Submitted by Brett Graham (ip 208.14.27.41)

Date Fished: 10/10/2005
Water Temperature: 89
Water Clarity: 4 feet or greater

Fishing Report Trophy Bass Lodge Lake Huites, Mexico September 28th, 2005

I arrived at Trophy Bass Lodge September 26th in preparation for the upcoming season. Along with George, Luis and a handful of guides, we spent the first day preparing boats. Loading the seats, fuel tanks, outboards, trolling motors, and installing new Lowrance electronics proved to be a full day's work. This project usually provides some unexpected challenges and today was no different. Several hours were lost to a stuck truck in the lake and a broken leaf spring on the trailer. All was conquered, however, and nightfall arrived providing a needed rest.

I awoke the next morning as the only inhabitant of the lodge. This was a real treat, as I had an hour to enjoy the most beautiful sky full of stars I have ever seen. I poured myself a cup of coffee, pulled a rocking chair out in the yard, and peered up into the sky to enjoy but one of the little perks this wonderful place offers. Solitude is something so difficult to find in our daily lives with cell phones, pagers, e-mail, traffic. But on this special morning, it felt like I was the only person on earth. Finally the sun began to rise, outlining the beautiful mountains that surround this special place. I knew it was time to head down to the lake, as I would be the first gringo to fish Lake Huites in almost four months. It was destined to be a special day.

After cranking up the 50 hp Yamaha 4-stroke and turning on my new Lowrance electronics, I took off across the water. I was pleased to find the lake almost 100% full, which has only happen four times that I know of since the lake was created. The water was clear and looked fantastic. I made a 15 minute run to the midsection of the lake, and began my search. Topwater baits provided no results, so I moved on to a more reliable tactic, the swimbait. My electronics indicated allot of bass and bait in the 15-25 foot range, so I concentrated on mainlake points and humps. However, after a solid 30 minutes of working the swimbait in this range, I had only one fish and several bumps to show for it. At this point I went to the classic Mexican go-to bait, the watermelon lizard on a Texas rig. This proved to be the most productive bait of the morning, resulting in 38 bass up to five pounds. The big fish of the morning was a quality 7 pounder that hit a pearl DD22 with green/blue metal flake back, my favorite crankbait on Lake Huites. Overall, a pretty good morning given the amount of time it took to develop the pattern.

That afternoon, after tending to some chores around camp, I grabbed my good friend and chief guide Luis. Luis has been fishing Mexican Lakes for over twenty years, and has fished on the best. He just knows how these wily Mexican bass think. In addition to his fishing knowledge, Luis has an unlimited supply of jokes. I was eager to hear the new ones he acquired over the summer.

Our destination would be the Canyons, a skinny section of the lake with huge cliffs and steep drops. Historically, the Canyons have been one of the more productive parts of the lake, and this afternoon would be no different. Every stop resulted in bass, lots of bass. While we had our share of two and three pounders, we were impressed with the quality of fish. While we did not catch a giant, we did catch 70 or so fish with a large majority of them three to six pounds. The bass looked especially healthy, as they were short fish with huge girths. This is a great sign, particularly since the lake is coming out of a hot summer. The best spot turned out to be a hump that we had fished allot earlier in the summer, and was now covered by 28 feet of water. The fish were both on the hump, and suspended over the top of it as well. My trusty Norman DD22 cranked over these suspended fish resulted in 12 fish in a row, all of them between 3 and 6 pounds. What a blast! We pulled off of it after Luis reminded me we had clients due the following day, and I hesitantly agreed we should leave it for them. Over the next four days, many fish were caught up to eight pounds off that point. As we returned to the lodge and stepped out of the boat, I looked up to see group after group of Dove flying over us. Groups of ten, twenty, non stop. Maybe we need to buys some shotguns!

In light of a wonderful day of fishing, the real treat was getting to spend the evening with my good friends Luis and Hector, as well as our new chef Frankie. Frankie is a lifelong El Fuerte resident, and has worked at several of the finest restaurants in the area. After a few margaritas, and a viewing of the Trophy Bass Lodge promo DVD (which brought great laughs over Luis' whistling segment), Frankie proceeded to make one of the greatest fish platters I have ever experienced, along with potatoes and grilled onions. And, of course, several smoking peppers. Shortly thereafter, we called it a night. As I prepared to bed down, I could only then appreciate the experience. We, as gringos, come to Mexico to fish, relax, and have a good time. Tonight, however, I had the unique experience of being allowed to enter a culture not mine. Once you have the opportunity to experience these people, you realize that they are hard working, free-spirited, and truly enjoyable people to be around. I was appreciative of the opportunity to be a part of that. That evening our first group of the season arrived from Houston and California, six really great guys ready to go fishing. Over the next three days, the seven of us caught over 750 bass up to nine pounds and a great time was had by all. The lake is almost 100% full, clear and approximately 88 degrees. The bass were congregated on points, humps and ridges in the 15 to 30 foot range. The high water temperature had them positioned on wood primary. This made the Texas rig the most effective bait, as you could easily and quickly probe the deep water and wood. Lizards and worms in watermelon/chartreuse color fished on 1/2 ounce weights produced best, with black/blue and watermelon red flake also effective. The 1/2 ounce weight was really important, given the depth and afternoon winds. DD22 Norman crankbaits were also extremely effective in pearl/green and blue fleck. Many times it was necessary to burn the crankbait as deep as possible for maximum depth. When you located bass, it was not uncommon to catch 20 or 30 in a matter of minutes, particularly when you could find fish suspended over humps in the twenty to twenty five foot range. The storm swimbait work well on points and flats, with the best color being pearl/chartruese. These baits were cast onto long sloping points, allowed to sink to the bottom, then retrieved slowly.

The best producing sections of the lake are the canyons, the two rivers section of the mid-lake, the upper river area near the railroad bridge, and the immediate area of Trophy Bass Lodge. Catch rates for the week ranged from 50 fish per day per boat to a high of 140 fish per day. The largest bass was right at nine pounds, but many quality fish in the four to seven pound range were caught with a handful of eight's thrown in. We have also just received word from the lodge that an 11.5 pounder was caught this week (week of October 3rd), and is the new leader in the Big Bass Challenge. If you do not know about the big bass challenge, go to www.trophybasslodge.com and check it out!

Given the current lake conditions, Lake Huites is positioned to have an excellent fall. As we begin to experience some fronts and the surface temps drop, the fish will become even more active and move shallower. With the excellent water clarity November should provide incredible topwater action. December will also provide some excellent fishing as well, and will provide a nice respite from our winter weather. The time is now, and fishing is great, so give us a call ASAP to get your date booked!

Brett Graham Trophy Team

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