Sabine Scene: August 2011

Mother Nature has done us no favors recently with more wind and no rain but the bite has been exceptional anytime we can fish the open lake. As expected, both rivers, the bayous on the east side, and the lake itself are absolutely packed with schools of shad and the fish are right behind them.

An over the top flounder bite has been drawing lots of attention reminiscent of the early 80s. No need to wait at anchor or drag a mud minnow along the bottom waiting for a flatfish to eat; this is action-packed fishing at bayou mouths and shoreline points, tossing GULP shrimp on 1/4 ounce jigs, Assassin Sea Shad or Flats Minnows tipped with shrimp, or a three-inch shad-colored River 2 Sea Swim Bait. Simply hold your cast until you see the endless parade of juvenile shad getting busted into the overhanging reeds and it is game on! Of course there are usually lots of slot redfish crashing the party which only adds to the excitement.

Because they can easily locate their next meal, the gulls and terns have been of little value in locating schools of feeding fish in the open lake. When you find shrimp skipping across the surface, however, you are in business. As a rule, if the first few trout you catch are small, it is time to search elsewhere.

The most consistent schooling action is taking place right now in the northern part of the lake from Johnson's Bayou to the tip of Pleasure Island. Sea Shads rigged under a Kwik Cork are hard to beat, but we will also swim longer plastics like the Assassin Texas Shad, TTF Trout Killer and Tidal Surge Mullet on 1/4 ounce Pro Elite heads a little deeper before writing a school off.

Quite often we will ferret out the largest fish in these schools with a topwater or a Crazy Croaker. Thus far this summer we have done much better with the smaller She Pup in a bone or chrome pattern than the She Dog, but have had to fish it a little slower than usual. The Crazy Croaker is more versatile in that it is a slow sinker and casts well. Tiger Gleaux and pearl-pink have really been good colors.

We have had just enough of those dead-calm scorchers to ignite the much anticipated redfish extravaganza which usually kicks off in the open lake about the middle of the day. Catching them is simply a matter of reaching them with a cast, but just watching them plow the surface is a memorable experience.

We have not caught many big trout thus far, no doubt due to losing so many days to wind in May, June and early July - typically big fish months. We are just now starting to catch more trout in the six to seven pound class with most coming before the sun clears the horizon.

Old River Cove and Hickory Cove located on the west side of the ICW get little pressure this time of the year and they are shallow water magnets for big trout. Both coves are extremely shallow with numerous clam shell reefs that dump into the deeper ICW. Pre-dawn wades or quiet drifts on these overlooked flats often produce our largest trout of the day.

Black She Dogs and TTF Gun Dogs are my first choice until the sun comes up. As the fish move toward deeper water I usually switch to a Corky Fat Boy or swim a Die Dapper on a 1/16 ounce head. This bite seldom lasts very long, but we are generally looking for only a few really big bites anyway. The deeper Entergy intake ditch runs right through the heart of Old River Cove and it is not unusual to find trout stacked in the cooler water later in the morning.

Staying on the water any length of time means dealing with the heat. There is no substitute for quality sunscreen, hats and proper clothing, but while these protect the skin they don't enhance the comfort level. Aside from ice cold water, my newest best friend is a Frogg Togg Chilly Pad.

I don't understand how you can dip it in hot lake water and it still continues to cool you down as the water evaporates, but it does, and for a surprisingly long time. Once it stops cooling just dunk it again and wring it out. I knew the first time I saw an entire Little League All Star team with Chilly Pads on their heads they had to work.

I've given up waiting for rain to cool things down!