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Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: herbsteiner] #14196050 11/19/21 07:42 PM
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Originally Posted by herbsteiner
I'm flying to Mazatlan next Monday. I believe that line on reels is forbidden when flying back into the USA, but can I fly INTO Mexico with line on my reels?

Or do I fly into MX with empty reels, string up when I get to El Salto, and take the line off before I fly back to TX?


Have fun Herb! Give us a good report when you get back. (FYI, I never take line off my reels when going to Mexico. And ALWAYS put them in carry on)


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Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: herbsteiner] #14197390 11/21/21 03:36 AM
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Why canโ€™t you have fishing line on a plane?


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Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: fivebites] #14201630 11/24/21 11:37 PM
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Originally Posted by fivebites
Originally Posted by herbsteiner
I'm flying to Mazatlan next Monday. I believe that line on reels is forbidden when flying back into the USA, but can I fly INTO Mexico with line on my reels?

Or do I fly into MX with empty reels, string up when I get to El Salto, and take the line off before I fly back to TX?


Have fun Herb! Give us a good report when you get back. (FYI, I never take line off my reels when going to Mexico. And ALWAYS put them in carry on)


Randy, trust me I did have fun! I spent my time at Picachos, because El Salto, through a couple weather catastrophes, is so overfull that it's like a new lake with new habitats, that the fishing is really... I mean really tough. So the company called me a few days prior to arriving and strongly suggested I go to Picachos. I did, and the fishing was good as usual. I probably got 250+/- in the 3.5 days, slightly less than the 300 I got back in May of 2019. On day 3, a bunch of guys transferred over from El Salto and they had a sad tale to tell. One fellow caught 1 fish in 2.5 days on the water. Another guy caught 4 in the same time. Most of the party were skunked, including Juan the Guide; I've used Juan myself and he flat knows that lake. If HE got skunked, the fishing is bad.

The main lure I used was the Yum Dinger in watermelon/red, black/blue, and green pump/cream laminate, t-rigged with a 3/8oz. Probably went through 60 or so of those. (If they were Senkos, it would have been in the hundreds). The two morning lures were a Megabass PopX, and a Berkley Stunna jerkbait fished shallow. Mid afternoons I threw submerged structure with a SK 5XD, a RkCrawler 55, and/or a belly-weighted Keitech or Rage Swimmer. Also used the popper around 4pm until 4:30, as it gets dark early down there.

The mornings were about 60 degrees going up to 85 in the pm. Mostly I primarily looked for fishing the shade and shade lines, but everything was directed by my guide Alejandro. It was my first time with him and the rule is "trust your guide on a new lake," and so I did. He knew exactly 4 words in English: crankbait, spinnerbait, topwater, and swimbait. Fortunately I speak enough Spanish that we could communicate well enough, and even occasionally have a very basic conversation.,

Anyone who's ever been to an Angler's Inn facility, at either of the lakes, knows how the staff treats their clientele, which is basically like kings. You're not even out of the van that picked you up at the airport and you're handed a plate of nachos and a margarita. The food is restaurant quality, very Mexican but no Tex-Mex at all, and huge. I mean they feed men in their 60s and 70s like college football players eat. Three squares a day. Bring Dulcolax, and don't ask me how I know smile. There's no such thing as an empty margarita glass there, and how many places have a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream next to the coffee machine at 5am? You get the picture.

Oh yeah, the important stuff: with exception of 6 of the offshore fish that approached 4 pounds (1 maybe a hair over), all the fish were in the 1.5 to 3lb range, and healthy fighters. The best fish caught this week was a 5 pounder caught by a nice expatriate American lady who lives in Cabo San Lucas.

Last edited by herbsteiner; 11/24/21 11:52 PM.
Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: herbsteiner] #14202012 11/25/21 01:23 PM
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Originally Posted by herbsteiner
Originally Posted by fivebites
Originally Posted by herbsteiner
I'm flying to Mazatlan next Monday. I believe that line on reels is forbidden when flying back into the USA, but can I fly INTO Mexico with line on my reels?

Or do I fly into MX with empty reels, string up when I get to El Salto, and take the line off before I fly back to TX?


Have fun Herb! Give us a good report when you get back. (FYI, I never take line off my reels when going to Mexico. And ALWAYS put them in carry on)


Randy, trust me I did have fun! I spent my time at Picachos, because El Salto, through a couple weather catastrophes, is so overfull that it's like a new lake with new habitats, that the fishing is really... I mean really tough. So the company called me a few days prior to arriving and strongly suggested I go to Picachos. I did, and the fishing was good as usual. I probably got 250+/- in the 3.5 days, slightly less than the 300 I got back in May of 2019. On day 3, a bunch of guys transferred over from El Salto and they had a sad tale to tell. One fellow caught 1 fish in 2.5 days on the water. Another guy caught 4 in the same time. Most of the party were skunked, including Juan the Guide; I've used Juan myself and he flat knows that lake. If HE got skunked, the fishing is bad.

The main lure I used was the Yum Dinger in watermelon/red, black/blue, and green pump/cream laminate, t-rigged with a 3/8oz. Probably went through 60 or so of those. (If they were Senkos, it would have been in the hundreds). The two morning lures were a Megabass PopX, and a Berkley Stunna jerkbait fished shallow. Mid afternoons I threw submerged structure with a SK 5XD, a RkCrawler 55, and/or a belly-weighted Keitech or Rage Swimmer. Also used the popper around 4pm until 4:30, as it gets dark early down there.

The mornings were about 60 degrees going up to 85 in the pm. Mostly I primarily looked for fishing the shade and shade lines, but everything was directed by my guide Alejandro. It was my first time with him and the rule is "trust your guide on a new lake," and so I did. He knew exactly 4 words in English: crankbait, spinnerbait, topwater, and swimbait. Fortunately I speak enough Spanish that we could communicate well enough, and even occasionally have a very basic conversation.,

Anyone who's ever been to an Angler's Inn facility, at either of the lakes, knows how the staff treats their clientele, which is basically like kings. You're not even out of the van that picked you up at the airport and you're handed a plate of nachos and a margarita. The food is restaurant quality, very Mexican but no Tex-Mex at all, and huge. I mean they feed men in their 60s and 70s like college football players eat. Three squares a day. Bring Dulcolax, and don't ask me how I know smile. There's no such thing as an empty margarita glass there, and how many places have a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream next to the coffee machine at 5am? You get the picture.

Oh yeah, the important stuff: with exception of 6 of the offshore fish that approached 4 pounds (1 maybe a hair over), all the fish were in the 1.5 to 3lb range, and healthy fighters. The best fish caught this week was a 5 pounder caught by a nice expatriate American lady who lives in Cabo San Lucas.


Great report, thanks! Even though my Mexican trip in December is to Baccarac I still like keeping up on all Mexican lakes. It sounds like the size at Picachos hasn't changed much since I fished there about 3 years ago.

I laughed at your comment about being served meals like college football players eat. I get overwhelmed by the three huge meals a day down there.

Now I know why I haven't heard much about El Salto lately. I didn't know it could get that bad there.

Did you travel with line on your reels in your carry on? And did you bring your own rods? I am thinking about bringing 5 of my own and am curious as to cost at American Airlines.

Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: herbsteiner] #14202017 11/25/21 01:27 PM
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Nice report. I just got back from a great big bass trip to Baccarac and leave 1/11 for 2 days Salto and 3 on Picachos

Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: forkduc] #14202038 11/25/21 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by forkduc
Nice report. I just got back from a great big bass trip to Baccarac and leave 1/11 for 2 days Salto and 3 on Picachos


I sent you a PM

Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: herbsteiner] #14202296 11/25/21 06:40 PM
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To those who asked about the line situation. I removed the spools from the reels (I took 6 reels, just in case), taped the spools and labeled them. The spools went in the checked bag, the reel bodies in carry-on. I didn't want to risk it. We reassembled the reels at the lake that afternoon.

The rods I had to choose from were all St. Croix Bass X and Mojo Bass, in very used but still acceptable condition. A few had broken tips and had been set aside. I chose 4. Most all were heavy action, though I did manage to find a medium action that I used for topwaters and later on, crankbaits. I must admit that I'm accustomed to my regular rods, which are Exprides and NRX's basically, but the cost of shipping the rods and the damage risk involved wasn't worth it to me. So I made do with the St. Croix rods and it was all cool. I could definitely understand if someone wanted their own rods to fish with. I saw several long Plano rod tubes ($125 per retail) that were shipped.

I was asked at Mexican customs if I was declaring anything. The officer went through my carry-on and checked bag and asked me in broken English how much the reels are worth, the gear, etc. I told him I was on a fishing trip to Lake Picachos and he said "okay," and put the stuff back.

Last edited by herbsteiner; 11/25/21 06:41 PM.
Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: herbsteiner] #14203276 11/26/21 05:59 PM
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Just got back.
Carried on going down,no problem.
Packed in suitcase coming home.

Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: forkduc] #14203438 11/26/21 10:32 PM
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Originally Posted by forkduc
Just got back.
Carried on going down,no problem.
Packed in suitcase coming home.


which lake?....How was fishing?

Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: beartrap] #14203829 11/27/21 02:13 PM
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Baccarac
Numbers lower than March, but lake is at 60%, it was 30% then.
Biggest 5 were 9,8.8,7.5,7.5 and 7

Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: herbsteiner] #14205004 11/28/21 04:04 PM
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Following the checked reels and American Airlines information for other instances and latest information on a possible change.
Please, Keep us updated on reels and line.


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Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: herbsteiner] #14205049 11/28/21 05:14 PM
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On a similar note, has anyone traveled American airlines with a rod case lately and what was the cost? Any problem with bringing 4 or 5 rods in the case?

Re: Flying to/from Mexico: Line on reels? [Re: cali kid] #14205427 11/29/21 01:08 AM
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Originally Posted by cali kid
On a similar note, has anyone traveled American airlines with a rod case lately and what was the cost? Any problem with bringing 4 or 5 rods in the case?


The link below will take you to the American Airlines Special Items and Sports Equipment page which lists exemptions and pricing information about fishermen traveling with rods and gear.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/baggage/specialty-and-sports.jsp

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