Winter has always been my least favorite season. Even ice fishing could not cheer me up. After record blizzards and record cold, my wife Debi and I moved from Northern Illinois to Mesa, Arizona over 45 years ago. While the winters in the Southwest are certainly milder, they are not perfect.

Burr! I find as I grow older, I am less cold tolerant, and I have turned into that grumpy old man in the thermal underwear, flannel shirt, and ski cap. I haven’t bought a “Winter Sucks” sweatshirt, yet, but I have considered it. I find many like-minded folks at the Playa de Oro Trailer Park in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. No one likes even the occasional cold windy day, that interrupts having a beach day. Gathering out of the wind, around a fire pit, with a hot toddy and some friends seems to be the best alternative.

Some of the Playa de Oro regulars have been going further south during the worst of our winter months. Mazatlán seems to be a desirable winter destination. Most winter days there are 78 degrees and some fly-fishing guys from Tucson have been fishing El Salto Lake for 5 years. El Salto is one of the best Large Mouth Bass Lakes in the world. Many folks catch their personal best Bass at this lake, with plenty of 6-, 7-, and 8-pound bass being caught. One of the Tucson guys caught a 10-pound fish on a recent fishing trip.

As soon as I saw the photo of the 10-pound bass I booked my trip to El Salto Lake. Expect an update later. The really good news is February is the beginning of the end of winter, regardless of the ground hog’s prediction it’s going to warm up soon and the fishing will improve. Hope to see you on the water soon.

Vince Deadmond The Fly-Fishing Hardware Guy can be reached at vincehasgonefishing@outlook.com or 480 818 1796.