Incredible Mexican bass adventure at Lake Picachos

I've been blessed with multiple opportunities over the years of working in the fishing industry to visit my friend Billy Chapman with <a href=

I’ve been blessed with multiple opportunities over the years of working in the fishing industry to visit my friend Billy Chapman with Anglers Inn International, and they’ve been spectacular adventures.
I was 10 or 11 when my dad started taking me on “big boy” fishing trips, and I’ll never forget a moment of those experiences for as long as I live. My son, 11 in November of 2018, has shown great promise as a future fisherman, and I knew it was time to start doing the same for him. Knowing Billy and the experience that awaited us at Lake Picachos, an hour-and-a-half drive from Mazatlan, Mexico, knew it was the perfect place to make a memory that would last a lifetime for both of us.
After some negotiation with his mother, we booked a trip. Little did we know the fishing that was about to change his life.

Tommy has proven to be quite savvy with a baitcaster in his young paws, even for a young kid. Here’s a big pair of bass he caught on the first morning at Picachos.

I knew that a trip to a lake as fertile — and just plain full of bass — as Lake Picachos would provide a huge opportunity for my young son to further hone his skills as a budding bass angler …

… and maybe give Dad (me) a memory I’ll never forget. Plus, the guides there are local, and they know just about every nook and cranny on the lake.

We spent three days at Angler’s Inn, enjoyed tremendous food, second-to-none accommodations in their individual villas, and 5-star service thanks to Jose and his team that will eagerly attend to your needs while staying there..

Bleeding thumbs are far from the highlights of the trip. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous.

One of the goals for Tommy on our trip, aside from catching too many bass, was to master flipping a jig. I brought along a box full of <a href=

One of the goals for Tommy on our trip, aside from catching too many bass, was to master flipping a jig. I brought along a box full of 3/8-ounce Strike King Denny Brauer Baby Structure Jigs. We matched the jig to a Rage Craw, with the top two “bulbs” removed to keep it a compact offering. Traditionally, that’s a smallish bait for the Mexican giants that lurk in Picachos and El Salto, but just about every other treetop sticking out of the water had one or two bass willing to eat our jigs.

The lighter jigs fell slowly through the branches, giving staging bass enough time to see it and react. The action was stupid. We used and destroyed a dozen jigs and three times as many jig trailers during our time there.

Needless to say, Tommy figured out how to effectively flip and nail big bass in the timber. Which was one of our goals.

We tried other presentations, including lots of topwater with <a href=

We tried other presentations, including lots of topwater with Berkley’s new Choppo.

Our biggest fish of the trip was this one, just over 7 pounds. There are bigger bass in Picachos, some real dandies.

Each day started before daylight with a made-to-order breakfast, complete with hot coffee.

We’d take a midday break for some lunch, and a nap. Tommy didn’t take any naps.

This picture of a Berkley Choppo is the “before” version. The “after” was a retirement photo because it wouldn’t run right anymore after 100s of bass tried to kill it — what an awesome topwater bait! But that’s why you buy them — to retire them.
You’ll need to bring your own reels, but Angler’s Inn provides plenty of St. Croix rods to keep you covered during your time there.

In November the mornings are cool and mild, and the days warm up into 80s and 90s, but not to an unbearable level by any means.

Even with flipping a jig an objective, we weren’t so rigid to deny ourselves the fun of nailing a bass willing to feed topside. Here Tommy holds up a fish he caught on a Choppo he dragged through a treetop.

Fish after fish …

… Nonstop action. All day long.

One of the many great reasons to visit Picachos is the unbelievable number of bass. They are dumb, and who doesn’t love dumb bass? The opportunity that exists here to learn new techniques and master certain presentations, justify the trip in itself. Plus you’ll have tons of fun in the process — just don’t expect to lose any weight.

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We caught doubles all the time, some we just couldn’t get pictures of because the bite was so fast and furious.

Plus, multiple fish from the same piece of structure. Another example of good lessons to learn and apply back home on our favorite lakes.

He had to wear gloves on the final day because they were torn up from handling so many bass. He was bleeding and smiling at the same time. How many memories go that way? He’ll never forget it. Neither will I.

Lots of lessons learned.

About bass, and life in general.

Over the course of three and a half days, we caught 348 bass. And if we really wanted to work on sheer numbers I’m confident we could have blown that number out of the water.

As expected, it was an amazing adventure, and one neither of us will ever forget it. I recommend you do the same with your kids. Get them out on the water, no matter where in the world you go. Just take them.
During the boat ride back on our final day, I looked over to see a big tear rolling down my young son’s cheek. I smiled and asked what was wrong?
“I love it here, Dad,” he said. “I don’t want to leave yet.” A little choked up myself, I promised him we’d be back. Lake Picachos with Angler’s Inn, a father/son fishing experience of a lifetime.