Colburn's Sabine Connection

Blew an opportunity today!

At least for me, the worst thing about growing old is knowing that you are allotted only so many swings at really big trout and I wasted one this morning!

The big sow just crushed a pearl-chartreuse She Dog in about two feet of water.  I caught a glimpse of the fish as she turned to run, but convinced myself that it was a big red based on the wake she pushed when she turned to retreat.  She went where she wanted to go with very little head shaking during the early part of the tug of war. 

It should have been a walk in the park as I had a man of the cloth on board, but he was too busy hunting the net to call on his boss for a little Divine assistance.  He did say it was a trout from the get-go, however, and he was right.  When she finally started back toward the boat she had it in high gear and was swimming with her top fin just out of the water.  At that point, she shook her head one time and the 20 pound fluorocarbon leader parted. Not one curse word did I utter, nor did the preacher.

The Reverend Anderson and I talked about her the rest of the day.  I have caught some nine pound plus trout over the years and she was right up there at the head of the class.  That is the third speck over 6 pounds that we have been through in the past two trips and those kind of trout will make you forget about flounder fishing.

We had just a great day until the weather went south or more accurately, came north.  It was rank.  We caught trout on topwaters, spinnerbaits, and soft plastics.  We found fish in the flooded grass, over scattered shell, and under the birds.  Thirty minutes or so before sunrise, the trout were all over topwaters in less than three feet of water.

Capt. Bill Henry has been battling a serious heath problem and been landlocked for a while, but we ran into him on the water today.  I told him where we had been catching some solid trout and he ran over there with his group.  We didn't see him again, but he called while we were still on the water to say that they had limited on trout bouncing soft plastics off the bottom. Bill is one of those really good guys that chooses to fight his own battles, but he can use all of our prayers as he deals with upcoming treatments.

Never take a day on the water for granted!   

Wind and holiday crowds haven't hurt the bite!

We are going to play like tomorrow isn't another holiday and take our chances with the crowds.  The bite has been good all weekend in spite of the pressure and a stiff southeast wind.  We finally managed to catch a couple of good trout on topwaters...both of them a little over six pounds. 

We are still catching solid trout, 16 to 19 inch fish under the birds on everything from Crazy Croakers to gold spoons.  The most consistent technique when the birds are not working has been drifting a pumpkin chartreuse or bone diamond Seas Shad under a Mauler.  You are going to have to contend with some gafftops, but we are catching some of our better trout under the cork.

The flounder bite has gotten even stronger this week.  Even the folks that aren't fishing for flounder are catching flounder.  The usual jig tipped with a piece of shrimp is good along with spinnerbaits and chrome-black back Catch 2000's.  This run has been as good as I can remember in years on flounder up to four pounds.  We are just now starting to see more slot size redfish running the banks as well.

We have been unable to fish much of the lake due to the winds, but the water is still in great shape.  If we get any break at all, we are going to catch some bragging size trout out of the mid-lake area.  The shad are already rafting up and those big trout cannot pass on the easy meal!

Too much going on!

I have been on the water everyday with something scheduled for every night this week and I was too tired to sit down in front of the computer.  Tonight my granddaughter was graduating from pre-kindergarten at the Church and that was a command performance.   Her class was belting out "I Saw The Light" and I was into some serious toe tapping and clapping until I realized I was getting trout scales on everyone.

I discovered that it is easier to find a seat when you go in straight from fishing.  Some of the better dressed folks will give you the whole row.  Washing the boat and hooking up the chargers at ten p.m. makes for a short night, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Jim Franklin called tonight to tell me that Mickey Eastman's phone number was under my column in this month's Gulf Coast Connection.  Mickey told Jim when folks call that he just tells them Dickie is dead, come on over here and fish!  It wouldn't be a bad option as you could do a whole lot worse than fishing with Mickey.

We have had a stiff southeast wind all week long, but it hasn't hurt us at all.  I didn't fish well Tuesday, but we still caught fish and my clients were looking for a place to fish the S.A.L.T tournament anyway.  They now have a good shot at winning the founder division!

Tuesday I fished with John Badeaux and Matt Horelica and we had a very good trip.  They both fished well and we caught some very nice trout and flounder.  As a matter of fact, we left the trout biting just to go catch flounder.  Matt eventually put the largest one of the day in the boat and I missed two huge flounder right at the net.

We caught our trout on Sea Shads in 12 to 15 feet of water early and under the birds later in the day.  Pumpkin-chartreuse and bone diamond were the best colors.  Our best trout under the birds were caught on  Sea Shads fished under a Mauler.  We caught our flounder in ten feet of water on a tipped Sea Shad.

Wednesday we found the trout blowing up on shrimp at daylight in the mouth of a bayou and kept eight good fish out of probably 20-25 fish caught.  We caught them on everything from the Sea Shad to a $2 WalMart jerk bait.  Because they wanted a shot at the flounder money in the S.A.L.T. tournament, we  fished one drain in a bayou, quickly caught two good flounder and left them alone.  Small groups of gulls were still working over trout in the whitecaps when we left the lake.

Today we didn't start until mid-morning, but just had a great trip.  We dodged most of the rain and the wind was tough, but we caught lots of trout, redfish, and flounder all day long.  We fished a number of small flocks of gulls throughout the day and the better trout were taken out of the schools well out into the lake.

Pumpkin chartreuse and  morning glory tails and a gold spoon were all we threw all day long.  I haven't been using a spoon much this year, but maybe I should have as we caught several nice reds that would not touch soft plastics.  Even the flounder hit the spoon!

Jim Demberg's big trout ate a gold spoon

Jim Demberg caught our largest trout and redfish on a spoon.  I caught a lot of fish under a Mauler early, but we didn't need it all afternoon.  Every clacker cork I tie on I refer to as a Mauler because I used them for so many years, but we have done better the past few weeks with a Paradise Popper by Old Bayside and a similar cork called a pop'n gurgle made by Betts.  They really have a good sound to them or at least the fish think so.

The water is in great shape all over the lake and we have fished a hard outgoing tide every morning.  I have no desire to fish the jetties, but I have heard some great reports from down there this week.  I just don't know how they hang in there in a 20 mile per hour southeast wind.  The reports came from folks I can count on. They were catching trout up to six pounds on Hoginars and paddle tail grubs in a color called opening night.   They said the trout were holding very tight to the rocks.

Blown out!

Having suffered through Thursday and Friday, I can offer very little help for the weekend.  I had no effective Plan B for a front in mid-May and a 20 mile per hour north wind.  By 8:00 each morning the north wind put white caps in the bayous.  We tried to run the lake early each day, but the water was silted up and it was difficult to see any bait movement.

We spent all of our time in Black's and the river catching mostly rat reds, small trout and a few flounder.  Our best flounder was a little over three pounds and we had one trout that may have weighed four, but it was a struggle each day.

Levi Holder is one tough youngster

Maybe its just a sign of growing old, but I have a new standard for anyone that thinks their days are a little too hectic.  Nine year-old Levi Holder loaded up in the truck in Lake Charles with his dad, Warren, at 4:30 yesterday morning and drove to Orange.  He then climbed in my boat and fished nine hours in a brutal wind without taking a break.  He grabbed a snowcone at the Marina at 4:00 that afternoon, endured a 3 1/2 hour trip to Shreveport, changed into his baseball uniform and took the mound at 6:00 for his Dixie League team!

How busy was your day?

If the wind will subside this weekend, it should not take long fo the lake to recover.  The water in the Sabine river is in great shape and there is still a lot of bait in the bayous.  Look for the action in the southeast portion of the lake to improve first.  If the weather forces you into in the bayous or the river, you may want to try a SLURP lure in good penney.  It was by far our most productive color. 

No trophies, but they are everywhere!

After dodging thunderstorms all day long Tuesday, we very nearly got lit up at The River Rat Marina.  It was hitting everything around us, raining and hailing sideways, and it lasted a while.  For eight hours prior to that, however, it was the easiest fishing of the year!

Johnny Cormier split the group with me and we were limited by mid-morning.  We covered a pretty good stretch of water and were never out of the trout.  We never caught the first slot red, but no one was complaining.  Johnny and his group caught most of their fish on dark soft plastics.  We caught a lot of fish on LSU and Roach colored Assassins as well, but we caught our larger fish on a bone-chrome She Dog and Crazy Croakers.

The fish were chasing shrimp to the surface with no birds around and they held in the same areas all day long.  It is easy to be a great guide when the fish are suicidal and they have been for several days.  We squeezed one in this morning and had intended to go back out this afternoon until the wind picked up.  We fished several small flocks of gulls around Garrison's before finishing out limits working the south revetment wall with Crazy Croakers.

There were a lot of rat reds on the rocks and they wanted that shorter bodied bait.  We missed some fish due to the smaller hooks, but they just hammered it when you got it in front of them.  There were more gulls working this morning, but the fish didn't hold as tight.

I haven't posted any pictures lately because no one wants their picture taken with a three pound trout and that has been a "top end" fish for us of late.  On the other hand, I could live with never taking another picture if we could catch 16 to 20 inch trout all day everyday!  I know it can't last, but we deserve some easy fishing after two months of wind.  Depending on how hard the wind blows behind this front, it may slow down for a few days, but the lake is in great shape and it should pick right back up.

We have been taking advantage of the ridiculous trout bite, but the flounder bite is not bad either.  We found a small group of flounder this morning while chasing specks just off a point near Blue Buck.  We caught four keepers on about that many casts in three feet of water with Pumpkin and silver-chartreuse Crazy Croakers.  It may be really good if you act right and fish with something they are supposed to bite!

Gulls aren't the only game in town

We fought a tough north wind early Friday morning and rain and lightning in the afternoon, but still finished the day with a very good catch of trout up to three pounds. It capped off a very consistent week on Sabine.

We found a few keeper fish under the birds early, but struggled with the wind until noon.When the wind laid down, we found two schools of very solid fish in the mid-lake area.  We caught them on several different colored tails, but LSU was easily the hottest color for us.  I think you could have done well on pumpkin-chartreuse or bone diamond, but LSU was producing the larger fish and we were not into experimenting.

Unlike the previous four trips, we finally abandoned the Mauler because the gafftop would not leave us alone.  Just prior to the worst of the weather, we found a huge school of 17-19 inch trout working on  schools of small shad north of Johnson's Bayou.  There were some reds mixed in as well, but we had a tough time with the reds all day long.

I talked with Adam Jaynes that night and he said his group hid out in a bayou until all of the lightning passed. After it blew through, the lake flattened out again and they had a great time with the redfish right up until dark.  He called this morning to let me know that they were already on good trout that were chasing shrimp very early.  We have put together several very good days of late and its basically a result of favorable winds and much clearer water all over the lake.

The gull activity on the extreme south end of the lake has been much more consistent than any where else, but the average trout has been smaller.  Our program has been a little tougher to pursue with all of the gull activity going on, but it is producing much larger fish.  We have spent a lot of time simply returning to areas that have been good for us and blind casting both topwaters and tails or idling around looking for ribbon fish, shrimp, or shad running for their lives.

The gull activity is drawing larger crowds every day and the fish scatter quickly.  The trout we find without the birds around have continued to bite for over an hour at times.  You would be surprised how many fish you can put in the boat in an hour's time.  Knowing that, makes it much easier to endure some long dry stretches while hunting them over the course of the day.

The next time you are out, give this a try and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.  When you find the fish under the birds, let your jig sink all the way to the bottom before starting your retrieve.  When they are not under the birds, start your retrieve immediately and keep it in that top column of water.  The exception to those techniques for us have been the occasional big trout bite on a topwater. 

Great weather for a change

We just had fantastic conditions to fish today and we ran all over the lake.  We finished the day with a very good catch of trout, but we went through a lot of small fish.  We found fish both under small flocks of birds and by simply idling around watching for any surface activity.

The water was in excellent condition all over the lake.  I don't know that there was any area that was that much better than another and we fished from East Pass all the way to the Causeway.  Our best fish might have been three pounds.  We caught fish on a Crazy Croaker, Sea Shad under a Mauler,and a Tidal Surge Split Tail rigged on a quarter ounce head.  Bone diamond and glow-chartreuse were our best colors.

The only drawback to the Mauler was that the gafftop would not leave it alone. Hopefully, the weather will hold and we can continue to fish the entire lake.  It sure helps having a big playing field when folks start chasing birds around!

Plan B not bad!

Phillip Saperstein called me after church today and we decided to make one more round in the marsh.  He and Dwight Bickham picked me up around 1:30 and we returned to the marsh as the lake was completely blown out.  It was whitecapping in the bayous, but the water was still in very good shape and the tide rolled in all afternoon long.

We were initially going to check out several spots, but wound up anchored in front of one small drain all afternoon.  I have no idea how many fish we went through, but it was a big number.  We caught and released rat reds and fourteen inch trout until dark.  We eventually kept a very nice mess of specks up to 18 inches while missing one  big red and a nice flounder.  We caught the fish on SLURP shad, GULP shrimp, and pumpkin Sea Shads rigged on a quarter ounce head.

I do not know if we will ever get in the lake again if it is going to blow every day, but at least the bayous and river are now holding fish.  These big incoming tides have really pushed a lot of saltwater up the Sabine.  We may have to start our November program in June!

Big man caught a big fish!

Not bad for your first fish

I guess we caught our last break with the wind for another month Monday morning, but it was an enjoyable half day of fishing.  We ran the entire lake and caught fish under the birds, drifting the flats with Sea Shad under a Mauler, and bouncing tails off the bottom in 5-8 feet of water.  The water was in great shape and I wanted to be everywhere at the same time.

The highlight of the day came on the last cast of the morning.  Michael Laws, who had never fished prior to Monday, found himself attached to a 29 inch redfish that refused to give up.  Michael held tough and eventually won the battle, but it was an extended ordeal that proved very entertaining.  He was talking on his cell phone when it all started and ended his converstation with, "I'll get right back with you in just a minute."  The redfish didn't see it that way.

The weatherman grossly underestimated the winds Tuesday and we were the losers.  Outside of ducking into a semi-protected bayou, there was no place to fish.  Unwilling to buy that same prediction for today, we postponed the trip and I am glad we did.  It howled all day long.  We will flounder fish the bayous tomorrow and hope that we can get back in the lake Friday.

Not being able to fish the lake was a little more bearable when it was dirty and nothing was going on, but it is a different story now.  If we can get out..we can catch fish.  Even in all the wind Tuesday we saw gulls picking off ribbonfish down by Garrison's and they were all over the shrimp Monday morning.  The prettiest water in the entire lake right now is in the northwest corner.