Joe Cermele with a fly rod bass at Lake Picachos

While we’ve enjoyed fly fishing in Alaska and Montana, and we’ve considered trying it on Guatemalan sailfish, we’re not experts by any means. However, we know enough to be confident that the shallow, fertile waters of Lake Picachos are perfect for the long rod. There are fish shallow all year long, they’re plentiful and they’re hungry. While I’m not sure if the record still stands, at one point the Anglers Inn record for most fish in a boat in a single day was held by a pair of fly anglers.

We’ve seen plenty of fly fishermen and fisherwomen at Lake El Salto, too. Some of them experience really good catches, but I’d never recommend that they try it during our favorite months of May and June when most of the fish are on deeper offshore structure. If you want to test out the grandaddy lake, I’d go in the high water periods (October to February), but I’d really stress that most of the time you’re likely better off at the newer pond.

HOOK SHOTS

A few years back, to test that theory out, I invited my friend Joe Cermele (then of Field & Stream, more recently with MeatEater) and his friend Tim Romano (of Angling Trade) to come down. Their trip resulted not only in one of Joe’s typically brilliant articles, but also in a fantastic video recap of the trip:

FLY TACKLE TIPS FOR PICACHOS

Señor Cermele recognized that I don’t know a Ratface MacDougal from an Egg Sucking Leech, so he was kind enough to put together a list of must-have fly gear for your trip South of the Border. The following is all his writing, edited for brevity in a few places.

Rods: Much like conventional bass fishing, it’s smart to bring several fly outfits to Picachos and rig them differently for ease of switching tactics as locations, conditions, and scenarios change. We recommend using at least a 7-weight rod, though an 8-weight is probably the best all around, as it lets you deliver everything from small baitfish patterns to bulkier topwater flies effectively.

Lines: A variety of fly lines is critical for maximizing opportunities at Picachos. You’ll definitely want a standard weight-forward floating line, but we highly recommend bringing an intermediate sinking line, and a line with a 15- to 20-foot fast-sinking head as well. While the floater may used the most, expect situations where you’ll need to get a fly down in 5 to 10 feet of water to score some of Picachos’s heavier bass.

Leader & Tippet: The Florida-strain bass in Lake Pichachos will test your knots! They pull hard, so we recommend a minimum of 12-pound fluorocarbon or monofilament leader and tippet. However, you’ll be fishing around a lot of wood and rock, so don’t be afraid to beef up to 20-pound. The water in Picachos is generally slightly stained, so you need not worry about the bass being leader shy.

Flies: Every fly fisherman has his or her favorite patterns, and we encourage you to bring them all to Picachos. The number of fish in the lake makes it a great place to experiment, but to be on the safe side we recommend having these four in your boxes.

Clouser Minnows – In terms of sheer numbers, it’s hard to beat a classic Clouser. Pure white, chartreuse-over-white, blue-over-white, and olive-over-white are top producers. Bring a variety of sizes to match the wide range of forage species in Picachos. And bring a lot because they’ll get tattered quickly.
Poppers – Everyone loves a good popper smash, and you can expect a bunch during a visit. What’s hard to predict is exactly when, where, and what will be getting the bass looking up. Considering that could be large tilapia, medium shad, or smaller fry, bring an assortment of poppers in a range of sizes, and don’t be surprised if the smaller, less aggressive ones call up the biggest fish.
Unweighted Flat-Profile Baitfish – Many flies fall into this category, including the Bailes Out Minnow, Mushmouth, Puglisi’s Peanut Butter, and Hud’s Bushwacker. What they have in common is a flat profile and range in size from 2 to 4 inches. The flat body allows this style of fly to flutter on the fall like a dying baitfish, and the size and shape perfectly matches the juvenile tilapia and shad in Picachos. These patterns shine along deep banks and around sloping points when fished on a sinking line. Bring plenty in white, white, and white.
Heavy Flashers – Most of the aforementioned flies will incorporate some flash material, but it’s wise to bring some that are predominantly tied with flash. Examples include Wildwood’s 3M Minnow, the Flashtail Whistler, and Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow. Sometimes the bass in Picachos—larger ones especially—react to these overly shiny patterns faster than more muted offerings.

Things To Know

Lake Picachos doesn’t feature much vegetation, so you won’t need to lean on flies with weed guards. Your biggest structural obstacle will be wood. The lake is loaded with flooded trees, and you’ll spend a lot of time moving from one to the next, working flies tight to the trunks and branches. With this in mind, we strongly recommend tying on or buying flies with quality hooks. Inshore saltwater-grade hooks work especially well. Not only can the strong-willed bass here bend out a light-wire or budget hook, inevitable snags can easily bend them or, at minimum, roll the points. Your guide will work very hard to make sure you lose minimal flies, but there’s nothing he can do about how those flies fare when connected to wood, rock, or the jaw of a very upset 6 pounder.
Be aware that the terrain around the lodge is sandy and dusty. Simply getting in and out of your boat will produce a gritty deck. Your guide will do an excellent job of mopping that deck to keep the grit to a bare minimum, but you can’t expect him to get every grain. Your fly line will likely get dirty, so we recommend bringing a bottle of line cleaner or dressing and a microfiber cloth or cleaning pad in case your lines need a little TLC during your stay.