BIG TROUT BITE IMPROVING ON BIG LAKE

 

Last updated 11/12/2019 at Noon



The only reason I was even on the road was to purchase some covers for the outdoor faucets before it really got cold.At that particular moment, my temperature gauge read thirty-seven degrees and the north wind was blowing a bone chilling 15 to 20 mph.

I was waiting on the light to change when I spotted Dale Kent gassing up his Center Console at a convenience store on the opposite side of the highway.“What are you doing,” I asked with my window cracked just enough to hear his reply.

“C.J. and I are headed to Big Lake to see if we can fool a big trout.These conditions aren’t ideal, but the next two days are going to be as bad or worse and he only has two days off.”

The unplanned conversation quickly moved inside and Dale said that over the past three weeks he and his friends had caught six trout over seven pounds wading the north end of Big Lake.“I caught only one trout over six pounds last year and none the year before,” added the Houston angler, “so this has been unexpectedly good so far.”

“It is hard to believe that it could possibly get so bad so quickly,” said Dale.“I never thought I would get excited about catching a seven pound trout on Big Lake, but that has been my story and we have continued to fish hard.”

“My first trip over here was fifteen years ago after hearing all of the crazy reports and we caught only one big trout that day.When we got back to the landing, however, three other visiting Texas anglers were taking pictures of twenty-one trout over six pounds piled on an old tarp.”

“I told my brother, Kyle, that day that we better get back as soon as possible because that just couldn’t last very long,” added Dale.“I was wrong.It lasted a long time, but we are just now catching a few big trout again and it will never be like it was back then.”

He showed me a picture of a trout he guessed to weigh eight pounds, but released it without ever taking it out of the water due to other boats chasing gulls only a few casts away.“That’s the biggest fish I’ve caught so far, but we have been getting at least one swing at a good one every trip!”

“We are in no hurry,” he added, “so you ought to run home and grab your waders.If the tide is even half way favorable the last hour of daylight will be the most productive.”

I thanked him, but passed on the invitation with no reservations concerning my quick decision.I haven’t spoken with him since, but he was right about the weather which has done him no favors the past few days.

I don’t think any other fishermen shop with the fervor of dedicated big trout hunters.I was in Rambo’s Tackle the day after the last modest front and seemingly overnight the more popular colors in Corkies, Mirrodine XL’s and the larger topwater lures were already disappearing.It is really a Catch 22 phenomenon as those anglers never buy just one or two of a certain color for fear that the peg on the wall will be empty on their next visit!

The fifty-three anglers fishing the Sabine Lions Club Annual Flounder Tournament last weekend were greeted with some very difficult post-frontal conditions.In spite of that, sixteen flounder were weighed in and fourteen of them were released alive thanks to the efforts of the S.A.L.T. Club weigh masters and the anglers themselves!

Roland Brown took home the first place check with a respectable eighteen inch flatfish that tipped the scales at 2.97-pounds.The final weights in no way reflected how consistent the flounder catch had been prior to the front.It was strictly a matter of the high pressure and less than favorable tides temporarily shutting down the bite!

It will be very interesting to see how much the catching on Sabine Lake is affected following the strongest front of the year.Lower levels and colder water usually ignite some of the best redfish catching of the year.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Our Family of Publications Includes:

County Record
Penny Record

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/04/2024 23:27