LESS RAIN EQUALS MORE FISH

 

Last updated 6/11/2019 at Noon



Many years ago I became acutely aware of the fact that the word “good” is relative and used bridge the broad divide between “bad” and “great”.

“Good” is indeed encouraging, but it remains a word to be taken with a grain of salt………especially when it comes to fishing! In the case of Sabine Lake trout fishermen, even catching a few trout is considered to be “good”.Prior to Harvey’s arrival, however, the current catching would scarcely rate above the shadows of “bad”.The only complaint anglers ever had in Junes of the past were the numbers of small trout that assaulted a variety of lures all day long.

The larger trout of early spring could still be duped with croaker and finger mullet, but for the most part, schooling reds, flounder and huge numbers of smaller trout still kept local anglers busy.Having said that, when Charles Ancelet called before returning to Houston last week and said that the trout catching had been good all morning,” I was more than ready to hear the rest of the story.

Relative to what we have been experiencing, he was on the money in describing it as good.During the first thirty minutes of an incoming tide, they boated at least thirty trout two days in a row.“Not one of the fish was a Texas legal keeper,” said Ancelet, “but the action was fast and furious for a short span of time.

“It ended as quickly as it started, “added Ancelet, “and we never got another bite.

“We were fishing the channel near the south end of Lighthouse Cove and our bite was in eight to twelve feet of water.We had the best luck with a purple demon Lil’ John rigged on a three-eighths ounce head.” Ancelet’s fishing partner is a part-time Galveston guide and he told Charlie that they had just lucked out and intercepted a school of small tide runners riding the saltier water inland.

“I appreciated his assessment,” added Charlie, “but I could have cared less as I haven’t caught a single trout since the last week of May.” I tend to believe that the thick layer of mud has hurt us long term even more than the salinity level.Most of the shell is now buried in silt and a soft layer of mud and that has changed everything from bait-attracting structure to the water cleansing benefits that oysters provide.

It also accounts for how rapidly the lake muddies up following even the most modest blows.Dirty water really affects little more than angler confidence, but it does marginalize the strike zone.

The revetment walls remain the most consistent game in town and that fact is emphasized by the huge numbers of local anglers wedged in close proximity to the pipes.If you are not in exactly the right spot, you are little more than a spectator and everyone with a rod apparently knows that.

I stopped at both sets of pipes for a few minutes last week and I was amazed at how forgiving these anglers were.Catching a fish meant reeling in at least two other lines and returning to the truck to deposit your catch meant giving up your coveted spot! I never saw the first trout landed.

But I did see a lot of small flounder and several nice slot reds.The anglers that managed to land their redfish invariably reeled in a cobweb of lines as well.In at least one instance, the angler reeling in the fish wasn’t the one that had hooked it! Lower water will make running and fishing the Louisiana marshes a little tougher, but the shallow ponds have been good to local bass anglers.It was evident that navigating that water was rapidly becoming a challenge for the fellows running larger bass boats based on the catches in last week’s Sabine River Shootout.

The numbers were down compared to the recent weights the Tuesday evening anglers have been posting, but they were still solid.

Greyson Benoit and Darren Youngblood captured the first place check with 7.45-pounds and took big bass honors as well with 4.81-pound fish.

Myron Waldrop and David Burman cashed the second place check with a 6.31-pound catch.It is also obvious that Cullen Simon has been paying close attention to what his Dad is doing in the front of the boat as he won big bass honors in the Kid’s Division with a 3.27-pound bass.

The bass was a personal best for Cullen and I am pretty sure this youngster is only getting started.Hats off to his Dad as well for his choice of fishing partners!

 

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