Who is the Best Guide at El Salto?
Hanna and I have been to Anglers Inn El Salto and Anglers Inn Picachos nearly 20 times combined, with more visits to the former than the latter. We’re frequently asked “Which guide should I request?” or “Who is the best guide?” When we don’t have a definitive answer, people assume we’re trying to hide something from them. If they only have the magic guide, they assume, they’ll catch one double digit after another after another. If only it were that easy.
The truth is that they’re all great. Guiding for Anglers Inn is a well-paying and coveted job down there. Most of them have been on the lake for at least a decade, if not much more. Billy Chapman wouldn’t tolerate it if clients were consistently dissatisfied. Additionally, there aren’t really any secrets down there among them. The lake is small enough that they know where their colleagues are spending time on the water.
Here’s the list of guides I’ve fished with down there, in alphabetical order:
Agapito
Antonio
Armando
Carlos
Chichi
Daniel (added January 2022)
Eduardo
German
Javier
Juan
Lacho
Lorenzo
Loreto
Luis (one of the two)
Martin
Oscar
Victor
There may have been a few others, but I’m getting old and my memory is shot.
You know what? I’ve had great days with guides who I’ve never heard of before, and days with more well-known guides when we didn’t set the world on fire. This is, after all, fishing, and there are no guarantees. Even the best angler can get off his rotation or fail to utilize the “perfect” bait. In a five hour session, that can cost you time – but they all have the knowledge and the skill base to get the job done.
So do you want to know who the best guide is? I’ve asked the frequent customers, the guys who have been down there 30, 40 or 50 times, and they all seem to have different opinions. Usually it comes down to who they were fishing with the first time they caught a true El Salto monster.
That’s not to say there are no differences among them. Some speak more English than others. Some speak less of any language than others. Some like to beat the bank with plastics and some prefer to go out deep. As the client, you can advise your guide or the “head guide” of your preferences. Is there a technique you want to learn? A bait you’ve never caught them on? Do you want to chase numbers or focus exclusively on big fish? If you choose one of those options, though, be prepared to reap the results of that choice. The better option, in my opinion, is to listen to what he has to say and follow his lead. They’ve all likely seen more big bass come over the side of their boats than you’ll see in a lifetime, and that experience should count for a lot.
