Based on years of experience, I can tell you that no matter how many hours you spend organizing your tackle prior to your trip to Anglers Inn El Salto or Picachos, by the second day everything is likely to be a mess. Here’s how we minimize on-the-water inefficiency.

Any competent angler could have a fantastic trip to Anglers Inn with the provided rods. Additionally, traveling with a rod tube is a major pain in the ass. Don’t do it unless you’re prepared to be hassled and disappointed. I’m in a position where if a few get messed up I’ll be unhappy, but it won’t change my life. That means it’s time to restock my toolbox down there. I’ll be flying to Mexico with a rod tube for the first time since 2016. Here are the sticks I’m bringing.

At times fishing a Carolina Rig feels like watching paint dry, and when you break off it takes a long time to retie properly, another strike against it. At the same time, I’m honest enough to know that it can produce big fish and a lot of fish. There have been several times where we’ve been able to catch a few fish offshore on crankbaits, football jigs or Texas Rigs, while a Carolina Rig seemed to get bit on almost every cast.

I always thought that painted blades on spinnerbaits were for two extreme situations – either super-clear water or super-dirty water — but through a happy accident I found out that they work extremely well at Lake El Salto and Lake Picachos. Here are some of our proven winners.

Even though I’m constantly testing out new lures on our trips South of the Border, and attempting to give them a valid assessment, of course there will always be some “gold standard” lures that are hard to replace. Nevertheless, the introduction of new lures means that others get left by the wayside through no fault of their own. Here are four that regularly make the trip down to Mexico with me.

While most of us are rigorous about packing high-quality, laser-sharp hooks for our single hook presentations at El Salto and Picachos, it’s easy to slack on replacement trebles. If you’re going for just three days of fishing you may be able to get away without bringing any but any more than that and I’d recommend that you bring a small stash.

When you’re at home, it pays to work on techniques for retrieving snagged lures. Learn to feel what you’re hung up in, because the strategies that you employ for a single-hooked lure in rock may differ from those for treble-hooked lures in trees, or any lures in a discarded tilapia net. It also pays to keep some sort of lure retriever handy. Here are some of our favorite ways to dislodge stuck lures.

When I go on a fishing trip, it’s about more than catching fish. It’s about finding products that work for me and for my readers. To quote Bryan Adams: “Everything I do, I do it for you.” Prior to our recent trip to El Salto, I wrote about a few items I planned to torture test. Now I’m reporting back, on those and some others that also passed with flying colors.

The rod that excited me most before our recent trip to Mexico was a Dobyns Rods Champion XP DC 795 SB, 7’9” and rated for 1 to 5 ounce lures. While I certainly hadn’t dialed in the big bait game in Mexico, I reasoned that part of the problem was not having the right gear—with the proper equipment I’d be more apt to confidently and efficiently chuck the big stuff around.

We’ve already provided a list of the lures that did or did not work for us on our June 2021 trip to Anglers Inn Lake El Salto. It was an exceptional trip, with I believe more 3- to 6-pound class fish than on any prior visit. Of course, being a confirmed tackle junkie, I can’t just leave it as a simple list – each additional trip provides revelations, discoveries and slight differences that I find noteworthy. Here are 10 of them.

The number one question Hanna and I get before and after every trip to Anglers Inn in Mexico is “what are they biting on?” Everyone wants to know the hot bait or secret bait to squeeze in on that last express-mailed Tackle Warehouse order. Because we have no real sponsors or advertisers, we’re able to tell it like it is.

Sometimes at El Salto you can get more and bigger bites by having different lures than everyone else. You can also maximize your landing percentages in various ways. Here are three tweaks I may try on our next trip South of the Border to maximize my catch-and-land rate.

We’re headed back to El Salto shortly, for our close-to-annual May/June offshore slugfest. My understanding is that the water is at unusually low levels, even for a time of year when it’s normally at its lowest. I’m hoping that bodes well for us. Despite my pledge to keep it basic, I can’t go South of the Border without at least trying a few new tackle items. Here are three of the ones I’m most excited about.

On this June 2021 trip to El Salto, Anglers Inn, I am going to make it my goal to fish with all types of different swimbaits while others are cranking. I’ll be back in touch to let you know how my research turned out. Now it’s back to the garage to load a Plano tackle box with an assortment of swimbaits.

Not everyone who travels to Lake El Salto or Lake Picachos has been fishing their entire lifetime. I know that it can be terrifying to think that everyone else will be an expert, and they’ll laugh at your lack of skills, but these lakes are actually the perfect vacation spot for any interested angler, whether they’re a pro or have not yet caught their first bass.

When we first returned from our November trip to El Salto, I was incredibly jacked up about the flutter spoon bite we’d just experienced. I’d gone there on a mission and accomplished it. A couple of months later I keep reliving those bites over and over.

This article isn’t a review of new products, per se, but rather a teaser – both for you and for us. We take a whole lot of new stuff to Mexico every time we go, and here are some products that piqued our interest on our most recent trip.