|
Okuma Goes Savage at Lake El Salto, Mexico
| Date: |
6/20/12 |
|
Tackle Type: |
Lures |
| Manufacturer: |
Okuma - Savage
Gear |
|
Reviewer: |
Zander |
Introduction: El Salto is the stuff of
legend, a lake filled with structure, a long growing season and plenty of giant
green fish. It represents the ideal testing ground for bass tackle and less than
two weeks ago we were invited to Lake El Salto Mexico for Okuma’s unveiling of
their new Helios spinning reel as well as a closer look at their upcoming Savage
Gear lure lineup.
Welcome to the El Salto Adventures
Lodge at El Salto
This was my third trip to El Salto and the first
for Cal. On previous trips El Salto has kicked out quality fish with an 11.5lbr.
being the largest fish I’ve personally caught here caught to date. Over the last
few years there have been rumors that the El Salto fishery has declined due to
low water levels and constant fishing pressure. In any event I was still eager
to get back to the lake and see firsthand how the fishery was holding up.
Dave ad Sam at Okuma talk shop
with Joey from Tackle Warehouse at the lodge's dining area
On this trip Okuma brought in a number of their
staff including Sam Brenner the Vice President, Brandon Cotton the Marketing and
Promotions manager and Dave Brown the Regional Sales Manager to host the trip.
In addition to Cal and I joined from TackleTour and Okuma invited three members
of the Tackle Warehouse team, Corey Schmidt, Joey Reggio and Jeff Hodges. Also
attending was Kelly Gohman from the North American Membership Group (NAMG) and
Brian Nguyen from Jeff Robles & Associates, a manufacturer’s representative
agency for Okuma.
Good morning El Salto
Getting to El Salto is relatively easy for U.S.
anglers and there are plenty of flights that fly into Mazatlan, and from there
it is just over an hour van ride to the edge of the lake. For this event Okuma
partnered with Elizalde Hono of
El Salto Adventures, Mexico. Hono’s operation
maintains a lodge on the lake which includes a 23,000 acre facility with a
separate dining area. The rooms are straightforward, very clean, and most
importantly have excellent air conditioning, providing sanctuary from the high
temperatures during this time of year.
The lake water can reach the brush
line at times but with low summer water levels the lake is at the bottom of the
hill
When we arrived at the lodge I was surprised to
see the lake was not at the front of the property but way down the hill in the
distance. The water was extremely low this year and areas where I normally fish
were completely dry, exposing the vast rocky and timber structure that is
normally underwater. With the official event scheduled to start the next day a
number of us couldn’t wait to get our lines wet and raided the Okuma stash to
put together a few rigs to head down and do some shore fishing.
The Prop Prey 50 is a new topwater
finesse hardbait frog from Savage Gear
The CBL Prey95 is a new ripbait
Okuma prepared a number of rod and reels from
their lineup ranging from their Helios, Concept C3-40X, and Citrix series. It
didn’t take long for Cal and I as well as the Tackle Warehouse crew to rig up,
slather on some sunblock and head for the water. To give you an idea of how low
the water was there are times during the year when the water comes right up to
the edge of the lodge and on this trip we hopped in a van for a five minute ride
down the hill just to reach the shoreline.
Dave and Sam show us how it is
done
Brian catches a fishing using a
new Savage Gear crankbait
Next Section: Day one on the water |
