big bass bait for Mexico

[king fisher]

I'm will be fishing for bass in Mexico  the end of this month.  Some local anglers say the fish will be in one to 5 five feet of water, and feeding on Tilapia.  Water is stained, temp. in the high 60's low 70's.  Spinner baits and crank baits are  preferred for numbers of fish.  Planning on  dedicating a couple of days to big fish only.  Was thinking of using some large swim baits, or maybe a glide bait.  Don't want to break the bank, would like to keep the cost under $50 dollars a lure.    Any suggestions?

[Airman4754]

8" Hudd, S-Waver 168, Hudd 68 Weedless, SPRO BBZ-1, Osprey, Rago, etc. The gear to throw them is important too.

[A-Jay]

30 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I'm will be fishing for bass in Mexico  the end of this month.  Some local anglers say the fish will be in one to 5 five feet of water, and feeding on Tilapia.  Water is stained, temp. in the high 60's low 70's.  Spinner baits and crank baits are  preferred for numbers of fish.  Planning on  dedicating a couple of days to big fish only.  Was thinking of using some large swim baits, or maybe a glide bait.  Don't want to break the bank, would like to keep the cost under $50 dollars a lure.    Any suggestions?

  Saying you're fishing Mexico - is a little vague - it's a big place.  It's like saying "I'm fishing North America - what should I use?"  So Realistically Effective recommendations may be hard to get here.

 Your best bet is LISTEN to your Guide if you're using one OR fish whatever the anglers that fish this specific body of water regularly (and recently) recommend.  Also, if you've been there before perhaps start out with baits that have worked in the past. 

My experience there is that Big Swimbaits  do not necessarily guarantee the big bite but may contribute to less bites.  I'd recommend fishing what the bass are biting and if & when you come across a Grande, you'll have just a good a chance of getting her with standard baits. 

Nothing wrong with bumping up your gear a notch or two though; especially line, hooks, trebles & split rings.

btw - my four largest bass south of the border came on a 3/4 oz Rattlebait, Magnum Flukes,  1/2 oz Jig,  1 oz Spinnerbait, &  3/8 oz Scrounger-

Good Luck. 

A-Jay

[Bluebasser86]

I'm with A Jay. Only been twice, but all the big swimbaits did for me was cut way down the number of bites . my best big fish bait was an 8" Magnum lizard and a 10" worm. Not saying they won't eat the big baits, I'd try them again next time. you might look at the Savage Gear Shine Glide. It's a solid bait in good colord and very affordable. 

[Raul]

I know nothing about bass fishing for big bass in Mexico.

It´s been a while since I´ve caught a big momma like this one:

But don´t sweat it, I caught that one with a 4" senko, I´ve caught a lot of biguns with a 1/2-3/4 oz jig with a Brush Hog or large crawfish ( a Rage Lobster would do the trick ) as trailer. Do I own swimbaits ? yes I do, so far swimbaits have not produced big mommas for me ( big momma in Raul´s vocabulary means 10+ lbers ).

[Dwight Hottle]

I would recommend either a Gan Craft jointed claw 178 (2 oz)or the smaller version Gan Craft jointed claw kai 148 (1.5 oz). They are over your budget in the $60 range but they do perform in the glide bait category. For swim baits I would use Hudd 68 specials with the hook on top. The weedless version does not hook up as well as the exposed hook style. You could also go with a generic version 6" or 7" plastic swim bait. Use 20lb mono or flouro for the glide baits & swim baits. Take some magnum size crank baits & square bills as part of your crank bait stash. Also take a few larger jerk baits like pointer 128 or smithwick rogue or smithwick perfect 10. 

[GetBent]

I hear black lizards do well in Mexico. 

[WRB]

Where in Mexico??

Raul is your best source for information on this site.

If talopia are the primary baitfish then dark green with black bars for coloration would be my guess and about 7" length for size for swimbaits. 

I would use Basstrix 7" or 8" hollow body paddle tails in #94 FireTiger w/ chartreuse tail color. You may need to contact Bruce directly to locate the 7" #94 or ask him what he recommends.

Keep in mind most bass lakes in Mexico have lots of standing trees, basically braid or heavy 25# mono unless you plan on donating a lot of tackle to snags. Go on the Basstrix site and read how to rig the 7" & 8" hollow body.

Worms I would go with 9" Uptom's Customs dragon tail in Black grape with blue neon vain or Margurita red flake depending on water clarity which is usually off color.

Take along Mend-It to repair the soft plastics, can't buy them there without mail orders.

Tom

[king fisher]

Forgot to mention the lake.  I will be fishing El Salto without a guide.  Will spend most of the time fishing for numbers, but would like to try targeting larger fish for a couple of days.   Will not mind fishing hard for one or two bites, if I have a better chance at a trophy.    I will  have both medium and heavy gear to fish any size or type of bait. 

[WRB]

1 hour ago, king fisher said:

Forgot to mention the lake.  I will be fishing El Salto without a guide.  Will spend most of the time fishing for numbers, but would like to try targeting larger fish for a couple of days.   Will not mind fishing hard for one or two bites, if I have a better chance at a trophy.    I will  have both medium and heavy gear to fish any size or type of bait. 

Depending on the lake level El Salto has some very good mid lake humps where swimbaits work.

Most of the guides don't like to fish off shore structure so make it a point to ask them where some "under water islands" are located. The guides would rather have the clients casting at shoreline targets and should give you locations they know about.

Good luck and hope you catch a big bass.

Tom

[jr231]

Regardless of what's "right" in most anglers eyes.. if I got the chance to fish Mexico I'm sure it'll only be once.. if I was there for a week I'd try all sorts of things and wouldn't hardly stop fishing . 

If by the last 2 days I haven't hooked into a monster bass. Id be nose hooking one of those tilapia. And get me a Mexican hawg. 

[d-camarena]

Raul should chime in soon. My brother lives in mexico and every couple months i send him baits. What he always asks for are swimbaits, magnum lizards, magnum flukes senkos, ol monsters and brush hogs. 

[hunterPRO1]

listen to the people the fish the lake normally, 

"big bass like big baits" isnt always true, i caught my second biggest bass on a small t-rig ribbon tail worm (11lb) i also caught my pb (12.4) on a swimbait. it can go either way.  remember whales feed on plankton.

 

heres a few suggestions for a lowish price swimbait

for a cheap swimbait h2o xpress swimbaits at academy are only 6 bucks, i know for 6 bucks you probably don't expect much but they move good in the water. also wont need swimbait specific stuff for this.

biwaa sevens aren't incredibly expensive.

lucky craft real bluegill 150ss 

 

or just nose hook one of those tilapia 

[(='_'=)]

On 5/11/2016 at 2:00 PM, king fisher said:

Forgot to mention the lake.  I will be fishing El Salto without a guide.  Will spend most of the time fishing for numbers, but would like to try targeting larger fish for a couple of days.   Will not mind fishing hard for one or two bites, if I have a better chance at a trophy.    I will  have both medium and heavy gear to fish any size or type of bait. 

for El Salto would definitely recommend getting a guide, at least the first day. i was there on May of this year, we fished for 3 days, and even though we managed to get a lot of fish, we didnt catch anything over 6 lb, and by "we" i mean 10 anglers in 3 boats. it was a blast and im planning on going again next year, but now im hiring a guide for the first day at least.... a friend had gone one week before i did, and marked several spots on the gps for me.... i fished hard on those spots, and got numbers but not size.... 2 days after i came back, another friend caugh an 11lb fish out of the spot we fished the most.... 

we used a lot of white super flukes with chartreuse tail, deep diving cranks, and big jigs... 

 

this was one of my best fish, the other boat got some a bit bigger, ill see if i can get the pictures... i was going to post a trip report but my friend has most of the pics, i have only about 4 of them... 

 

[Catt]

On 11/5/2016 at 1:03 PM, Raul said:

I know nothing about bass fishing for big bass in Mexico.

It´s been a while since I´ve caught a big momma like this one:

But don´t sweat it, I caught that one with a 4" senko, I´ve caught a lot of biguns with a 1/2-3/4 oz jig with a Brush Hog or large crawfish ( a Rage Lobster would do the trick ) as trailer. Do I own swimbaits ? yes I do, so far swimbaits have not produced big mommas for me ( big momma in Raul´s vocabulary means 10+ lbers ).

 

[hunterPRO1]

swim baits and the zoom ol monster, buzz baits can be good to because the fish normally doesn't get a good look at it to see its artificial.