Sabine Scene: March 2012

This is traditionally a feast or famine month for trout fishermen on Sabine and it should be no different this year. The approach to catching them, however, may be much different. Unprecedented salinity levels in the rivers was a game changer for us all of 2011, but the more frequent rains of late may see a return to more normal patterns.

The sixty-four dollar question is "How many days will we lose to the wind this spring?" Prior to a heavy dose of much needed rain, the fear of losing days to gale force winds this year was less of a concern for local anglers. The trout had no reason to abandon either of the rivers and both the redfish and flounder stay there year round anyway.

Numbers have not been the only calling card as an impressive number of 7-pound plus trout have been taken by anglers drifting the 12 to 15 foot breaks with Corkys and Maniac Mullets. The key to success was, and still is to a lesser extent, fishing painfully slow and keeping the lure on the bottom. To confidently fish this technique I am constantly reminding myself that the deeper water is both clearer and saltier.

The big three are all on a steady diet of finfish right now so locating bait activity is far more critical than water clarity when fishing in the lake. When incoming tides flood the shallow flats, schools of finger mullet and juvenile shad stack up on those flats adjacent to the ICW. If that tide change coincides with the warmest hours of the day…so much the better.

I will spend a lot of time fishing the flats on the north end of the lake as well as Old River Cove and Hickory Cove on high tides over the next two months. Pockets on the Louisiana shoreline not directly impacted by tidal flow like Game Warden's and Coffee Ground Cove can also be very productive.

On an outgoing tide, more especially at the beginning of one, look for the best bite to take place anywhere a bayou or marsh cut drains onto a shallow flat. Not only will the bait be on the way out, but the backwater dumping into the lake will be warmer as well. That pattern is easiest exploited from Bridge Bayou all the way to Green's.

I personally think that anchoring systems like the Minn Kota Talon have reduced the number of waders as they now have the capability of quietly and quickly stopping a drift to more efficiently fish a specific area. While either approach is different but effective, our choice of lures will remain the same.

The longer tails like Assassin's Texas Shad or a TTF Trout Killer rigged on an 1/8 ounce head are more productive for me than the shorter Sea Shad until the shrimp start showing up. They are excellent baits to hunt fish with and big trout and redfish will eat them as quickly as they will a mullet imitation. If the water is overly dirty, the larger profile of the Die Dapper can be an even better option.

The fish will eventually dictate what works best on a given day, but I will not leave home without my Corkys, Maniac Mullets, Catch Vs and MirrOdine XLs. Each of them mimic a baitfish and they are easy to keep suspended in what can be a very narrow strike zone on a cold afternoon. Color is all about confidence, but pink, electric chicken, pearl-chartreuse and red shad are solid choices right now.

When the fish are chasing mullet to the surface and crushing topwaters, I have done well with both a She Dog and a Skitter Walk. My best three colors of late have been the Geaux Daley (black-white ribs) that MirrOlure is making exclusively for Daley's Hunt-n-Fish, GCRRH (red head-gold spotted body), and the HP (hot pink) Skitter Walk.

I have been fishing with Laguna rods for a year now and I have never fished another rod that was any lighter or more sensitive without sacrificing durability. Any rod that can survive daily barrages of errant back casts while standing in a holder is tough. While their line-up covers a variety of angler needs and wishes, both the Wader I and Wader II will handle everything from light jigs to topwaters.

Hopefully one of your New Year's resolutions was to take more kids fishing in 2012. Aren't you glad someone took you!