Another shot of cold air
Last updated 2/17/2015 at Noon
Not one of the three of us was totally committed to the task at hand after the first hour of fishing.While that attitude more often than not yields less than favorable results, it is almost always a deal killer for the winter fisherman……especially those dedicated enough to pull on their waders and climb in the water!
It was a spur of the moment trip born of boredom, but the basic premise for wading off into thigh deep water in a howling southeast wind with only three lures in a Ziploc bag was not without some merit.An approaching front was only hours away, big trout tend to feed very aggressively just ahead of a front and Cleon didn’t have to pick up his wife and Mother-in-law until three o’clock!
Had I not run into the persistent duo while renewing a truck license I would have caught four fewer redfish in my life, but I would also have spent a more comfortable morning cleaning reels in the kitchen. It wasn’t like I was kidnapped, however, and I did have just enough gear in the backseat of the truck to join in the fun.
The incoming whitecaps were breaking less than waist high, but the wind still deposited the accompanying foam all the way from our chests to the top of our caps.The fact that the three of us were content to stand and fish so close to one another was a clear indicator that our enthusiasm had steadily diminished, but we continued to grind away only because Scott caught a 27-inch trout on his third cast.
That happening had taken place ten or twelve redfish earlier, however, and we were all much drier at the time.It was also Scott that first mentioned that the wind had died, but it seemed to be getting colder by the minute. That phenomenon is not uncommon immediately following the wind switching to the north, but it doesn’t always include a driving rain as well.
This time, however, it did and we blamed our self-imposed misery on Cleon all the way back to the landing.Our bitching apparently hit a nerve as he graciously paid for our gumbo!
The water still looked good Monday, but we did get enough rain to expect at least a little bit of a hit on water clarity before we see more sunshine. Previous to Monday’s rain event we had enjoyed a ten day run of unseasonably warm weather and improved catching.The trout had joined in the chase and the redfish bite hadn’t slowed at all.Not surprisingly, the reds were still doing their thing in the rain.
The only thing missing for me of late has been catching any numbers of the big trout that make enduring the cold worth the misery.In fact, I was catching very few trout of any size prior to the warm-up, but that bite improved drastically.
I did notice in the seminar schedule for the upcoming Houston Fishing Show that Sabine’s own Capt. Adam Jaynes will discuss catching monster trout on Sabine Lake and his topic could not be timelier.He and his clients do catch their fair share and he pays his dues while others simply talk about stalking big trout.His talk is scheduled for 3:30 Wednesday afternoon onFebruary 25^th .
The show takes place at the George R. Brown Convention Center from February 25 thru March 1^st .The doors open at noon Wednesday thru Friday and at ten o’clock Saturday andSunday.If you want to talk to the pros about catching the kind of fish you prefer to catch, you will love this show.You can put your hands on virtually any rod and reel that you have considered buying and get the inside from factory reps as well.
The price of admission is only $9 and you could easily spend the entire evening and not see everything. I would recommend making a short list of any specific product you wanted to put your hands on from rod and reels to waders, any guide or factory rep you wanted to talk with and any seminar you would like to attend before ever leaving home.Otherwise, you inevitably realize on the way home that you forgot something.
On a more serious note, CCA Texas and CCA Louisiana will co-sponsor a joint crab trap clean up on Sabine this Saturday.The joint effort will be based out of Walter Humphrey State Park.Tarps and gloves will be provided for volunteers and local chapters will serve drinks and food from 12 til 2 pm.For more information contact Jerry Mambretti at 409-983-1104 ext. 222 or any of your local CCA chapters.
Photo - Cheryl and Ben Sharp caught and released redfish all morning!
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