I am, I guess, fortunate. I have lived half my life in the US and the other half in my native born country of Mexico. As you can see from my name, I have mixed parents. My father was from England and my mother Mexican. I was raised with two languages and two cultures physically and culturally a world apart.

I prefer to relate to the Mexico of today as the new Mexico (not the state). Mexico is very much like San Francisco in many ways. Our past is quite tainted but we are changing. Mexico’s middle class is growing every day. We have a different political party in power for the first time in seventy-one years. Everyday another embedded center of corruption falls. Our Universities are graduating engineers, doctors, nurses and other professionals by the thousands. As these people enter the workplace with fresh visions, a hole in a once dark cloud is opened. The hole is growing larger day by day and soon, I truly believe, the sun will shine on us.

Yes, we have a drug production problem. The mountainous areas make perfect locations for marijuana production. The Federal and State Governments are working diligently to reduce this production. But if the truth be known, the only way to stop the production is for our neighbor, north of our border, to quit buying it. Our local drug addition problem is far less than most US Cities.

One of the most important things that is happening in Mexico is the opening of our doors to foreign investment. It is not the changing of the laws but the changing of the attitude of the people that is most important. The old attitude was “shame on you if you don’t” not “shame on you if you do,” It is disappearing. Our people, for the most part, are very friendly to foreigners and treat them with respect. We realize that every American dollar that is invested in Mexico creates jobs. Jobs are the key. As good jobs are created the standard of living raises. Donkeys are being traded in for new cars every day. All the major car companies have plants in Mexico.

Mexico’s natural resources are abundant. We offer hunting and fishing adventures that cannot be duplicated anywhere in the world. Our numerous lakes, both natural and manmade, offer the best bass fishing in the Northern Hemisphere. Our acres and acres of wild brush added to the milo and sorghum planted by the farmers makes a perfect location for dove hunting. The hundreds of square miles of lagoons and salt marshes make the perfect vacation spot for all the northern water fowl. The crystal clear offshore currents are abundant with game fish. Our Copper Canyon is four times bigger than and half again as deep as the Grand Canyon.

Why do the bass grow so fast and so plentiful? A lake like the world famous Lake Huites is the perfect breeding ground. The natural shad and the tilapia, that are both constantly reproducing, provide food in abundance. The lake temperature varies very little because of its depth and the constant input from the rivers flowing down from the Sierra Madras Mountains. The fish don’t take a rest like northern bass. They feed and grow all year long. After the first year when the minnows grow to a weight of about one pound, the fish will grow at a rate of about two pounds a year.

A strange phenomenon happens when the Florida strain bass cross with the local largemouth bass. A mutant is created that is much more aggressive than either of its predecessors. I have talked to biologists about it and they tell me that the mutant has a much larger stomach that resembles a double stomach. The fish is actually an eating machine. The more it eats, the bigger it grows. The more it grows, the more it eats and on and on. These fish can grow as much as three to four pounds in a year. It is not uncommon to find some of these big guys in the 12 to 18 lb range floating on top of the water with a two pound talapia in its mouth. They will actually try to eat a talapia bigger than its throat and not be able to swallow it or spit it out.

If you get one of these big mutants on, you’re in for a fight. You better have your act together. The mutant will take off for the brush and tie you up before you even realize what happened; that is if he didn’t break your line or slip your knot first. If he is in deep water, he will dive like a tuna. If you beat him at these games, he will start for the boat. Just when you start to relax a little he will give a flip and dive again, usually under the boat trying to break your line. I hear story after story from anglers at Lake Huites, and they are almost all the same. “I have no idea what it was. It hit like a Mack Truck and then it was gone.” The excuses: My drag was too tight; my line had a bad spot; the knot wasn’t tied right; I had the wrong line, or you should have warned me. Well, consider yourself warned.

If your drag isn’t set right, you’ve lost him. If you don’t turn his head as soon as he hits, you’ve lost him. If your line is too light, you’ve lost him. If you relax for just one second, you’ve lost him. If you are the angler that thinks you can beat these odds, then I suggest you get down here and show us how it’s done.

Regardless of your sporting desire, Mexico has it to offer; 1000 lb blue marlin and 200+ lb tuna off the Shores of Los Cabos, bone fishing in Cancun, dove hunting in El Fuerte, duck hunting in Los Mochis and, of course, the mysterious mutant of Lake Huites.

I know it is hard to think about a Mexican vacation while the sun is shinning and the bar-b-q is sizzling. Soon the furnace will be running, and the car won’t want to start. The boat will be in the garage and you will be looking at your fishing pole every time you open the closet to don your winter coat.

I strongly suggest that you give Mr. Terry Hollan a call, toll free at 1-888-744-8867 or email him at [email protected]. Terry is the owner of Reel Mexican Adventures, the owner and operator of Lake Huites Lodge. Ask him how many times he has been spooled or ended up with a crank bait with no hooks. Mr. Hollan can also make arrangements Copper Canyon Trips, Sport fishing in Los Cabos, Bird Hunting and discount air travel to Mexico.

We look forward to your arrival and to sharing you’re sporting adventure of a lifetime.

Ing. Daniel F. Wentworth Espinoza