have more on this destination in a later report. Las Blancas is continuing its reign as the most consistent and dependable (if a little windy this time of year) lake near the border. Catches have continued to run 25 to 30 fish per day up to 8 1/2 lbs. The lake is up a bunch as are all the Northern Mexico lakes. The big bass picture might be in the process of changing for the better since reports are coming in that a stock tank used for breeding Florida bass washed out. They believe most of the big sows ended up in Las Blancas. If that is true the lake record is about to move North of 8 1/2 lbs.
being released is flowing into other lakes like Marte Gomez. Sugar Lake has an abundance of water and the natives are looking at taking up surfing. Here are some recent pics taken by Sergio Herrera of Laredo. Water is flowing over spillway, roads and farms at Sugar. Bass fishing was starting to pick up, but look for the bite to go South until things stabilize. Catfishing should still be good.
EL Cuchillo has been permitted to rise to over 150% capacity threatening
the Dam (and the area below the Dam) if flood conditions materialize. Their efforts
to drop the lake have been met with more rain and conditions are getting serious.
May 1 weekend 140 boats fishing a tournament launched and the front hit. A
bunch of boats got Las Blancas Update April 10, 2004 - Roy Graham from Beacon Lodge and local Papa John Burnham made a quick trip to Las Blancas yesterday to check out the impact that rains in the area have had on the bite and lake launching at this Mexico hot spot. Both have been negatively affected according to Roy, but launching is still working, it just requires backing out a little further. The fish were not turned on as much as they had been previously, which is understandable given the 5 or so ft of water that has flowed into the lake covering port-a-pots and the reworked launching area as well. Roy said the bigger fish were still hitting and spinnerbaits were working well in the river area. He had a couple fish break off and caught several over five lbs. A couple of the fish weighed 6 lbs or better. John had one grab his lizard at the boat, but he managed to keep the lizard away from the bass that was a cinch to have captured the day's big bass honors. Las Blancas Update March 31, 2004 - There have been a couple boats fishing Las Blancas this week and they found the fishing to be good-to-excellent. Speedy Collett and his guest David Snider caught 35 bass on Tuesday and it was about as pretty a day as you could have ask for. Last Saturday Bruce Fox and Angie Leal hit the lake as winds gusted to 35 mph. They tried hooking on to some brush and catching some catfish, but when this failed to pan out they decided to drift and catch some bass. They caught 25 fish including Angie's 7.70 lb big bass before departing. Great fishing is routine at Las Blancas and bad days are virtually non-existent. Las Blancas Update March 22, 2004 - Speedy and a couple guests fished Las Blancas yesterday and found the fish had moved out into deeper water. They located a hump with a bunch of 4 lb and up fish and the plastic baits delivered the best bite. Some fish were also caught on Rat-L-Traps. They boated about fifty fish for the day's effort including an 8.7 lb fish that is our unofficial big bass caught this year. They also had a couple big fish break off. We had several groups report earlier catching only 10 fish or so for the day's total and we were concerned that the bite might have gone south. If so, it appears to have recovered. Las
Blancas Update
March 11, 2004 - Several
of the folks from Zapata made it to Las Blancas Thursday and despite a little
rain and some minor equipment problems, another good day was put on the books.
Roy and several folks from McAllen had caught over 25 fish with a 5 lb big bass.
They have not closed the lake and boats are continuing to launch at the public
launch area off Highway 54. You turn off by the big sign adjacent to the canal
and proceed the short distance to the launching area. A 4x4 is still a good idea,
but most boats can launch without the necessity of getting the vehicle's rear
wheels in the water. Look for windy conditions to prevail at Falcon and Las Blancas
this weekend. As we write this update, winds are gusting to 35 mph out of the
east. Las
Blancas Update
March 5, 2004 - As far as
we know they have not closed the
lake and boats are continuing to launch. No one has notified Speedy of any closure
so as far as we can determine at this point, the lake is open. The unofficial results of last weekend's Mexican Tournament at Las Blancas were posted a few days ago under Tournament Results. Modifications to launching facilities enabled 76 boats to launch so based on that, we conclude that launching issues have been resolved to some extent. Apparently about all that they accomplished was to dig out a trough behind the launching area and if the motor is not trimmed up, it can ram into the mud behind the trough before the boat floats off the trailer. They apparently had three guys out in the water assisting launchers and it took several hours to get all the boats in the water. I would definitely recommend a 4x4, but (2) 4x4's may no longer be a necessity. Lake El Cuchillo: Fishing is still good according to some of the Zapata folks who have taken up temporary residence in China. They returned for a few days and report that launching facilities are still underwater and most of the fishermen are using road beds that have been covered over by rising lake water) for launching. Here is the latest information available on the Mexico Lake Scene. We received word this morning that Noe, owner of the Sugar Lake Motel and restaurant passed away and is being buried today. We want to express our condolence to his family. Speedy Collett had a meeting yesterday with some of the officials from Mier and Las Blancas and this is the latest word. You can no longer launch boats from the private ranch shoreline previously utilized. It has been fenced off and now has a locked gate in place. Word is the are going to build some small residences there for sale. The cos is rumored to be reasonable, bu getting clear title may prove difficult. The only launching available, as far as we can determine, is from the public access area off 54 Hwy by the canal. Beacon Lodge has purchased some of the permits required to fish the lake and they are now being sold for $12.50 at Beacon. Previously, we had to have one for just the boat. These are now being issued as a one year Fishing Permit and one is required for everyone in the boat. We may obtain some of these to sell here also if the demand picks up. Also, they can still be purchased in Mier at the Mier Administration Building on the square. Las Blancas Fishing Report - February 18, 2004 - The folks from Pampa Texas that are here for a month fishing Gaynell and Lee Frazier have been trying out Las Blancas as a new destination. They report that the cooling water temperatures have effected fishing a little and the fish have moved into about 12 ft depths. Twenty fish or so a day has been about their average, but this is a new deal for them and they are fishing without a guide. Plastics and spinnerbaits have been working in that order. The largest fish they have landed in the last few days was about six pounds. Las
Blancas Fishing Report - February 6, 2004 - It started out as a typical
cold front morning with lows in the 40's and winds forecast to be up to 20 mph
out of the north. Fortunately weather forecasters are not always dead on and neither
the Waco visitors (Robert and Terry Neill) nor Bruce Fox were thwarted by the
weather. They headed out of Zapata and arrived at Las Blancas early enough to
beat the sun out of the clouds. The fish did not seem to be affected by the water temperatures nor the lack of sunshine and when the day's fishing was over, an 8.2 lb sow and 30 of her buddies went back to their nests and recounted their visit to the Polar Kraft. The chrome blue back rat-l-trap that started the day as a well used example of south Texas finesse abuse ended the day having caught the most fish and will retire from the active Mexico fishing business. I guess it is a well earned retirement based on the tales carried back by Bruce. This fishery never ceases to amaze as day-after-day consistent catches of good quality fish are being caught under all types of conditions. They continue to pile up and are bested on each successive trip. Contact us for information and see some of the details under Mexico Lakes on this website. EL CUCHILLO FISHING REPORT- January 31, 2004 - Fishing at El Cuchillo has been super for the last several weeks based on reports filed by a group of fishermen and women from Zapata. Several of these avid China-goers just returned and reported catching four 10 LB plus fish in the last week. Daily catches of 30 fish or more were apparently routine including a lot of 5 lb plus fish. Launching is still a challenge unless you know the place to go and our friends seem to have it figured out. The guys (and gal) we are talking about include Gary Harlen, Al Guinn and Shirley Bell. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, watermelon red plastics and blue black craws seem to rotate for lure preference honors so take plenty of all varieties with you if you can go. They are on their way back over so if you see them, srop and visit.
Mrs Horn (Gloria) came out hot right out of the box as she hooked and landed the first fish of the day (a scrappy four pounder) on her second cast. After catching a few fish here at the first stop for warm-up, Bruce suggested a move to a second area and got everybody prepared mentally for what they were about to experience. When using worms, flukes or lizard plastics for bass, there are many techniques that can be used successfully. You can Texas Rig, Carolina Rig, drift or pitch these baits and catch fish practically anyway you choose to present them. On this particular day, about all that was required was to hang it over the edge of the boat, jig it (move it up and down) a couple times and start cranking as the bass tried to separate you from your equipment. Some additional time was spent testing other alternatives but the plastic bite continued to be the most productive. By 2:30 pm 25 fish had been caught and released and the trio were headed back to the Capri restaurant in Guerrero for some authentic Mexican cooking. Call Falcon Lake Tackle to book your adventure now. What a great way to break a young person into bass fishing or even a spouse who has been reluctant to sit out in a boat all day without any significant action. Las Blancas-January 10, 2004-Several of our friends from Beacon Lodge and Bruce Fox made a trip to the lake for the purpose of filming some of the excellent action this little gem has been consistently producing. While the jury is still out on their camera work, they none the less had a good day fishing and the beauty of that place would be reward enough even if the fish were not consistently cooperative. Average big bass typically runs 6 pounds or better and the larger fish will top out at over eight pounds (see pictures under "Mexico"). This lake has it all. A major river flowing in on the South end, points, structure, hardwoods and hydrilla. On this particular day their lures consisted of small crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs and plastics. Color really did not matter and neither did selection. The best thing about this lake is that with the close proximity to Zapata and being inside the checkpoint, the Visa and tow permits are not required. Also, given the fact that commerical fishing is not allowed, there are no nets to threaten the seals and lower units of motors.. The only true negative is the problems involving launching and these can be mitigated through the use of a guide and/or small boat pulled with a good 4x4. El Cuchillo at China, Mexico- A couple of our Winter Texans who regularly fish El Cuchillo and some of the other Mexico lakes made a trip last week to check out the status of launching at the levels the lake is now supporting. They found one place they could use and get their boats loaded, but that was indeed the major undertaking. All of the facilities normally available for launching are well underwater. On 4 of the 5 days they were there, they had such a strong wind that if they had launched, loading up would have been impossible. They did manage to catch some good fish on the day they were able to get the boat in the water, but they found that the River they fished last year with so much success has pretty much been consumed by the lake. The road to the motel they built in the park is under water and access is via a new road cut across private land down the highway past the previous entrance. | |||
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Jimbo Beard
and Ken Elias caught some Big Bass
10#
06OZ Sugar Bass
.
March 3 and 4th at Sugar. The winners weighed 40 Kilos for 10 fish.
stringer
of 38.02 Lbs and a 9#, 10.5# and 11 Lb kicker fish at this weekend's Sugar Lake
contest .Plastics was the dominant bait.
tournament on the 17th with a successful trip to Sugar on the 19th where they
caught 42 fish (19 legal fish to 9.11 lbs including a 7.11 Lb bass) on red shad
10" Power worms. Las Blancas also produced some good fish in the last two
weeks where Victor Parasiv.l and his friends caught 40 bass on top water lures
to 9 Lbs. They launched off a private ranch lakeside using the farms tractor since
the public ramp is reportedly unusable. Fishing is good launching is poor.
existing
Dam. The water is a couple foot low at present and is clear, Lots of fish are
moving even though they 
are
smaller in size.
a
weight of 33 Kilos for 10 fish dropped off a picture of their winning stringer
and the 13 lb big bass. Sugar has been putting out some huge fish including the
9.18 lber caught by Jimbo Beard (center pic) fishing with Ken in March. This 13
lber caught last weekend (Left) makes Jimbo's fish look like a baby, OK, a big
baby!
with
over 18 kilos. Nicolas ended up taking the big bass honors with a fish weighing
almost 8 lbs. Winds were high at 15-20 mph and temps were around 51 degrees. A
lot of fish were hooked and not caught, but some good fish crossed the scales.
caught at Lake Baccarac, Mexico. It was caught on a Saturday afternoon
in 14 ft of water (February 13th) on an 8 inch watermelon mag lizard. Mike Hutcherson
from Plainview Tx was the fisherman. These folks now have a sister lodge on the
water at Lake Baccarac to their established Lake Huites Lodge. If you want some
of this heart pounding action, call Reel Mexico Adventures at 1-888-744-8867.
Terry Holleran is one of the principals in this venture. 
El
Cuchillo is still over a 150% of conservation level and the water
resupply
run and brought some pictures with them to develop of several big fish including
a 13.02
Lb plus caught last week. They have been averaging 30 to 50 fish per day per boat
and report that the majority of the larger fish have spawned and moved out deeper.
They were seeing mostly small fish in shallow for the last week or so. They are
still finding a combination of plastic and spinnerbaits to be the best selection
of lures at the present time. The lake is closed as far as removal of any fish
according to informed sources.
Las
Blancas-January 13, 2004-The latest folks to enjoy the good fishing
at Las Blancas was a couple from nearby Monterry Mexico who also hail out of San
Antonio Texas (Charles and Gloria Horn). Mr. Horn called Falcon Lake Tackle last
week with a simple request. "We want to go fishing and have a good time catching
fish". The solution to that request took only a few seconds to formulate.
We introduced the Horns to Bruce Fox and the rest is happy history. On this particular
day, the fish seemed to prefer plastics and Zoom Watermelon Red Super Flukes were
the favorite color. On some other trips we have found the fish to be receptive
to about any bait presented.