Colburn's Sabine Connection

Very good week prior to the front.

It will be a whole new game tomorrow with a 15 to 20 mph NW wind ripping across the lake, but we couldn't have asked for better conditions all last week.  We canceled Saturday because of the rain, but probably should have fished it anyway.

Chris, Cary and Danny made their annual fall run and we wore the redfish out one day and surprisingly enough, the trout the next day.  We passed on running south two days in a row, but still kept five reds along with two limits of trout the second day while staying on the north end all morning. The first day was just stupid good with redfish schooling all the way from Garrisons to the Causeway Reef.

There were a lot of birds working, but you didn't have to be around them to be in the redfish.  Chris and Danny caught all of their fish on Tidal Surge Split tails while Cary and I caught most of ours on a Hoginar.  I don't think we ever caught an undersized or over sized red all morning.

The following morning we had to deal with the fog, but found both solid trout and redfish chasing shrimp in the middle of the lake.  It had been a long time since I drifted open water and dredged a tail across the bottom, but that is how we found most of our better trout.  We were drifting East Beast Flats Minnows and glow-chartreuse Sea Shads on a quarter ounce head.

Chris caught most of our redfish the second day!

Chris Pepper is battling a really tough disease right now, but insisted on making the annual trip and did exceptionally well even in the heat of the day.  He did tell me the second morning that he hit the sack early that night and slept well. He will start an experimental drug in the very near future and I ask all of you to keep him in your prayers.  Don't ever take good health for granted!

Three generations of Elllisors worked over the reds.

Three generations of Ellisors from Huntsville fished with me Friday and I had a blast with 8 year old Jordan.  We put his spin cast back in the truck at daylight and once he figured out which hand he wanted to reel my Shimano Stradic and 7 foot Laguna spinning rod with..... he was in business.  By the time the morning was over he was giving me pointers!

Initially he and his Grandad were tag teaming the reds, but before it was over he was hooking and reeling in his own fish.  We really got socked in early in the fog, but as soon as it cleared a little we started running the birds.  We easily lost as many reds as we caught as it was a three ring cirucus at times with 2 or 3 fish on at the same time.

Jordan was obviously the proud winner of a long tug of war with this pretty red.

Even with all of the redfish action I think the highlight for Jordan was catching trout virtually every cast on one stop on the way back to the launch.  I checked out a single gull and Jordan caught fish after fish until we were forced to run from the rain.  He was fishing a pumpkin chartreuse Sea Shad and he kept us all busy.  I put a new tail on every 6 to 10 fish, his Grandpa unhooked them and his Dad measured them.  It was non-stop fun and Jordan was broadcasting the entire show.

I would guess that the keeper to throwback ratio was about 1 to 4 and that isn't bad at all right now.  It will be interesting to see if this fornt changes anything once the wind settles down.

A Birthday party for two on the water!

Yesterday was a trip that was supposed to take place two weeks ago.  I canceled at the last minute based on a miserable weather forecast and not surprisingly the next day turned out to be gorgeous. We rescheduled, but I was in no hurry to see Wendi Parkhurst before yesterday.  The trip was a birthday surprise for husband, Chris, but Wendi was celebrating a birthday as well and could not wait to get on the water.  Both of their birthdays are only a few days apart.

Even the fish were into burnt orange!

The conditions and the catching Monday more than made up for the day we passed on.  We saw very few boats on the lake all day long and everywhere we went we found fish.  We went through an incredible number of small sandies and specks just to keep a dozen or so solid fish, but the redfish more than made up for that problem.

"Yes" She did catch the largest redfish when all was said and done!

Chris put two slot fish in the boat right off the bat and reminded Wendi of his accomplishment on a frequent basis until she swapped her Cork rig for a 3/8ths ounce jig head and 5-inch chicken on a chain Assassin.  From that point on it was "game on" and while he may have caught one or two more than she did over the course of the day, (I said may have) she did in fact catch the largest fish.  And, yes, she pointed that out more than once before we would call it a day!

We caught almost every redfish just crawling the jig across the bottom rather than swimming it.  With very little boat traffic we were able to stay on schools of fish forever without having to even run the troll motor very much.  There were a few gulls to be chased, but  we opted to stay with the school we were already on as long as they were chasing shrimp to the surface.

We made a run to the south end just to cool off and the water was as green down there as I have seen it in a while.  The redfish were doing their thing there as well, but we already had our fish and didn't stay long.

I knew Chris could fish, but Wendi had really been sand bagging when describing her own casting and catching expertise every time we talked fishing at the Credit Union.  She initially had a minor hitch or two, but she ironed them out in the first ten minutes of the trip and can absolutely launch a jig with her spinning combo.

It was a good day for a birthday party, make that two birthday parties, and I enjoyed the trip as much as they did.  I'll take fishing over blowing out candles any day! . 

Redfish continue to do their thing!

The weather yesterday was to kill for and a lot of folks took advantage of it.  There were a lot of boats on the river and in the lake.  I caught some solid trout early, but later in the day the smaller fish took over.  It is still all but impossible to get away from the redfish as if anyone would want to do that.

I fished the 3 different spots on breaks on the ICW a little while and caught and released 7 or 8 big slot fish before running the lake.  I never found the redfish schooling alone in the open lake, but they were mixed with the trout under most every set of birds.  Every time the bite was predominantly sand trout, the reds were with them.

I threw mostly pearl chartreuse or pink chartreuse Maniac Mullets as all of the better fish were hanging closer to the bottom and seemed to want a larger bait.  The smaller fish would just bury a Kwik Cork rig as soon as it hit the water.

I was a little surprised by the water clarity as it wasn't real good.  It was better in the middle of the lake, but it certainly didn't bother the fish any.  I found far more fish chasing shrimp than shad...even in the ICW.

Thanks again to Gene, Johnny and Ray Westman at R1- Bass!

This week has just been crazy, at least from a fishing stand point.  Wednesday morning I launched the boat and before I could park the truck it was pouring down raining.  We lost the first two hours of the morning waiting out the lightning and once we finallly ran to the lake it was whitecapping with more lightning and black skies to the south.

We finally were able to squeeze a few hours in the middle of the day and caught a pile of small trout, some slot reds and one very nice flounder working tails under small groups of birds.  We caught a lot of fish, but it was basically a grind as we were very limited as to where we were brave enough to fish!

Mike Dore met me Thursday morning in spite of the same miserable weather forecast, but aside from a stiff east wind, the weather could not have been more perfect.  We ran south until we found birds and fished the heck out of them until they finally started breaking up just before noon.  There was a mixture of solid trout and slot reds hustling shrimp and our ratio of keepers to throw backs was much better.

By the time we headed back in it was very windy and after a brief stop in the river Mike said he was ready to call it a day.  The stop in the river was one too many as the slow moving clouds just unloaded on us.  By the time we made the short run in we couldn't have been wetter had we fallen over board.  The lightning was so bad that we tied up the boat and ran for cover immediately.  As a matter of fact, I left the engine running and noticed it only after cleaning fish.  The wasted gas was well worth getting under roof in a hurry!

With the same scattered showers forecast for the following day I called Chris and Wendy that night and we canceled for the following day much to Wendy's chagrin.  Wouldn't you know it never rained a drop and the wind wasn't all that bad, but for some reason, the folks I talked with did poorly anyway.

The water has been up in the grass every day and we have had only a weak outgoing tide to fish which hasn't been much of a help.  We really need a front or two to light things off again.  I've got a full week scheduled next week so I took the weekend off to unpack all of the gear iI moved into Gene's boat for two days.

Once again Ray Westman saved my grits with another rush job on my troll motor.  I have no idea why a fisherman in this area would go anywhere else other than R1- Bass in Beaumont if they had troll motor problems.  Aside from the service, I have never been there that they did not have the part in stock and that is unheard of these days!

Lots of small trout, but the reds are solid!

The last two days were a little on the tough side for me, but we still had no problem finding the redfish.  The problem for us has been catching Texas legal trout.  We are just going through a kazillion small trout in order to keep ten or 12 fish.  It was a quick look and them backtoday as it is frustrating and a waste of time to measure 14 1/2 inch trout or trout that just touch the line over and over.

This solid red fell for a Who Dat Flats Minnow.

We did finally find some pretty decent trout right before the lift assist pin broke on the Minn Kota.  I had enough cable to clear the water with the foot so that we could continue to fish, but it was hell getting it back on the trailer.  I sure hope Mr. Wester is not too tied up over at R-1 Bass tomorrow so that he can get me back in my boat.  In the meantime I will use Gene's, but swapping tackle around is a pain!

This pretty red caught Steve, but he'll have to tell you the "rest of the story"!

The two best colors for us today were Who Dat in the Flats Minnow and chicken on a chain in the Assassin.  The trout buried a cork all morning long, but we caught every red bouncing the jig off the bottom.  The east wind blew a whole lot harder than predicted, but what's new?

Even more wind than desired hasn't slowed the bite.

The wind has been significantly stronger than predicted the past couple of days, but what's new.  We are going to fish the afternoon today for a change, but we have had no problem catching fish in the mornings.  The gulls are scattered all over the north end, but they are staying put when you find them.

 We squeezed in four hours Monday morning and I could not believe how few boats were on the water.  Maybe I just wasn't in the right place, but it had to be good to be any better than what we found.  You couldn't fish a tail under a cork without getting bit even when no birds were around, but I stuck with a Geaux Naked She Dog and a pearl-chartreuse Maniac Mullet and caught fewer, but more quality trout.

Andrew took advantage of a day off with no school and football practice!

Darren and Andrew were more into the "bite a minute" program and they just wore both the trout and redfish out with a Who Dat Flats Minnow fished under a Kwik Cork.  Darren usually just sits back and takes pictures of everything that moves, but he put the camera aside and joined in the fun this time!

The water is still a bit off-color behind the islands, but it clears up as you run south.  We are also seeing far more shrimp on the surface since the storm purged the marsh last week. I talked with the folks over at Daley's this morning and apparently I am not the only one throwing the Maniac Mullet at school fish as several colors are already hard to find.  The good news is that Tidal Surge can fill orders over night!

I have been fishing the TTF Flush recently when the fish want a larger topwater and it works well, but some of them come rigged with smaller hooks than others.  I don't know the reason for that, but my hook up ratio is much better with the larger hooks, especially when I am removing one of them altogether.

The bottom line is that the catching is very consistent right now and only going to get better. We have a modest front headed our way for the weekend and that should just make it crazy good.  

 

Just another bump in the road!

I am alive and well and honored that so many folks that fish Sabine should even care.  Between dealing with another kidney thing and losing a few days to the hurricane that in truth I couldn't have fished anyway, my fishing was very limited last week.  I hope that you didn't stay home just because I had nothing to report, because the catching was apparently pretty good!

I did literally force myself to fish a half day early in the week and did very well and have done well in the marsh the past two days.  Based on the folks that I have talked with the birds are still working in the lake, but mostly over small trout and slot reds.  We have been fishing the marsh exclusively and the redfish have been everywhere.

I thought that the huge north wind that sucked the marshes dry for a day and a half would have put all of the redfish in the bayous and the lake, but that hasn't been the case.  We have had to fish through some pretty hard rains both afternoons, but it didn't bother the bite at all.  We have been fishing nothing but Ribbits and a Geaux Daley with single hooks.

I am going to spend some time in the lake tomorrow morning and hope to get back to catching up on trips the following day.  I do appreciate all of the emails and undoubtedly flatter myself by thinking my health was a concern, but it is nice knowing that so many people actually use these reports to any degree.