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

Today we will talk about an old lake in Mexico in the state of Durango named Palmito. This old lake was built during World War II and stocked with Northern black bass.

The story starts with a group of clients and myself going to Lake Guerrero maybe in 1976. We were still catching lots of bass at Guerrero but they were mostly small. I had made many checkout trips to other lakes in Mexico but found none that were suitable for my operations. Upon returning from Guerrero in a charter plane from Rio Airways we stopped in McAllen to clear US customs.

Everyone went to the men’s room and while I was in a stall I overheard 2 men say that they hoped Ron Speed never finds Palmito. These 2 guys were from Dallas and were in the printing business. They had been pulling their boats to this mystery lake for many years and they didn’t want me to bring hundreds of American fisherman to their secret lake.

Upon returning to Dallas and my home in Forney, Texas I began the search for this mystery lake. I had no idea where it was or anything about it. I made many calls all over the US & Mexico and nobody had ever heard of it. I can’t remember how I finally found it but in less than 2 weeks I was dragging a boat and motor from Guerrero west to the city of Torreon. I found out in Torreon that we still had 5 more hours of traveling west to reach the lake. The last 14 miles were non-paved and the roughest road in Mexico.

Upon arriving in the small village of Palmito we discovered 2 flats from the rough road. I visited the mayor’s office and he gave me a history of the lake and advised me to contact a local merchant named Javier Boca Negro. Javier was an avid bass fisherman but he sold groceries to the local commercial fishermen on credit so he had lots of stroke in that small village.

I went to meet Javier and liked him from the very start as he was quite a character and prankster. He took me over to the only hotel in the village and helped me and my driver (Chagueoy) get rooms. I believe the cost was $3.00 per night and they were over-priced. I had never seen that bad of a room in my life. The sheets were almost black and sewer water was running through one corner of the room. I still get the shivers from thinking about that room.

Javier made arrangments for one of the best fishermen to go with me the next morning early. I went to bed early but couldn’t sleep as I kept thinking about the dirty sheets. Maybe around 11 pm I finally dropped off to sleep only to be awakened by loud pistol shots outside my room. I jumped up and looked out the window to see a very drunk mayor staggering down main street and shooting at the moon. If you saw the movie Tombstone you can recall Curlie Bill Brochas getting high on opium and shooting at the moon. Well this was almost the same to a tee except nobody tried to get him out of the street. I thought WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN INTO THIS TIME?!

I got very little sleep that night due to the dirty room, drunk mayor, and the excitement of fishing a new lake. The next morning Javier came and took me for coffee at his store and I got to meet my guide for the day. His name was Baltarsar Bustamente. He was and still is–if living–the best bass fisherman I ever met.

It was May and the bass were right up on the bank spawning and easy to catch. The local fishermen did not use nets or outboard motors. Most used a coke can for a reel and they caught their bass by casting their baits by hand. Baltasar did have an old reel that I feel was given him by the American printers from Dallas.

That first day we caught over 200 bass with many fish in the 4 to 6 pound range. It was fantastic and I was on cloud 9 as I had found that mystery lake we needed so badly for our clients. I fished 2 more days and caught over 200 bass each day up to 7 pounds. Now remember… these were the days before Florida bass and a 7 pound bass was considered a real trophy.

My driver and I left with a really good feeling about this secret lake that was not to be a secret very much longer (to be continued next week)….

I wish you good fishing and please wear that lifejacket!

El Salto Fishing Report

This lake just keeps on producing great numbers of large bass. Every single group the past 3 weeks has had some of the best big bass fishing I have seen at this lake in over 5 years. There have been more numbers of 7 to 13 pound bass than I ever remember even in the first years. How many of you have ever caught three 10 lb bass in one day of fishing? Well, that is exactly what Tom Worthy did on June 11, fishing with Armando Sr. They have been using a citrus-color deep-diving crank bait. What happens this time of the year when the lake gets low from the crop irrigation is that the big bass bunch up along the river or on underwater islands.

Our guides have learned through the years just where these hot spots are located and when the fish inhabit these deep water humps it is “lights out.” Fantastic!!!!!

Bob Griggs from Texas just got back with his group yesterday and called this morning to book the whole camp for next June.

Personal Story

Twenty five years ago I was traveling the country running bird dogs in field trials and having a ball. My good friend in Los Mochis, Roberto Balderrama, called me and invited me back into the fishing business once again. After a little arm twisting, I agreed to go back to see him and fish Lake Comedero.

Well, it’s been quite a 25-year ride and I have enjoyed every minute of it and plan to spend more time at the lodges next season. However, I do plan to try and run a few field trials as I just never got to do enough of it 25 years ago.

I bought some nice Tennessee walking horses and raised some good bird dogs and am looking to enjoy this hobby when time permits. I went to a trial in Mexia, Texas back in March right after buying the horses. I was really excited to see a lot of my old friends after 25 years.

I saddled up my fine new horse and went to get mounted and I couldn’t get on the horse. I have ridden horses on and off all my life and never had a problem.

I soon realized I was a lot older and of course had gained a lot of weight. I was so embarrassed to have to get up on a 5 gallon bucket to mount my horse.

On my way back home I decided if I wanted to start back with my favorite hobby (trialing) I had to make some changes in my life. I am now 70 years old and if I don’t do it now I probably never will trial again. I made up my mind to lose some weight and gain some upper body strength so as to pull myself up in the saddle.

This was in the last week of March and I weighed 207 lbs with a pot gut and a tight 40 inches in the waist. Today, the 17th day of June, I weigh 176 lbs and I put on an old pair of 36 inch blue jeans. I had a problem with blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. when I started losing weight. Today I no longer have any problem with any of those illness.

I feel 25 years younger and have endless energy. How did I do it??? I didn’t do any of those diets you see on the TV. I know basically diets as such just don’t work. You lose the weight and then go back to eating normal and you wind up gaining it all back.

Here is what I did…. I picked out the foods I liked the most that didn’t have carbs. One of my favorite meals is fish, so I based my NEW LIFE HABIT on fish. All kinds of fish, but my main staple is ceviche, which I learned to make in Mexico. I just love it and it loves me. I also bought several cans of light Tuna, mixing Mayo and dill pickles with it. I bought several cans of sardines which I love with a little Tabasco. Once a week Virginia & I will grill 4 tilapia fillets on the outdoor grill. I brush them with olive oil and at the end brush on a little butter.

Every Sunday after church we eat fried catfish. Now, this is not too good if you are trying to lose weight… but I refuse to totally cut out all my favorite foods so I cheat one meal a week.

I also love salads if the lettuce is fresh and crispy but for me the biggest problem was the dressings to put on the salad. I couldn’t find any of the store-bought dressings I liked except the ones that were fattening. Therefore I made my own. I mixed a half cup of olive oil, 2 packets of Splenda, 1 tablespoon of garlic power and 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. MAN WHAT A GREAT DRESSING!!!!!!!!!

I hope to goodness I haven’t bored you with this personal story, but maybe some of you may wish to lose some weight and eating fish is a good way to do it.

The recipe for the ceviche is: 6 filets of tilapia from Walmart cut in small 1 inch cubes, 30 limes juiced in an electric juicer, 4 cloves of garlic chopped fine, one red, one yellow, and one orange bell pepper cut into 1 in. cubes, 1/2 cup of cilantro chopped very fine, 1/2 cup of olive oil, 6 green-top onions chopped into small pieces, and 4 firm Roma tomatoes cut into small pieces. Be sure and remove all the insides from the tomatoes as you want everything to be very firm and crisp.

I marinate the fish in the lime juice over night and then add all the other ingredients the next morning. Let it set in the fridge for maybe 4 hours and then get you a big bowl, add a few hits of Tabasco, a few hits of fresh ground black pepper and just pig out. I promise you won’t gain a pound eating ceviche and it’s good.

Some people think you are eating raw fish but it is not raw as the lime juice cooks it very well. It’s not raw even though it is not cooked using fire.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FISHING AND PLEASE WEAR THE LIFEJACKET