North 40 Hosted Trip: World's Best Bass Fishing - Lake Picachos - Day 2
Picachos Dia Dos
The knock, knock at the door comes at 5:15 a.m. with coffee service as requested. Dan Falcon likes his coffee with three splashes of cream, stirred to the left. I’m good with plain black. Our hosts do not disappoint. Breakfast is buffet style with eggs made to order. I loaded my plate with fresh pineapple, mango, potatoes, bacon and a two-egg omelet stuffed with everything.
The guides are already waiting with the boats and before you can even get to the bathroom or brush your teeth, they’ve got rods and gear loaded and are ready to shove off as soon as you can collect yourself. You can hang out and drink coffee as long as you want, or you can head out in the dark and be fishing as daylight begins to break. I love mornings. When I’m up before the dawn, I know I’m not missing anything. I relish casting in the semi-darkness, working toward a popper crushing skasploosh.
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Sesión 2
Mark and I began working poppers with just the hint of dawn blushing the horizon. Plop, sploosh, pause, sploosh, pause, SKASPLOOSH! Yep, I’ve got a thing for popper fishing and the fish started out the day in cooperative fashion. By the time the sun was warming our faces, we’d landed a good number of fish and I was super happy with life.
Enter the Banana
While I don’t always mention them or point out their existence when spotted at say, the breakfast table, I prefer to avoid them...
Why No Banana’s while fishing? It's not a myth. Read this.
I’d noticed some bananas, that morning, but I ignored them and kept my distance. I wasn’t concerned because I did not partake.
After the popper bite slowed, we shifted gears to streamers. As we were about to work a new spot, our guide Jr. reached into his cooler and offered me a banana. “No thanks”, I said. “In fact, throw that thing outta the boat.” He was a bit taken aback and confused and tried to hand it to me again. I adamantly demanded he toss it. Then he said, “Dan!” and I got it. Dan had told Jr. that I loved bananas. Jr. was simply doing his customer service best. Unfortunately, it turned out to be SABOTAGE.
After the banana was hidden from sight, I tried to shrug it off. After all, we’d had a good morning and I was not going to let a joke from a non-believer ruin my day. However, it was not too long after that, that I promptly overshot a cast into a tree. As Jr. piloted the boat to retrieve my fly, the motor became tangled in a discarded net. Badly. It took 15 minutes of cutting and the removal of the prop before we could continue fishing. During that time, we witnessed something I’d not seen and did not see again during the remainder of the trip. Two schools of bass blowing up bait just out of casting range. By the time we could move again, the carnage was over and there was no sign of any fish. Fishing took a much slower turn. I could feel the banana curse gripping our boat…
We struggled a bit and changed a few flies. Mark finally hooked a decent fish, but before we could relax, his rod tip snapped as Jr. was grabbing his leader for the release. Bummer. It happens. He grabbed another rod and tied on a new fly. We continued to catch some fish, but the day still felt a little off.
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When we gathered at the bar for the pre-lunch beverage and debrief, everyone was in high spirits. It seemed most of the crew had a stellar morning. John had an epic session on poppers and landed over 100 fish including several four to six-pounders. The other two boats had also landed fish over four pounds. When it was our turn, we mentioned the banana, the net, the bass busting bait out of range, the broken rod, and the fact that while we’d landed a decent number of fish, nothing cracked four pounds. We got no sympathy! Everyone was too happy with their own successes to care.
Sesión 3
After lunch and a quick siesta, we hit the lake at 1:00 p.m. for the afternoon session. I was determined to ignore the banana curse and enjoy my time on the water with Mark. Mark came equipped with an impressive fly box. He had a bunch of juicy looking bass flies including some cool patterns he’d picked up on a summer trip to the Midwest. He tied on a big one.
The Curse Continues
A short time later, I heard a discomforting sound. I turned to see Mark with a 1/0 hook buried where it should not be. It was caught just to the right of his nose! Jr. had no idea what to do. Fortunately, I’m very experienced in hook impalements. Given the banana situation, I was just waiting for something like this to happen.
There was no way Mark wanted that thing stuck in his face, so I broke out the 40-pound Maxima, made a loop and popped the hook free. A bit of blood shot out and stained the front of Mark’s shirt, but he was happy to be freed. We went on to catch some fish, but the day never felt quite right. If you think bananas are benign or even funny, that’s great for you. But please, just keep them to yourself.
Back at the Bar
As we gathered for the evening debrief. Everyone’s day had continued well, and more quality fish were landed, and big numbers posted. In the midst of the celebratory atmosphere, I think Mark may have gotten a little sympathy, what with his blood-stained shirt and the scab on his face. Dan would not admit that the banana had anything to do with the day’s incidents, but I think he knows and probably feels really bad about it. Friends don’t let friends fish with bananas.
The Food is Really Good
You won’t ever walk away from the table at Anglers Inn hungry unless you manage to keep your mouth closed. That’s not something I ever figured out how to do. Fresh chips, pico, salsa, and guacamole were always available. With some Pacifico or a margarita, I’m fine right there but then there was always an additional appetizer before dinner. Then we’d hit the table for the main course -Langosta y camarones followed by key lime pie.
Service is a key feature at Anglers Inn. While it is impossible to control someone’s fishing success and not their responsibility to monitor the distribution of bananas among their customers, they do a stellar job! José and the staff at Picachos add a layer of goodness that when combined with the tremendous bass fishing, makes you really glad to be there.
Status Report after 3 Sessions
The entire crew was happy with the way things were going. Lots of fish. Great food. Great company. Great weather. Even Mark was staying positive after the sabotage by a monkey pickle and that says a lot. I waddled off to bed, eager for the next dawn.