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Fishing Reports

FISHING REPORT
TROPHY BASS LODGE
LAKE HUITES, MEXICO
DECEMBER 3-7, 2007

The recent report I read said that one angler averaged 175 bass per day. WOW! I had to see that for myself, so my fishing partner, Dan Basore, and I headed to Trophy Bass Lodge on Lake Huites, Mexico, to prove it to ourselves.

It had been 8 years or more since we visited the lake, but I remembered it to be the most beautiful lake I had ever fished. It is a deep canyon lake of perhaps 30,000 acres, nestled in the Copper Canyon area about a 3 hour drive from Los Mochis, and the scenery must be seen to be believed. It is simply spectacular and a photographer’s delight!

Well, what about those fishing reports? While Dan and I are not fish “counters”, I can assure you that we certainly experienced days where we caught well over 200 bass up to 8 pounds. The schools of bass from 2 to 7 pounds are truly amazing, and on several occasions we sat in one spot and caught bass after bass ‘till the world looked level.

Compared to many other lakes in Mexico, Lake Huites is very lightly fished by sportfishermen, and the small amount of commercial fishing was no problem whatsoever. Additionally, healthy fish of all sizes are caught, indicating great past spawns and the promise of super fishing for years to come.

While they weren’t attached to our lines---unfortunately---one lucky guy caught 10, 11, and 12 pounders while we were there---on topwaters! The big fish weighed 12.13 on digital scales and I’m including a photo of the guide, Raoul, proudly displaying her.
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n129/GJCFish/Raoul.jpg

Our host, David Fields, had told us prior to the trip that our visit in early December might well be a transition time from torrid topwater action to deeper crankbaits, spinnerbaits and plastics, and his prediction was right on the money. We had good topwater results the first morning, but spotty action thereafter. No matter---we couldn’t wait to get to those huge schools of bass lurking in deeper water that were eager to hit just about anything we threw to them. Crankbaits, slow-rolled spinnerbaits, soft plastics rigged Texas or Carolina style, or simply attached to heavy jigs---everything produced. One day we even nailed the 3 to 7 pounders on every “drop” right under the boat using heavy spoons and ¾ ounce Rattletraps.

My report would never be complete without telling you some things about Trophy Bass Lodge. What a first class operation! The rooms are immaculate and comfortable with private bathrooms, hot showers, and plenty of space to hang clothes and store gear. George, the camp manager, takes care of all the transfers from the airport to the Lodge, and efficiently attends to any special needs or requests. The boats are 19’ Carolina Skiffs, with 50hp Yamahas or Hondas, MinnKota trolling motors, Eagle electronics, and premium Optima batteries. The boats are comfortable, roomy, and very stable and Dan and I often both fished from the front platform without any problem at all.

The guides are courteous and very experienced. Our guide for the week, Louis, spoke fluent English, and has guided for over 30 years. What a comic he was, keeping us laughing all day with jokes and stories. More important, he was always ready to go well BEFORE we were, and suggested some terrific fishing techniques that Dan and I had never considered. For good reason, David calls him “Drill Sergeant! Actually, ALL
the guides are quite happy to fish from sunup to sundown.

TBL maintains a well-stocked tackle shop at the Lodge, complete with a huge selection of rods and reels for use by guests. You may bring your own tackle, of course, but if you prefer to avoid the hassle of traveling with rods, you certainly won’t be disadvantaged by fishing with some of his during the trip.

I must not forget the food. Indeed, I will NEVER forget the food! Freddy the gourmet chef, constantly surprised us with different gastronomic delights every time we sat down for a meal. For instance, when was the last time you had Chicken Cordon Bleu at a fish camp for LUNCH??? A great shore lunch one day with fantastic scenery was appreciated and box lunches can be provided if you prefer to stay out all day.

All in all, it was one of the best fishing trips we have ever made, and I recommend it highly to everyone reading this report. The entire staff make you feel like family, and that’s perhaps the best compliment of all. It’s very important to us to fish with honest operator/owners of high integrity.

In conclusion, was there anything bad about the experience? Yes, definitely. Dan and I are both thoroughly spoiled for quite awhile now! We can’t wait to get back next May, when we’re told the huge schools of monster fish are concentrated on deep structure. Got to check out that report!!!

Bass wishes,

Gary Clark
Kissimmee, FL

Brett,

The trip in November 2007 was awesome. You literally Eat, Sleep, and Fish. The scenery was spectacular every morning. I caught numerous fish from 2 - 5 pounds. My biggest was 7.12. Even though the double digit fish eluded me this trip, I will be back. You can count on that. The hospitality and the food were great. The guide was awesome and kept you entertained all day. You can catch fish all day long

Here are a couple of the pics from my trip.

Thanks,
Donnie

Brett
Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the Huites trip in November. It was awesome catching 250 bass a day in our boat and we were really impressed by the quality and health of the fish. We averaged 40-50 fish a day from 3# to 7# and lost some that were better. I will never forget the moster that pulled off both treble hooks from my DD14,he she straightened out the split rings and took the hooks. The lodge, food and margaritas were excellent. Raul was a very good guide, who did exactly what we asked. Looking forward to the next trip in February.
Skip

I had a great time fishing Lake Huites November 1-4. The food and service was the best I have ever had in Mexico. The fishing was excellent, we could catch 100 fish per day. The quality was the best I have ever seen on Lake Huites in my four years I have been going. We caught fish on every bait we used. The guides will do whatever you want. If you want to leave at lunch early that’s ok. Most Mexico lake guides take 2 hour siestas. This was my 6th trip to Mexico. The lodge has good showers and good a/c units. I lost some really big fish also. I finally started holding rod down in water to keep them from throwing the lure. If you are planning a trip to Mexico try Trophy bass lodge!
Dale Loggins
Paris, Texas

November 12, 2007
When George, my lodge manager, called and told me about the fishing at Lake Huites, I immediately got on the phone and starting calling anyone I could think of that might want to head down. When the dust settled, there were five of us. Myself, Al Goetz from Pittsburg, Texas, Dale Loggins from Paris, Texas, Skip Johnson from Plano, Texas, and Frank Johnson from Michigan. As we approached Los Mochis in the plane, after several hours of traveling, I remember thinking to myself that I wish it were easier to get down there. Traveling in this day and age has certainly become more difficult, more tedious. But then I thought about something I learned long ago, that anything worth doing is never easy. There are many little things that make a trip to Lake Huites so special, and you must make the journey to be able to reap the rewards. The incredible stars at night, the stunning beauty of the surroundings, incredible sunrises and sunsets, and being able to share them with friends. And, of course, the incredible fishing. To me, it is all worthwhile.

We arrived to Lake Huites and Trophy Bass Lodge with high hopes. We had been getting some phenomenal fishing reports, and you never want to hear "you should have been here yesterday". Huites did not let us down.
As we prepared to head out for our first morning of fishing, I asked Louis, our chief guide, what baits we should focus on. His answer was this: use any bait you want, they will eat them all! So off we went. I decided to head up the canyons to some clearer water to get started. It quickly became apparent that Louis was right, as we caught fish on every bait we used. Over the course of the next 2 and ½ days, we fished clear water, stained water, deep water, shallow water, it really made no difference. We caught fish on YUM Dingers, Senkos, trick worms, small, medium and large crankbaits, big lizards and worms, buzzbaits, Zara Spooks, Chugbugs, flukes in pearl and bubblegum, Heavy Cover Tilapia spinner baits, and swim baits. I am sure I left something out but you get the picture.

By the second day we had begun to close in on a big fish pattern. Al and I had noticed that when we fished flukes in the tops of trees in deep water, the average size of the fish went up substantially. It was critical, however, that the tree top be in the shade. We were catching 3, 4 and 5 pounders out of most of the trees we fished. However when we fished some tree tops the 2nd morning, we caught several 6’s and a 7 pounder. So as we headed off to fish the afternoon of the second day, we had a plan. Fish tree tops, and more tree tops.

By 4 pm that afternoon, the sun had set enough for us to start the pattern. We immediately began catching fish in the 4 to 6 pound range. There was one bank, however, that we had missed what we thought were some big fish that morning. And the bank seemed to have less small fish on it as well. Not 5 minutes after we started down that bank, I had a big bass come up and hit my fluke just on under the surface. I set the hook, and since I had watched the fish come up I knew it was big. Now I really don’t know what makes these Mexico bass so dang strong, but they just seem to pull so much harder than our bass at home. This fish grabbed my fluke, and down in that tree he went. There was simply nothing I could do. As you can imagine, Al immediately started razzing me about losing a big’un. But his turn was coming.

After several more 5 and 6 pounders in short order, Al had a giant blow up on his bait but missed it. It looked like a bomb went off in the water. We both knew it was huge. Since Al is 6’5” and about 300 pounds, and was pretty rattled over missing his first really big Mexican bass, I decided I had better not give him too much of a bad time. Then just a few casts later, Al threw his fluke in the top of a tree in about 25 feet of water. Repeat my story. This fish exploded on the bait, Al set the hook, and down goes the fish and “dink”. Fish gone. I could not pass up the chance this time and preceded to give him a good scolding, although I knew there was nothing he could do. At this point I had picked up my big swim bait rod with 20 pound mono and tied my fluke on in an attempt to prevent a repeat. Unfortunately it did not seem to matter. In the next 15 minutes Al and I both had two more giants come up out of those trees and hit our fluke, and there seemed to be absolutely nothing we could do to get them out. I have fished, successfully, for big bass all over Mexico, and Al grew up fishing East Texas in the 70’s and 80’s when there was an abundance of big fish. My point is neither of us are amateurs in how to man handle big bass, and we were just amazed that we could not get even one of this pigs out of those trees. The only thing we could have done different was go to braid, and in hindsight I suppose we should have. As the sun set, we headed back to lodge dejected, with our tails between our legs.

It was apparent that the bigger fish, for whatever reason, really turned on that afternoon. In addition to having our shots, Frank Walker boated a 10.57 as well as an 8 and a 7. Dale and Skip, while not boating anything over 7 pounds had a bunch of quality fish as well. That seems to be the way those big bass operate at Huites. We tried to go back and get those big dogs the next morning, but with only a ½ day of fishing it just did not happen. We had plenty of quality fish but the window on the big boys just did not open for us. Overall, however, it was an incredible fish. I have fished most of the lakes in Mexico, and don’t ever recall catching as many fish over 4 pounds as we did on this trip. Over the course of those 2 and ½ days, here is our estimate of the results from 5 anglers:

Total Bass (5 fishermen, 2 and ½ days): 1445
4 pounds: 111
5 pounds: 58
6 pounds: 47
7 pounds: 7
8 pounds: 2
9 pounds: 0
10 pounds: 1

SEPTEMBER 2007

We are preparing to open the lodge for the new season. We will officially open October 1st. George says the lake is almost full. The hurricane brought lots of rain, and for the third season in a row we will open with a full lake. That is just fantastic, we are really fortunate.

The spawn last year was the best any of us ever remembers seeing on Lake Huites. I have never seen anything like it. I caught my first bass on a bed ever in Mexico, and I have been trying for over ten years. The amazing thing was it was in June, how crazy is that? At almost any time during that trip, the bass fry would surround the boat. The future is looking great for Lake Huites.

I am headed down to Juarez to meet George with the van on Monday. New trolling motors, batteries, nets, seats, the works. T-shirts and lures for the pro-shop, line for the reels. We are cranked up and ready for a new season.

The forecast for this season is excellent. Each year over the last three years the average size of the bass in Huites has increased around two pounds per year. The "average" bass last season was around three and a half pounds. Remember, that is average. And many of our clients caught over 100 bass per day. We had too many eight to twelve pound fish to count. Does that mean you are guarenteed to catch a ten pounder at Huites? No. You still have to know how to cast and catch, and your timing is critical. At the end of the day, the only way to pull it off is to get down to Huites and try. We will do everything we can to make sure you enjoy your trip, and to ensure you have a chance at that trip of a lifetime.

Stay tuned, as soon as I have the first reports I will get them posted!

Brett Graham, Trophy Team

Lake Huites report April 4th, 2007
I returned from Trophy Bass Lodge and Lake Huites on March 29, having fished and filmed several days with a great group of guys. Those present at the lodge were Mark Davis from Pflueger-Sahekspeare. Mark has been crushing Lake Huites giants for years, and is one of the best. His dad, Delbert Davis, joined us as well. Mark was there to film some shows with Keith Warren, of Keith Warren Outdoors. Dan Hernandez, Executive Producer of Sportfishing with Dan Hernandez, joined us to film as well. Also present were Gary Tramontina with ESPN/BASS and Tramontina Photography; Mike Rice, Senior Product Manager with Pflueger-Shakespeare: Jeff Samsel, Public Relations Coordinator with Pradco Fishing; Lynn Burkhead, Web Site Editor - Outdoor Group of Grand View Media; and David Fields, CEO of Trophy Bass Lodge.

We were met with cool mornings and beautiful days with temperatures in the mid 80's. Lake Huites was at 85% pool, water was clear and 78 degrees. The bass were in a post-spawn pattern and finicky by Lake Huites standards. Those of us that fish Lake Huites often have become accustiomed to 100+ bass per day, however on this trip we averaged a more modest 40 to 60 bass a day. There were plenty of quality fish out there; you just had to fish the points in 15 to 30 feet of water to catch them. Mark fished and filmed with Keith Warren, and they crushed the big pigs on two primary baits. The first was a one ounce BOOYAH spinner baits with a single Colorado blade slow rolled on main lake points and humps. The other bait was 4 inch swim baits in pearl with the tail dipped in chartreuse dye. The two shows will air early next year, and with more than 50 fish between 5 and 10 pounds on film in 3 days, it should be some great entertainment.

Jeff's Samsels best big bass bait was a one ounce BOOYAH blade chartreuse and white spinner bait slow rolled on points and brush. His best numbers came on an XCalibut XT-3 twitch bait. Jeff said he would work the bait along all of the shore line cover, with most of the bites coming on the pause. This pattern worked well for numbers of bass, up to 7 pounds.

When I was filming with Dan Hernandez, we caught good numbers of fish up to 7 pounds fishing a variety of baits including big Fat Free Shads, Texas rigged lizards, and the BOOYAH Boogie. While Dan is usually a saltwater big game fisherman, he definitely enjoyed this bass fishing experience. I will also say that he is a fine gentleman with whom I enjoyed sharing the boat with.

I also spent a day fly rod fishing with Lynn Burkhead (he was fly fishing, I was watching in awe!). I was skeptical that a fly-rod angler could have good success on a bass lake like Huites, but was I ever proven wrong! While he did not have any really big fish, which has as much to do with the time of year as anything, he was able to catch as many as 40 bass a day up to 5 pounds. Just before we left for the lodge on the final day, I caught an incredible female spawner that was full of eggs (check out the picture!). This big mother was pushing ten pounds, and pulled me around half of that lake before we put her in net!

By the 2nd week of April the bass on Lake Huites will have fully recovered. They will be set up on main lake points, humps and ridges and become extremely consistent. Our clients will have 30,000 acres of pristine, virtually unfished bass water to hunt for those incredible Huites giants. We want to finish out the season with a bang, so we have offered an incredible $1,100 special for April and May, 2007 only. We are already into April and spaces are filling fast, so call me today to book your fishing trip of a lifetime!

Trophy Team Member

Brett Graham
10 Apr 2007
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Fishing Report March 1st thru 15th, 2007
Welcome folks,

Since our last report camp manager George Felix reports fishing still rated as good to excellent! Boats are reporting between 80 to 120 largemouth per day up to 11lbs. Hottest baits have been flukes in white and chartruese dipped in Spike-it garlic flavor. Medium running cranks and spinnerbaits have been producing as well. The spawn is just about over and the bass will start moving out to the points and humps that Lake Huites is famous for. This is my favorite time of the year, I have seen stops produce in excess of 25 largemouth from 5 to 11 pounds!!! If this doesn't get you fired up I don't know what will!! We have some openings left in April, May and June and have decided to blow them out at the unbelievable rack rate of $1,100.00 US. This is your chance to come and fish the hottest Bass Lake on the planet at a truly affordable price! Give your favorite Trophy Team member a call today and lets go fishing!!!

Trophy Team member

Kevin Green
20 Mar 2007
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Fishing Report Feb. 14th-19th, 2007
I returned from Lake Huites on Sunday night, February 19th, and have not even finished writing my fishing report when I got a call from my lodge manager today with yet another incredible report. So, since I am getting behind the eight ball, here goes. I went down to the lodge last week (Feb. 14-19) with Mark Davis, Marketing Director for Pflueger Shakespeare, Larry Ladowsky (spelling???) of Midwest Outdoors, and recently retired Peter from California! Congrats to Peter who sold his company three weeks ago and took the fishing trip to Mexico he has dreamed about his entire life!

The lake was around 95% pool, water was clear, and the bite was ON ON ON! A few of the big females had already spawned, but for the most part the spawn was on. Mark Davis, while goofing off for 2 1/2 days, had more than 30 over 6 pounds, with a big fish pushing 9. I could tell that Mark, who I am sure fishes over 250 days a year, was really enjoying himself. Guys, this man can, and will on every cast, throw a crankbait like 100 yards a cast! You may think I am kidding, but I am not. He is a crankbait nut, and it is how he usually slams those big Huites bass. For most of us we were getting our first chance to use the new Pflueger Summitt, which was an incredible piece of equipment and my favorite Pflueger yet. The first day I fished alone, and crushed around 125 bass up to seven pounds. The afternoon spinnerbait bite was nuts, and at 3:30 pm I pretty much put the spinnerbait down out of exhaustion. The second day I guided Peter from California, and get this. In his entire life of fishing he had caught two bass over six pounds. In one morning, he caught one 10.8, 9, two over 8 and one over 7. You should have heard this guy when he showed up for the shore lunch, he was going crazy! He ended up adding another 10 the next day as well.

The last two days I guided Steve from Sportsmans Warehouse and Larry with Pflueger Shakespeare. Steve had really never fished for black bass in his life, yet he still caught around sixty per day both days with a 6 1/2 pounder to boot. Larry cleaned up in the back, with a 7+ and lost a giant the last afternoon. We were out on the giant rock points cranking DD22"s for a big fish, when he had his chance. Unfortunately it was not meant to be.

This was a great group that fished hard. We enjoyed a shore lunch two days, so a big thanks to George, Freddie, and Hector for their hard work!

George called me today, and the group that came in behind us has already caught several double digit fish! Fishing is incredible now at Huites, and we don"t expect anything to change through the end of the season in June. While I will not promise you a double digit bass, I can assure you it will be an increrdible fishing experience, along with great food, super lodging and the most beautiful bass lake you will ever experience.

There are a few spots left in March, but not many. April is filling up but still has availability. Mark Davis is headed back down the end of March with Keith Warren Outdoors T.V. and Dan Menendez Outdoors T.V. from California, as well as several sportswriters. Huites is hot, so get in on it while the getting is great!

Brett Graham

Trophy Team
27 Feb 2007
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February 2007 fishing report
Dear Trophy Team:

Regarding my October, 2006, trip to Lake Huites and Trophy Bass Lodge. If I counted right, this makes the 10th trip there over the last 4 years. I started out going once for the standard three day stay. This somehow morphed into multi-visits of a week or more each year. I just can't seem to get enough of the place. The reason for this is that Trophy Bass Lodge is one of those rare places that is all it is claimed to be and more. It is one of the few places I have visited that has exceeded my expectations on a regular basis.

I probably should start with the fishing, but I won't. To me a trip to a far off place starts with a hassle free trip there-good flights and someone to meet you when you step out of baggage claim. George Felix, the lodge manager, always meets you at the airport. He always has something cold to share with you. No hablas Espanol, no problema- George speaks English better than I do! Cordial, effeciant and carefree are the defining characteristics. Food is another subject dear to my heart. You see, I do not drink. So I have to do my non-politically correct thing by over eating and trust me the food is great. One tip here...be sure to bring britches one size larger for the trip home as you will probably need them. Another important consideration is the lodging arrangements. Nice, clean and comfortable...laundry done on request. Overall, customer service is all that it should be-a sincere interest in you that expresses itself in how everything is done.

Now for the fishing...You all knew we would end up there. I do not know how to say this and still have you believe me. Let me try by just sharing with you what I have done. Please bear in mind that I am an intermediate type, a by guess and by God sort of angler.

The holy grail of bass fishing in the minds of many is the 10 pound bass. Over the last two years (four trips), I have caught 14 bass in excess of ten pounds. I caught'em on everything from worms to topwater. The biggest was 12.6 pounds. I have also been to other so-called Mexican bass hotspots as have many of my friends and acquaintances. Currently, as in the present and recent past, no other lake in Mexico is producing this level of fishing for trophy bass. Some others that do tout their trophy fisheries, offer a greatly reduced opportunity of catching the numbers of bass that Huites and Trophy Bass lodge routinely offers.

Since we are talking about numbers, nothing can compare with Trophy Bass Lodge. I know folks who fish El Salto regularly and figure that 40-60 fish days are doing well. At Huites and Trophy Bass Lodge, if I do not catch 80 fish by myself (double that for fish in the boat) that things are a bit slow. The mythical 100 fish day is attainable under the correct conditions. Many of these fish are of good to excellent quality. Many fish in the 3-4-5 pound range, with a good sample of fish in the 6-7-8 pound range can be caught.

The fishing is greatly faciliated by the Trophy Bass Lodge guide staff under the direction of head guide, Luis Fiero. Luis has probably forgotten more about bass fishing than I know.

The best thing I can say about Trophy Bass Lodge is that I am going back this April for trip number 11. By now this place has assumed a sort of "home" nature for me and seeing the folks there a family reunion.

Frank Walker
21 Feb 2007
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Fishing report Feb. 8th 2007
Brett ,

We had a great time. Your staff did a wonderful job. Most of my guys had never caught a bass before. Everyone caught lots of fish. We did get some big ones too. My brother caught one that they figured was at least 12.5# but they didn't have a tape. He also caught another over 10#. Another in our group caught an 11.5 and a 10# plus. I didn't catch anything over 6 but caught lots. The lake is pretty close to full right now. They said it had come up about 30' in the last couple of weeks. Thanks again for everyone doing a great job. I have to sort through my schedule here pretty quick but I want to come back down in March. I"ll let you know some dates that work here pretty quick.

Tom
20 Feb 2007
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Fishing Report Feb 9th, 2007
BASS FISHING REPORT - With the weather starting to warm the Big Lake Huites bass are on the prowl. Camp manager George reports excellent fishing with most boats bringing in excess of 100 fish per day with good #s of 5-8 lb fish being caught. Largest fish this week was a 12.5 lb hawg. Popular baits have been senkos, swimbaits, and medium crankbaits. The time is now to book your fishing adventure of a lifetime.Lake Huites is 95% full and primed for an excellent spring and summer,so contact your favorite trophy team member and lets go fishing!!