Buy the Basics for Bass Fishing in Mexico

So you’re headed to Lake El Salto, Lake Picachos or some other dream bass fishing destination for the first time? It can be daunting to try to figure out what tackle to pack, especially given seasonal variations and differences among different lakes and forage bases. We don’t claim to have all of the answers for every fishery, but we’ve been to El Salto and Picachos nearly 20 times. We’ve also been to Lake Mateos and Falcon (which is not entirely in Mexico, but as a border lake it’s close enough). Furthermore, unlike many people who might give you advice on what to take, Half Past First Cast has no sponsorship ties. We’re free to recommend the tackle that we feel provides the best combination of effectiveness and value. That’s why 10 different brands are recommended on our list of basics.

If you’re headed to El Salto or Picachos, click on this link or on the Tackle Warehouse logo below to find our suggested basic list of tackle for a 4 night, 3 ½ day trip.

Admittedly, you might not use all of it. If the plastics bite is epic but the cranking bite is off, you may feel like you wasted some money on hard baits. Conversely, it may not be enough. For example, if you lose your Rico on Day One (use good line and tie a good knot and this should not be a problem), you could be out of luck if that’s the best bite going. We’re chronic overpackers and tackle hoarders, so this is rarely a problem for us, but we recognize that not everyone is in the same situation. Most of you already have plenty of gear, so supplement this with some similar items in your current stash and you should be good to go, but if for some reason this is your first bass fishing excursion, you can start from scratch with this list and be covered 12 months of the year, under just about all circumstances. You may not have the perfect lure for every foreseeable situation, but you’ll be pretty damn close.

If you buy everything we recommend, in the suggested quantities, the total comes to about $328 (as of August 2021). If you wait for one of the Tackle Warehouse sales, you might be able to shave 10, 15 or even 20% off of that total. As far as we know, every item except the Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait is sale-eligible.

We’re big supporters of shopping at small, local tackle stores, but we also feel comfortable recommending Tackle Warehouse because they tend to have the best selection of any online or brick-and-mortar retailer, the best prices, and they almost always have the vast majority of items in stock. Shipping is free for orders over $50, and even if you elect to upgrade to overnight or two-day shipping you’ll still likely spend less on that than you would on gas to a distant shop. Buy where you’re comfortable, but we have had nothing but good experiences with TW.

Going forward, we’ll offer up some more lists, including inexpensive substitutes for items in this package, dedicated cranking selections, and other opportunities to scratch your tackle-buying itch. Next up are some less costly options to the items on this first list in case you need to budget.