Wrapping up our 40th year of bass fishing Mexico

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Ron Speed Jr. and John Speed fish for large bass on El Salto[Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed]

In July we will finish our 40th year of fishing Mexico when we close Lake El Salto for the season. It has been one of our best years ever as we doubled the number of clients from the year before.

Our percentage of satisfied clients broke all previous records over the previous 40 years. Our satisfaction rate this year was 99% as reported by clients. It would have been 100% except for 2 clients from Kansas in April. The staff didn’t have nachos & margaritas ready upon their arrival in camp from the airport. Our fault!!!

Ron Speed Jr. introduced a great new menu at El SaltoOur new programs were a big hit with everyone. The new menu that Ron Jr. got started was an unbelieviable success. I had tried for years to teach our different cooks different dishes but as soon as I would leave they would go back to the old meals. The hibachi supper was the favorite of all the clients. It’s a very wide variety of fresh seafood centered in the middle of the table and everyone eats off of the variety of seafood. OH MAN IS IT GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!

The fishing — as always — was good with Roger Sessions of Henderson, Texas taking the big fish prize of the season. Roger caught a female bass all spawned out that measured 36 in. long with a 22.5 girth. According to our formula she should have weighed about 23 pounds. Ron Jr. called Phil Durocher who is the former head of Texas fish & wildlife and told him about the fish and its measurements. Phil told Ron Jr. that it definitely would have been a new world record.

Both Phil Durocher and Ray Sasser of the Dallas Morning news said that Roger should have kept the fish and not released it back to the lake. The reason for keeping a bass that big is it’s an old fish that will probably not live after all the stress in the battle. Releasing a bass that old would not be of any benefit to the lake.

How safe is travel to El Salto????

John Speed regularly nets 10lb-plus bass at Lake El Salto[This question still comes up almost every day. To me it is such a shame that many, many fishermen are still afraid to travel to this great lake. Our newspapers & TV have led Americans to believe the whole country of Mexico is dangerous for Americans.

I don’t know another person that has the experience in Mexico that I have over the past 50 years. If I thought for one minute that it was not safe, we wouldn’t be running trips to Salto. Both my sons travel to Salto with my blessing. Ron Jr is a regular this season and — as usual — both sons boated 10lb bass.

Here is the real story about safety in Mexico. If you are in some way involved in the drug business, then it is not safe for you to be in Mexico. Almost 100% of all those killed in Mexico are people involved in the drug trade. It is exactly like the days of prohibition in Chicago when Dutch Schultz and Al Capone were fighting over territory. It’s the same thing except the cartels in Mexico are fighting over drug territory.

Americans are not targets in Mexico. It’s not like countries in the Middle East where you might as well have a bull’s eye on your back. There are probably more Americans killed here in the good ‘ole USA in one week than are killed in Mexico over a 10 year period.

One client asked me the other day, “What if I happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?” My answer was that you will be at the lake 99% of your trip and I can tell you for sure the drug guys don’t like to bass fish.

Truth is, almost all the trouble has happened along the border with some isolated violence scattered in the interior. The people of Mexico are going about their business as usual. They are always happy to see Americans come visit their country.

If you are still concerned, we will be happy to give you clients to call that have recently returned from El Salto.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FISHING AND REMEMBER TO WEAR THE LIFEJACKET!!!!!!!!!!


Quest for the WORLD RECORD Black Bass

Posted on by by Posted in Fishing Reports, Fishing Stories, Ron's Fishing Tips & Stories

Ron Speed, still looking for that world record back bass![Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed]

In my 50 years of black bass fishing–literally all over this hemisphere–I figured one day I would at least hook a bass that would challenge George Perry’s 22lb 4ounce world record. My travels have taken me to all lakes in Mexico, Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, Lake Yojoa in Honduras, One lake in Costa Rica, plus Treasure Lake in Cuba, along with Lake Hanabanilla in Cuba, Lake Minerva in Cuba, Lake ZaZa in Cuba. I ran groups to Lake Cuyaguateje in Pinar Del Rio Province. I went on a 15-day checkout trip to Cuba looking for a lake that might produce a world record bass.

While I was visiting Lake Cuyaguateje I found out that the man in charge of the lake had caught a huge bass a couple years before my visit. I had my tour guide take me to meet this man. I was taken to his office at the lake and I asked him a zillion questions. He had caught this bass on a hand line standing on the bank. He said he was using a live water lizard that lived in the reeds along the bank.

He asked me if I wanted to see a picture of the fish, which really surprised me. I of course said “Yes!” and he opened his desk drawer and pulled out an old Polaroid picture. This man was about 5 feet 7 inches tall and he was holding this huge bass with his hand in his mouth at waist level and the tail was touching the ground. The mouth appeared to be as big as a trash basket.

I asked the man if he weighed the fish and he said he didn’t have any scales to weigh the fish. I asked him what he did with the fish. I got the famous George Perry answer that “his family had eaten it for supper.” Donnie Locke (from Malakoff) and I guessed from the picture that the bass was about 25 lbs or larger.

Naturally, I selected this lake as the one where my clients would try to break the world record. When I returned to the USA, I selected a film crew plus all the important outdoor writers in the USA to go back with me to try and break the world record and capture it on film. This was in 1978. Needless to say we didn’t catch the world record bass, but it was a very exciting trip with every cast a possible world record.

This past week brought back all those old memories of a possible world record black bass. Dr. Roger Sessions from Henderson, Texas was fishing Lake El Salto in Mexico when he caught what might have been a world Record Black Bass before the spawn. The huge bass measured 36 inches long by 21 1/8 inches in the girth. Unfortunately, the monster female had spawned out. Dr. Sessions–being more of a hunter than fisherman–did not have any scales. They measured her and released her back to the lake. We would apply our standard formula (which is used by many Pro guides and taxidermist all over the country): length x length x girth divided by 1150. By that formula, she should have weighed 23.67 pounds, which of course would have been a new world record.

What a shame that Rodger didn’t catch her 10 days earlier, before she spawned. What a shame I didn’t catch her years ago, as I know I have fished several lakes that had that size fish. I must admit that I have never had a world record on my line in 50 years of bass fishing.

However, I am still just 71 years old and hopefully have enough time to catch that world record! The odds definitely are not on my side, but just remember that it only takes one cast. KEEP CHUNKING!!!

REMEMBER TO PUT THAT LIFEJACKET ON WHEN TRAVELING IN A BOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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