Colburn's Sabine Connection

Big Lake broke the curse!

Dr. Danny English with a personal best!

The wind blew again today as promised, but we finally managed to put together a very respectable trip.  Doctors, Steve Sims and Danny English, were willing to give Sabine a rest and we made the short trip to Big Lake in the hope that Plan B would be a better choice.  I thought it may be more of the same, however, when the wind was whistling across the launch even before sunrise.

Following a slow bumpy ride, we caught one solid trout on the east shoreline on a black-chartreuse tail while waiting for a strong incoming tide to improve the clarity.  By nine o'clock the water looked much better. We ran back to the other side of the lake and caught and released several more solid trout drifting in 4-7 feet of water.  We never repeated the same drift, but still caught at least a fish or two each pass.

At noon, we ran further south to drift flats on the southwest end of the lake.  We slowed our drift as much as possible with a drift sock and fished topwaters in 2-3 feet of water over the shell.  The first drift we caught three trout up to three pounds on a twitch bait and a She Dog.  We started keeping a few trout only after Steve had one inhale a bait that resulted in a lot of bleeding and still finished up with a nice box of fish before calling it a day.

Easily the highlight of the afternoon was provided by a big girl type trout hellbent on assaulting Danny's chrome-blue back Skitterwalk.  The trout was almost 27 inches long and just touched the 7 pound mark on the Boga, but looked much larger even when in hand.  We photographed her and released her to make another angler's day.  It was his career best by half an inch, but it won't hold up long as he fishes too well and too often not to blow that mark away in the very near future.  With an upcoming trip scheduled for Baffin, it could be sooner than later!

It was nice to catch not only numbers, but size as well for a change. Even better than that was finally getting to fish an area we chose to fish rather than being forced to fish.  The wind still put most of the lake off limits, but there was enough good water left today to instill a little confidence.  Hopefully, April, will be a little more fisherman-friendly on both lakes.   

Wind wins again

We logged yet another tough windy day on Sabine yesterday.  We were supposed to have had a big incoming tide all day, but you could not tell it in the bayous.  The water was extremely low and very dirty which slowed the flounder bite as well.

We checked the reef at the Causeway early and the water looked a little better, but there was no gull activity and we couldn't get bit on two short drifts over the deeper shell.  We called in the dogs around 2:00. but I talked with two friends last night that caught some nice trout right at dark.  They had two keeper reds and nine trout wading around Johnson's Bayou.  There was a price to be paid, however, as they said they made a long wet ride back across the lake after dark.

I don't advocate fishing so late that you have to make a long run in big white caps, but it is nice to know that the fish are still there even if we haven't been doing well earlier in the day.  All of their fish were three pounds or larger and they caught them on red shad and morning glory Assassins.  They also said they caught three or four flounder that they did not keep only because they would have had to measure them.

We are headed to Big Lake again tomorrow looking for a big trout.  I have no doubt the wind will pin us down on a single shoreline, but it only takes one bite!

Flounder bite better than trout

The wind Friday was not quite as bad as it has been, but the trout fishing was still on the tough side.  We did find some trout under birds in the mid-lake area for the first time this spring.  The water on the La. shoreline was in good shape all the way to Garrison's.  The water on the reef was very much off-colored and the gulls down there just would not hold.

The most consistent bite has been on flounder.  There are a lot of small fish as usual, but there are enough keepers around to keep you on your toes.  Some of the better catches are coming out of Bridge and Willow Bayou.  We were forced to wade today as the wind was just blowing too hard to drift the flat we wanted to fish.

We caught two slot reds and five trout up to four pounds on Super Spooks, an electric chicken Catch V,and a pearl-chartreuse Crazy Croaker.  We were fishing in 3-4 feet of water in a cross wind and missed several fish on the Catch V and Croaker that we felt too late and pulled off.  The water was stirred up, but we still had about a foot of visibility.  By the time we quit, the wind was just howling.

Lot of small fish....lot of wind

Every night, right after I check the tides for the following day, I go to www.weatherunderground.com strictly to see what the wind is going to do.  They need to tell the forecaster to stick his head out the door before he randomly punches in "Wind southeast 10-15 coastal bays light chop".  Even better than that, they should insist that he cross the lake with us in that light chop after 10:30 or 11:00 in the morning!

I noticed that he just cut to the chase and wrote one blanket forecast for three days earlier this week.  I'll take the next three days and save you having to look any further.  It is going to blow like hell from some direction and might even rain on you depending on your luck.  I'll bet that's more accurate than his guess.

Does it sound like I have had enough wind?  Capt. Johnny Cormier shared a group with me yesterday and we found the fish scattered along the semi-protected shoreline from mid-lake on south.  We caught a few fish on top waters very early and three solid trout drifting the flats on Assassins.  Johnny then ran to the reef on the south end and we started hitting the bayous.

Guess who won the bet between Kristen and Dillon

They caught a lot of small trout and one over sized red under scattered flocks of gulls on tails.  The keeper trout they caught were not as large as the fish off the flats.  Kristen Martinez could have cared less after catching her first big redfish.  Her cousin, Dillon, from Tennessee also caught his first flounder. We found flounder, rat reds and trout all the way to the back end of the bayous. I think we caught every fish on pumpkin-chartreuse Sea Shad. 

Every flounder except two had to be measured and most of them were in that 13-13 3/4  inch class. The good news is that they were there and they were just pounding the bait.  While on the subject of bait, every outside bend was holding huge pods of tiny shad.  Both the reds and flounder were all over them.

The water clarity is not all that bad in the southeast portion of the lake and the surface temperature is already in the low 70's by mid-afternoon.  Believe me, I am ready to post a great report, but unfortunately I have to find them and catch them to do that.  Maybe tomorrow the wind will really only blow 10-15 miles per hour and I can look forward to posting!   

Fish are biting, but wind is doing us no favors

The wind just will not give us a break.  We picked up one keeper trout drifting a flat for just a minute on the way to the Causeway reef yesterday morning and we should have stayed there.  The birds were all over the reef, but most of the trout were small.  That bite quit for us around ten and we couldn't get a bite going drifting the shell.

We ran north and found bait, small reds, and flounder in the mouths of the bayous.  A better size trout showed up on the flats today, but you had to fish between white caps to catch them.  There is no doubt that the flounder bite is improving daily.  Guides can not run Whiskey and Willow Bayou since they are a part of the Reserve, but they are the place to be if you have your own boat.

Big Lake 3...Dickie 0!

Following Wednesday's downpour, the fishing on Big Lake got progressively tougher for me.  I was wearing Hwy. 108 out and Big lake was wearing me out.  A howling north wind Friday eventually eliminated all but one short stretch of shoreline in the northeast corner of the lake and the fish had either moved or just weren't eating.  I had some folks that could really fish and we just could not get it done!

After two tough days, I rescheduled Saturday's party and returned in hopes of getting back on a big fish bite.  That is the only reason I fish Big Lake in the first place.  I don't mind doing my own homework, but I have no intention of subjecting customers to the tougher side of this business.

In six hours we turned over two trout in the 4-6 pound class, which was an improvement, and went through a dozen or so small reds.  We spent all of our time fishing over shell in 3-5 feet of water on the southeast end of the lake with LSU Assassins and bone diamond Sea Shad.  I hadn't fished that area this year, but we needed a change.

By the time we left the lake Friday, the wind had it churned up and dirty.  By the time we left Saturday evening, it was already clearing up.  It takes Sabine a month to do that!

The trout were still trying to eat twitch baits Friday until the wind blew most of the water off a shallow flat we were fishing.  Moving to the south end of the lake was not an option until the following day.  We tried to fish West Cove, but there was no way.

At the same time, the bite under the birds continues to improve on Sabine.  The only problem being, the size of the trout.  There are eight throwbacks for every two keepers, but it has been non-stop action.  Most of that action has been on the south end of the lake.  The flounder bite has also improved both in the bayous and along the La. shoreline. 

The water temperature hovered around the 70 degree mark all week long on both lakes.  If the wind will allow us to cover more water this week, look for better big fish catches on both Sabine and Big Lake.

Flounder bite is fair in bayou

We made us a little flounder run in the bayous today just to see if they had started moving in or not.  We caught more bass and rat reds than flounder, but we did keep four.  We probably caught 8-10 more throwbacks.  The water in the bayous looks a heck of a lot better than the lake does right now.

We were really kind of experimenting by throwing both a SLURP Sea Shad and a regular Sea Shad to see if the added scent was strong enough to make a difference.  The bass didn't care which one they ate, but the story was different with the flounder and reds.  All of the keepers ate the SLURP as did most of the rat reds.  The only color we had was good penny.

The trout bite on the Causeway reef is apparently improving daily, but the lion's share of the fish are small.   Darrell Breaux and Paul Dugas launched at the Burned Out Bridge so that they could keep Louisiana legal trout and they finished with 22 trout with only two fish over fifteen inches.  They also had three very nice flounder they caught drifting red shad plastics over the deep shell.

Ronnie Burton finally got in half of his order of Crazy Croakers at the River Rat Marina last week.  He had a few left in the better colors when I was in there Friday evening.  They have been as hard to find as Corkies lately.

Thick fog.....thick trout!

The fog was so thick that we didn't even know if we were in Louisiana, must less Big Lake, until 9:30 Thursday morning.  When it finally burned off, we enjoyed spectacular conditions and fishing to match.  The best bite of the day was easily on topwaters fished over shell in 2-3 feet of water, but I believe we could have limited out on glow-chartruese plastics drifting the shell in Truner's.

A mouth full of plastic.

We left the easy bite in Turner's in search of larger trout and the move paid off.  Our initial drift with the topwaters yielded four solid fish in the first fifteen minutes.  On the second drift, I was showing Corey Randall the retrieve I was using when a huge trout flashed on the lure and missed.  He immediately made a cast in that direction and stuck a very good trout, but not the full-figured sow that interrupted the demonstration.

We were fishing topwaters that Lance Stringer had painted a khaki color on the sides with a purple back.  I only mention that because we tried a variety of lures and colors and they preferred that pattern.  They also ate chrome-black back, but not as well.

The highlight of the afternoon came when I was experimenting with six pound test and a new light action seven foot CastAway XP3 spinning rod.  I got caught with the light line only because I had been Whacky worming with it earlier in the week. We found ourselves wishing for heavier gear when the trout of the day inhaled the lure and started wallowing across the surface.  Had it not been for a 20 pound shock leader, there would have been no pictures taken in the end.

That is an arm load of speckled trout.

Corey refused to take credit for the fish, but he was willing to hold her up for a few photos that say it all.  I have never seen a mouth that large on any trout that I have ever handled. Corey and his dad, Dr. Gary Randall, were guests of Mike Cooley and neither had ever fished for specks or reds.  It will all be downhill from this point on.  Mike has been trying to catch a big trout with me all winter, but  was so sick that all he could do was sit and watch most of the day!

The water was beautiful, especially when compared to what we are dealing with on Sabine, and the surface temperature was in the mid-sixties.  We could see the bottom in 2-3 feet of water on the south end of the lake and it was clear enough, even in Turner's.  I don't know why, but we caught trout on tails bumped over the shell and topwaters, but caught only one fish all day long on a black-chartreuse 2000.

I talked with several different people last night at a CCA meeting that have been catching trout the past two days on the Causeway reef on Sabine.  Robert Sloan reported the same in his column this morning in the paper.  That action at this point favors Louisiana anglers as most of the specks are small.  One of the gentlemen at the meeting said he and his brother caught 50-60 fish two days running and kept a total of 16 Texas legal trout!

The good news is that at least they are there.  I did talk with some folks that are already catching a few keeper flounder mixed in with a lot of smaller fish.  If the water will clear just a little more, we will be in business on Sabine as well.      

Big Lake is getting right

I haven't quit fishing, I've just quit catching on Sabine.  I have no explanation as to why the lake is so darn muddy, but the entire lake is really off-colored.  Steve Bradley called tonight and said that he fished the south end today, but it was still very dirty and the  fishing was tough. The fish have to eat some time, but I haven't talked with anyone that has figured it out yet.

In the mean time, we have been fishing Big Lake as much as possible and the water over there is in great shape.  Gene Locke chauffeured Capt. Chuck and I around yesterday and we had an enjoyable trip.  It had been a long time since we fished out of the same boat.  A week can turn into a year overnight!

We ran the entire lake just looking at water and caught trout everywhere but West Cove.  The water looked good, but we just hit one or two spots and were in a hurry to move on.  There was bait in 1-2 feet of water everywhere we went.

We caught fish on twitch baits, Catch 2000's, Crazy Croaker, and tails.  We caught a lot of small reds on a variety of plastics.  We will be back over there tomorrow!

Chuck and I were both going to pull parties on Big Lake today, but my group did not show up.  it has been a long time since that happened.  Chuck called tonight and said they had a very decent day on trout, but caught fewer redfish.   Maybe we can squeeze one more good day out of this unreal weather.

I needed a pack horse to exit the building!

The weather wasn't quite what they promised today, but even favorable winds helped very little as the lake is still too muddy.  The surface temperature is in the low sixties and everything is right but the clarity.  Bob Crew told me tonight that he did see a group catch 6-8 trout on one drift on the Causeway reef which is promising.

While I am usually burned out on Boat Shows by the time the Holder Show rolls around, this year was the exception.  We had a good time Thursday and I will go back tomorrow.  I had a good visit with Everett Johnson discussing the growth of his Gulf Coast Connection magazine and I always enjoy visiting with the Matagorda guides.  Tommy Countz now weathers the winter months on Matagorda by working the Baffin area until things improve.

It is rare indeed that I leave any fishing show with more than I arrived with, but Thursday was an exception.  I was initially informed by Shimano reel tech, Chinh Nguyen, that there was nothing that he could do for my 50 Mg reel which had about three hours of use on it.  He said that any saltwater was especially tough on the little reel and that there were upgrades he would make to resolve that problem if I would ship it to the factory with his name on it.

Undaunted, I broke out a new Citica and he explained that it, too, needed an upgrade.  He had the new part, changed it out at the table, and said that I should have no further problems provided I keep it clean and oiled.  I had never even used it as I bought several for clients.  I don't recall ever reading on any of the boxes prior to purchasing these reels that they should be used only in freshwater.  I did see that warning on an Ardent reel.  It was a treat just watching the two technicians dissect reels in the blink of an eye.

Right next to the Shimano booth was Boyd's One Stop Booth and I found myself mesmerized by an aquarium full of extremely active shrimp while I was supposed to be watching the reel tech.  As soon as my reel was good to go, I introduced myself to Jason Cogburn, the owner of the company.

Jason Cogburn adjusts his oxygen system

Because Jason supports his family by selling bait,  I figured keeping it alive was a fairly important issue for him.  It was, and he quickly pointed out that there was no substitute for diffused oxygen if you are serious about keeping everything from shrimp to mullet alive for a substantial length of time.

His solution was a very efficient system that was both simple to operate and compact. He also markets two different sizes at a very reasonable price.  Aside from his willingness to share his experiences with keeping different types of bait alive, the shrimp that had been banging off the walls of his aquarium for two days and a redfish equally frisky in a cooler oxygenated with his system did it for me.  I am going to buy two more tomorrow.

We don't fish a lot of live bait (mostly shad and finger mullet a little in the fall), but it will still save me a lot of time knowing that I won't have to stop and catch bait again the next morning if I still have bait left at the end of the day.  It is always hard to release live bait at the end of the day not knowing if you are going to find any the following day! 

I was equally impressed with Brian Little's new Stake-out Stik.  It is the poor man's answer to a power pole and it works.  The stik comes in different lengths and diameters for different lengths of boats.  I left with the eight footer and it holds my boat, a 22 foot Blue Wave, like I was tied to the dock.  It is solid glass with shrink wrap grips and a steel tip to penetrate a shell bottom.  The upper end has a removable clasp to attach your rope to and mine fit perfectly in one of my rod racks.  It looks good, too!

Brian Little flexes one of his new Stake-out Stiks

I like the fact that anytime I am in less than six feet of water I no longer have to deal with throwing a muddy anchor in the bottom of the boat each time I move.  Because of its density and flexible properties, you don't have to throw it like a javelin to get it to hold either.  You need to hold one in your hands to really appreciate them.  Both of those items are going to make things much easier for me this year!