[Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed]

OPENING COMMENTS

I have given everyone a break from my blog and have taken some time off for myself which probably made us ALL pretty happy. I made a long trip up to North Dakota to watch my bird dogs point pheasant & prairie chickens.

It was a great break from this terrible Texas heat as I wore a jacket every morning. That’s wonderful country around Minot, ND in the summer but 30 degrees below zero in the winter definitely sends me to Mexico fishing.

We are preparing the El Salto camp for another great year of fishing which will make my 40th year of doing the fishing business in Mexico. It’s been a great 40 years and I am looking forward to this upcoming season with lots of excitement. We have many new programs that we will introduce this coming October. We have a variety of new prices with some being cheaper than any fishing package on any lake in the world. Our plans are to have complimentary massages, Cuban cigars, TV in the new houses, large outdoor bar at water’s edge, free ice cream 24/7, free internet service, satellite phone and our great Express boats.

MEXICO LAKES ARE STILL SAFE

There have been a lot of violence in a few large cities of Mexico with most of it happening in Juarez, across from El Paso. Most of the problems have occurred along the border with the USA. It all has been drug cartels fighting for territories among themselves.

Our area around the lakes has not changed one bit as it remains as safe as it always has been. We had the biggest number of clients in June & July that we have ever had in 40 years with absolutely no problems.

Both Ron Jr and I will be spending more time in the camps this coming season as the fishing should be better than ever. Hope to see you at the lake!

FISHING REPORT

This past summer we lowered our price, put in some new programs and had the most clients we have had in years. Thank goodness we also had the best big bass fishing we have ever had. The lake was at a low level with the bass congregated in big schools and our clients had fantastic fishing. I believe without a doubt this was the most big bass I have seen come out of El Salto since we opened our camp in 1990.

Gary White’s pure strain Floridas from Van, Texas really came front and center this summer. If we get our normal September rains we should have the best year fishing that we have had in years. Our clients caught fish this summer on almost everything they put in the water. The bass are strong & healthy and in very good condition with a good balance of food and nutrients in the lake.

Our reservations already have more than doubled from a year ago as Americans are realizing that a trip to Lake El Salto in Mexico is as safe as a trip to Lake Fork in Texas and a whole lot more fun. Why not come enjoy the great fishing at Salto and make some lifetime memories.

Next blog will be about fishing Mexico’s lakes during the 1970s and all about the hundreds of charter flights to those remote locations. I think you all will enjoy some of the stories.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FISHING AND WEAR THAT LIFEJACKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed]

EL SALTO REPORT

The past 10 days have been outstanding at lake El Salto in Mexico. I truly wish every bass fisherman in the USA could enjoy this great fishing at least once in their lifetime. The JW Peterson group from Texas boated over 3,000 bass during their stay. Top fisherman was the group leader who had an 11.2 lb & a 13.4 lb monster caught on white spinnerbait in 4 ft of water. Rod Anthony had an 11.7, Dan Henson had a 10.1 and a 11.4 on the 26th and Tony Cox had a 12.4lb monster. Best baits for the week were watermelon jigs, and watermelon red senkos. — Great week! Read a first-hand report from one of JW’s group: Joe Earney Testimonial.

Ing. Jesus Pinedo Ortiz, The Great Man Behind Mexico’s Great Fishing (see collage of pictures below)

This week I am going to tell you all about one of the finest men I have ever known in my life. Ing. Pinedo spent 37 years working for the Corps of Engineers in Mexico building lake dams etc. He and his wonderful wife Dona Conchita lived in Los Mochis Sinaloa.

I met Pinedo through one of my closest friends and our partner in Mexico over the last 20 years; Roberto Balderrama. In 1986 I was out of the fishing business in Mexico and was having a great time running field trial bird dogs and raising cattle in East Texas. One night I got a call from Roberto who I hadn’t talked to in several years. He wanted me to come down and visit him and at the same time he wanted me to put in a business on Lake Comedero.

I explained to Roberto that my partner in Lake Guerrero had died and I was finished with the fishing business. He then told me I owed him a 20 year favor and no doubt I did and hadn’t forgotten. He said, “I am calling in that favor now. The governor of the State has made me the Director of tourism and he wants to promote the Cosala & Lake Comedero area.”

To shorten this story I went to Mexico and went fishing with Roberto and fell in love with the lake and the people in the area. In maybe 3 months Roberto told me he had a great friend who would register the business in his name and help with all the government red tape. He said to me, “THIS MAN IS SO HONEST I WOULD PUT MY HAND IN THE FIRE FOR HIM.” That person was Ing. Pinedo and that was 20 years ago.

Pinedo was involved in ALL of the wonderful things that have happened at Comedero, El Salto, and Huites. He personally stocked the F1 Florida bass in El Salto that so many Americans have enjoyed fishing these past years.

Pinedo and I spent one summer together in Choix getting the original trailers up and over the mountain to their location in Techobampo. We spent a week together in a lake called Agua Milpa farther South from Mazatlan. Pinedo went to Mexico City and stayed over 1 month trying to obtain a fishing permit for the El Salto cooperative which we were using as guides.

Day or night Pinedo was always ready to help in any way he could and the one thing you could always count on was his word. It was as good as gold. He was very well known and liked by all the people that met him. He was famous for his honesty and respected by all who knew him. He also was very much a nationalist and knew the history of Mexico better than anyone I have ever known. He had no use for the people who cheated, lied, or did things that gave Mexico a bad name. I remember one time — maybe in 1995 — he and Conchita went to the border and visited friends or family and Pinedo bought a television to bring back to Los Mochis. When they reached the first checkpoint in Mexico on their way back, Pinedo wanted to pay the legal tax on the television. The customs guys wanted him to give them some GRAVY and go on his way. Pinedo refused to pay the bribe and so he and Conchita sat there all day. A real standoff! Eventually Pinedo won the battle and paid the legal tax. TOTALLY 100% HONEST TO THE CORE!!!!!!!!!!!

Day before yesterday I lost my great friend Ing. Jesus Pinedo as he passed away in his sleep. Of course I am so sad that it hurts me to the core but at the same time I feel so lucky to have known this great man. I can only say that I hope each one of you has the opportunity to have such a great friend in your life. If you don’t have such a friend then you have truly missed out on one of the great joys of life.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FISHING AND WEAR THAT LIFEJACKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!