Sabine Scene: September 2008

A young college student, while in the midst of sharing a very good day of fishing on Sabine with her dad last month, voiced a slightly different perspective on the impact that rising gasoline prices have had on fishing.

Because her eyes were significantly younger than ours, she readily accepted the task of glassing for small groups of gulls riding herd on schooling trout or redfish. At one point, having scanned the horizon, she lowered the binoculars and stated, "Depending on what kind of mileage your motor gets, we have one flock out about a $4 run to the east and another about $6 a little farther south!"

The most consistent bite last month for both trout and redfish took place on the jetties and around the short rigs. There were not a lot of big trout caught, but excellent numbers of solid keepers were aggressively feeding on every decent tide change.

The action that drew the most attention, however, was the magnum trout bite on the north end of the lake. It was basically a live bait bite that was the strongest at the beginning and the end of each tide change. We could also expect at least a couple of swings at trout over seven-pounds the first hour or so drifting the flats bordering the ICW.

We caught most of those fish on MirrOlure 808 She Dogs, a shad colored MirrOdine XL, swim baits, and Texas Roach or Morning Glory Assassins. As soon as that bite ended, we moved closer to the ICW and fished both mullet and shad on Carolina rigs in four to eight feet of water.

I only had two clients catch trout over eight-pounds, but I cannot recall ever catching and releasing as many 5 to 7 pound trout in the heat of summer. I have also never had as many moms, grandmas, and kids catch big trout. This summer has belonged to the ladies!

While on the subject of ladies, there is no way of knowing what Mother Nature has in store for us as we brace for another season of hurricanes and tropical storms, but from a fishing standpoint, it should only continue to get better. Gas prices combined with the opening of dove season, the back to school rush, and the kickoff of another football season will continue to curb the fishing pressure.

I do not think it is a reach to expect our run of big trout to continue if the weather will give us a break. The jetties are going to produce the most consistent bite, but the best is yet to come for the open lake and the protected flats along the Louisiana shoreline and islands bordering the ICW.

Understanding tide changes and bait movement are critical factors that provide the veteran jetty fishermen a slight edge. Successful techniques and lure choices, however, are short-lived secrets due to the armada of observant fishermen constantly lapping the rocks. It can get crowded on the weekends, but it seems there is always something biting in that area for the fishermen that cannot get on the water on a regular basis.

As the shrimp start easing out of the marshes and mixing with acres of shad, the most user-friendly bite of the year will kick into gear in the main lake. How you approach this month will be dictated by your penchant for size as opposed to sheer numbers.

If you would like to take a shot at both at the same time, tie on an Assassin Kwik Cork with a two-foot leader and your choice of plastic tails. Drift the shallow flats early and check the mid-lake areas later in the day if the wind permits. The same combination works well in both areas.

We are catching better numbers on the shorter BLURP shrimp or Sea Shad in roach, molting, or glow. We consistently catch fewer, but larger trout with the five-inch shad in the same colors as well as chicken-on-a-chain and pumpkin-chartreuse. I prefer swimming the five-inch shad on a one-eighth ounce head, but I have client's wear me out on a regular basis with the cork.

The bonus this month is locating schools of redfish assaulting the rafting shad in the open lake. They will hit anything in reach, but more often than not, we are already fishing a topwater or a suspending lure like the larger MirrOdine or Catch V when they start blowing holes in the surface. Those are reliable choices for working small slicks for trout while waiting on the reds to do their thing.

We have also enjoyed an extended flounder bite this summer and the ratio of keepers to throwbacks has been respectable. A four-inch tail rigged on a quarter ounce head with a pinch of shrimp will keep you in the game. Depending on water clarity, we fish glow, chartreuse, pumpkin, or roach with confidence.

When the water is in the cane or up in the grass you cannot beat a quarter ounce spinner bait rigged with a BLURP sea shad. The vibration attracts both reds and flounder and the added scent in the plastic gives us an edge when the bite is tough. Throw the spinnerbait right up in the vegetation and retrieve it just fast enough to keep the blade turning.

Fish smart, respect the resource, and take someone fishing for his or her first time this month!