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Lake Baccarac - The Saga of Giant Bass Continues
By Jerry Puckett
Photos: Yasutaka Ogasawara

January 27, 2003

The pre-dawn mist was still rising from the placid lake's surface as the pescadero (fishing guide) eased the sturdy panga (Mexican bass boat) into the tree and brush lined cove. The setting was perfect, just as Yamamoto had remembered it, and he quickly doffed his light jacket and picked up a rod. The first cast was right on the mark and as the white Senko began to shimmy its way down into the brushy shoreline cover Yamamoto had to pause…you can't go back, everyone knows that.

That's just what Gary and Beverly Yamamoto were thinking recently when they boarded a 737, en route for Los Mochis, Mexico. It was December 26, 2002 and their destination was Lake Baccarac, nestled in the coastal range near the sleepy little village of Bacubirito, Sinaloa, a once-booming gold mining town.

Although Bacubirito's gold played out many years ago, today nearby Lake Baccarac holds treasure enough to please any bass angler willing to make the trip, and quite a trip it is. Best access to Los Mochis is via Aero Mexico from El Paso, Phoenix or Tucson, or Aero California from Los Angeles. From Los Mochis it's a four-hour trip via chartered Chapman and Balderrama van to the lodge in Bacubirito, or a short hop via chartered light aircraft.

Me…I'd opt for the van ride any day. Not because it's more economical (which it is), but because the trip provides a better view of the verdant, sub-tropical lushness of the countryside, and a better sense of the incredibly remote nature of Baccarac's setting.

Gary and Beverly were "veterans" of many trips to Baccarac, in Gary's case representing some fifty trips spanning almost two decades. In fact, Yamamoto was among the first American pros to venture to this hidden jewel of bassing, and that was only a few years after the first Florida-strain bass were stocked there in 1978.

Making their return to Baccarac after a five-year respite gave rise to the couple's question - can you go back…could the fishing and camaraderie possibly equal the incredible memories they carried of past trips? But the time for questions was over - it was time for action because Yamamoto's first cast was still settling when his line first tightened, and then screamed away like a runaway freight train!

The whole story was right there to be seen, clearly displayed in full - Yamamoto was beaming, wearing a smile that went from ear to ear as he battled the chunky five-pounder toward the boat. Then before Gary could land the first bass of the trip there was a whoop that broke the pre-dawn quiet when Beverly set up on a feisty six. Yes, you can go back. Baccarac is alive and well today, and every bit the bassing gold mine that it's always been.

In the space of three short days (daylight to dark, and it's always too short for die-hard bassers) the Yamamoto's literally whooped their way through a bass fishing fairy tale, Gary accounted for several double-digit fish with a best of 11-9, and Beverly boating her personal best, a 10-12, along with handfuls of eights and nines. "I've fished Baccarac through the entire cycle, " related Yamamoto, "and I can honestly say that the fishing's never been better."

"Of course every fish you catch isn't going to be a ten. And, every big one you manage to land will be hard-fought and well earned. Mexico or not, it's still bass fishing," Yamamoto continued. "But we actually counted fish this trip, something I hadn't done in years, and Beverly and I caught way over a hundred fish each day, during post-spawn! It was a no-holds-barred bass war, and if you didn't have a hundred baits a day you were in trouble!"

In the sub-tropical world of Baccarac, bass spawn as many as three, four, or even five times a year, usually with the full moon. Yamamoto's most recent trip, right at New Year's, was on the dark of the moon, post spawn. The dominant bass, the true giants, had already made one trip to the beds, and possibly two. Based on past experience, there should be at least two more full spawning cycles, one with the moon in February, and one in March.

It was no mistake that Yamamoto's chosen bait for his first cast to the brush-choked shallows was a white Senko. When the bass are "up", pre-spawn or spawning, white has always been the go-to color, and the top producer for braggin'-sized bass there at Baccarac. But of course the bass were post-spawn at New Year's, and the "better" bass proved to be holding in flooded cover in four to eight feet of water.

During post-spawn the best colors are dark ones, forget the white and the glitter patterns. Gary's top pattern was pitching to flooded brush, usually within ten feet of shore. He threw a 9-Series Senko, #021 (black w/blue fleck), Texas-rigged on a 5/0 straight-shanked Owner hook, with a screw-lock weight of between ¼ and 5/8-ounce. He was allowing the bait to "swim" down toward the base of the brush, and then employed a swimming-and-gliding presentation if he didn't get bit on the "drop".

Fishing the back of the boat Beverly chose a very similar, and equally effective approach - she opted for a 10-Series single tail grub (eight-inch) in color #520, black with blue tail, rigged on the same 5/0 Owner and screw-lock weight. Rather than using a classic "worming" presentation she swam the big grub through the brushy areas, just above bottom, much as you'd "slow-roll" a big spinnerbait.

"Gary was smacking them with the Senko," Beverly remembers, "but I was holding my own swimming the big single-tail. At least I did once I remembered to be patient - those big bass are not going to spit the grub, so it's important to be patient. The moment you sense the pick up it's just a matter of gathering up any slack line, positioning yourself correctly, and then putting a smooth sweep-set on what's probably going to be a mutant-sized bass."

Well, it's clear that Baccarac is back; it's bad, and the fishing's awesome. Best of all there are a few prime openings available for this season, and there's still plenty of time to make arrangements to get in on the fun this year. A trip down south of the border is the surest cure I know for mid-winter cabin fever.

Click the link here for more info, www.fishinmexico.com, or to book a trip, or call Yamamoto Central at 800-645-2248 for more info on how to book your own Mexican treasure hunt!

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