Chicoasén

[Raul]

Mexico it 's not only big bass fishing, it 's also exotic species fishing. The lake we know in Mexico as "Chicoas én" is located in the State of Chiapas in southeastern Mexico 's jungle forest. The lake was created when the Grijalva river was damed for hydrolectric power generation which resulted in the flooding of one of the world 's deepest canyons, the Sumidero Canyon ( in some parts the canyon is more than 3,000 ft deep ). The river is home to two native species, the Tenguayaca, a cichlid ) and the Macabil ( a characin ):

Tenguayaca:

Macabil:

and it 's got teeth !

Chiapas is one of the most beautiful places to visit in southern Mexico, if you ever go there, aside from going in pursue of tenguayacas and macabiles you got to visit Manuel Alvarez del Toro zoo, it 's a zoo dedicated exclusively for showing the native animals of the region, it 's designed so you literaly walk through the jungle. Another attraction are the Cataratas de Agua Azul ( blue water falls ) and of course you have to visit the ruins of the mayan city of Palenque.

[Glenn]

Those are cool looking fish!  

[T-rig]

Those are definately some great looking fish, especiallly the cichlid! 8-) What other fish can you find there? Any bass in Chiapas? How do you catch those native species? I was in Yucatan and Quintana Roo and also in Belize, absolutely love the region! Comi mucho mole cuando estuve alli.

[Jay_G]

Thanks for the info. Very interesting.

[Raul]

Those are definately some great looking fish, especiallly the cichlid! 8-) What other fish can you find there? Any bass in Chiapas? How do you catch those native species? I was in Yucatan and Quintana Roo and also in Belize, absolutely love the region! Comi mucho mole cuando estuve alli.

Another species you can catch is the Mayan Cichlid ( which BTW you acn also catch in Florida   ) and there are several species of cichlids commonly named "guapotas"but that don 't describe a species in particular :

To my knowledge there aren 't any bass in Chiapas T-rig, but you never know because people don 't always call the fish with the same name, most people in Mexico call bass "lobina" but where I live the country folks call them "robalón" or "huro", 3 different names for the same animal and none of them have anything in common.  

Tenguayacas, Macabil are predatory fish T-rig, you catch them with lures like bass, they prefer faster moving lures like crankbaits, in-line spinners & spinnerbaits over slower moving baits like worms and jigs.

Other cichlids can be caught with panfish baits like small grubs and tubes, with flies and with bait like mealworms, ocassionally they strike bigger baits like cranks but success with them is marginal.

[T-rig]

Very interesting Raul! Thanks for the info carnal! 8-) How big do the Tenguayaca get?

[skillet]

Real nice pics. and great info Raul, Thanks...

                     As Ever,

                      skillet

[Raul]

Very interesting Raul! Thanks for the info carnal! 8-) How big do the Tenguayaca get?

Normally 1-2 pounds, that one in the pic is a behemoth and surely a record fish ( who knows, maybe even a WR ) cuz I 've never seen one THAT big.  

[T-rig]

Thanks Raul!

[MaxDal]

Niiiice !

Well that Tenguayaca fish is beautiful, except for the mouth.

Nice colors on those fish.....

How does this Tenguayaca fight, Raul ?

[Redlinerobert]

The teeth on that fish look oddly human amigo.   :-?