I don’t want to split hairs Steve, but my fish was 7 pounds 14 ounces (7-14), which is ~7.9 pounds.  For some reason my scale shows ounces (and fractions of ounces) not tenths/hundredths of pounds like every other scale.  I will have a different one next time so as to avoid math on vacation…Great trip!

Congratulations to Phil and David.  They put on a clinic and the rest of us just tried to keep up.  The fishing was “slow” by El Salto standards but there was an afternoon where my partner and I boated a 7.5, a 5.5, a 5.24 and multiple 4’s.  It was a great way to end the El Salto experience.  Lake Picachos on the other hand is loaded with more fish than any lake that I have ever seen.  Steve and I quit counting after our number of boated fish approached triple digits for the day.  We ran out of watermelon red trick worms but that didn’t matter because they were eating red bug all the same.  It was quite an experience.

These fish will have more meat on their bones next year and in two years Lake Picachos will be at legendary status.  This is a new Mexican lake and something I would encourage each of you to consider.  You wake up each day and it’s 60 degrees and eventually warms up to 80 and this is in the dead of winter.  You look around at the beautiful green landscape of the Sierra Madre Mountains and have Ron Speed Jr.‘s staff cater to you all week long.  I can assure you this isn’t a trip that I will be missing and I hope many of you join us next year.

Tight lines,

Jackson

It is a great place.  I was at El Salto a few weeks ago with my son and was initially overwhelmed by the gill nets.  They were everywhere.  There is actually a schedule the commercial fishermen must follow regarding when they can have their nets in the water.  Our guide commented one morning that the nets would all be picked up by noon on that day and sure enough they were all gone by noon.  We were told they would be back in the water in 3 days.  Probably a good idea to know the net schedule before going. 

You’re exactly correct Jack.  The nets are run by a local co-op that’s on a schedule.  One of the benefits of going with Steve is having the inside information on when the nets are going in and when they are coming out.  I’ve been twice with Steve and never gone when the nets are down which just makes things a whole lot easier.  I found out that when you call the other resorts the nets are always out until you get there to find out that they aren’t out at all.  Picachos, on the other hand, has only half as many nets and again, strictly controlled.  Knowing when the nets go in and out, just as you said, really helps make it a better trip.

I am SO jealous, I have to go one of these years! I’m Happy for you guys. Can’t wait to fish Picachos one day. 

I have fished El Salto about six times in the last seven years.  I have been twice when nets are in the water (dec-march) and the other four times were in June (2), July, and August.  The fishing is definetley better in the summer months.

The months the tilapia nets are in the water is a set pattern.  Nets go in day 1 of each month and stay for 10 days, then come out for 5 days then go back in for 10 more days, then out for the rest of that month.  Repeat the same the next month.  It is harder to catch the numbers when nets are in the water and the big ones hide as well.  The nets are all over the lake and are checked periodically - which of course spooks the big ones.  If you have to go when the nets are in, I would recommend day one of your fishing be the 11th or 26th of the month.

However, if you don’t mind fishing in warmer weather (not as hot as Texas) I would definetley go in May, June, or July (August starts the rain season).  The numbers are great and you won’t even weigh the 4-6 pounders after day 1.  Of all four summer trips I have taken, someone in group always catches a 10+  and the 6-8 pounders are almost countless. 

A buddy of mine just got back from an eight person trip over four full days of fishing.  They landed on Jan 10 and fished the next four days.  They caught a total of just over 1,400 bass, but largest was only in the 7-pound range.  Most were 2 pounders, with a sprinkling of the 3-5 pounders.

Thanks Bruce. Very helpful. Just a question for clarification. Are the nets in the water only for the Dec-Mar time frame and banned the rest of the year? It was so bad on January 9th we could not navigate many of the bays for top water fishing until the sun came up.  Wall to wall gill nets.