Colburn's Sabine Connection

Wind wiped out Friday and Saturday

We tried to do it this morning, but there was just no way with 30 mile per hour gusts and a steady 20 mph wind.  The really bad news is that it is supposed to turn around and blow the other way tomorrow.  If we don't get a break by Monday we will move back in the bayous and get after the flounder again.

The lake just needs a day or two to settle out and the water will quickly clear up from East Pass to the Causeway.  We were just starting to catch trout and reds under the birds that were chasing small shad and shrimp in the open lake.

I am taking tomorrow off and heading over to the Humble Civic Center to eat crawfish and talk fishing with Bret Jacks and his Northeast Houston CCA Chapter bunch.  They look to have another big turnout and I enjoy those annual chapter banquets.  See ya around 6:00 p.m.!

I got a world of e-mails from folks that were praying for Larry Locke.  The surgery went very well and he is back home recuperating.  Can't think of much a little prayin' won't help!

Shrimp and trout show up in the rain

Just a quick report that has been a long time in coming.  Gene Locke, a good and patient friend that is a permanent fixture on board most every time I am between clients, called a few minutes ago to say that he and his son, Larry, had one of those days.  He started with the same program that worked well for me Saturday and never had to look any further!

This morning, however, there was an added attraction as the wind was more forgiving and the shrimp finally showed up.  The trout were right behind them blowing holes in the surface everywhere you looked.  He had no idea how many fish they caught over the course of the morning, but catching limit fish was no problem at all.  There were a lot of small fish, but plenty of keepers as well.

All of this took place from mid-lake on back north.  Any of the smaller tails like the Sea Shad or shrimp tail rigged on a quarter ounce head worked well.  Larry is scheduled for a surgery tomorrow that will keep him off the water for a while and we are praying for both a complete and speedy recovery.

If we don't get too much rain out of this little system that is sitting on us right now, I believe we can finally put a slow spring behind us.  The wind will still be a factor, but once the shrimp start moving we have a much larger playing field.  Look for that stretch of water from Logan's Park to Blue Buck on the western side of the lake to get really hot.   

Wrong wind....right place

We had three flounder before I could put the troll motor down this morning, but it was short lived.  By the time I got it down, we were buried in a mine field of crab traps with a howling north wind threatening to beach us in the cane lining the mouth of the bayou.

Rather than fight it, we ran to the extreme north end of Sabine and drifted the shell on the south side of the islands.  I would have never done this had it not been the only option, but the good news is that the trout were there!

We didn't have an honest 3 pound fish in the bunch, but we caught and missed a lot of trout ranging all the way from 10 to 18 inches long.  They were scattered all over the flats in 2 to 9 feet of water.  Early in the day they were closer to the Intracoastal, but they moved farther out into the lake around noon.  Farther out into the lake being shallower in this case.

We missed a couple of good fish early, but never stuck a big trout the remainder of the day.  There were some keeper flounder mixed in as well.  The water was exceptionally clear and saltier than it has been.  We caught both the flounder and the trout on pumpkin/chartreuse and red shad Assassin Sea Shads rigged on 1/4 ounce jig heads.

Maybe the trout just elected to bypass the reefs on the south end.  I don't believe that for one minute, but it was a welcomed surprise to find numbers that far north already.

Flounder are doing their thing

Just got a call from a good fishing friend that fished Sabine this morning.  The wind was not a problem, but they decided to flounder fish anyway after we compared notes the night before and they made it work again.  They caught more fish in the bayous than on the main lake shoreline and there were a lot of small fish, but the bite was strong all day.

The water on the La. shoreline is still in great shape and they even found small specks still back in the marsh drains.  They caught their fish on a chartreuse road runner and a silver  phantom/lime tail Bass Asassin.  They found a lot of their flounder well off the shoreline on the out going tide.

Wind forces us to more productive water

For once we didn't get trapped halfway down the lake with gale force winds....we left the dock in gale force winds.  Having postponed yet another party, we decided to scout out a better Plan B.

We started out in the back of Old River Cove and caught one keper red and six good flounder before ever hitting the lake.  The water on the Louisiana shoreline was in good shape and there was a world of bait all the way from The Pines to the Dredge Hole.  We found two schools of small trout that would jump all over a small top water or chartreuse Sparkle Beetle fished under a Mauler, but never caught a keeper fish.

Unable to locate any solid trout, we fished Willow Bayou, Bridge Bayou, and Black's.  I don't know how many small flounder we caught, but when all was said and done, we had 18 flounder up to 20 inches and three keeper redfish.  Every fish hit a pearl white two inch grub threaded on a 1/8th ounce Road Runner head or a shad colored  Creme Lil Fishie fished on a 1/16th ounce jig head.

We weren't tipping, but we were rubbing them down with shad Smelly Jelly.  I had heard that the flounder bite had really slowed down, but it was good for at least today.  We went through a lot of small fish.

We talked with two boats of anglers that said they couldn't get a trout bite going on the reef earlier in the morning.  Judging by the amount of bait running the banks you've got to feel like the trout aren't far behind them.  I am out of the predicting business and tickled to death the flounder may be bridging the gap!

Saturday was better on Sabine

We finally drew a day with manageable winds and it had to be on a Saturday.  Lots of folks took advantage of the break, but I wasn't one of them as I usually only fish weekends when I have to.  Not surprisingly, the fishing was not great for everyone, but at least a few folks enjoyed a decent bite.

Even prior to the break in the wind, there were already signs that things may be improving.  At least two groups fishing lighted docks on the south end of the lake caught trout up to six pounds on both tails and finger mullet Thursday and Friday night.

Today decent catches of both trout and redfish were reported on two totally different programs.  One of the better catches came out of the mid-lake area drifting free-lined mullet in 5-7 feet of water.  Even with all of the wind, the water clarity has held up well from the north revetment wall to just south of Johnson's bayou out in the open lake.

Daryl Kyle and his daughter, Leah, caught three slot reds and seventeen trout up to four pounds before noon and had the program to themselves.  Daryl said they continued to drift even after catching fish and covered a lot of territory.  They tried fishing the mullet under a popping cork and never got a bite!

I haven't gotten a single report from the jetties yet, but Larry Henning and Bryan Liester limited on redfish and kept 12 trout fishing Traps and red shad Assassins in 2-4 feet of water on the south end of the lake.  They fished one stretch of shell from daylight until 4:00 p.m., but that's still not bad considering how tough it has been of late.  They initially found the fish under two gulls picking up ribbon fish.

Maybe it is finally getting kicked off, but it will take more than this to say we have turned the corner.  I hope you had an even better day today and can't wait to get back out tomorrow.  I thank the folks that called and were willing to share this information in an effort to help others catch fish.

Water improving...wind increasing

I am through speculating as to when the reef and the rest of Sabine Lake will turn on.  We have got to be able to fish areas where we know the fish should be for that to happen and that is out of the question with the kind of winds we have every day.

The water on the reef looks very good, but we just can't get anything going on a consistent basis.  The most consistent action is the flounder bite in the bayous and guides aren't allowed to fish clients in Willow or Three Bayous.  If you are not fishing with a guide, those two spots would rank very high on my list as you can fish them and catch not only flounder , but reds and trout as well in the worst of winds.

Yesterday God sent us one school of fish in three foot waves and we hammered them for less than an hour on red shad Assassins and bone/chartreuse Crazy Croakers.  That's what we had tied on when they surfaced and we never re-tied.  The trout were in the 16 to 19 inch class and reds were 22-24 inch fish.  They came up less than a half mile southeast of Logan Park.  That stretch of water was also in great shape.

Afraid that the same miracle would not occur two days in a row, I postponed today's party in hopes of finding something good at my own expense.  I knew we would have another stiff northwest wind, but it really outdid itself today.  A good friend and I caught only three flounder and a trout in six hours.  A fair percentage of the reef was fishable early and we fished it through a good tide change with poor results.  We marked very few fish at any depth.

The water on the North revetment wall was in great shape, but the wind had won the battle by the time we gave it a try.  We may try Calcasieu tomorrow, but these 15 mile per hour forecasts have been far too conservative.  It was whitecapping in the livewell before we could get the boat launched!

Reds save bad weather day

Today was a "Why did we go"..."Glad we went"..."Knew we shouldn't have" day.  I drove down and met some folks at the Causeway in a horrendous wind and light rains.  They just wanted to mark some spots and fish a little if possible rather than wasting a long trip.

Totally by accident, we found the redfish stacked in the northwest corner of the reef chasing both shrimp and small baitfish.  For an hour or so it was pandemonium.  I think they would have eaten anything, but we stuck with a red shad Assassin and a red Hoginar.

About the time we thought it could get no better the most serious portion of the weather arrived.  For about forty-five minutes it was all we could do to look out from under  our raincoats.  I gave it up as soon as we could see the bank and returned home.  By the time I got on I-10, the wind was dead calm.

I can't wait to get back in touch and see how they did the remainder of the evening.  Hope this weather holds and we can get in two or three good weather days!

Had we left a little earlier we could have run out in the lake and really gotten wet.  We stayed in the bayous and scratched out 12 flounder and four redfish before calling it quits.  The backwater looks really good, but I am getting tired of looking at it.

We will probably go back to Calcasieu tomorrow and hope the wind will stay under 20 miles per hour.  There is a lot going on over there when you can run the lake.  The birds are already working some and there has been a good redfish bite on the southeast shoreline.

Shrimp showing up on Big Lake

We passed on the easier bite Monday afternoon on Big Lake to wade and shoot for a big trout.  The wind kept us locked down on a four hundred yard stretch of shoreline, but we still managed to catch seven trout and two nice redfish in about four hours.  The best trout was only 23 inches, but they were all solid fish.

The water was in great shape and the bait was everywhere including shrimp.  The easier bite, when the wind has allowed, has been to hustle the birds working over shrimp and small baitfish.  Most of the trout have been on the small side, but there are plenty of reds mixed in with them.  These fish will probably hit anything, but we have been sticking with a Hoginar and limetreuse Assassins,

We caught our fish Monday evening on a glow-chartreuse Fat Boy and a bone diamond Assassin fished on a pretty fast retrieve.  Several of the fish hit as soon as the bait hit the water, but we couldn't get a bite on a top water.  Sabine is ready to go also if we could ever get any relief from this wind.