Colburn's Sabine Connection

Cross your fingers...its getting better!

We were supposed to have another tough wind today, but we could not have asked for better conditions.  I very seldom fish on Sunday, but I have backed a lot of folks up due to the wind this spring and we just did what we had to do!

It may all come to a screeching halt tomorrow, but we had yet another good day today on Sabine and the water is continuing to clear a little farther north each day.  I had the privilege of fishing with three generations of the Wade French family today and there is no doubt that there will be a French fishing somewhere for many years to come!

Christopher French was pleased to add this red to the box!

We found trout north of Pleasure Island for the first time in a while, but the majority of the fish that we kept came off the south end of the lake.  We also found our fish a little shallower this morning. We caught most of our trout drifting plastics, but we also caught some of our better fish under the birds.

Our largest trout may have weighed four pounds at best, but we went through a lot of quality fish.  The trout working the mouths of the bayous were small, but the trout chasing ribbon fish and shrimp in the open lake are the real deal.  We only cleaned 16 trout and a nice slot red, but we were in fish all day long.

The flounder bite is also improving daily on the La. shoreline.  There are still a lot of small fish, but there are enough 15-17 inch fish in the flooded grass to keep you interested.  I am sure they are hitting whatever you have the most confidence in, but pumpkin-chartreuse and Texas Roach Sea Shads have been good to us.

Finally...a good trip on Sabine!

You will have to bear with me if I get a little long-winded, but I can finally post a good report off Sabine Lake.  It is pouring down, the wind is blowing, and I postponed yet another party for today, but we had a good time yesterday!

The wind was a little tough in spots!

I was going to scout Big Lake yesterday, but Johnny made a run on Sabine Wednesday in his undercover boat and had just enough good news to change my plans.  He fought a tough wind and muddy water, but he had a chance to talk with some wildlife agents while they were checking net samples.

He said they caught a lot of redfish and several big trout as well.  More importantly, he said the water cleared up just a little with the incoming tide and that he caught some fish under slicks.  When Gene and I cleared East Pass yesterday morning, I almost changed my plan again.  The river and Black's were as clear as I have seen them in a while. but muddy whitecaps were already rolling across the lake.

We stuck with it and caught a few flounder and small reds in Johnson's while hoping the tide would clear up the lake a little one more time.  By the time we fished our way just south of The Gator Hole, the water was already looking better.  The shoreline offered a little protection, but we found the fish too far off the bank to avoid the waves.  The farther south we fished, the higher the waves, but the trout could have cared less.

I was afraid the first trout might be the only trout we caught.....

The most productive program was casting as far as you could and trying to outreel the wind.  If you could keep your plastic in the top 2-3 feet you were going to get bit.  We eventually wore down and surfed across the flats dragging our jigs, but we caught less fish.  We never caught the first 5-7 pound trout, but we caught more 2-3 pound fish than I have caught in a long time and everyone of them went airborne during the fight!

We ate fish last night for the first time in a while!

We certainly cannot blame the Sabine River for any off-colored water nor possibly the Neches, but we were unable to even think about checking out that side of the lake.  I was also surprised by the pattern of clearer water in the lake.  After the incoming tide, the water had cleared some between the Dredge Hole and the Gator Hole.  It also looked better between Willow and Bridge Bayou.  Everything else in between was still dirty and getting dirtier.

Only time will tell, but it was nice to catch quality trout in our own backyard.  If you run out of the north end of the lake, watch out for the floating pipe in front of Coffee Ground and pay attention to the marked areas for crossing the pipeline! 

   

   

Wind blew up a short program.

We made a short run yesterday on Sabine to see if we could locate some slicks on the flats, but by the time we got there the wind was blowing right in on the shoreline.  We did manage to catch four slot reds drifting a red shad Assassin in 8-19 feet of water.

We talked with some folks that caught eight trout that morning drifting finger mullet on a Carolina rig, but they never caught another fish after lunch.  Their biggest looked to be 23-24 inches and all of their fish were good solid trout.

It is just unreal how dirty the water is, even on an incoming tide.  We marked a lot of fish and bait, but could not find a color that they wanted.  We are going back to Calcasieu for the next couple of days.

Door wide open for second Texas Marine Big Trout Tournament!

 Bobby Welborn with one of only six trout over three pounds weighed in!

A tough north wind, hard outgoing tide, and muddy lake made sure the door remained open for the second of Texas Marine's Big Trout series.  The one person that hopes that prediction is wrong is Mike Zumwalt from Rose City.  Mike won $1100 by placing in two different hours, but more importantly, his 4.39 pound trout is in the lead for the title to the loaded Ranger Flats rig still up for grabs.

The conditions could not have been much tougher.  As a matter of fact, there was not a single speck weighed in during the 8-9 hour.  I wish Mike the best of luck, but I can't see his trout holding up through the Galveston event.  I talked with a number of super good trout fishermen including visiting guides and pros after the final weigh-in and the majority of them never caught a fish big enough to weigh.

Johnny Cormier live releases another hourly winner

A number of the folks that scouted the day before, however, felt very good about their chances on Saturday.  Several of them left fish biting the afternoon before and at least two of the anglers willing to share information said they had trout over six pounds!

The better bite in the lake came out of slicks near the shoreline.  The larger fish caught out of the ship channel Friday were also located under slicks.  At least two of the trout that were weighed in late were taken out of the ship channel after the water started clearing with the incoming tide.  As expected, the lion's share of the winning trout were caught in the Keith Lake chain.    

No place to hide from this wind!

We waited until the last minute this morning before scratching yet another trip.  The group had only one day they could all get together over the next couple of months, but when the wind blows your thermos bottle across the parking lot it is time to pick it up and go back home!

We tried to fish yesterday on Big lake and the wind wiped us out by mid-morning.  The water still looked good, especially on the south end and in West Cove.  We did catch a few fish right up against the bank, but it was tough holding the boat in tight and every cast was dead into the wind.  We hung in as long as we could before making a long rough ride back.

The incoming tide, boosted by gale force winds, has just poured in the past three days.  It was running through the weirs so hard yesterday that it was white capping on the marsh side.  Hopefully the wind will lay down enough by the weekend to give the folks fishing the Texas Marine Tournament on Sabine a viable shot at winning that Ranger flats boat, motor and trailer.  They got it done in a tough wind last year.

Gene fished Sabine yesterday and called while we were still on Big Lake.  He said they managed to get out of the wind in Willow, but the water was dirty all the way to the back and they caught only a couple of flounder.  The wind is supposed to switch to the north prior to the tournament.  If it blows less than 15 mph, the ship channel south of the Causeway, Keith Lake, or possibly one of the canals around Bessie Heights may produce the winning fish.   

Sabine still muddy, but we did catch a few fish today.

We did just well enough on Sabine today to lure me into tring it again tomorrow.  The water still looks terrible, but we literally stumbled up on some trout under two separate groups of terns.  The first group was working over decent trout and we caught seven solid keepers before they disappeared forever.  The next group was mixed in with small redfish and we caught 10-15 fish, but they were all small.

We also caught one slot red and nine keeper flounder out of two different drains on the Louisiana shoreline.  We caught every flounder and every redfish on a pumpkin-chartreuse Sea Shad. The water was only slightly clearer in the drain than it was in the rest of the lake.  I had gotten a good report out of Johnson's, but we only managed a few small flounder.

Big Lake was very good yesterday...blown out today.

Even after enjoying one of the best days I have had in a while, we postponed yet another trip today and I am glad we did.  We cleaned boats all day and it was blowing a gale.  We fished Big Lake Wednesday and could not have asked for more perfect conditions.  There was a little wind early and late, but the water looked very good in much of the lake and we ran around checking spots like we had lost our mind.

We never caught the first trout over three-pounds, but we caught a pile of fish in the 15 to 18 inch class.  We could have easily limited several times over, but kept one big slot red and only enough fish for a good fish fry.  The water was a little dirty in Turner's early and we did not stay long.  The water on the east side was in great shape and we fished it all the way to the weirs and caught fish everywhere we stopped.

I caught a few fish  on Crazy Croakers and topwaters every time we found them chasing shrimp, but the easiest and most consistent bite came on Texas Roach or Morning Glory Sea Shads worked just beneath the surface on an eighth ounce head.  We stopped fishing on at least two occasions just to watch trout blow up on shrimp and small ribbon fish.  The bite started around 9:00 for us and was still going strong at 3:00 pm. 

We finished up catching redfish on the side of the ship channel on Gulp and Hoginars around five o'clock.  Aside from the fact that we had a blast, it was a little frustrating knowing that I would probably not get today's group on the water due to the wind and I didn't.

I have been blessed to have a lot of new faces try to book trips this year only to have to postpone them at the last minute due to the weather or, in one case, help them book another guide that had no problem with fishing in a 30 mph wind.  Today's group felt as though I may be a little too conservative when it came down to fishing or not fishing in a big wind and elected to not re-book.  I can understand their disappointment, but there was no motel reservation to worry about and we waited until 11:30 last night to finally call it off.  I can only hope it blew as hard at their house as it did here.

For the past month or so it has not been just the big winds making it tough, but a very muddy lake as well.  I just cannot believe that anyone wants to pay $450 to $500 for a wet boat ride and casting practice.  It does not excite me to have to postpone or cancel trips, but I can not encourage folks to come on down knowing they do not have a chance in hell of catching a fish.

That said, if you could care less about catching fish and just want to spend eight difficult hours on the water...e-mail or call me tonight.  I can always use a payday and I will not cancel your trip!      

Anything for a bite!

We tried to make a quick run to the lake yesterday afternoon, but were forced back into the bayous by the wind and brief window due to a 5:30 coach-pitch game.  We made one pass in Cow bayou and never fished anything twice.  We were throwing Ribbits and and black-blue tubes along the outside of the grass in 3-5 feet of water.

We caught a number of small basss, three were Texas legal, a pile of rat reds, and a 6-8 pound striper.  We didn't keep any fish, but 2 or 3 of the reds were slot fish.  The better redfish and the striper ate the tube, but the majority of our fish took the Ribbit off the top in the floating grass.

It was fun just getting bit, but this wind is wearing thin.  Wind or no wind, we will probably go back to Big Lake tomorrow. 

Break in the weather didn't help much!

I took off this weekend for the opening day of the Youth Baseball League and the weather could not have been better.  I spend a lot of time racing from the marina to the baseball field every evening this time of the year.  I help Chad Broussard coach a great bunch of seven and eight year old youngsters and I enjoy it every bit as much as fishing.  Free snow cones provide sufficient motivation and even foul balls are life changing accomplishments!

I got two reports off the lake(even while we had runners on base), but there was very little catching going on.  The wind wasn't as bad as it had been, but the water clarity was still pretty bad.  The only other guide I talked with caught two trout and four flounder off the Causeway reef before catching three big black drum on the jetties.  Most of the consistent catching continues to take place in the Entergy Outfall or around the Keith Lake chain.

The other report came out of Madam Johnsons and they had launched on the La. side of the lake.  They kept nine 17 to 20 inch rat reds and five small flounder that they caught on Gulp curly tail grubs.  If the wind gives us a break, I will probably be back on Big Lake Tuesday morning.

More fishing than catching for me on Sabine!

I postponed every trip this week, but still burned a lot of gas and covered a lot of water determined to figure out something on Sabine.  I am aware of the fact that the fish have to feed sometime, but I still haven't figured out where or when it is happening.   The water is badly off-colored, but we are struggling with more than the lack of confidence associated with fishing in the mud. Due to a howling wind everyday and the ongoing pipeline work, I have done very little catching. 

I initially hoped that it was going on in the evenings (we seldom fish late afternoons), but outside of a handful of terns working over small trout on the south end, we found little else.  Yesterday we ran the entire east shoreline, all of the bayous, and the  game reserve and caught only a few small reds and a couple of flounder.  The water clarity was a little better than the lake, but not a whole lot better.

Because it gets more expensive each day to hunt fish, there are few boats on the water. With very few folks excited about wasting gas, there are not many dependable resources to help minimize some of the running. I saw no more than 4 or 5 boats on the lake the past few days and they were huddled in East Pass and Black's.

If I have failed to call you back to re-schedule, I apologize and have not forgotten about you.  I will start filling in some tentative dates tonight to assure you a date, but you don't want to fish on Sabine with me right now.  We are still getting in most of our trips and doing well on Big lake if that is an acceptable option for you.