Category Archives: Colburn: Fishing

Nothing magic about locating fish

Jason Guidry fooled this nice trout with an Assassin Lit’l Tapper!

It is no secret that the trout bite on Sabine Lake lit off following the modest front that limped through the area Sunday before last. The lake immediately flattened out, larger shrimp showed up in the open lake and the

Bates-Veitch win Triangle TailChasers event

Albert Bates and Mike Veitch with part of winning catch

The Triangle TailChaser’s third tournament of the year was certainly no bargain for the eleven teams willing to battle the wind last Saturday. Pre-fishing was of little benefit as the wind had blown all week long and most of the

Just another windy day

Nice trout caught under the gulls on a very windy day.

Exactly what are we fixing just prior to stating…”I was fixing to say…!” In this case I was fixin’ to write something only to realize that the topic wasn’t all that generic. Not everyone fishes for a living or reads

Louisiana anglers dominate big bass event

Flounder bite has been consistent in the bayous.

I haven’t spoken with a single angler that fished last weekend’s Big Bass Splash on Toledo Bend, but I think that it is probably safe to assume that the 3,527 entrants were forced to deal with the same howling wind

Benefit tournament big success

Kelly Ford fooled this nice flounder with a usual Suspect Swim Bait.

The late season cold front altered the game plan for area fishermen over the weekend, but in spite of a much stiffer wind than predicted and off-colored water in much of the lake, the catching was still on the respectable

VUDU is the real deal

Catching numbers isn’t all bad!

As far as I am concerned, the only downside to guiding is that a large percentage of my fishing time is not spent fishing the lure or even the pattern that I would be fishing if I were alone. The

A big start for Triangle Tailchasers

The members of the Triangle Tail Chasers kicked off their chase for Team of the year honors Saturday morning and the good news for the majority of the club is that the championship is decided by points rather than total

Braided line deserves one more try

Kim Rider with a nice red that fell for a fake shrimp!

The wind was blowing a little harder out of the south than I would have liked when I lowered the troll motor over the bow. After asking my clients whether they preferred a casting or spinning combination I handed each

Vaughan and Braxton win championship

Michael Braxton and Michael Vaughan with championship trophies.

Aside from “How many people will there be in your party,” the most important question I can ask when a new client calls is, “What do you hope to accomplish by hiring me to take you fishing?” More often than

The bite on Sabine continues to improve

Wading is a productive alternative on windy days.

I really do not believe the catching can get any better than it is on Sabine right now. The lake is in excellent condition and the shrimp have arrived much earlier than usual. Some of the bayous are still a

Unlike your average Sunday morning

Joe Matthews with nice trout taken on another windy day.

Drinking that first cup of coffee in front of the television at 7:00 in the morning is not the way most folks start their Sundays around here, but I feel certain that it was the norm for lots of Orange

Orange sets Bassmaster attendance records

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Anyone that resides in the Orange area could have immediately told you there was a helluva crowd in attendance at the Bassmaster Elite weigh-ins both Saturday and Sunday afternoon well before they neared the launch site. I have never seen

Historical event cranks up Thursday morning

HospKeep

Russell Bottley ducked in under the hospital portico Sunday afternoon to avoid the light, but cold misty rain.“This is bass fishing nirvana,” he said with a smile not unlike that seen on the face of a youngster on Christmas morning.“I

Orange readies for national stage

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Hopefully, the wind will be a little more forgiving by the time next weekend rolls around. On consecutive days this week I met clients at the launch only to reschedule rather than deal with the wind. It was an easier

Trout fishermen opting for spawning bass

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With the exception of a brief respite this past week end, area saltwater fishermen have been throttled by daily winds that have eliminated virtually all of Sabine Lake. As you would expect, the churning whitecaps keep the silt suspended and

Lower the bar and enjoy the bite

There is not a day that I share a body of water with other fishermen that I don’t believe that someone else is catching fish regardless of whether I am or not. Perhaps that is a mind-set cultivated through too

Elite pros finalizing game plans

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While a number of the top bass pros in the United States were all over Orange County this past week scouring the river and bayous in hopes of putting together a winning pattern, Cory Rambo and Rusty Clark were taking

Improving water clarity helps trout bite

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After back to back days of blistering winds that howled out of the south the first day only to turn around and blow even harder out of the north the next, we were left with a lake that resembled a

Bass bite warming up on T-bend

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“I don’t get up to the Chicken Coop enough to even guess how much longer the crappie bite will last,” reported John Mires, “but it has slowed down for me with the muddy runoff out of the major creeks. ”Mires

Trout bite rebounding in spite of more fresh water

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It took only about as long for the fishing to pick back up as it did for it to temporarily fall off following the rains. Thus far, it appears that in spite of the added fresh water currently being discharged

Too old to ignore the cold

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I hope it doesn’t have anything to do with getting too old because there isn’t a helluva lot I can do about that, but I towed my boat to the launch one morning earlier this week and came right back