“They’ve got a great personality!”

So, your friend greets you with an excited tone, hoping to play matchmaker. They have someone they want you to meet, promising this person would be a great fit for you. They begin by spouting all the desirable qualities this person possesses. You’ve heard all of them before… They’re easy to meet. They have a great sense of humor. They’re always very kind.

You listen intently, taking note that so far during the discussion there has been no mention of physical appearance. Then here it comes…that most dreaded phrase when describing a potential date… “and such a wonderful personality.”

All the bells and whistles begin blaring and you cannot help but form a mental picture of a cross between an ogre and a standup comedian – somebody who can make you laugh but lacks the physical chemistry to keep you interested.

I know, I know; that’s a horrible way to be. But like one of the greatest comics of all time; Bernie Mac said, “I’m just telling you what they won’t, and that’s the truth.”

So, if I had to describe Sabine Lake to someone who’s never been, I would probably say something like – Sabine has a great personality!

Now, up and down the Texas coast you have an absolute handful of jewels that attract anglers from every corner of the map. Picturesque bays that literally scream classic saltwater destination. Many of these gorgeous places are blessed with ultra-clear water, white sand, and lush seagrass as far as you can see. Pristine flats with all manner of abundant life and opportunities for any angler who is willing to go there. All of these bays would be considered in the realm of “super models” because they just have it all. The good looks and alluring chemistry that Texas coastal saltwater fishing is supposed to be all about.

On the other end of the spectrum would be my own little hometown mud hole called Sabine Lake and it most certainly has a great personality. Unlike many of the more famous venues farther down the coast, Sabine is for the most part nearly void of any of the so-called distinguishing features that make other bays more attractive.

For starters, our water during the majority of the year lacks both clarity and color which makes it less than appealing from a visual standpoint. Lower coast bays are blessed with beautiful blue-green water and outstanding clarity so you can see most everything play out right in front of your eyes. Sabine anglers are occasionally blessed with some decent water clarity, but not very often. So, being able to “read” the water or being able to dial into what the bottom structure looks like is more of a learned thing that separates the good fishermen from the bad.

This ability to be able to fish without confirmation of bottom structure and being able to actually see the fish is what makes upper coast anglers special. I can remember having a conversation with Doug Pike years ago about the difference between guys who fish clear water versus guys who fish dirtier or murky water during one of the big redfish tournament weigh-ins. Doug told me, “You can take a guy who can catch fish consistently from Sabine, Trinity, or Galveston and put them in any clear water venue from Texas to Florida and they will be successful; but not the other way around. You take the guy who fishes clear water and put them in anything where they can’t see; and it’s over for them.” I had never thought about that concept prior to our discussion, but as I have gained more experience, I now agree whole-heartedly. It’s almost like making somebody fish with a blindfold.

Sabine Lake fishermen also never get to experience grass edges, potholes, sand flats, defined oyster reefs, or most any other appealing structure that anglers from other bays take for granted. The huge amount of fresh water that dumps into Sabine from both the Sabine and Neches rivers keeps both grass and oysters from thriving due to huge fluctuations in salinity brought on by runoff from heavy rain and discharges from Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn. The big freshwater influx isn’t completely bad though, because it certainly nourishes the local marshes and other parts of the ecosystem associated with our area. The amount of aquatic life that thrives in the vast marshes surrounding Sabine is the lifeblood of the entire bay. The backwater estuaries support all manner of bait fish, crabs, shrimp and juvenile sport fish species that will eventually make their way into the main body of Sabine Lake and out to the Gulf. It may not be pretty, but it works.

Despite our lack of aesthetically pleasing features, Sabine offers up some admirable alternatives, one of which is variety. Very few locations along the coast can boast the range of options Sabine anglers can take advantage of daily. The ability to chase both fresh and saltwater species of fish in such close proximity to one another is virtually unmatched anywhere. Very few places give you the opportunity to catch a six-pound speckled trout, six-pound redfish, and a six-pound largemouth bass in the same water, but that’s exactly what can happen on Sabine, and exactly what makes this place so interesting.

As we head toward the hottest part of the year, a few more options will begin to emerge here on Sabine, and these will do nothing but make local anglers even happier. Much of June and continuing into July, the weather conditions were downright inhospitable as high atmospheric pressure prevailed and we got roasted almost daily by furnace-like temperatures and stiff south and southwest winds. The big winds prevented many anglers from establishing consistent patterns, but there were some bright spots. We enjoyed days of trout schooling under the birds as well as good numbers of trout and reds showing up in the most northern parts of the bay and up into the rivers. Look for these patterns to continue to do nothing but improve as we move farther into summer and away from the high winds that plagued us during recent weeks.

The biggest draw for many folks during August will be the offshore and beachfront bite that often remains solid into fall. We had some amazing days earlier in the summer as huge schools of oversized redfish just marched daily up and down the beachfront. Those big redfish should have some company as the tripletail will become a little more prevalent and the speckled trout will gang up at the short rigs and various places in the surf. In the bay we should continue to see more schooling activity under the birds while the big schools of reds will begin to harass the pogey schools during the heat of the day. The marsh bite will slow down due to hotter water temps and there will be a die-off of some of the vegetation, which is a yearly occurrence. Based on results from earlier in the summer, the great rebound on Sabine is still in full swing and makes the future look very bright.

Even though Sabine may not be the most attractive or hottest eye-catching date at the bar, it still has plenty to offer if you are willing to put a little work into your relationship with her. If you are looking for classic saltwater fishing where the grass beds are dotted with white sandy potholes, then you need to keep following the highway south. But, if you are looking for an opportunity-rich location that has the potential to offer angling adventures that no other body of water on the Texas coast can match, then you may have found the perfect date. Beauty, you see, truly is in the eye of the beholder.