Colburn's Sabine Connection

Orange CCA Chapter hosts Kevin VanDam on April 2nd.

Rumors of my death are just that....so far.  Between losing days on Sabine Lake due to winds that will just not quit and fishing Toledo Bend, I have had nothing of any value to report.  I have made four attempts in the past two weeks and the wind won every time.  We found a little clearer water (2 to 4 inches) one day and scratched out five trout, two flounder and four slot reds.  Other than  that I have done nothing, but cast and take a beating.

If there is a silver lining to all of this it has to be that the fish have had no real pressure in the past two months.  We caught enough to know that the big trout are still around, but that bite got blown out very quickly.  For me, it has not been so much about the water clarity as it has been about lure presentation.  It's tough when you are moving that fast!

The Bassmaster Elite will be back April 6th and that will be a busy week for us.  Hopefully we will have calmer winds by that time.  For the trout fishermen that chase bass as well, the Orange CCA chapter will welcome KVD as their guest speaker for their annual Anglers Night out on April 2nd.  The meeting will take place at Robert's Steak House on Park Avenue starting at 6:00 p.m.  The chapter asks that you rsvp by calling 988-485 or 988-3667 in order to get a feel for how many to expect. 

There will be raffles and door prizes as well.  Those in attendance will pay for their own meals if they choose to eat. I never pass on any reason to eat at Robert's.  See ya there!

Man, man........what a ride!!

I know only two people that would have even left the dock yesterday morning and I happened to be in the boat with one of them.  In Albert's defense, the north wind was just blowing uncomfortably hard.  By the time we reached Three Bayous, however it was howling and the water clarity was an inch or two at best.

We eventually ducked in behind a point a little further south and believe it or not, caught a red and several nice trout before the wind just became impossible.  I've gotten caught a couple of other times over the years when the waves may have been a little taller, but the ride back was slow and wet and ranked right up there with the worst weather days!

We were forced to fish only tails and fish with the wind at our back.  The fish we caught were in 4 to 5 feet of  water,  We released a couple of short trout, but the fish we kept were all in the three pound class.  They were also full of tiny shad.  Albert successfully navigated the majority of the troughs on the way back, but the highlight of the day was turning the corner into the mouth of East Pass.

That was the ultimate test for catching fish in any conditions, but I will not do it again.  The best news is that it appears that the trout have yet to bale out due to all of the fresh water.  The Neches, Sabine and bayous are still super dirty, but muddy water has never totally shut down any bite as long as it wasn't created by freshwater runoff.  We'll see!