By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
What if I told you there is a place in Texas where you could, in the course of a single day, catch a 10-pound largemouth, a 2-pound bluegill, a 10-pound hybrid bass and a 30-pound redfish?
What if I told you that the man who owns such a place believes he’s barely scratched the surface of the potential his ranch holds as a world-class fishing destination?
Would you believe me?
It’s just about five miles from the locked gate off Highway 83 between Laredo and San Ygnacio to the doorstep of bass fishing’s Eden – five miles of winding dirt road through the south Texas wilderness, marked by scads of prickly pear cactus, roaming deer and an anticipation typically reserved for 8-year-olds on Christmas morning.
Prior to my trip there a couple weeks ago, what I knew about La Perla Ranch was limited to what I’d read on its website. I knew it was close to the Mexico border, about 30 miles south of Laredo and 25 or so miles north of Falcon Lake.
Bassmaster had done a story on the place last year and the lofty ambitions of its owner, a successful oral surgeon from south Texas named Gary Schwarz. Through a carefully-managed forage, stocking and nutrition program, combined with limited fishing pressure, Schwarz believes it’s possible that he can build the ultimate, bucket list-worthy fishing haven in addition to growing the world-record largemouth bass in one of his lakes.
After spending roughly 44 hours at La Perla and seeing Schwarz’s passion and listening to his vision up close, it’s difficult to bet against him. Shimano and G. Loomis had chosen La Perla, site unseen, to unveil and test their new products that will be introduced to the fishing public at this week's Bassmaster Classic.
After coming through a second locked gate on the barren road, the Shimano-wrapped Toyota Tundra I was in along with G. Loomis’ head of communications Bruce Holt and Canadian freelance writer Jon LaPera, continued to meander further into the middle of nowhere.
It wasn’t long before we pulled up to what amounted to a large carport with several bays. It was attached to the lodge, which looks like a one-story compound from afar. There was a door-less Jeep Wrangler with a mesh roof, a crew-sized UTV and a mobile smoker/grill parked on the concrete pad. The rest of the vehicles were in use, somewhere on the property.
We unloaded our luggage into one of the eight guest rooms inside the spacious lodge and before I could get my bearings, I was escorted outside to the covered patio that looked out over seemingly thousands of acres of brushy landscape. To the left is a three-story observation tower used to look out over the sprawling scenery.
There was an endless assortment of G. Loomis rods, including the brand-new E6X series, which feature distinct neon green highlights, along with some IMX and NRX models. A few of the new Shimano Zodias rods were also available as were the Jackall Poison Adrena rods that had been introduced last year. A few fly and ultra-light spinning setups were leaning against the wooden rocking chairs and benches that adorned the porch.
Boxes of baits, hooks and tackle were scattered about. A large, cushioned reel box off to the side held all the Shimano baitcasters and spinning reels you could ever need.
“Grab a couple rods, some reels and get rigged up,” Holt said.
After loading some gear into a small UTV, Holt and I were off again, down another dirt road. Within two hours of touching down on the tarmac at Laredo International, I was sharing a small Tracker boat with Holt at La Perla Lake, where everything looks fishy.
The water, which ranged from 9 to 14 feet in depth from what I saw, was a little stained, but flooded bushes, timber, cattails, manmade islands and rock piles made for countless targets to throw at. With a brand-new G. Loomis E6X rod in hand and a refreshing sun overhead, it took us about 10 minutes to get into the fish, a mix of hybrid wipers (striped and white bass) and largemouth, including a couple in the 6-pound range. Swimjigs tipped with Strike King Rage Craws and lipless crankbaits were big producers.
As the afternoon, and the next 40-some odd hours, wore on, the famous scene from Field of Dreams where Ray Liotta (Joe Jackson) stops to ask Kevin Costner (Ray Kinsella), “Is this heaven?” kept playing in my head.
Take Your Pick
We had access to three different lakes during our stay – La Perla, Water World (named for the famously over-budget Costner flick) and the “house lake,” which is basically a big pond located across a mowed field marked by football goal posts at each end near the lodge. Each one offered the chance at a double-digit largemouth – our group managed to catch at least four of them in two days. We also caught mammoth bluegill off the dock, Texas wipers to 10 pounds or bigger and there had been a 30-pound freshwater redfish caught at Water World a couple days prior to our arrival.
The equipment was up to every challenge, too, most notably the new E6X models.
For years, G. Loomis has been regarded as the gold standard in rod building, be it fly rods, salmon/steelhead rods or bass rods. The company’s skeleton fish logo has a cult-like following (tattoos, anyone?) and there’s no mistaking the nostalgic feel of having a Loomis rod in your hand. The price tag has represented a roadblock for some, but that’s no longer the case.
The new E6X rods from G. Loomis will give anglers plenty of affordable options for all of their bass fishing needs.
The E6X series – E6 represents carbon, the sixth element in the Periodic Table, and X is an acronym for the technology G. Loomis has used in its newer rod series – is targeted at the anglers who have maybe heard about the G. Loomis reputation, but never experienced it themselves. With each model – there are 30 of them, including technique-specific actions featuring split-grip construction and classic, multipurpose models with a full cork grip – you feel connected to the water and what’s beneath the surface. Whatever your preferred technique or need may be, G. Loomis has one in the E6X series, all for under $200.
Having fished several of the GLX rods for a couple of years, I was impressed with how much sensitivity the E6X rods have and the distinct feel each different action has. The trademark G. Loomis attention to detail was evident on each rod. That’s a product of the Multi-Taper technology that went into building the E6Xs. It allows for more precise actions and flex, but also ensures uniform wall thickness to minimize weak points. At a lower price point, the expectation is that some sacrifices were made or shortcuts taken, but I couldn’t detect any.
Man With A Plan
Schwarz has a pretty important day job as an oral surgeon – he has three offices across south Texas – but his passion is the outdoors. His love of deer hunting helped launch Tecomate Wildlife Systems, which sells deer food-plot seed, among other things. The interior walls of the great room at the lodge at La Perla are adorned with several trophy deer mounts taken at the ranch.
Bass fishing is a close second in terms of Schwarz’s passions. The Shimano/G. Loomis event was the first corporate fishing outing he’d hosted at La Perla so he wanted to make sure everyone had what they needed and were enjoying the experience. He also took some time to give a few of us a driving tour of the ranch and showed off the progress being made on Jalisco Lake, which when finished will be a 60-acre lake that he hopes one day will be home to the world record largemouth.
Looking at the footprint from along the shore, it would appear that the finished lake will be much larger than 60 acres – La Perla is roughly 90 – but he insists it’ll be 60. When he built La Perla Lake, he dug three forage ponds for sunfish and shad and other baitfish, including protein-rich freshwater prawns, to mature before sweeping them into the main lake.
He’s already built six ponds above Jalisco with the hopes that a steady forage base will help him manage Jalisco better in its infant stages.
Last year, Texas Parks & Wildlife released more than 7,000 ShareLunker offspring into Jalisco as part of its Operation World Record program. As part of the deal to receive the fingerlings, Schwarz signed an agreement with TPW that bars any fishing at Jalisco for 15 years. During that time, he’ll be able to manage the lake and the forage base, but it can’t be included in any fishing excursions he offers at the ranch.
“I made a lot of mistakes with La Perla,” he admitted. “I got impatient. The goal (with Jalisco) is to make it the best bass lake in the world. The idea is to have a resource good enough to grow big bass.”
Standing high atop what will be the bank of the new lake, he points out the big rock piles that have been strategically scattered about the lake bed, some on points, some next to points. Brush and timber will also be plentiful at Jalisco, giving the fish plenty of habitat to hide (and grow) in while offering anglers a challenging and distinctive experience.
Schwarz may be a dentist by trade, but in listening to him talk about La Perla and the work that’s gone into the Jaslico project, you’d think the man had master’s degrees in fisheries biology, civil engineering, geology and soil and plant science. In order to achieve what he hopes this place can become, he needed to first understand the process of getting there. Now, the wait is on.
It’s already been worth it for Schwarz, who was acquitted of federal health care fraud charges in 2011 and survived a near-fatal head injury after falling from a piece of farm equipment on his ranch last fall.
“I’m not even supposed to be here,” he said as he maneuvered a white Chevy pickup around his ranch.
I spent parts of three days at this outdoor wonderland and as I was driven down the dirt roads and through the locked gates on the way back to Highway 83 and eventually the Laredo airport, I came up with an answer to the Field of Dreams question.
“No. It’s La Perla,” I mumbled to myself.
Notable
> To learn more about the E6X rods from G. Loomis, including more detailed specs on each model, click here. The rods will be available for purchase at the Classic Expo and select dealers around the country, starting Friday.
> To learn more about bass fishing at La Perla Ranch, click here.
