Colburn's Sabine Connection

Can't get it going

Gene and I made a big round in the lake this morning and the water looked even worse than the day before for no apparent reason.  We ran as far south as Garrison's before the north wind forced us back.  We were able to catch some small trout, one keeper flounder and one slot red just killing time on a protected shoreline.

We had a good outgoing tide most of the morning and we did see more bait than we have seen in a week or so.  The river was much clearer than the lake and rat reds and small trout were all over any soft plastic you threw in front of them.  I thought the cool morning might finally kick things off, but I was wrong.  The live bait fishermen are the only folks consistently catching keeper trout on the north end and they are doing it in 12 to 15 feet of water.

Second choice proves a good one

Fortunately, the wind prevented us from doing what we set out to do and we settled for a tour of the bayous.  The water was in a little better shape than it was the day before and we found a few reds and flounder at almost every stop.  We finshed the day with sixteen flounder, five redfish, and one blue claw that just wanted to ride!

All of the redfish, there were plenty of throwbacks, hit gold spoons or rootbeer-black flake tube jigs.  The flounder hit the same tube jig and a glow-chartreuse Sea Shad tipped with a little strip of mullet.   We probably caught another four or five 16 to 18 inch trout that no one wanted to keep.  Our largest flounder may have weighed three pounds, but there were very few keepers that required measuring.  The flounder were in 8-10 feet of water, but the reds and the specks were hanging right up against the bank.

The bayou program was a second choice, but it was more fun than we have been experiencing in the lake of late.   

North end still a tough gig

I am through predicting that the fishing is going to blow wide open on the north end any day.  When it happens...it happens.  We fished a half day yesterday under ideal conditions and could only find trout and redfish chasing shrimp in the mouths of the major cuts on the Louisiana shoreline.  The reds were in the slot, but the largest trout we caught was less than three pounds.

We had a good incoming tide, the water was reasonably clear, and there were both shad and shrimp exiting the marsh.  We sat in the middle of several huge schools of pogie in the mid-lake area around noon and never saw the first blow-up.  We also passed on fishing live bait again, but that has been the most consistent bite for us for several weeks on the north end of the lake.

Once again, the water in the marsh had dirtied up as well as the water on the north revetment wall and I don't know why it is changing that much over night.  Until the bait starts ganging up on the shallow flats on the north end, we are not going to see an easy bite under the gulls.

The trout bite is still pretty consistent, however, in the ship channel from the Causeway to the jetties.  The better catches are coming off the flats bordering the channel on soft plastics.  It is a very solid program, but be prepared to lose a lot of jig heads.  Red shad and anything dark green with a flake in it have been especially good in shorter tails like the Sea Shad or Chub Minnow.

Limits on trout have also been fairly easy to come by for anglers running to the short rigs.  Bull reds and black drum are frequenting the deep holes at the end of the jetties and are hitting both crab and cut mullet.  Don't forget that your fishing license is about done! 

Flounder in the heat of summer

I hit the lake early yesterday morning with the Killer B's, Dr. Fred Bissell and Brian Bommer, and we immediately found trout and a few redfish working in less than two feet of water.  After catching only small trout, we opted to anchor up on the Intracoastal and quickly caught specks up to 18 inches on live shad and finger mullet.

Because Dr. Fred has a passion for duping flounder with finger mullet, we left those fish and made a tour of some very good spring spots.  Just after noon, we finally found them packed in a very small area in 12 feet of water.  As promised by Brian, Dr. Fred doesn't waste many finger mullet on missed bites.  We didn't catch a flounder under 16 inches with the heaviest brownie pushing 19 inches.

I don't normally chase flounder much this time of the year, but I might start if the trout don't hurry up on the north end of the lake.  The water in the bayous and the Louisiana shoreline is still off-colored for no apparent reason.  It was even dirty along the north revetment wall.  It has cleared up a bunch in the intracoastal and the mid-lake area water around the rigs is just beautiful.

We talked briefly with Johnny Cormier who was practice casting with an offshore rod and reel for an upcoming tuna trip in that clearer water.  He was trying to see how far he could launch a huge topwater plug with the heavier gear when a school of pogie surfaced with redfish in pursuit.  He said it ended very quickly, but that may be a start if the shad will start rafting up.

The tide change was all but non-existent the entire day.  Early on, we had a very light outgoing tide, but it was just enough to swing the boat around.   I haven't looked at the tides for the remainder of the week, but it doesn't matter.....we're going fishing!

e-mails appreciated!

We fished only one day this entire week and wasted some very good conditions in the process.  Having grown tired of making the run to the jetties, we worked the north end until the heat ran us in around noon.  The water clarity still isn't great on the north end, but I don't think that is why the bite has been so poor.

With the exception of the northwest corner of the lake, we just aren't seeing the amount of bait we normally see this time of the year.  We found two schools of small trout and ladyfish under the gulls early and were never able to tell what they were chasing.  We saw only one or two small shrimp go airborne, but no shad.

We did manage to catch four nice flounder, one keeper red, and five keeper trout fishing live shad in 6-8 feet of water on a flat bordering the intracoastal.  I should point out that they were live only on the first cast, because they would die before you could reel them in for another cast!

I do know some better trout were caught under terns on the south end on soft plastics Friday morning.  The fish didn't stay up long, but they were solid keeper trout.  The bite on the jetties is still going on if you can hit it just right.  I think the most consistent program is working soft plastics at depths of 8-10 feet just off the rocks.  There is also a good topwater bite if you can catch a weekday with very little traffic.

I have found it very difficult keeping a good positive attitude when its a hundred degrees and the bite is as tough as it has been of late.  After you know all there is to know about each other's family and childhood and the water is all gone....its time to either catch fish or go home.  We will, however, crank it back up Monday morning with great anticipation.

Thanks to the folks that decided to send all of the positive e-mails the past couple of days regarding my reports.  I am not sure what precipitated the rush, but they were appreciated.  I obviously can't draw you a map and stay in business, but at the same time, hopefully I can help get you started in a productive area.  I tend to be a little conservative as the best report you ever got was already cold by the time it got to you, but saving a little money on gas and colors that aren't working is at least some benefit.   

Lake bite improving

Following our first poor outing on the jetties last Friday morning, we retreated to the lake and kicked off an unexpectedly consistent weekend on both trout and redfish.  It never fails, that the jetties got hot that afternoon well after we had written them off.  Sunday's tides were not nearly as favorable and we struggled to find fish, but prior to that it was better than hoped for.

The incoming tides provided much clearer water on the south end of the lake and we found trout up to five pounds working soft plastics over the shell.  We also picked up an occasional keeper flounder as well as one or two reds each outing.  We had a very good bite cut short just a little too late Saturday by a serious storm that quickly socked us in and had us scrambling for cover.

The trout hit well on both the incoming and outgoing tide, but the bite on the outgoing tide was much shorter time wise.  We also found that the shorter soft plastics like the Assassin Sea Shad or any of the paddle tail grubs worked much better than the longer plastics.  Red shad, limetreuse. and glow-chartreuse were our most productive color combinations.

We died a slow death Sunday waiting on the same bite as the tides were weaker and the bite more sporadic.  In the process we caught some huge sand trout mixed in with the specks and even more importantly, finally found the shad rafting up on the surface once again on the south revetment wall.  I still don't rate this bite in the same class as what has been taking place on the jetties, but it is far less crowded.

Ship channel more productive than jetties today

We made a pre-dawn run to the jetties this morning only to be greeted by a stiff south wind and lots of fishermen that woke up earlier than we did.  We fished the east side and never saw the first trout caught in about an hour.  The same area has been lights out all month, but that's fishing.

We ran back up the ship channel around 7:30 and hit several shell banks with soft plastics.  We eventually figured out the fish were 17 feet deep rather than six feet deep and wound up with a very good catch of trout up to three pounds and one 27 inch red.  We caught fish on both the incoming and outgoing tide, but the strong incoming was the most productive.

I feel like we could have done even better, but I got caught without any heavier jig heads and a quarter ounce was difficult to keep on bottom.  There were a lot of sand trout mixed in with the trout, but we never caught the first gafftop or croaker! 

The water was very dirty early, but cleared up nicely at the end of the incoming.  By the time we left, however, the outgoing tide had dirtied things up again.  We caught the majority of our fish on red shad and glow-chartreuse Assassin Sea Shads.

Robert Sims Redfish on Sabine

Bob Sims with dog day Red.

Trout bite in lake still tough

Outside of the heat, we couldn't have asked for better conditions than we had today.  We found a few small trout early on the north end with red shad Assassins, but it ended quickly.  We then moved back into the intracoastal with live shad and caught several nice redfish and more small trout.

We had a strong incoming tide early.  The water still doesn't look great in the lake, but it is plenty clear enough to catch fish.  Until we start seeing more bait I think it is going to continue to be tough.  I talked with Gene Locke and Bob Crew later in the day and they caught a few trout up to five pounds on limetreuse soft plastics in 6-8 feet of water.  Gene said their bite didn't really start until about ten o'clock.

Daryl Pratt said he didn't do well at the jetties early, but he and his partner did manage to pick up thirteen keeper trout fishing watermelon-gold flake grubs in the ship channel.  He said they didn't have a trout that would weigh four pounds, but all their fish were solid keepers.  I wouldn't apologize for thirteen keeper trout as tough as the lake fishing has been.

Daily downpours not helping fishing

The runoff and even more rain Monday has done little to help our fishing.  It was a tough bite in the lake over the weekend in spite of better than expected conditions.  The most obvious problem was not the water clarity, but the absence of the huge rafts of shad that were all over the lake two weeks ago.

We are still catching some trout on good tide changes fishing live bait on the flats that border the Intracoastal, but we can't buy a consistent bite in the open lake.  The weather didn't help things any yesterday as it was too risky to run too far from shelter.  At least for the short term, the jetties continue to be the best bet for both trout and redfish.  If you are going to make that run, keep an eye on the sky!