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View Full Version : Mazatlan for break....pics



DocSpotty
04-07-2008, 01:14 AM
Finally got out fishing a few days while vacationing for spring break in Mazatlan with my wife and daughter. Mi espousa was about to check me into a detox center for extreme fishing withdrawl as I hadn't wetted a line since last October......was waiting to test my recently reconstructed shoulder (it did well) done in December. I was so looking forward to the trip then got the flu a few days before and it extended for the first 4 days of vacation....yeehaw....age doesn't let you heal faster.

El Salto Lake was on my itinerary for largemouth bass on Tuesday but Monday morning I realized my intestinal tract was not going to make it by then. So I visited the conceirge and asked if she could find the number for El Salto Adventures.....she walked across the hall to ask the travel person....and came back saying there was someone else interested in going on Wednesday. Small world stuff.....I walk next door and there sits another dentist I know from Anchorage, AK (where I am from)....what a weird experience. We agreed to go on Wednesday and had a great time fishing together. The day started at 0400 when the guide picked us up and drove the 2 hours to El Salto. We were on the water soon and bass fishing......here's the guide whose original house was under 20 feet of water when the lake was constructed....and my fishing partner for the day:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/NileErslandguide.jpg

El Salto Lake is going up into the mountains from Mazatlan and the shoreline is very stark:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/ElSalto.jpg

Many birds were around the shoreline, including ospreys and a whole lot of these friendly buzzards:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/ElSaltoBuzzard.jpg

We were into bass about 4 casts into the day.....used Wacky Worms a good deal of the time.....caught a few on topwater.......and several during the heat of the day on rattletraps and crankbaits. These are a few of the nicer fish I caught during the day:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/ElSaltoBass.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/ElSaltoBass2.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/ElSaltoBass3.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/ElSaltoBass4.jpg

I also caught a couple of tilapia on the crankbaits....aren't those things supposed to be vegans?

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/ElSaltoTilapia.jpg

All told I caught somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 bass on the day....had several in the 4-6 lbs class....but no toads. My partner lost one that jumped which was easily 10 lbs. We got back to shore and had the lovely 2 hour ride back to Mazatlan.

Like an idiot the next morning was to go fishing in an esturary about 90 miles south of Mazatlan. My wife and daughter (11 yrs old) agreed to go but weren't happy about the 0430 wakeup call. Our driver was a madmen on the roads and my wife knew we were going to die at any moment. You have to give her credit for going as she is scared to death of the water....she knows if she gets on the water the boat will sink and/or Jaws would eat us, etc..... The trip was grossly overhyped as we "shared" the waters with 30-40 commercial fishing pangas which fished the "pristine" waters everyday. It was a very sedate trip with only about 10 fish caught by all three of us....although I nearly made my wife lose her lunch when I ate live, raw shrimp with the guide.....they were actually quite tasty. The guide, Victor, also runs bird watching tours back in the estuary....for me...bring on the fish.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/EsturaryVictorMendez.jpg

Did catch some new species for me the first is a black snapper:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/blackgraysnapperlutjanusgriseus.jpg

My wife then caught a couple of pacific snook....

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/EricaSnook.jpg

I followed with this massive yellow snapper:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/yellowsnapperlutjanusargentiventris.jpg

About this time my daughter woke up from a nap and we both caught what they called a "donkeyfish".....they are panama grunt and extremely tasty little devils:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/panamagrunt.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/pomadasyspanamensis.jpg

My wife and I both then got cutoff by large snappers......then my last fish was this small spotted cabrilla:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/spottedcabrillaepinephelusanalogus.jpg

At the end of the day the driver took us to a small outdoor restaurant in Teacapan where they filleted and cooked our fish.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/LaTamboraTeacapan.jpg

Even though the trip was not nearly as advertised this meal made it worth the trip....it was the best Mexican meal I have ever eaten. While the fish were being prepared we were served fresh tomato/avacado salsa....then fabulous shrimp ceviche.....followed by shrimp empanadas.....finally we had garlic grilled and some deep fried fresh fish.....I could have died and gone wherever I'm going at that moment:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/FishDinner.jpg

We then endured the wild ride back to Mazatlan. On our next to last day my wife agreed to let me go out on one of the pangas inshore fishing. This winter has been very chilly in Mazatlan and the cooler water has made the fishing very tough (at least that is the line I was given). We went out and did some reef fishing....catching some pacific red snapper, small cabrilla and what they called a "rabbitfish"....from my research this is really a Hubb's Tilefish....closely related to the ocean whitefish found off Southern Cal:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/pacificredsnapperlutjanusperu.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/HubbsTilefishcaulolatilushubbsi.jpg

My guide receives credit for realizing how bored I was and asked if I wanted to try trolling inshore off the rocks....even though that hadn't been producing much....he then asked if we could use the big-lipped rapalas I had brought with me. We proceeded to have 3 hours of absolutely wide open fishing for sierra mackerel with the occasional pacific jack crevale (toro) thrown in.....we were double hooked up most of the time.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/AriesTrolling-1.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/torocaranxcaninus-1.jpg

It was a great trip......didn't catch any huge or spectacular fish but had a great time with the family. Did manage to add 5 new species to my fish caught list. Now I'm back in the 30 degree weather missing this:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j32/DocEsox/SunsetPBMaz-1.jpg

Only another 6-8 weeks and we should be back to trout fishing up here in Alaska. Good fishin.

Brian

boxl0bster
04-07-2008, 05:45 AM
wow great report and pics!!! i gotta get down there sometime and expand my fish caught list. :)

Nessie Hunter
04-07-2008, 09:16 AM
WOW ! ! ! Thanks, that was a great report & pics.

I feel like a Margarita now... 8-)

nismotech91
04-07-2008, 10:50 PM
VIVA MEXICO! Thanks for the report and cool pics man!

FISH_HUNTER
04-08-2008, 10:36 AM
DOC YOUR REPORTS LEAVE ME SPEECHLESS. YOUR A VERY LUCKY MAN.
:udaman::udaman::udaman::notworthy::notworthy: :notworthy::beer::beer:

one_leg
04-08-2008, 11:07 AM
Congrats to you all.

Nice bunch of fish you got there.

Thanks for the report and pics.

Trout-Slayer77
04-08-2008, 11:15 AM
:shock: wow great report !!!! and pics too....i kept scrolling down to see a new species of fish in each picture. looks like a great trip. congrats !!!

Ambassadorhawg
04-08-2008, 07:30 PM
Awesome report, thanks!

jeff4321
04-14-2008, 10:07 AM
nice job out there. sounds like a KILLER TRIP. that food sounds delicious. but... I'd rather fish alaska.

chris
04-14-2008, 11:22 AM
great report doc i loved the pictures can't wait to see some alaska reports

fishnislife
04-14-2008, 07:57 PM
Simply Amazing! Great report and pictures. I am supremely jealous.


fishnislife

soulsurfer
04-19-2008, 10:37 AM
very awesome report. thanks for sharing. sounds like all of you had a great time.

Badbeat
04-21-2008, 06:06 PM
Excellent! Love the report, must go someday. :D

SoCalGuy7
04-22-2008, 04:23 AM
Looks like a trip of a lifetime... Great pics and report, made my day!

SCG7

jrockn
04-24-2008, 01:25 PM
thats an aswome report! I wana go there to try some of the food. sound freakn yummy! aswome job!

JR

Granny Fish
05-02-2008, 09:09 AM
Great report! It is weird when you run into someone you know so far from home. I agree with Nessie... I'm in the mood for a margarita now.

steve092
07-10-2008, 03:58 PM
I'm about 90% sure this lake was a top pick in the North American fishing magazine one month.

Nice goin' out there!

chivo
07-21-2008, 07:11 PM
Great trip.Looks like yall had a blast