Colburn's Sabine Connection

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.    

More wind than predicted, but at least we could fish!

It was good to get back out on the water after losing several days to "unfishable" winds, but the catching part was more difficult than expected.  The weatherman blew it with his forecast for light winds as we fought a very tough wind from about 10 a.m. on.

We fished Big Lake and worked birds on the north end until the wind picked up.  It was a very easy bite, but most of the trout were small fish.  We ran to the southeast corner to get out of the wind and caught several rat reds and three slot fish up to six pounds.  Most of the lake had pretty good clarity, but the north end was still dirty.  We never fished the east bank as most of the traffic was over there all day so I do not know how good or bad that protected water looked.

We finished up drifting in Turner's with Texas Roach Assassins and put two solid trout in the box before calling it a day.  I got several calls from friends fishing Sabine while on the water and they were struggling with very dirty water and the unexpected 20 mph wind.  I still think Big lake is the best option for right now, especially with the birds working when the wind is tolerable.

If the weather gives us a break, we will be back on the lake most of next week. Until then, I hope you can share a blessed and enjoyable Easter with the family!

Much too pretty not to fish!

The gale force winds finally stopped for at least one day, but I was taking care of other obligations.  We tried to get on the water only one time in the past four days and just could not do it...at least not do it and expect to get paid!  Once again, I appreciate all of the e-mails any time I miss a few days of posting reports.  They may possibly alert my wife to the fact that I might be dead and not still out on the water.  I have a bad habit of keeping folks on the water a long time when the fish just will not cooperate.

We are going to fish Calcasieu again tomorrow, but I did get a pair of respectable reports off Sabine tonight.  One group finished with five flounder, three reds, and seven trout that they caught drifting the causeway reef and fishing spinner baits on the La. shoreline.  Their trout were small (still Texas legal), but their flounder were solid fish and the reds they kept were in the upper end of the slot.

Les Burnet said they quit at noon to go to a baseball game, but they kept nine trout and a red that they caught under terns just south of Green's out in the lake.  They hit two other groups of terns just west of the pipeline, but the trout were small. They caught all of their fish on chrome-blue back Traps.  Both groups said the water was in bad shape, but at least the wind wasn't blowing and the fish were there and feeding.   

Wind beating up spring break fishermen!

The wind, regardless of which direction it chose to blow, has been non-stop since last Thursday.  It seems like we have fished in a big wind every day for the past two months, but 25mph-plus eliminates too much water.   We were pinned down Friday on Big Lake, but managed to have a decent day on trout only because the fishing pressure was light.  We caught our fish drifting the shallow flats with a MirrOlip and tails either bounced off the bottom or fished under a cork.

Saturday, the wind blew even harder until late in the afternoon and every place that afforded a little protection and a chance to catch fish was covered up. I had a group elect to wait out the wind the remainder of the weekend and finally agree to reschedule when we awoke to the same wind and a little rain to boot.  They were holding up at the gambling boats in Lake Charles each day and it was proving to be more expensive than fishing.  They were obviously very unlucky as I seldom talk with anyone that doesn't win every time they go over there!

The good news on Big Lake was that in spite off all of the wind, the water clarity was still in pretty good shape.  The bad news is that if this wind doesn't give us a break pretty soon, I might have to trade in my boat for another tractor and clear land for a while.  With the cost of diesel, that may not be an option either!

I talked with Capt. Mike Rector and he said that they ran a lot of backwater on Sabine this week and it was as muddy as the main lake.  It will take a little more than the wind to let up for Sabine to get really good, but the bite can start up again overnight on Big Lake!