Ten Tips for Maximizing Mexico’s Topwater Bite

When it’s “on,” the topwater bite at Mexico’s Lake El Salto is just about the most fun you can have with your clothes on. No, it’s not quite as violent as Brazilian peacock bass blasting big prop baits, or South Pacific Giant Trevally plucking birds off the surface, but in terms of largemouths I’ve yet to see anything that compares. 

That doesn’t mean it’s always easy.  

Indeed, during our recent 12 days of fishing at Anglers Inn El Salto Hanna and I experienced the full range of topwater action: there were days when they wouldn’t even look at it; there are were days when they would strike and miss; there were days when they’d eat it pretty reliably; and there were days when you had to keep the pliers handy because you were constantly digging deeply-buried trebles out of the mouths of big fish.  

Even on the best topwater days, however, the bite was usually short-lived. In the mornings, it died off shortly after the sun got up over the Sierra Madres. In the afternoons, it didn’t start in earnest until that same sun started to descend. You could occasionally catch a topwater fish outside of those short windows (it rarely got light enough to fish before 6am or stayed light enough to fish past 6pm) but there were usually better options at those times. While the afternoons were usually breezy, we experienced minimal cloud cover to spur other surface opportunities.

That meant we had limited productive casts with our Ricos, Whopper Ploppers and other topwaters. Each moment that we were not prepared was an opportunity wasted. I may never become a great fisherman, but I like to think of myself as a hyper-efficient fisherman. Accordingly, I’ve developed some ideas and strategies to make sure that you maximize your opportunity to enjoy bass fishing’s best topwater action. Hopefully these will help lead you to your own personal best on your next trip to Mexico. 

Have the Right Stuff

You can’t dial in the topwater bite if you don’t have the right lures in the boat. Bring a small selection of key lures in a range of sizes and both light and dark colors. You don’t have to bring everything you own – 8 to 10 lures should do – but if they’re in the room or in the US they won’t do you any good. Build a “go box” of shallow water lures that you can keep at your feet or readily accessible in your tackle bag. 

Make Sure It’s in Good Shape

Mexican bass will destroy even quality trebles after a few vicious strikes. Each evening, check them out for wear or bends or loss of sharpness and change them as appropriate. Don’t be stingy here – fresh hooks will save you a great deal of heartache. Check your split rings and line ties, too. 

Have the Right Stuff Tied On

You need a “coverage” bait (something that can cover large swaths of water and call fish from a distance) and a “target” bait (something that can trigger strikes when popped or moved in place). I like a Whopper Plopper or a walking bait like a Zara Spook or the Teckel Kicknocker for the former and I swear by the Rio Rico popper for the latter. If you have appetite for a third topwater rod, pick a “brush” bait like a buzzbait, buzz toad (I like the Stanley Top Toad) or something else that’ll come through thicker cover and bank grass without getting hung up as much. 

Have the Right Stuff Tied on Early

You know when topwater time is approaching, so get the right lures on your rods before it arrives. Each moment you waste searching for the right lure or tying it on is a moment that you cannot be casting. If you have adequate eyesight and manual dexterity, do it as the guide drives the boat between spots. If not, ask him to do it for you after you arrive. They’ll gladly do so. 

Stay Late or Start Early

Darkness doesn’t last equally long in all places in the morning, nor does it start at the same time everywhere in the afternoon. If you find yourself fishing a protected bluff bank while it’s sunny across the lake, you might be able to extend the topwater bite because of the shade factor. A little wind will lengthen the bite, too. 

Complement Your Fishing Partner

Sometimes the best bite with a Plopper or a walking bait comes by paralleling the bank rather than casting at it in a perpendicular fashion or at a 45 degree angle. When this happens, if both anglers try to maximize their casts you’re going to be competing with each other and reducing each other’s chances. Hanna and I both fish off of the front deck. She is right-handed and I am left-handed, so when we go left-to-right she is in “front” and when we go right-to-left I am in front. That tends to be about a 50/50 split, so the front angler gets the “money” cast. The “back” angler shouldn’t twiddle his or her thumbs, though. Make short pitch casts with a Rico, a fluke or a Senko. You won’t get in your partner’s way and you’ll be surprised how often the second chance shot produces the better fish. 

Look Behind You

I see lots of visiting anglers who never make a cast backwards past the midpoint of the boat. That’s a mistake. A lot of times you’ll never have the perfect angle down a small point or into a divot on the bank until you have gone by it. Wait for those casts – especially if you’re getting “second chance” at the key targets – and you’ll be surprised at how many opportunities you get that your partner missed. 

Watch for Schoolers

While we tend to focus on the bank, or points, or obvious cover and structure for our topwater casts, El Salto’s bass often gorge on tilapia and shad in open water. When the bite gets fierce, you may get so dialed in to bass in “expected” places that you don’t notice the “easy” fish elsewhere. On this past trip Hanna added five quality bass to her total because she saw or heard them blowing up on bait and was prepared to fire a cast into the fray. This is when it pays to have a 7:1 or faster reel so you can quickly reel in a bait sitting in an unproductive zone and get it into the hot area. 

Be Ready to Move

If you fish a prime area with no success and your guide says, “Vamonos,” reel in, sit down and don’t beg for another cast. Sometimes even the best banks don’t produce for a variety of reasons. When your guide wants to move, don’t waste another moment on unproductive areas. 

Give It Up

If you’re willing to “waste” a session of fishing in search of that magical topwater bite, by all means stick with it when it’s not producing as expected. It’s your trip and you should spend it how you want. Because I’ve been many times, and expect to go back in the future, I’m willing to experiment at times and go down swinging. If it’s your first trip, or perhaps you expect it to be your only trip, you may not want to struggle in search of surface bites. If you know that fish are around and they’re simply not hitting it, or they’re generally missing it, pick up a jerkbait or a Senko and grab those scraps. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.