The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

If you are like me you have had enough of this wind, goodness it has blown like nobody’s business and just keeps right on ripping. In normal years we would have just chalked this up to a normal spring, this year has been a little bit different. The absolutely amazing fishing that we have enjoyed on Sabine and Calcasieu for the first several months of the year were almost unprecedented, it was downright incredible at times. The combination of willing fish and cool spring temperatures early in the year only spoiled us, we were all living a dream and nobody in their right mind wanted to wake up.

Well that nasty sound you keep hearing is not the snooze alarm, it’s the wind roaring through the trees and tearing up the bay just in time for fishing to get really good. Hopefully we have seen the worst of the wind and the summer months ahead will bring calmer seas and more fishable days.

For many of us the upcoming 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 the high profile redfish and trout tournaments 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. These guys are good and they prove it at every tournament.

Now that we are closing in on the month of May there will be plenty of different programs to choose from and all of them will produce at times. I really like the fact that now there will be so many places to fish that the crowds tend to scatter out. Yes there will be a pile of folks on the jetty but that’s not always bad, especially if you are running past them towards a flat Gulf of Mexico. Every stretch of water in our area will have something to offer as the summer months ahead grow closer every day. From the marshes to the gulf, take your pick and enjoy the whole thing.

Also don’t forget to take the kids, school days left in this year are getting shorter and the best fishing companion you could ever hope for will be chomping at the bit to get out on the water and have some fun.