Lake El Salto Fishing Report, Nov. 12, 2009 By Billy Chapman, Jr. Happy Veterans Day and a salute to all veterans past and present and to their families who also serve in their own way. Once pushing winds in excess of 160 miles per hour, Hurricane Rick weakened to a tropical storm by the time it made landfall just north of Mazatlan on Oct. 21, 2009. The storm caused no damage to the Anglers Inn El Salto lodge and actually benefited the lake. The storm was just what the doctor ordered. By the time the storm reached Lake El Salto, it brought moderate rain. This caused the lake level to rise about 5.5 feet. That’s good because the lake level was lower than normal for this time of the year. The storm improved water conditions. As we head into mid-November, bass at Lake El Salto hold in the deep channels. Bring a bunch of plastic baits and slip sinkers for outstanding worm action. The hottest baits of the week were 8-inch Zoom or 10-inch Berkley Power Worms rigged Texas-style and Carolina-rigged lizards dragged over the bottom. These lures produced quite a few good fish with several topping 10 pounds in the past few days. Hot colors for soft plastics include watermelon and red flake, black and blue or red shad. Scott Townley reported catching a 10.5-pound bass on a watermelon lizard dragged through a deep channel. Michael Stanford and his party also enticed a 10.5-pounder with a lizard. Rodney Cross caught a 10.25-pounder on a black and blue worm. John McCord and his party caught more than 100 bass with one 10-pounder eating a lizard. Rogues and topwaters, such as a Heddon Zara Spook or a Lucky Craft Sammy in clear or chrome with a black top and white body, work early in the morning or in late afternoon. A Bomber Fat-Free Shad in clown, citrus shad, hot mustard or firetiger might also attract attention. As try Lobina Rio Rico poppers or Yellow Magics in white, white with sparkles or bleeding shad. Watch for schooling fish and keep a chrome and blue or bleeding shad Rat-L-Trap handy just in case something rises to the surface. Around the weeds, fish 5- to 6-inch super flukes, senkos, Yumdingers or Bass Pro Shops Stik-O soft plastic jerkbaits in white, watermelon, red flake or black with blue flakes. Fish these temptations Texas-rigged with no weight. Light and lifelike, such floating plastic temptations pass easily over or through weeds and look like natural prey. Try a stop-sink-go retrieve. Hold the rod tip high and crank a reel slowly to skitter it over the surface vegetation in an alluring continuous motion. As it passes over a hole in the vegetation, let it sink a foot or two before pulling it back. As always, big swimbaits might attract the bucketmouth giants. Fish 4- to 6-inch Storm WildEye Shads in shad, white with chartreuse or pearl with the tail dipped in yellow dye or a 5-inch Yum Money Minnows in hologram shad or herring colors for the giants Anglers Inn www.anglersinn.com 1 800 468-2347