Colburn's Sabine Connection

Fun again for at least one afternoon!

While I didn't do much to prove it most of last week, the low salinity levels have not forced all of the trout into deeper water per local speculation.  After four days of catching no more than a handful of trout, I was, however, open to any theory as to why it was so tough.  We had a couple of really good days earlier in the month fishing the same miserable conditions, but I struggled to catch fish big time the early part of last week, especially when our redfish bite slowed down.  Then, for no apparent reason, the water  clarity  improved drastically Saturday night and we were all good fishermen again for at least one afternoon.

The following day those trout had moved, but the water clarity was even better.  I really think the improved confidence factor played as big a role as the better water. When you don't believe you are going to catch fish, more often than not....you won't. The surface temperature was in the high 60's and the majority of the trout we caught bit almost as soon as the lure hit the water.  We didn't catch the first trout over five pounds, but the majority of them were in the 17 to 22 inch class.  It has since rained like hell for half a day and the wind is blowing 30 mph out of the northwest so we may be back to square one by tomorrow.

Gary said it just poured for several hours up at T-Bend this weekend, but thus far they haven't had to send anymore water this way.  The Triangle Tailchasers are hosting their second Open Team Trout Tournament out of Ancelet's and they deserve better weather than they endured last month.  Registration starts at 4:30 Friday evening at Daley's in Nederland.   

 

Crab Traap Cleanup and SWBKFC fishing tournament this weekend.

After canceling a trip last night, Rick and I decided that I had once again given the weatherman too much credit and decided to at least scout.  Unfortunately the weatherman did not miss with his forecast and we should have slept in.  It blew through quickly, but it was hell while it was lasted.  We didn't get a whole lot of rain, but the wind is howling right now. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.

Please do not call or email me in regards to the rules for the upcoming Orange Jazz Club fishing tournament.  I am as confused as you are by several of the rules and I can't even determine whether it is an individual or team tournament.  I should have so many people calling to book trips.

I do know that the Sabine chapter of the Saltwater Boys Kayak Fishing Club will host a redfish tournament out of Ancelet's Marina this weekend and they already have an impressive entry list.  If you would like to share in the fun you can sign up and get all the information you need by going to their website at swbkfc.com.

There will also be two collection spots for this weekend's crab trap cleanup on Sabine Lake.  You can pick up gloves as well as protective tarps for your boat at the Causeway or Marina ramp on Pleasure Island.  Max Smith called to say that he would be serving boudain and sausage to the volunteers and he will be at the Marina ramp.  Things usually start shutting down around noon.  Louisiana has joined in for this two week closure and things certainly look different without the mine filed of traps in front of Willow and Three Bayous. 

Slower bite than expected on a very nice day!

We finally caught a break with the wind yesterday, but in spite of near perfect conditions we didn't do a whole lot of catching.  The bayous and the river were very dirty and even Black's was dirtier than it has been.  The water clarity in the lake took a hit as well, but not bad enough to hurt anything other than our confidence.  We fished a very weak tide so the afternoon bite may have been much more productive.  Most of the fish we caught were in less than four feet of water.

We found a lot of small reds on the flats, but the most pleasant surprise was a better than average flounder bite for this time of the year.  I really think a lot of them simply had no reason to migrate this year.  We didn't have but 4 or 5 hours to fish so there was a lot of water that we didn't check out.  After fishing 51 to 55 degree water earlier in the week, the surface temperature was up to 67 degrees when we left.

Weather permitting we will be back on the water Monday, but I am headed over to Daley's this morning in hopes that they still have some colors I need in in tails.  I think that Costas, Yeti and Go Pro were excluded, but everything else in the store is half price if you pay cash.  They started the sell yesterday so I may already be too late!  

The bite is trending in the right direction!

Church is done, we've eaten and it is all I can do to burn the afternoon waiting on the Super Bowl. I've got about 600 yards of braid piled up on the floor as changing line was overdue.  Not only have the mornings been cold all week, but I never really warmed up the entire time we were on the water.  We passed on the one rainy day, but we had two very good trips last week.  Still no big sow trout, but we caught our redfish pretty easily as well as very decent numbers of trout in the 2 to 4 pound class.

The river and the bayous are still muddy, but the lake in general has cleared up some and it is nice to see the water actually drop out on a good outgoing tide.  We are not getting all that water from up the country right now and it has helped.  We fished a lot of 51 to 53 degree water last week and while the bite was pretty consistent, we saw very little bait on the surface.  We caught a few trout off the north revetment wall for the first time in a long time and could catch at least a trout or two every spot we tried on the La. shoreline from Garrisons to East Pass.

The closer we fished to the shoreline the more redfish we caught.  Our most consistent trout bite was still in 4 to 5 feet of water on an incoming tide.  Soft Dine XL's, Corky Fatboys and a Catch V worked best for us when we weren't swimming tails on a 1/16th ounce head.  We caught a lot of trout following up with the tail on fish that would hit, but not take the mullet imitations.

We didn't fish one day that the wind wasn't a problem so the bite may have been even better than we thought.  The fish never let us power pole down and beat on them a little while. I finally got two very good trout reports from folks fishing the ship channel south of the Causeway and that does not surprise me.  They were catching their fish in 6 to 8 feet of water on an incoming tide the last hour or two before dark.  They said they never caught any redfish, but some of their trout were in the 6 pound class.

It is still cold and you just have to take the bad with the good this month, but the good can be really good.  Don't let poor water clarity jack with your confidence as we have done well in water with less than six inches of visibility. "Clear" may not meet your definition of clear if you haven't been out in a while, but it is a lot better than it was a month ago!