Anglers Inn El Salto Bass Fishing Report for October 28, 2008

Report:

Lake El Salto
October 1-31, 2008

* Air Temp: 82°/85°F early morning & late evenings. Siesta Time 89°/98°F
* Water Temp: 80°/ 82°F
* Average number of bass per boat per day: 40-60
* Largest bass caught: 11 pounds, 8 ounces

Popular lures past two weeks:

1. Storm WildEye 4 -inch Swim Shads: shad, white with chartreuse top and pearl.
2. Rat-L-Traps: ½ & ¾-ounce in silver with blue back and silver with black back
3. Rapala X-Rap or 4 to 5-inch jerkbaits: white, clown and shad.
4. Lobina Lures Rio Rico poppers: white, white with sparkles and bleeding shad
5. Heddon Zara Spook and Lucky Craft Sammy: clear, chrome with black top and white body.
6.Eight-inch Zoom Lizards: watermelon, watermelon red flake and black with blue tail.
7.Berkley Power Worms: 10-inch, black with blue tail.
8.Yamamoto Senkos, Yum Dingers or Bass Pro Shops 5 & 6-inch Stinkos: watermelon, watermelon red flake and black with blue flake.
9.Spinnerbaits: ½ & ¾-ounce with double silver willow blades in white and white/chartreuse.
10.Bomber Fat Free Shad & Rapala DT16 Crankbaits: medium & deep divers in citrus shad, hot mustard and fire tiger.
11.Yum Money Minnows: 6-1/2-inch in bluegill, hologram shad and herring. (Find out the different ways you can rig these baits by visiting http://www.anglersinn.com/FishingTechniques.html

Shad busting all over at El Salto

During the past couple of weeks, El Salto bass have been following schools of their favorite baitfish—shad—down here South of the Border. Most bass have been caught in the backs of coves, where they are feeding on shad, and the best lure for catching them has been the 4-inch Storm WildEye Swim Shad in Shad, Pearl or Shiner Chartreuse colors. Dipping the tail in garlic-scented chartreuse dye from companies like Spike-It often improves the lure’s effectiveness even more. The shad being eaten by bass are relatively small, which is why the smaller swimbaits have been producing the better quality fish.

Anglers have been working the swimbait back to the boat a couple different ways. The first way is to cast the bait and, as soon as it hits the water, make a slow, steady retrieve. While retrieving the lure, pop your rod tip occasionally to create an upward motion in the swimbait that draws strikes. The second approach is to let the lure sink all the way to the bottom and work the swimbait very slowly back to the boat, making sure you are on the bottom. One thing I like about swimbaits is the fact they can be worked in any depth of water.

Another type of swimbait that is getting pretty popular down here is Yum’s Money Minnow. We put together a nice little video about the lure fish these swimbaits with a 5/0 weighted hook or try my favorite technique, which is rigging the lure on a jig head. Blade Runner Tackle Company makes a nice Weedless Paddle head jig in a ½ ounce size, which fits perfectly with Yum’s Money Minnow. The better jig head colors are shiner and chartreuse/white. Our longtime friend Joe Bullock showed us this technique last year, and it has been producing ever since. Thanks, Joey B!

Because the bass are busting on shad, another popular lure landing big bass down here has been the ever-trustworthy Rat-L-Trap. The best colors have been chrome with a blue back or chrome with a black back. And be sure to bring down both ½-ounce and ¾-ounce Traps.

Here is what a recent angler had to say about his trip:

Jason Grupp was down recently for his first October fishing trip, and said he found this a great time of year to visit.

“The lake was full and teaming with life,” he said. “The big fish were up and feeding heavily. During the four fishing days I was there, I caught 40 to 50 fish that weighed between 7 and 9 pounds. Mixed in with all the pigs, I was catching numerous 3- to 6-pound fish. The anticipation of each hook set was amazing. Every time I had an 8-pounder belly flopping in front of our boat, the excitement was so much fun.”

“Swimbaits were the most productive for our boat,” Jason said. “Jerkbaits and Carolina-rigged lizards were also the ticket to fish. For the fly-fisherman, make sure to bring flies that imitate shad. Laying these flies on the surface so they look injured would get an immediate crash. Fast stripping clousers and deceivers was also working well. Big deer-hair poppers for the morning and evening hours are a must. Make sure your leaders and tippet knots are strong. These fish pull hard and are not tippet shy.

“I have been bringing groups to this lodge for many years,” Jason added, “and there is never a doubt in my mind that they will have a great time. I know the staff will treat them with the best service they’ve ever had in their life. The entire trip, my group is constantly telling me how amazing the service, food, and accommodations are, and how impressed they are with the workers’ genuine personalities. These people have now become lifelong friends of mine. I look forward to each and every trip I take to this magical place!"

Well, like Jason says, jerkbaits also have been great bass catchers down here. The Rapala X-Rap in the white, shad and clown colors has been the most productive. There have been some really big bass caught on these lures the past couple of weeks, especially where the bass are busting shad.

Early in the morning and late in the evening, the topwater bite has been strong. Just this morning, bass weighing 10.4 and 11.6 were caught on chrome Zara Spooks. The Spook will normally catch bigger bass. And working this big topwater plug a little faster then normal has been successful. The other great topwater plug is the Rio Rico Pop in the ½-ounce size. The best colors have been bleeding shad and white. Yellow Magic Pop Rs are just as good and are a little bit cheaper on your pocketbook.

During the mid-day bite, the best baits have been soft-plastic worms and lizards. The Berkley 10-inch Powerworm in the black with blue tail color and the Zoom 8-inch Lizard in watermelon and watermelon red flake have been good. Carolina rigging these soft plastics seems to be outproducing the Texas rig.

In our last report, you saw a nice photo of Leslie Corbin. Here is Ronny’s and Leslie’s testimonial from their trip in early October.

“My wife and I really wanted to spend our first anniversary somewhere we could set precedence for many more to come, somewhere that would provide us with an overall big-time experience,” Ronny said. “I made my living for nearly 20 years as a professional fishing guide, bush pilot and tournament fisherman. I’ve been blessed with the best fishing from Alaska to Costa Rica but had always been on those trips as the provider, so I wasn’t sure how the experience would pan out being a guest. Leslie loves to fish but had yet to experience a world-class fishing trip so we set out to accomplish this lofty goal.

“We had seen El Salto on several fishing shows and looked it up on the Internet. After some correspondence, we booked our trip for September 29 thru October 3. Let me say emphatically that ALL of my HIGH EXPECTATIONS were exceeded! First off, the staff is the best in the business. They greeted us at every step along the way with huge smiles and made us feel at home. The accommodations are the best I’ve seen (keep in mind I ran and worked at some of the elite Lodges in Alaska). The food … Oh, my, the food! Let’s just say my clothes shrunk a size during our stay. Les didn’t fish every session but really enjoyed the spa treatment that came with our couple’s package. She also worked out a trip to a local spot for some shopping and said the staff made her feel safe and comfortable along the way.

“Now the fishing report. Although the water was high, the shad were rockin’ and the bass were scattered about. I had a HUGE time! Our guide Oscar worked hard and really turned us on to a world-class fishing experience. Every morning we slung topwaters to the tune of 15 to 20 bass from 3.5 to 8.5 pounds! Then we’d hawg hunt till lunch and take a little siesta. Afternoons were filled with everything from jerkbaits to swimbaits to crankbaits to worms and MORE big bass. Leslie caught the fish of her life when she boated a 9-pound, 4-ounce beauty on a crankbait. On the last cast of the trip, I landed an 8-pound, 4-ounce hawg right in front of the lodge.

“The staff have really set the bar high for any competition, and deserve the kudos in every way. It’s obvious they’ve done everything right because in all detail, it shows. I can’t wait till we can get back down to El Salto and can say without reservation that Leslie and I recommend the chance to spend your time with our new friends. Let them share their home and hospitality with you!”

As you can see, the fishing was superb in October, and we expect the great action to continue in the coming months. While bassing on other lakes often has ups and downs through the seasons, catching trophy bass, and lots of them, is a year-round experience on El Salto. Come visit us and experience it for yourself. Our staff stands ready to make your trip an experience you’ll never forget.