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Sabine Scene: November 2014
Cheri Boullion caught this big flounder in the river on a GULP bait.
Life just cannot get much better than it is right now. Football all weekend long, cooler weather and a bite that continues to improve with the arrival of each new front. While joining in with the rest of the crowd in singing the National Anthem at my grandson's football game last Friday night, my wife nudged me and whispered, "You're probably the only one in this stadium that even noticed that the wind just swung around to the north and the flag is now hanging limp."
Not unlike all of 2014, every traditional pattern here on Sabine continues to develop later than usual, but "late" is of no consequence when so many options are available due to the cooler weather. The wind, a factor that we seemingly now have to deal with on a daily basis, continues to be a bit of a problem, but high water has been the bigger issue. One or two major fronts will purge the marshes in the very near future, however, and it will be "game on" into the colder months of January and February.
The bite that both draws and deserves the most attention this month is the much anticipated flounder run. Anglers in this area are actually divided on whether to make the short ride east to fish the ship channel at Cameron or stay here and fish Sabine. In all honesty I cannot say that one is any better than the other or draws any less pressure, but the Cameron option enables anglers to keep more generous limits.
Here on Sabine the LNG terminals and the bulkheads in the Dick Dowling Park area will get lots of attention. Virtually any GULP product, as well as live finger mullet and mud minnows, get the nod as the bait of choice. The numbers and the size are good as we have already caught one fish in the eight pound class. Pink, white and chartreuse are all good colors and because quality is important with the two fish limit, the longer 6-inch GULP Swimming Mullet gets a lot of playing time!
While we catch our fair share and some great ones at that, I much prefer working the shoreline and drains in the main lake and not specifically targeting them. A four inch GULP Swimming Mullet rigged on a 1/8 ounce jig will be a part of the arsenal every day as will spinner baits, swim baits and four inch paddle tail grubs. We touch up all of our plastics with one of the Pro Cure scented gels as it undeniably attracts fish.
The tallest stands of Roseau cane dotting the Louisiana shoreline from Coffee Ground Cove to Blue Buck Point are prime areas for scoring on the redfish and flounder that ambush finger mullet and shrimp hiding in the flooded roots. Prevailing east-northeast makes most of this real estate accessible every day.
After failing miserably on my predictions over the past ten months, I will only speculate that the gulls should be working over schools of trout and reds all over the lake by the time you read this. Once the north wind purges the marshes the bait has no other place to go but the deeper water of the bayous, rivers and open lake. For that reason, even when fishing the open lake, I would look for the best action under the gulls to take place near deeper water!
If my clients are willing and interested in size more than numbers, we will spend considerable time in the ICW and the Sabine or Neches River. The larger trout are already starting to show up on the deep breaks and we have picked up a few in the 27- to 28 class. Your Die Dapper, Split Tail Mullet, Corky and Maniac Mullets jigged vertically will all work when picking apart the deeper structure.
You definitely have to be more committed to a smaller area, but you are already passing up a good month to score on big trout if you are waiting on the colder months of January and February to climb out of the boat. Talons and Power Poles have benefitted the boat angler to some degree in reaping the benefits of this skinny water bite, but there is no substitute for stalking them in waders. The major flats bordering the ICW are easier to walk and will yield lots of good trout, but the points bordering the drains and bayous on the Louisiana shore will outperform them this month.
Take the kids fishing Saturday morning!
Not unlike all of 2014, every traditional pattern here on Sabine continues to develop later than usual, but "late" is of no consequence when so many options are available due to the cooler weather. The wind, a factor that we seemingly now have to deal with on a daily basis, continues to be a bit of a problem, but high water has been the bigger issue. One or two major fronts will purge the marshes in the very near future, however, and it will be "game on" into the colder months of January and February.
The bite that both draws and deserves the most attention this month is the much anticipated flounder run. Anglers in this area are actually divided on whether to make the short ride east to fish the ship channel at Cameron or stay here and fish Sabine. In all honesty I cannot say that one is any better than the other or draws any less pressure, but the Cameron option enables anglers to keep more generous limits.
Here on Sabine the LNG terminals and the bulkheads in the Dick Dowling Park area will get lots of attention. Virtually any GULP product, as well as live finger mullet and mud minnows, get the nod as the bait of choice. The numbers and the size are good as we have already caught one fish in the eight pound class. Pink, white and chartreuse are all good colors and because quality is important with the two fish limit, the longer 6-inch GULP Swimming Mullet gets a lot of playing time!
While we catch our fair share and some great ones at that, I much prefer working the shoreline and drains in the main lake and not specifically targeting them. A four inch GULP Swimming Mullet rigged on a 1/8 ounce jig will be a part of the arsenal every day as will spinner baits, swim baits and four inch paddle tail grubs. We touch up all of our plastics with one of the Pro Cure scented gels as it undeniably attracts fish.
The tallest stands of Roseau cane dotting the Louisiana shoreline from Coffee Ground Cove to Blue Buck Point are prime areas for scoring on the redfish and flounder that ambush finger mullet and shrimp hiding in the flooded roots. Prevailing east-northeast makes most of this real estate accessible every day.
After failing miserably on my predictions over the past ten months, I will only speculate that the gulls should be working over schools of trout and reds all over the lake by the time you read this. Once the north wind purges the marshes the bait has no other place to go but the deeper water of the bayous, rivers and open lake. For that reason, even when fishing the open lake, I would look for the best action under the gulls to take place near deeper water!
If my clients are willing and interested in size more than numbers, we will spend considerable time in the ICW and the Sabine or Neches River. The larger trout are already starting to show up on the deep breaks and we have picked up a few in the 27- to 28 class. Your Die Dapper, Split Tail Mullet, Corky and Maniac Mullets jigged vertically will all work when picking apart the deeper structure.
You definitely have to be more committed to a smaller area, but you are already passing up a good month to score on big trout if you are waiting on the colder months of January and February to climb out of the boat. Talons and Power Poles have benefitted the boat angler to some degree in reaping the benefits of this skinny water bite, but there is no substitute for stalking them in waders. The major flats bordering the ICW are easier to walk and will yield lots of good trout, but the points bordering the drains and bayous on the Louisiana shore will outperform them this month.
Take the kids fishing Saturday morning!