Lake Baccarac Trip October 2021 ~

[A-Jay]

  I was fortunate once again to spend 5 ½ days with my good friend Big Fish Jeff fishing at Lake Baccarac in Mexico.  As usual, we stayed at the world famous and recently renovated, Lake Baccarac lodge.  The upgraded accommodations are killer and the super friendly staff always treats us right.

 This trip challenged us a few different ways.

A few days before our travel, Hurricane Pamala took aim the Mexican West coast.  Thankfully this storm gassed out over the rough Mexican terrain and didn’t threaten our travel plans.  What did cause some major concern was the air traffic controllers strike the day we left.  Jeff’s flight to Dallas was Flat out cancelled last minute.  Leaving him high & dry.  Taking matters into his own hands, Big Fish Jeff did his best Mario Andretti impersonation and just Drove the 500 miles from Memphis to our hotel in Southlake, TX.  Total Rock Star move.  Made great time and arrived to enjoy dinner together.

 The other ‘challenge’ revolved around my GoPro’s. 

It was pretty hot, well into the mid & high 90’s the first 3 days.  The Hero 9 Blacks didn’t like that and kept overheating causing them to shut down.  Honestly that has never happened before but it was a big PIA.  Ended up missing a chance to capture a few of the better fish catches.  Days 4 & 5 were a little cooler and we had better luck keeping the cameras running.  After editing what we got, this ones mostly a ‘highlights of the trip’ video.

 Something else that was a little different this trip, was that we had the opportunity to fish with two of Lake Baccarac’s finest guides. The first and the last day we fished with Sixto and Manual the in between days.  Both worked hard to put us on bass. 

And I do mean work, as this trip the water level was pretty high causing the bass to be very scattered.  The bigger girls were really hard to find.

  Early morning topwater was fairly reliable most every day but as the heat of the day came on, bottom contact baits were the deal; Texas and wacky rigged plastics (lizards & stickbaits mostly).  On day 3, after probing quite a bit of the main lake for giants, we found some bait & decent bass in backs of coves. We worked that hard the rest of the trip. 

Plenty of 4-6 lb bass on underspins.  A few over 7lbs and Big Fish Jeff took top honors once again with an 8 plus pound Mexican Fatty.

 

As usual, we both used MH & H Casting gear with 20 & 22lb FC line.

For topwater, Jeff used 50 lb braid & leader while I threw 22 lb mono.

 

So there it is. 

Make enough of these trips (my 10th – Jeff’s 12th) and eventually we were bound to bump into something like this.

Despite having the fishing be a little ‘off’, we had a great time; always do.  And we’re already looking forward to the next one.

 

Here's the video ~

A-Jay

[GaryH]

[roadwarrior]

 

 

                                     

[GreenPig]

A - Jay that looked like a fine trip. Thanks for the video. 

[islandbass]

Great report! ?When I see bass like that I sometimes forget how big they can get. 

Edited October 26, 2021 by islandbass
Typo

[Tim Kelly]

Looks utterly fantastic, even when it's "off".

[Fishlegs]

Jumping in the boat! That blowup on the popper around 13:30 was mighty sweet too. Thanks for sharing.

[NorcalBassin]

Congrats on another epic trip south of the border!

[HaydenS]

Amazing!  This looks like a great time!

Is a fish under 7 non scoreable?  lol

[A-Jay]

9 hours ago, HaydenS said:

Amazing!  This looks like a great time!

Is a fish under 7 non scoreable?  lol

Clearly nothing official. 

A 7 lb scoreable bass is something we came up with a few trips ago, and we've just kept it going since. 

We don't count fish usually but on that trip (Oct 2018) we were getting so many big bass we had to set the bar somewhere.   Ended up with 53 over 7 in 6 days. Just crazy.  Jeff kept track on his phone while we were on the water. Here a screen shot of the totals.

Didn't seem real while it was happening; like the best bass fishing dream ever.

A-Jay

 

 

[gim]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Jeff kept track on his phone while we were on the water. Here a screen shot of the totals.

The top row are Jeff’s fish? No wonder you call him “big fish Jeff.”

[A-Jay]

4 minutes ago, gimruis said:

The top row are Jeff’s fish? No wonder you call him “big fish Jeff.”

Yes ~

It's a Name that has to be earned.

And in my book, his certainly has.

btw- any one of those 'lines' would be a great season, let alone a day !

A-Jay

[gim]

9 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

And in my book, his certainly has.

btw- any one of those 'lines' would be a great season, let alone a day !

Ya I’d say so on both accounts.

[HaydenS]

3 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Clearly nothing official. 

A 7 lb scoreable bass is something we came up with a few trips ago, and we've just kept it going since. 

We don't count fish usually but on that trip (Oct 2018) we were getting so many big bass we had to set the bar somewhere.   Ended up with 53 over 7 in 6 days. Just crazy.  Jeff kept track on his phone while we were on the water. Here a screen shot of the totals.

Didn't seem real while it was happening; like the best bass fishing dream ever.

A-Jay

 

 

That would be one incredible week!    

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, HaydenS said:

That would be one incredible week!    

And I got it ALL on video . . . 

Which I have and will continue to watch Over And Over And Over again. 

A-Jay

[Aaron_H]

Haven't finished the video yet, but that hookset at 4:28...wow! Great report and some seriously awesome fish caught. Mexico is definitely a bucket lister for me.

[schplurg]

Will watch the video but while I'm thinking about it:

 

Every GoPro past GoPro 6 that I've used overheats like that, but moreso when using external power.

 

I've tried everything and the only thing that works reliably is lowering to 1080p, or lowering the framerate, which I think is unacceptable. Or shutting it off every so often.

 

The waterproof feature is why it retains heat like this, so say the GoPro techs. It's a known "feature". Some people claim you can remove the battery when using other power sources, it may help a little.  Mine still shuts off and runs extremely hot. I don't need it to be waterproof really, so bummer there.

 

I'm considering trading my 7 for a 6 on CraigsList because my 6 never has this problem and I've used it a lot in the sun. Every 7 I have used overheats, sometimes it takes an hour, sometimes less. You'll think it's a dead battery but it isn't.

 

I used 3 GoPro 7s one night to record a friend's band and that's when I discovered the issue. Was indoors too. The cameras plugged into external power would fail.

 

GoPro suggests as possible fixes: making sure you are using a recommended SD card, making sure to format it properly (as per their specific instructions). Nothing helps for me. Maybe dunk it in the water every so often.

 

It is a problem for me too. I have a 7 and a 6 and see no reason to upgrade, mainly because of heat issues. May actually downgrade the 7 to a 6.

[A-Jay]

11 hours ago, schplurg said:

Will watch the video but while I'm thinking about it:

 

Every GoPro past GoPro 6 that I've used overheats like that, but moreso when using external power.

 

I've tried everything and the only thing that works reliably is lowering to 1080p, or lowering the framerate, which I think is unacceptable. Or shutting it off every so often.

 

The waterproof feature is why it retains heat like this, so say the GoPro techs. It's a known "feature". Some people claim you can remove the battery when using other power sources, it may help a little.  Mine still shuts off and runs extremely hot. I don't need it to be waterproof really, so bummer there.

 

I'm considering trading my 7 for a 6 on CraigsList because my 6 never has this problem and I've used it a lot in the sun. Every 7 I have used overheats, sometimes it takes an hour, sometimes less. You'll think it's a dead battery but it isn't.

 

I used 3 GoPro 7s one night to record a friend's band and that's when I discovered the issue. Was indoors too. The cameras plugged into external power would fail.

 

GoPro suggests as possible fixes: making sure you are using a recommended SD card, making sure to format it properly (as per their specific instructions). Nothing helps for me. Maybe dunk it in the water every so often.

 

It is a problem for me too. I have a 7 and a 6 and see no reason to upgrade, mainly because of heat issues. May actually downgrade the 7 to a 6.

 

I hear ya ~ 

I have been a GoPro user for many years and through every model since the 5's.

The 7's locked up AND Over heated. 

Traded them in for 8's, which my wife likes but I do not.

Real buggy.  

The 9's didn't come cheap and before the overheating shutdown deal,

they were IMO, 'the best' version of an action camera that I had used from GoPro.

The 5K video & 20 megapixel photos are stunning,

the advanced Hypersmooth 3.0 stabilization has been unmatched to date,

the front display is SO helpful,

and the battery life seems quite good.

All that said, none of that is worth a dime if the darn thing only works 

in a specific climate.

While the local weather has only been hot enough for the occasional disruption, 

which I've been able to live with, but my trips south simply must have total coverage.

Not sure what I'm going to do, but I've got 'some time' (insert hard water) to come up with and execute a new plan; which may or may not involve a couple of new and or different brand/style of cameras.  

Just not into this video stuff enough to justify 'next level' equipment.

If I can't make it happen with point & shoot GoPro's

I might bail on the whole deal.

We'll see.

A-Jay

 

[ryanerb]

A-Jay, looks like a fantastic trip. Despite the issues with the camera, I'd say a 34 min video is still great coverage, looks like a lot of fun catches! Thanks for sharing and posting the report, detailing all the good and the 'challenges' that come along with bigger trips like this. 

[TOXIC]

Nice vid.  A lot of people don’t understand how much work it is to capture and edit video.  Even a tough trip is a good trip. 

[A-Jay]

32 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Nice vid.  A lot of people don’t understand how much work it is to capture and edit video.  Even a tough trip is a good trip. 

Thank you - 

And while agree it takes some effort, it's not too bad.,

Especially when you like to do it.

Preparation may be the key.

And The Memories !

As I get a little further & further down this road,

they mean more & more.

A-Jay

 

[schplurg]

10 hours ago, A-Jay said:

 

I hear ya ~ 

I have been a GoPro user for many years and through every model since the 5's.

The 7's locked up AND Over heated. 

Traded them in for 8's, which my wife likes but I do not.

Real buggy.  

The 9's didn't come cheap and before the overheating shutdown deal,

they were IMO, 'the best' version of an action camera that I had used from GoPro.

The 5K video & 20 megapixel photos are stunning,

the advanced Hypersmooth 3.0 stabilization has been unmatched to date,

the front display is SO helpful,

and the battery life seems quite good.

All that said, none of that is worth a dime if the darn thing only works 

in a specific climate.

While the local weather has only been hot enough for the occasional disruption, 

which I've been able to live with, but my trips south simply must have total coverage.

Not sure what I'm going to do, but I've got 'some time' (insert hard water) to come up with and execute a new plan; which may or may not involve a couple of new and or different brand/style of cameras.  

Just not into this video stuff enough to justify 'next level' equipment.

If I can't make it happen with point & shoot GoPro's

I might bail on the whole deal.

We'll see.

A-Jay

 

 

 

I used to use an off-brand action cam. It wasn't waterproof so never had those kinds of heat problems. I really don't need mine to be waterproof. Many action cameras are not waterproof. Drone manufacturers make a few cameras, maybe DJI would work better.

 

My GoPro 6 runs all day without problems IF I don't use an external battery. Actually it worked well plugged in a few weeks ago as well. I've only had problems with 7 and up.

 

It does suck and has become a real issue. I just bought the 7 and, like I said, am considering trading it for a 6. Stabilization isn't as important for the cam I have mounted on my yak. Actually I can barely tell the difference in EIS anyways between the 6 and 7. GoPro 8 made some real progress though. Maybe turning EIS off would help? I mean it takes power to operate, and that creates heat.

 

Doubt it though. None of the cheap ones I find can do high enough framerates at 2.7k or 4k. There's always a drawback. And the GoPros do okay when not using HEVC. Shoot at 1080 and you're fine. But ya that's not acceptable.

 

Shrug.