The lake in question is El Salto, which is about an hour and half from Mazatlan. The company we went with had shuttles waiting for us when we got to Mazatlan, each with full coolers of beer and sodas. Aside from the obvious language barrier for the other guys in my shuttle, we were able to determine that the fishing would be good. On the trip, I spoke more Spanish than I have in years, that was a good thing.
The staff is very attentive and accommodating, although there was a language barrier with most of the people there. The food is top notch, and I was able to enjoy some lobster while I was there, which is all too much of a rarity these days. The fresh salsa was amazing. Beer flows like water if that's your thing. Basically the staff does everything short of holding your pole for you. It was great!
Some scenery pics:
Looks like Utah huh?
Here is some of the spots we hit:
Flooded timber
Still water coves
Little islands
And here's the best of what I caught:
This little beauty was 9 lbs. 8 oz. He took a 6 in. lizard(pumpkin and chartreuse) rigged Texas style in about 15 feet of water. He didn't hit it hard at all, but when I hooked him, it felt like trying to pull up a suitcase out of the water, only the suitcase didn't want to come up!
Here's a pic of the fight:
Another great fish:
This one is 6 lbs. 12 oz. He took a 5 in. pumpkin and red flake worm rigged Carolina style in about 10 feet of water. This guy hit like a ton of bricks and immediately went to the bottom when I set the hook. He was every bit the hard fighter that the 9'er was.
In total, I landed 74 bass in three days, and my boat landed 157 in three days. I had about a dozen or so throw the hook on me. The large majority of the bass I caught were between 2 and 4 pounds. I also caught a few 5 pounders. There was one guy there, that caught over 300 bass in three days of fishing. There were (3) ten pounders taken and (4) nine pounders taken(including mine) while I was there. A 13 pounder had been taken a month earlier.
You guys, words cannot express how awesome the fishery is at El Salto. All I can say is, if you are a bass fisherman, you HAVE TO come here before you die. If you like all kinds of fish, don't ever turn down an opportunity to come here. The fishing is outstanding, and we weren't even there during the peak!
P.S. I saw the shuttle driver open a beer, while driving, with his SEATBELT.
