Air Temp: 69°-79°F (early morning); 89°-97°F (lunch time) 82°-86°F (late afternoon).
Water Temp: 75°-79°F.
Average number of bass per boat per day: 60-80
Largest bass caught: 11.14 pounds along with plenty of bass in the 8-11 pound range!!!!

Popular lures used this week:

Lures are listed in order of productivity

Crankbaits: Crankbaits: Bomber Fat Free Shad, Norman DD22s and Rapala DT16 deep divers in citrus shad, Tennessee shad, hot mustard and white

Lizards: 8-inch Zoom or 7-inch Yum Zellmanders in watermelon, watermelon red flake, black with blue tail, and junebug.

Yum Money Minnow Swimbaits in bluegill, hologram shad, pearl and Tennessee shad. Be sure to bring 5/0 wide-gap weighted hooks along with 1/2-oz. jigheads with weed guard.

Storm WildEye 4- and 5-inch Swim Shads in shad, pearl white and golden mullet.

Yamamoto Senkos, Yum Dingers, El Grande Lures Pepper Sticks 5-, 6- and 7-inch: watermelon, watermelon red flake, black with blue flake, tilapia and baby bass.

Berkley Power Worms: 10-inch, black with blue tail, red shad and junebug.

Rat-L-Traps: 1/2- and 3/4-ounce in silver with blue back and gold.

Heddon Zara Spook, Lucky Craft Sammy and Reaction Innovations Vixen: clear, chrome with black top and white.

Lobina Lures Rio Rico and Yellow Magic poppers: white, white with sparkles and bleeding shad.

Spinnerbaits: 1/2- and 3/4-ounce in white, white/chartreuse with gold willow blades

Jigs: 3/8-, 1/2- and 3/4-ounce in black/blue with rattle.
As we roll into summer, action for big El Salto bass continues to be red-hot. Near dawn, topwater and spinnerbait action is good, and later in the day, crankbaits, swimbaits, soft plastics and other lures are nabbing bass in deeper water.Most anglers in each boat are averaging 60-80 bass daily, and lots of those largemouths are true lunkers. Three- to 7-pounders are really abundant, and nearly everyone who's on the lake is bringing in an 8- to 10-pounder sometime during their stay. Bigger bass always are possible, too. Just ask Jimmy Webster III who was just down for a visit.

"Here are a few pics of the 11.4-pound whopper I caught on my trip this June," he said in a recent email. "I have been waiting four years for these hawgs to bite a jig-and-pig again. Thanks for another great time."

John Zitelli also boated a bucketmouth over 11 pounds. He's made fishing trips all over North America, chasing salmon in Alaska, steelheads in the Great Lakes, tarpon and bass fishing in Florida, and trout fishing in Colorado. But from what he told us, his June visit to cast for bass in El Salto topped them all.

"This was my second visit to the lake he says, "and it was the best fishing trip I have ever had. Not only were the fishing numbers great at El Salto (100 fish in the boat per day), but the repeated size was awesome at 3 to 7 pounds for every one. My largest, caught on a crankbait, weighed 11 pounds, 14 ounces and will be made into a replica for my wall. I also had a lot of luck with spinnerbaits and 10-inch PowerWorms. Lots of fun! The food was wonderful, and the service was friendly and enthusiastic. Next year, I won't pack as much since my clothes were laundered every day. And I'll get a massage more often!"Outdoor writer Keith Sutton and his wife Theresa also were down this June, and say this, their third visit together, was the best ever. "Theresa fishes one lure, a purple Yum Zellmander, every time we visit," says Keith, "and she always catches the most fish. This time was no exception. She caught over 100 bass, and fully half of those were 4- to 6-pounders. Her biggest weighed 7-1/2. I'm always looking for a trophy and caught three between 8 and 9 pounds on Storm Swimbaits and Fat Free Shad crankbaits. I lost three more right at the boat that were much larger-all of which broke fresh 20-pound-test line! (Next time, I'll be using heavy braid!) No doubt, the fishing was better this time than on any of our previous trips, and though it hardly seems possible, the superb service, food and accommodations were better than ever as well. Each visit is better than the last, and we're eager to make a return trip as soon as possible."

Sutton wrote an article about their visit, "El Salto: Still the World's Best Bass Lake," that already has appeared on ESPN's website. You can check his article on our website and learn more about the great fishing Keith and Theresa experienced.

This month we've heard lots of stories about fishermen catching hundreds of bass during their stay, with some real trophies seasoning the catch. Such was the case for Larry Brewer who came down with his buddy Jim West for 3-1/2 days of El Salto bassing action. "Our guide did a fantastic job," says Larry. "Jim and I caught 293 bass during our stay. The biggest weighed 9-14, and we caught several over 7. The 8-inch, watermelon-red Zoom lizard seemed to be the most consistent lure, but our two biggest fish were caught on a Gene Larew purple-and-black Salty Snake. We caught quite a few bass on a citrus- shad Bomber also. As always, the service and food were excellent. This was my third trip and the best ever. Thanks!"

Jay Dee Schurz, president of El Grande Lures, was down with his wife Dana to test some new lures and shoot video of their products in action. They fished half a day on their arrival, half a day on their final day and three full days in between. And their new baits proved irresistible to some El Salto grandes.

"The key bite was on the new El Grande Lures 5-inch swimbait," said Jay. "Dana and I caught well over 100 fish on the green tilapia color, and other colors such silver shad, black and blue, and white and chartreuse produced as well. I fished against Dana while she threw a Fat Free Shad in white and chartreuse and outfished her 2 to 1 with this swimbait. Most fish were in the 3- to 5-pound range. Other productive lures included our 7-inch, tilapia-colored Mexistick and the 9-inch El Grande Shad, which produced the biggest fish of the trip at 7.1 pounds. With a full moon, the topwater bite was poor, and the new El Grande Rana Toro 5-inch frog was a slow producer, although I did catch one nice fish on it. I'll return when the topwater bite is better to get some additional footage. The El Grande Mexican Rattler in black and blue diamond back caught fish anytime and anywhere on the lake. I would estimate we caught 40-60 fish daily, with little time fishing the banks and lots of time fishing 12-20 feet of water."

Bob White says his recent trip to the lake was truly memorable. "From the first cast to the last, I had an experience I will never forget," he says. "All the stories and articles I had heard and read up till then paled in comparison to the real thing. During the five and a half days I was there, we caught fish on nearly every cast with everything we threw. During each eight-hour fishing day, there were three hours that were unforgettable and as good as it gets. The ability of our guides to put us on these fish was remarkable. They knew exactly where and when to go and then told you what lure to throw. It was up to the individual to present the bait the correct way, but if you didn't do it right, the guides would show you what they wanted so you could catch fish. Their skill and experience is second to none."

Horizan Adventures