Published: July 18, 2008 07:06 pm            

World class bass

Baccarac closes out banner season with bang

If you like big fish stories, you will love the one Terry Hollan shared last week following his final trip of the 2007-08 fishing season to Mexico’s Lake Baccarac.

Hollan is an Amarillo-based businessman who built a plush lakeside lodge on the 30,000-acre impoundment back in 2005. He also owns a lodge at Lake Huites, another south-of-the-border fishery with a reputation for producing heavyweight bass and big numbers.

The Big Bass Lodge at Baccarac has played host to hundreds of gringo anglers since last September. Gil Wright of Oklahoma City, Okla., has become a regular at the lake. He visits about once a month.

Hollan was fishing with Wright in early July when the two men pulled up to a main lake point in about 10 feet of water. The point, one of Wright’s favorite lunker holes, drops abruptly into deeper water.

Wright’s first cast of the day yielded a 10 pounder. He caught the fish on a swim bait.

After releasing the bass, Wright decided to throw the fish a change up. He reached for his topwater rod, which was rigged with a Reaction Innovations Vixen. The sexy looking plug hadn’t danced very far when it was engulfed by another big bass, a nine pounder.

Obviously, the two fish weren’t cruising alone down there. Wright caught giant largemouths on his next three consecutive casts. Together the five fish weighed slightly more than 49 pounds.

“It sounds wild, but that pretty much summarizes the way the fishing was down there all season long. It was simply incredible, our best year ever.”

The biggest bass reported from Baccarac this season was caught on March 24 by Mike Conover. Hollan said the fish weighed a whopping 18.8 pounds, just shy of the 19.10 pound all-time Central America record caught from Baccarac in 1993. Conover caught the fish using a black jig tipped with a seven-inch black Senko.

Hollan said the lake fished completely off the charts this season and produced countless double-digit fish.

“When I first got into this business (at Huites), my theory was that if every group of 20 anglers could catch at last two 10-pounders per group in three days fishing, that’s all I would need to keep the lodge full,” Hollan said. “Baccarac is an entirely different deal. When fishing is really turned on down there, 20 people are liable to catch 115 bass over 10 pounds. It’s a whole different standard.”

The 2008 fishing report log at www.lakebaccaraclodge.com confirms it. The log reads like a fairy tale book.

To wit:

• California angler Troy Wells had a remarkable trip to Baccarac last spring. In three days fishing Wells caught 22 bass topping 10 pounds by himself.

• Randy and Chuck Beckum reported catching 20 bass weighing 8-10 pounds in a single morning. Randy Beckum had the big fish of the trip, a 14.11 pounder. Chuck Beckum also caught a 13.12.

• John Velky’s group of five boated 20 fish topping 10 pounds in three days of fishing.

• Ben and Kevin Suit fished for six days and caught 13 bass over eight pounds, four over nine pounds, three over 10 pounds, one over 11 and one over 12.

• Joe Gaulhauser, 78, caught seven fish over 10 pounds in a single trip.

• Dave McKinney’s group of six anglers reeled in nine bass over 10 pounds, four over 11, six over 12 and one over 13 - all in a single day!

• Tom Lane’s group consisted of 16 anglers. All but one of them caught a bass weighing upwards of 10 pounds.

• Bill Fenn reported catching 70 bass in single day using a fly rod. His biggest fish weighed 13.3 pounds.

• Gary Boberg, Mike Connally, Scott Francis and Steve Chindgren stumbled across a mother lode of big when they visited Baccarac in late March. In three days fishing the anglers said they landed 20 bass over 10 pounds, 17 over 11, seven over 12, six over 13, three over 14, one over 15 and one over 16.

The top trip of the season, right?

“Well.... I don’t know about that,” Hollan said. “They had a darn good trip, no doubt about it. But we’ve seen it happen before.”

Hollan said the water level at Baccarac was at about 25 percent capacity when he flew home earlier this month. It has since risen about 22 feet and is still on a fast rise, thanks to heavy summer rains that have dumped on the rugged Sierra Madre mountain range. The lake will reopen for fishing on Sept. 22. For information on booking a trip, check out www.lakebaccaraclodge.com or call 1-888-744-8867.

Matt Williams is a free lance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by e-mail, mattwilliams@netdot.com.

        

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