“The line at the boat launch was even longer than expected and Paul and

I just pulled over on the side and started getting things in order so

that we wouldn’t hold anyone up,”said Tim Rameriz.“It was a Saturday

morning and a lot of people had the same idea!”

Tim is sixty-nine years old and still works in a downtown office in

Houston five days a week.I mention that because it played a role in what

would soon result in an aborted fishing trip.By the time they had rigged

up all of their rods, set their boat up to launch and loaded the ice

box, they were already having second thoughts about fishing.

“We stood outside the truck for maybe twenty minutes before Paul shared

the following sentiment aloud,” said Tim.“We are already drenched in

sweat, drinking cokes and we haven’t even launched.I don’t think it is

going to get any cooler from this point on.”

“Our shirts were drenched by the time we pulled back out on the highway

and headed home.I don’t think we would have lasted very long,” added

Ramirez.

I was determined to make the fish on the north end of the lake bite two

days in a row, but we did little more than drink a lot of water and burn

a lot of gas.Once a light wind stopped blowing both mornings it was

miserable.After a rod had been on the deck for even a short period of

time, the reel was too hot to touch.

A light incoming tide both days did us no favors and the only birds we

found were pelicans in the open lake.I have done well a time or two

fishing flocks of surface feeding pelicans, but not this time.

Much of the northeast corner of the lake was significantly dirtier than

the rest of the lake.The river, ICW and bayous were the same off color.

The small bass in Adams Bayou didn’t mind the dirtier water, however,

and they saved our brief excursions both days.

While I am convinced that almost anything will work on these small bass,

I have found nothing more productive than a four inch Lil’ John fished

on a Wacky rig.Glow-chartreuse and purple demon have both worked

well.The goggle eye will not leave the two color tail alone either.

The Lil John is a Mirrolure bait so look for it in the saltwater

section.They are tough and a single bait will last a while even when

catching fish with teeth.

Obviously, not everyone, is content to spend their time catching and

releasing small bass.The final regular season Sabine River Shootout last

Tuesday was easily the most competitive of the year as less than a half

pound separated the first and third place finishers.

Justin James, a very consistently successful high school angler, teamed

up with Gavin Cooper to edge out their more senior competitors with an

8.86-pound stringer.Their difference maker, a 4.90-pound bass, also

earned them big bass money as well.

Steve Morris and Roeh Burton finished right on their heels with

8.46-pounds and the team of Gavin Deshotel and Dagan Bradshaw finished

third with 8.36 pounds.Deshotel and Bradshaw’s third place finish also

sealed the deal on the angler of the year title.The duo amassed a record

breaking total of 109-pounds!

With the hay in the barn, the qualifiers will fish one more event at the

end of the month to determine the 2020 championship team.

It took a pandemic to finally end the incredible string of OCARC

tournaments and the popular Orange County CCA banquet has now suffered

the same fate as well. Not surprisingly, I received a jillion e-mails

asking about the annual event as it has grown in attendance every

year.Most importantly, your continued support of the CCA is a must for

ensuring the future of saltwater fishing and renewing your membership

does just that!

You can still take advantage of some great prizes and support the

organization by participating in an auction Monday, August 24^th .All

you have to do to access the auction is to send CCAOrangecounty as a

text to 76278.

AFTCO will also be mailing out a membership renewal deal in the near

future that enables you to keep receiving tide magazine as well as all

benefits.