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Sabine Lake Buffet and a Center Console for Two
If someone were to come up to you and ask, "Tell me what comes to your mind when I say _____," and in that blank you could insert a Texas fishing destination, what would come to your mind? Places like the famous Laguna Madre or Baffin would probably get you a response like "big trout." Mansfield might be "skinny water paradise." Port O might be "surf trout," and Galveston Bay would likely be, "crowded." All of these responses have some merit and each place on the list is well known for something. Sabine on the other hand is just a little bit different because it means many different things to different people. If you had to sum it up in a couple of words it would have to be something like "variety" or in October it would be "buffet."
I am often asked, "When is the best time to fish Sabine?" My reply is usually "what do you like to catch or what style of fishing do you prefer?" Once we narrow down the field then we can get a better idea of when someone should fish Sabine; most of those answers usually include the month of October. This is the month when you can do it all. I mean October brings us everything from sight-casting to redfish in the marsh, catching flounder in the bayous until you don't want to anymore, hustling school trout under the birds, chasing trophy trout while wading shallow flats, dragging shad in the river for the "Big 3", or even chasing stripers with light tackle. Whatever your little heart desires you can accomplish at Sabine in October, it's just that kind of place.
Let's start off with the obvious; fall fishing under the birds. Everybody knows it happens and the world will flock to local boat ramps to get in on the action. School fish on Sabine are a little different because they generally run larger than their counterparts to the south. Big trout are commonly caught under the birds here. I have seen trout up to the magic 30-inch mark come from underneath a flock of screeching gulls and terns. Big schools of redfish will do their best to destroy every shrimp in sight and the pogies aren't safe either. Now while all this carnage is going on in the wide-open lake there is a small faction of anglers who are quietly racking up huge numbers of quality flounder along the shorelines. These guys never make a big deal over their catch; they load their boats quietly at the ramp while the trout and redfish guys stand on top of the cleaning table and "crow call" to the world. The flounder folks like it that way; it means more folks will be focusing on the "easy pickings" under the birds rather than the best eating fish in the lake which is a flounder.
Trophy trout aficionados will love the month of October as big trout that prowl the flats really start to put on some girth after all the spawning is done. The cooler temperatures will agree with the big trout metabolism much better than the mercury bubbling days of July and August. We catch some of our biggest trout of the year in October and November; this is when it starts really getting good. These big fish can be found in the lake and in both the Sabine and Neches Rivers in the fall, it's really nice this time of the year because you can always find some fishable water despite the wind or the weather.
Now while we are on the subject of fishing the rivers, this is where the real buffet gets going; you can do it all from freshwater to salt and all places in between. I have spent many days catching largemouth bass, redfish, flounder, and speckled trout all ganged up in one little spot in the Sabine River. The bonus fish in the whole equation has to be the striped bass- talk about a freight train with scales! Capt. Dickie Colburn and I got on a school of trout under the birds way up the Sabine River one fall only to start having our lines broken by some incredibly vicious strikes. Once we made some tackle adjustments we found that under the school of trout was a herd of striped bass and they all were 8 to 10 pounds. Talk about variety, 18 to 20 inch trout and 10 pound stripers all in the same bunch of fish. Truth be known the stripers were probably eating the small trout but we couldn't care less because they were all hitting the same lures.
Now if none of the options Sabine Lake presents to you sound interesting, then I really don't know what to say because there is certainly something here for everyone. The idea of having so many different ways to fish, places to fish, and styles to fish puts Sabine in a small class to say the least. A few destinations in Louisiana can boast of the same opportunities but not many, this place is truly rare and October is perhaps the best time take advantage of all that Sabine has to offer. Just like any good buffet, October on Sabine will send you home happy, have you begging for more, and no reservations are required. Bon appetite!
I am often asked, "When is the best time to fish Sabine?" My reply is usually "what do you like to catch or what style of fishing do you prefer?" Once we narrow down the field then we can get a better idea of when someone should fish Sabine; most of those answers usually include the month of October. This is the month when you can do it all. I mean October brings us everything from sight-casting to redfish in the marsh, catching flounder in the bayous until you don't want to anymore, hustling school trout under the birds, chasing trophy trout while wading shallow flats, dragging shad in the river for the "Big 3", or even chasing stripers with light tackle. Whatever your little heart desires you can accomplish at Sabine in October, it's just that kind of place.
Let's start off with the obvious; fall fishing under the birds. Everybody knows it happens and the world will flock to local boat ramps to get in on the action. School fish on Sabine are a little different because they generally run larger than their counterparts to the south. Big trout are commonly caught under the birds here. I have seen trout up to the magic 30-inch mark come from underneath a flock of screeching gulls and terns. Big schools of redfish will do their best to destroy every shrimp in sight and the pogies aren't safe either. Now while all this carnage is going on in the wide-open lake there is a small faction of anglers who are quietly racking up huge numbers of quality flounder along the shorelines. These guys never make a big deal over their catch; they load their boats quietly at the ramp while the trout and redfish guys stand on top of the cleaning table and "crow call" to the world. The flounder folks like it that way; it means more folks will be focusing on the "easy pickings" under the birds rather than the best eating fish in the lake which is a flounder.
Trophy trout aficionados will love the month of October as big trout that prowl the flats really start to put on some girth after all the spawning is done. The cooler temperatures will agree with the big trout metabolism much better than the mercury bubbling days of July and August. We catch some of our biggest trout of the year in October and November; this is when it starts really getting good. These big fish can be found in the lake and in both the Sabine and Neches Rivers in the fall, it's really nice this time of the year because you can always find some fishable water despite the wind or the weather.
Now while we are on the subject of fishing the rivers, this is where the real buffet gets going; you can do it all from freshwater to salt and all places in between. I have spent many days catching largemouth bass, redfish, flounder, and speckled trout all ganged up in one little spot in the Sabine River. The bonus fish in the whole equation has to be the striped bass- talk about a freight train with scales! Capt. Dickie Colburn and I got on a school of trout under the birds way up the Sabine River one fall only to start having our lines broken by some incredibly vicious strikes. Once we made some tackle adjustments we found that under the school of trout was a herd of striped bass and they all were 8 to 10 pounds. Talk about variety, 18 to 20 inch trout and 10 pound stripers all in the same bunch of fish. Truth be known the stripers were probably eating the small trout but we couldn't care less because they were all hitting the same lures.
Now if none of the options Sabine Lake presents to you sound interesting, then I really don't know what to say because there is certainly something here for everyone. The idea of having so many different ways to fish, places to fish, and styles to fish puts Sabine in a small class to say the least. A few destinations in Louisiana can boast of the same opportunities but not many, this place is truly rare and October is perhaps the best time take advantage of all that Sabine has to offer. Just like any good buffet, October on Sabine will send you home happy, have you begging for more, and no reservations are required. Bon appetite!