For many of us the summer months mean different things when it comes to the sport of fishing.

There are those who can only dream of clean blue prop wash, flat seas at dawn, and an endless expanse of gulf as far as the eye can see.

For others the thought of rushing into the bay amid the sounds of working birds and fleeing bait gets their heart pumping in anticipation of hungry trout and redfish by the bunch.

Still others look forward to the quiet solitude of anchoring up on their favorite “hole” with a live well full of fresh bait, a cooler full of cold drinks, and their best buddy in the seat next to them.

All of the above sound inviting and each group would be hard pressed to change their tactics because in their world their pattern or mode is just right and that’s what summer fishing is all about.

On each end of the fishing spectrum there are two different types of anglers with one common goal, they just go about achieving that goal in different ways. Both groups enjoy the sport and all that comes along with it, they just apply varying methods. On one end you have the high profile folks who attack their sport with a passion that borders on obsession. Tournament anglers fit into this category since they know no boundaries when it comes to chasing their favorite fish. These folks study charts, maps, and graphs like a student trying to earn a degree.

In a very short time these “machines” made to look like humans can decipher nearly any body of water and know it as good or better than the locals, it’s amazing how good some of these folks are. Case in point, the anglers who fish these high end tournament circuits are easily some of the best anglers who ever fired up an outboard. The lengths these guys go to in order to pattern fish in new locations is nothing short of mind boggling, I am continually amazed at how they consistently find fish on foreign water.

Let’s back up a minute and look at the folks who fall on the other end of the fishing spectrum, the weekend pleasure fishermen. Now don’t get me wrong there are some really good fishermen who just pleasure fish, they just choose to fish for fun instead of dollars and there is definitely something to be said for that. Nothing ruins a good time fishing for some folks like making it a contest or putting pressure on a relaxing event. Some of the very best times I have ever had on a boat were sitting on anchor drowning shad or shrimp in the Sabine River with any number of friends or family.

The social interaction and low stress atmosphere is at times exactly what the doctor ordered. On this end of the spectrum is where you find the family fishermen and kids, this is probably why I like to hang out on this end the best. Kids and summer fishing is a match made in heaven as far as I’m concerned. It really doesn’t make a difference what the fish is as long as it bites for the most part, just ask kids and they will tell you as long as it pulls it’s good. I wish more folks would subscribe to that theory, we could all learn a little bit from kids.

Right now it’s about as good as the “laid back” angler could ever hope for because nearly every point in the river is just crawling with croaker or sand trout and small redfish along with a few keeper flounder. The live bait or dead bait options make the pattern extremely user friendly and productive so success is almost as close as the nearest bucket of shrimp or cast net full of shad. I must admit that this style of fishing is a welcome change every now and again from the norm and that’s exactly what makes it so special and keeps us coming back for more.