Mazatlan
Mazatlan, Mexico
Join me and a crew from North 40 Fly Shop for our third trip to Lake Picachos, Mexico.
Until I experienced epic bass fishing on the fly on my first trip in 2018, I had no idea how much fun it could be. Our recent trip in 2019 was even better, so I’m hosting another group in 2020.
Lake Picachos is a 40 minute drive from Mazatlán Mexico. Picachos is a mountain lake fed by the Rio Presido as it spills from the Sierra Madre. It features deep canyons, steep banks and lots of flooded timber. The winter climate is about perfect. Mornings are typically calm and the breeze picks up in the afternoons when the temps warm up into the 80s. If the wind gets blowing down the main lake, there are no worries. The deep canyon arms offer plenty of refuge. They also provide shaded areas that become key target zones as the afternoon stretches toward evening.
Working the shorelines and flooded timber in relatively shallow water can yield lots and lots of bass. You can basically catch two to three pounders all day. On a fly rod, that is a load of fun. If you focus on deeper waters, you can generally find larger bass. On our last trip, we boated a number of 6 pound class fish as well as an 8, 10 and even a 12 pound hog. None of our crew were out for trophies. Our goal was simply to catch fish the way we like to, on the fly rod. The giants we landed were simply a bonus.
On past saltwater flats trips, I have heard a number of complaints from anglers: Long boat rides. Wind. Poor visibility. Difficult casting. Impossible fish. Short days and minimal actual fishing time. At Lake Picachos, you’ll have no worries. The rides between spots are relatively short. Mornings are typically calm, but even if the wind blows part of the day, there are endless sheltered arms to fish. While we occasionally see some fish working the surface and have a casting target, we are not forced to sight fish for success. You don’t have to hunt for a visible fish or take turns between fish. Both anglers can fish all day long. On top of that, we have two fishing sessions of approximately 5 hours each split by a tasty hot lunch and a siesta. This a fishing trip, a catching trip and a comfortable trip. It’s really quite awesome.
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Streamer fishing, swinging flies with 5-6 weight spey rods and nymphing will all produce results. We were accessing the waters via jet boast so this was mostly walk and wade. However, this could change based on what you want to do as the guiding service is very flexible.
Rods: Single hand 6 weight rods or 5-6 weight double hand rods is all you will need.
Line: I highly recommend a sink tip line for quickly getting flies deeper into short and quick buckets. Floating line for nymphing (although we never really used them as the streamer fishing was so good). For double hand rods, I would have Skagit heads with sink tips of probably 10 feet T-11, as well as, a double hand floating line like a scandi or dry line for skating mice or other skaters.
Flies: Bring a large selection of big, articulated streamers in lighter colors like tan, white, and silver. However, bring some darker patterns as well. These are glacial rivers and can turn a "steelhead green" color. I would recommend the Smoke n' Mirrors, Mongrel Meat, and other large articulated streamer options. For swinging flies, we highly recommend the Bald Eagle fly, and any other pattern you love to swing trout with, but, 3 inches plus -in size- is a good idea. Bring a selection of mice skaters as the Bull Trout seem to be very active on them.
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