El Cuchillo in Nuevo Leon, Mexico For Fishing & Camping

Fish Species

• Largemouth Bass

Lake El Cuchillo is the newest Mexican mecca for trophy bass. Its 40,000 beautiful acres make visiting this lake, the first and only lake in Mexico to be designated a state park, a real trip to remember. Because it is a state park, it can only be used for recreational activities. The lake is being managed by the government as catch and release, with no commercial fishing or netting allowed. There is an on-site hatchery with an intense restocking program.

Located just 62 miles south of the Texas border; or Approximately 1.5 hours from Monterrey, Mexico or 1.5 hours from McAllen, Texas; this lake makes a great weekend fishing trip for anyone located in south Texas. In the state of Nuevo Leon, just 1.5 hours drive on paved highway from Monterrey, El Cuchillo is easy to get to with many daily flights from southern U.S. gateway cities. There are flights into McAllen, Texas which is 2.5 hours from the lake, but a word of warning here, there are more federal checkpoints during a drive to the lake. There may be delays crossing the border back into the United States.

The most prolific spawning grounds in the lake are marked with buoys as off limits to fishing during spawning season. The dam is at the northeast end 48 miles south of the US-Mexican border. El Cuchillo was heavily stocked with Florida bass and it is believed that the largemouth gene pool there is 54 percent Florida strain. Anglers say the other 46 percent are bass that were already there before the dam was built in 1989. Locals reverently refer to these as "Mexican bass" genes. The origin of these bass or how long they have been in this part of Mexico is a bit uncertain.