More Passions, More Opportunities

Good friends at BigFishBullies handle booking for Pro Bass Adventures in México, at Lakes Baccarac and El Salto. Josh and Justin are revamping operations with Owner J.R. Rodriguez to enhance what he and Doug King built. Meanwhile, the lunker Florida-strain largemouth are enjoying good water levels and anglers anglers from around the world continue to enjoy catching the ferocious bass.

The information below is a starting point for the Bucket List Trip of YOUR Lifetime! Please send me an email for details.

I am taking a group down to El Salto for November 30-December 7. I have 7 slots left. When they are filled, game over. So get in touch with me ASAP if you (and a friend or famly member) are interested. I give modest $$ incentives for min-groups of two or more anglers.

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Want to catch the bass of a lifetime?México is a largemouth bass angler’s dreams. After Bucket List trips to El Salto, with Billy Chapman, Jr. and Anglers Inn, Doug King convinced me to fishi Lake Baccarac with Pro Bass Adventures (PBA). Now I prefer Baccarac because in recent years it has produced more big fish (10+ pounds). But it’s a very close race, and in 2023-2024 El Salto might have regained the lead!!!

PBA’s Baccarac Lodge Manager Juan Villa and his staff are wonderful — friendly, attentive, and fun-loving! The rooms are nice, so is the lake view. The food is fantastic — big meals, excellent quality. The fishing boats (pangas and bassboats) are in great condition, with SpotLock on the Minn Kota trolling motors and FFS on the Lowrance graphs. Plus, at every water level, in every season, in every weather condition, well-experienced guides can find every nook, cranny, hump, point, etc. where big bass lurk — without using fancy electronics.  

My Baccarac and El Salto groups mostly include friendly people whom I know will be great company and cope well with a few trivial surprises. Referrals are welcome, but I vet strangers carefully because a group-trip barrel has no room for bad apples or whiners.

You might know some of the folks I’ve taken to Baccarac: Matt Allen and Tim Little (both of Tactical Bassin’), Justin Seay and Joshua Daniels (both of BigFishBullies), Tom Atherton, Mike Bodenchuk, Chris Borgers, Randy Bosket, John Daniels, Mike Goodyear, Steve Grier, Sandra and Robert Lancaster, Tony Miller, Doug Moore, Matt Rieser, Mike Sumrall, and others. No client has ever complained about their trip — especially not about their new Personal Best Bass!

I’ve never been fond of crowds, so one unexpected joy of these trips has been consistently marvelous camaraderie among anglers at the lodges. Keeping things politics- and religion free helps a lot!

At least 95% of the anglers from other groups with whom I've interacted have also been great, sharing information about techniques and tales of fish landed and GIANTS lost.

The PBA lodge at Baccarac typically hosts 12-20 anglers at once. The El Salto lodge accomodates 20, but by Dec 2024 it will hold 32. The clientele is cosmopolitan, which leads to fascinating discussions. Newcomers are enfolded, not distanced.

Interested in a trip to El Salto or Lake Baccarac? For details, contact me at teebeej@gmail.com. A deposit will hold your spot. But if you snooze, you'll lose — and miss out on the bass of your dreams!

Best month to fish Baccarac or El Salto? Whenever you can get there! Seasonal patterns vary. depending on water level and weather. PBA lodges are usually open from late September or October through May or even July. August, with its sweltering heat, is reserved for maintenance, staff recovery, and No-See-Ums! June-August and sometimes September tend to be hot (less so if you live in Phoenix), but so is the fishing for anglers who brave the temps, rain storms, lightning, and No- See-Ums!)!

I tend to prefer November and January. They are usually higher-water months, with t-shirt weather. Topwater lures, crankbaits, paddletail swimbaits, jigs, and Senkos all work especially well in November. By January, bass are already pre-spawn, spawning, or post-spawn, depending on the "winter" weather.

8-Day Trip Overview

• I handle trip logistics & Lodge coordination
• Clients purchase plane ticket
• Lodge costs all-inclusive (except van driver and staff tips, guide pay and tips, Big Fish Incentives, tackle purchases)
• English and Spanglish are spoken, less so by anglers from the Mason-Dixon Line on south
• Double-occupancy rooms and pangas
• Daily laundry service (cheap!)
• Loaner rods/reels available (free)
• Zero COVID-19 issues at Lodges

Arrival (Travel) Day

• Clients fly nonstop — Phoenix to Culiacán for Baccarac, Phoenix to Mazatlán for El Salto
• PBA van pick up at airport
• Clients settle in at Lodge, rig tackle
• Sumptuous dinner and orientation

Fishing Days

• Wake-up knock at your door, armed with hot coffee
• Hearty breakfast
• Fish in guided panga or bassboat
• Pay guides daily
• Pre-dawn to Noonish — catch fish
• Optional Lunch/Siesta break
• 1400-ish til Darkish — catch more fish
• Off the water by Dark-30 (no navigational bouys on either lake and at night commercial tilapia fishermen come out to play — with nets
• 1830-ish Sumptuous dinner
• 1930-ish until your age kicks in— smack-talk and rigging tackle
• Rinse and repeat each fishing day

Departure Day

• Night before: pack your gear and settle your lodge account (e.g. tackle purchased, staff and Manager tips)
• Morning of: as early as flight departure-timed dictate, coffee and breakfast
• Depart for airport (miss your ride, miss your flight)
• All the way to airport, and beyond, lament that you didn'tt stay longer and when you will return
• Catch flight home
• Arrive home, start bragging!

2024-2025 all-in cost estimated at max of $4500. Contact me for details. 

Estimate covers: round-trip flight, double-occupancy A/C room and guided panga, all food, all drink (water, soda, beer, mixed drinks), staff tips, van-driver tips, and guide pay.

Costs NOT included in estimates: extra baggage, Lodge tackle store purchases, tips above required amounts and pre-flight COVID-19 tests (if required).

Send an email to teebeej@gmail.com for more detailed trip information than you’ve ever seen: lake and lodge information, lodge and PBA staff, WHAT NOT TO BRING, solid tips on Customs Processing, clothes, tackle, etc. Try it, you’ll like it!

There is no question about this: Tactical Bassin’ will show you how to fish more successfully, on ANY water. Co-owners, master anglers and "video stars" (lol!) Matt Allen and Tim Little are unbeatable when it comes to guiding or to video content and quality. They are very specific about how they fish, why they fish that way, and they provide online links to the tackle they use.  

What probably impresses me the most about Matt and Tim, is that in person they are just like they are on screen: friendly, happy, funny, humble, extraordinarily knowledgeable and incredible at freely sharing their knowledge and skills. Exactly the kind of guys you’d want to fish with, again and again. Hard to believe, but their wives are just as nice and also excellent anglers! 

Unpaid advocacy: to help Tactical make a living, please buy at least some of your fishing gear online from Tackle Warehouse by FIRST clicking the link on the Tactical website. This helps enable Matt and Tim to stay free of sponsor obligations that cause so many online YouTube bass fishing channels to pimp only sponsored products — whether or not they actually use them. At Tactical Bassin’, you will get the facts, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Full disclosure: over the years, Matt and Tim have donated many products for fundraising raffles at bass club and charity events that I have organized.  

Fishing has been a passion for my whole life. After countless trips over six decades, I now consider myself a serious bass angler, perhaps even a bit above average in skills. In my younger days, I enjoyed modest tournament success in pro-ams and clubs. Years ago, I became aware of northern California’s bass fishing mecca: Clear Lake, northwest of Sacramento. For decades, it has been a perennial Top Five American Bass Lake. Finally, I planned a December trip to Clear Lake with two local friends who had fished it before, with Matt Allen, a legendary trophy-bass guide who lived on the lake. So, we made plans to fish with Matt. 

As December approached, forecasts of bad weather caused my wimpy friends to back out! But I persevered and went solo. The weather was indeed crappy — freezing cold, snow and sleet, ice-covered boat and rods, gusty wind. Fishing barefooted in our customary flip- flops or sandals (kindred spirits!), Matt and I had the time of my life! It was awesome. Highlight: a 12.3 lb bass!

I had fished with some darned good anglers before, but Matt was in a class of his own. I was dumbstruck by how little I actually knew about bass fishing in comparison to him! Honestly, even while he was fishing he knew more about what I was and was not doing than I did. Matt thought me about fishing spots on spots, casting lines, swimbaits and glide baits and a thousand other things. He even, eventually, was able to teach me to tie a decent braid-to-leader blood knot.

Since that first trip, I've fished with Matt again and again, as both a client and a friend. In addition to sharing a passion for bass fishing, family and flip-flops or sandals in all weather, we both have a very strong dislike for Wal-Mart — long live LOCAL tackle stores! Oh, the strange ties that bind!  

Through Matt, I also came to know his partner in fishing and co-owner of Tactical Bassin’, Tim Little. Tim is probably Matt’s peer in terms of fishing knowledge and skills, especially finesse fishing and electronics. More importantly, they are the most compatible duo of anglers I’ve ever seen. Their front-deck ballet is amazing.

Their families are the epitome of the "All American Family." Tactical Bassin’ videos and Instagram posts sometimes feature their wives, Cazbar and Tonya, both of whom are also accomplished anglers, and their wonderful kids. The wives’ videos are as instructive as the ones that feature Matt and/or Tim. 

About two years ago, the Tactical Bassin' Family moved East. Their new home lake is Chickamauga but they still fish everywhere. They moved so they could more easily fish and teach about new waters, where the fishing is often fabulous. Also, east of the Mississippi the YouTube algorithm$ become more conducive to making a living.

With Tactical Bassin' gone, Clear Lake isn't quite the same any more. But rest assured, my Bucket List includes more fishing trips at Clear Lake and elsewhere with Tactical Bassin’. So should yours! 

Fishing is, above all, a family-friendly sport. Many, if not most anglers, were first exposed to this awesome outdoor adventure as kids. More than a few probably caught their first sunfish, bass or catfish with a cane pole or perhaps a Zebco rod/reel combo. The fish at the end of the line don’t know what is "upstream" from that hook but that does not stop serious anglers from spending their kids’ inheritance on better, more expensive equipment. Regardless the joy of fishing remains.

The folks at BigFishBullies are above all family-fishing focused. Sure, their expert guides take clients out for trophies, but kids on the boat are where they shine. Whether the kids have Special Needs and new to fishing or they are already seasoned veterans at an early age is immaterial. They and their siblings and adult companions are guaranteed a fantastic day on the water.

BigFishBullies also markets the best sun-protection hoodies and shirts that you can buy. Their brand is the only one the American Cancer Society has has approved. Personally, my favorite item is their summer hoodie because it protects my hands, neck, throat and face as well as my ever increasing bald spot(s).

With its corporate HQ (lol!) in Phoenix, BigFishBullies already has a great presence in the Southwest. But for Instagram and Facebook users, they seem to be everywhere, every day. They and their followers post fantastic pictures of giant largemouth, smallmouth, catfish, gar, sunfish, bugle mouth bass (carp) and many other kinds of fish. And virtually every Follower post receives personal kudos from the BigFishBullies owners. It’s really a small-town approach to a worldwide enterprise! 

The primary owners, Josh Daniels and Justin Seay, are two of the nicest people I have ever met. I have had the pleasure and (dubious?) honor of fishing with them in Mexico as well as the US. My trips with them at Lake Baccarac are Bucket List highlights of my life. One of the things I cherish most about both guys is their willingness to share information with their clients and close friends. Both are excellent teachers, on and off the water! And so funny!

BigFishBullies is creating new and exciting opportunities and I look forward to helping make them successful. Watch for their announcements about this. I won’t say anything more about this, because if I do they will never again share a secret with me. But, I am as excited about these new things as I have been about anything fishing related since I bought my first (and last!) bassboat brand new in 2006. I can’t vouch for newer Rangers but my 2005 Ranger 520DVX and its predecessors were built best and built to last. But I digress!

Please check into BigFishBullies for opportunities to expand your fishing universe, and that of kids you have or know.

The future of fishing depends on YOU!