What They Bitin’? – El Salto June 2024
On our recently completed trip to El Salto from June 22-29, 2024, I kept my lure selections remarkably simple. We fished a total of 6 ½ days and I’d bet that 80% of my casts and an equal percentage of my fish came on just five or six baits in a handful of colors.
That’s because I’ve calmed down a little bit as I’ve aged and don’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel, and also because the bass were somewhat picky. I dislike it when Hanna sometimes tells new guests that “You can catch ‘em on a cigarette butt in Mexico.” There are occasions when it almost seems true, but it lulls them into a false sense of security. The fish aren’t indiscriminate. I’m convinced that by minimizing our lure choices, we maximized our potential catch this time around, playing the hands that were dealt to us.
The following is a list of lures that we used successfully. Some of our fellow travelers had better success with other categories or models and you may prefer different brands or sizes, but this should at least provide a starting point for your next trip:
OUR MAIN PRODUCERS
Crankbaits
Strike King Pro Model 6XD – Powder Blue Chartreuse, Citrus Shad, Barfish, Chartreuse Perch
Strike King 6XD Hard Knock – Powder Blue Chartreuse, Gizzard Shad, Natural Shad
Strike King 8XD – Chartreuse Perch, Green Gizzard Shad
Strike King 10XD – Gizzard Shad, The Shizzle
Berkley Dredger 20.5 – Big Money, Blue Chartreuse
Berkley Dredger 25.5 – Black Chartreuse, Citrus Shad
Berkley Dredger HD 20.5 – HD Threadfin Shad
Rapala DT 20 – Chartreuse Lime, Caribbean Shad
Swimbaits
Bacca Burrito (5” and 6”) – Tactical Gizzard, Tactical Shad, Disco, Lucky Charms
Bacca Burrito Nacho – Threadfin Shad, Tactical Shad
Storm Wildeye Swim Shad (5”) – Golden Mullet, Pearl, Shad
Strike King Rage Swimmer (4.75”) – KVD Magic
Keitech Fat Swing Impact (4.3” and 4.8”) – Electric Shad, Gizzard Shad, Sight Flash, TW Pro Blue
Megabass Uoze Swimmer — Reaction Chartreuse, Sexy Shad, Wakasagi with a swimbait trailer.
Soft Plastics
Berkley Power Worm (10”) – Black Blue Tail, Blue Fleck
Yamamoto Ichi Worm (10”) – Plum Apple
Yamamoto Senko (5”) – Watermelon Moondust
Jerkbaits
Megabass Ito Vision 110 – French Pearl OB, GG Threadfin Shad, GP Pro Blue, GP Sexy Shad
Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 97MR – Ghost Minnow
Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 112MR – Ghost Minnow
Topwaters
Reaction Innovations Vixen – Silver Flitter Shad
River2Sea Whopper Plopper 130 – Powder
Lobina Lures Rio Rico – Holographic Shad, Klicka Shad,
Megabass I Wing 135 – White Python
Deps NZ Crawler – Smoke Black
LURES THAT WORKED FOR A HANDFUL OF FISH (OR LESS)
Yum Flash Mob Umbrella Rig – (rigged with Keitech swimbaits, see above)
Berkley Warpig (1/2 ounce) – Black Silver
Berkley PowerBait CullShad – HD Ghost Gizzard
Cumberland Pro Lures Football Jig ¾ ounce – Black blue with Strike King Rage Craw trailer
Oldham’s 1 ounce Spinnerbait – Chartreuse Gold Blades
JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN – THIS TIME
Hollow Belly Swimbaits – I tried them and just couldn’t make them work when and where other swimbaits would. Hanna did catch some fish on them on the back of the Megabass Uoze.
Yamamoto Senko 6” and 7” – Normally a staple, but tried for a bit and did not produce
SPRO Rat 50 — My favorite lure, didn’t get any blowups in good conditions.
ADDITIONAL NOTES ON TACKLE AND GEAR
Although I caught big fish on worms and crankbaits, most of my larger bites came on a 5” Storm Wild Eye Swim Shad, still one of the best bargains in fishing at about two bucks apiece.
There were several times when Hanna and I stood side-by-side and I threw the Storm and she threw the Burritos and one significantly outproduced the other.
Normally I love a soft swimbait on an underspin, but this time a blade-free head seemed to produce much better. Some of the ones I used were the Buckeye Lures Shocker, Strike King Squadron and Megabass Body Balance, in sizes from 3/8 to 1 ounce.
I could never get a sense of whether crankbait color mattered. We seemed to catch bass equally well on super-gaudy, super-natural and everything in between.
I sometimes forget to throw the Berkley Dredger. That’s a mistake. Not only does it get deep quickly, but they never seem to get out of tune.
Our friend Brad Petrie got on a very good jig and craw bite. I fished with him and caught some that way, but not nearly as many as he did. He later switched to a 7” craw trailer and continued to catch bass of all sizes.
The pause was the key on both crankbaits and topwaters.
On the same day that Hanna started throwing the Megabass and Deps crawler baits, Brad coincidentally tied on a Jackall Pompadour and had quite a bit of success in the same overcast conditions.
Staples that I never threw: Zoom Super Fluke, squarebills, chatterbaits, lizards.
