Aguamilpa Cora's Lodge Mexico Bass Fishing

Aguamilpa Cora’s Lodge Mexico Bass Fishing – February 2025

“Bass Fishing and Fly Fishing” are not normally synonymous activities for most fly anglers. The warm water portion of the fly fishing sport continues to grow, and for good reason. Ample opportunities around the United States that include rivers, lakes, reservoirs and most farm and golf course ponds combined with limited angling pressure and longer fishing seasons bring both Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass to the fly angler eye of a worthy gamefish to pursue. I am one of those anglers with a growing interest in warm water species. I have found most of the above statements to be true as well as their love to eat topwater flies when conditions are right. They also can pull hard on all forms of fly tackle. Normally with a fraction of the anglers found on fabled trout streams. What’s not to like? Sign me up!

Mexico has always been on the top of the list for terminal tackle anglers looking for bass fishing opportunities. I remember reading about the famed “El Salto” Bass lake as a young boy pouring over every Field and Stream and Outdoor Life magazine I could get my hands on. El Salto has always been on my list of angling destinations to visit. Unfortunately, growing tensions in the Sinaloa state of Mexico, where many famous Bass lakes are found, had me thinking my bass fly fishing obsession shouldn’t land higher on the priority list of safety and avoiding an unplanned meeting of Sinaloa’s cartel family. If you didn’t read the latest issue of the Drake – you should. After some extensive research and networking, I found a Mexican Bass location outside of the Sinaloa hot zone that boosted some high catch rates for any and all anglers.

Aguamilpa Bass Fly Fishing Trip Report

Aguamilpa is a beautiful lake with towering peaks as high as 6,000 feet located in the majestic Sierra Madre mountain range outside of Tepic. Once inaccessible to outsiders, this rugged section of the Sierra Madre is now hosting bass anglers from around the world. Formed by the 614 foot tall Aguamilpa Dam, Aguamilpa is one of the largest hydroelectric and reservoir projects in the county of Mexico. The lake was simply massive – covering 49 square miles and 65 miles in length, there is no lack of bass fishing habitat or spots to fish. The lake was full of rock walls, points, basins, islands, channels and every type of location a largemouth bass would call home. While on first glance, Aguamilpa had more of a Smallmouth Bass feel. I quickly learned this lake harbored an insane population of Florida strain bass averaging in all shapes and sizes, and for sheer numbers of quality bass Aguamilpa couldn’t be beat.

Cora’s Lodge is located in a quite and sleepy town on Aguamilpas waterfront. It is the only lodge on the lake and can accommodate up to 24 anglers with all the comforts of home including Wi-Fi. The lodge was quite comfortable, complete with first class accommodations with awesome service and delicious meals. Multiple open air patios and dinning areas overlooking the lake created a perfect relaxed ambiance and atmosphere for hanging out while not on the water complete with complimentary beers and margaritas! The lodge is easily accessible from Puerto Vallarta which welcomes flights from all major cities in the United States on regular basis. A shuttle and driver welcomed me when I exited the Puerto Vallarta airport with ample room for fishing luggage and a cooler full of cold drinks, beers and snacks for the 3 hour ride to the lodge. Paved roads from both locations made the trip quite smooth and comfortable. This travel was easy, seamless and simple – a very welcome change from normal travel to and from the greater Jackson Hole region that normally requires some requirement of an overnight on one travel leg.

The lodge hosts a complete fleet of modern bass fishing boats as well as traditional Mexican pangas with trolling motors, fish finders, coolers and plenty of room for gear. The fishing program was perfect for fly anglers to maximize the early morning and late evening top water fishing opportunities. A welcome change from the normal constricted hours of other fly fishing lodges. Our fishing day started early, normally around 5 am with coffee and if chosen, a light breakfast. I meet my guide around 5:30 am, ready for the day and opted for breakfast burritos to go on the boat. We motored away from the dock at first light and explored coves and some of the shallow water areas of the lake with floating lines and topwater patterns for the first couple of hours of the day. Fishing poppers and sliders during those early morning periods was easily the highlight of each day for me and most anglers. The rest of the fishing session was spent fishing sinking lines around the structure of the lake. Lots of fish were caught with during these times periods. So much so, that on most days we lots count of the number of fish brought to the boat. A mid-day break at the lodge complete with lunch, beers, margaritas and siesta was a welcome way to rest up for the evening session ahead.

Fishing pressure on Aguamilpa was basically non-existent. On most days, I found myself as the only angler on the water. We essentially had the entire lake to ourselves! A lake of this size in the United States would be full packed full of general recreational users. For Aquamilpa it is just the anglers from the lodge and the tilapia farmers on the water. While you may not encounter the size of fish you might find at El Salto and Baccarac; the solitude, beauty and consistent action and quantity of fish created and amazing bass fly fishing adventure. Aguamilpa offers the perfect opportunities for beginner anglers to cast, hook and land a ton of fish! And expert anglers will enjoy more of the technical aspects of the topwater and sinking line fishing locations. With the ease of flying in and out of Puerto Vallarta, it is the perfect getaway for those looking for shorter packages in the 3 day/4 night range, a combination trip with a beach vacation to Punta Mita, Sayulita or Puerto Vallarta or for diehard warm water fly anglers that want to see what Mexico bass fly fishing is all about!