Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 201
Texas hunters do everything big and that includes purchasing their firearms. Now the bigger is better theory has some merit but not when it comes to smaller hunters such as women or children. Picture this, the moment all hunters prepare for is at hand, the first big buck or giant Canada goose has come in to range and it's time to take the shot. The trigger is pulled and a shot rings out followed closely by a howl of agony from the shooter and a big "oh no" from their hunting...
All along the Texas gulf coast the pattern is the same, much anticipated cool fronts on the horizon will signal the frenzy that is fall fishing. Anglers of every description ready themselves with the latest technology and gear in hopes of finding flocks of gulls working over schools of hungry speckled trout and redfish. Shiny fiberglass cruisers masquerading as bay boats are stocked up with an array of tackle that would make most anglers drool with envy. It is the same...
I have no idea why we as anglers are constantly trying to complicate things, always re-inventing the wheel and adding corners. In our never ending quest to catch more and bigger fish we often stray down the path which we think leads to discovery only to find that out that if we had just read the street signs we’d be in much better shape. Over the years it seems like we have become so detailed and specific that the average fisherman suffers from “paralysis by analysis”. Fishi...
It doesn’t make any difference if you’re a hunter or a fisherman because this time of the year has something for everyone and it’s all good. The brief cool down from near triple digit heat has both hunters and fishermen alike thinking of what’s in store for the coming weeks. The very first hint of hunting season starts with teal and dove season in September and if you look at the calendar that’s not too far off. Hunters of all shapes and sizes flock to the field to take advant...
Tell the truth, you know that at the end of last hunting season you cleaned up your favorite bird gun, stored it away and haven't touched it since. Don't be embarrassed because you are not alone, as a matter of fact you are in the great majority of hunters. Year in and year out all too many hunters never practice near enough to keep their shooting skills sharp, as a matter most never practice. Every year you get a big push of hunters shooting rifles before deer season,...
The easy north wind has already begun to work magic on local hunters as they eagerly await the September 1 opener of dove season here in Texas. North Zone hunters will enjoy a few weeks of hunting before those of us south of IH-10 get into the mix of things. In years past the days leading up to the opener have been filled with some goofy weather that always seems to make an appearance before the season starts. For the past several seasons there have been some heavy rains wash...
For the majority of upper coast anglers the thought of actually seeing a fish before you cast to it is more of a foreign concept than going to a restaurant that doesn't serve sweet tea, it's just not natural. In the minds of most anglers who fish with me the thought of water with clarity good enough to see fish in is usually reserved for venues farther south or some Carribean island where the white sand is nearly blinding, not the upper coast of Texas or Louisiana. Now don't g...
Now unless you live under a rock in a far dark corner of the planet you probably have some sort of idea about how completely fanatical Texas folks are about football. The summer months in our great state are often looked upon with great enthusiasm as thousands of football players begin their preparations for the fall campaign by first trying to beat the Texas heat. The football term “2 a days” refers to the common practice of working out twice a day, usually once in the mor...
I know it's tough to even imagine it, especially when the mercury is threatening to burst out the top of the thermometer, but hunting season is right around the corner. August is the month that gets everything kicked off, hunters and fishermen alike can see the light at the end of the summer tunnel. For the fishermen it's just now getting right on Sabine lake, the trout and redfish are doing their typical summer shuffle in the middle of the day all over the open lake. Shad, sh...
In all honesty I would have to sit down and think long and hard to remember seeing conditions as good as what we have right now on Sabine Lake. For weeks now the water has done nothing but continue to get clear and green all the way into the Sabine and Neches rivers. The beach front has been nothing short of gorgeous and the jetties are just as pretty depending on the tide movement. In short, it’s about as good as we are going to see it right now and the fishing isn’t far beh...
For many of us the 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...
Very seldom, if ever, will you run into anyone who doesn’t like it when everything happens just right. Fishermen especially love it when they plan for a day on the water and everything from the weather to the fish ends up working in their favor. On occasion those types of trips happen and they help to erase the memory of the bad ones from the past. For many of the folks who fish with me the hope of catching just the right day is a high priority, especially the ones that t...
Now unless you live under a rock in a far dark corner of the planet you probably have some sort of idea about how completely fanatical Texas folks are about football. The summer months in our great state are often looked upon with great enthusiasm as thousands of football players begin their preparations for the fall campaign by first trying to beat the Texas heat. The football term "2 a days" refers to the common practice of working out twice a day, usually once in the...
One of the biggest and most intriguing factors that keep fishermen coming back day after day is the process of discovery, figuring out the puzzle so to speak. The task of sifting through all the variables and making sense out of all the factors in order to establish a pattern is what drives many anglers. Unknowingly we all go through the same process every time we fish but without the fanfare. Most of us don't realize we are even doing it, establishing a pattern, but just as...
Easily one of the most alluring features of Sabine Lake area is the fact that you can catch so many different species of fish in a relatively small area. The brackish water holds both fresh and saltwater fish in good numbers as well as quality. It’s never uncommon to see a stringer of fish include flounder, redfish, speckled trout, and an occasional really nice largemouth bass. The potential for all these fish to be in the same body of water makes each strike that much more e...
"Be careful what you wish for because you just may get it" is what I was often told as a kid. Things that seem like great ideas at the time will often turn out to be unwanted nuisances that are worse than the original option. For months Texas anglers, myself included, cursed the constant high winds and prayed that they would stop in order to make the bay systems mote user friendly. Well, the winds are showing signs of finally slowing down and with that now the temperatures...
The slick surface of the lake was disrupted by skipping shrimp and the familiar sound of trout crashing the helpless crustaceans. Each cast with a soft plastic was met the familiar thump of an aggressive fish that thought they were much larger than they really were. One small trout after another continued to hammer the jigs and also continued to be too small. The next logical thought for catching bigger fish was to go to a topwater plug, which usually works well under these...
For some unknown reason society has always been interested in and amused by the misfortunes of others. Television has had countless shows dedicated to "bloopers" and other gaffes made by everyday people doing everyday things and the masses tune in weekly to get another dose of these antics. I'd be willing to bet you most fishermen you know are at least familiar with the Bill Dance blooper videos, a compilation of outtakes and blunders that fishermen can certainly relate to...
For the majority of our area students school is almost over for the year and the much anticipated free days of summer are now upon us. This time of the year that is tailor made for taking a youngster fishing. During the school year everyone is confined to schedules that only allow free time on the weekends, which coincidentally is when everyone else is free. The crowds are much larger on the weekends and who knows if the fish have figured out what Saturday and Sunday mean. It...
I have no idea how it happens, it seems like only a few weeks ago summer was so far away and we were in the midst of a mini winter as successive cool fronts continued to remind us how nice 60 degree weather with zero humidity could be. All that will become a distant memory as we flip the calendar and officially entered the dog days of summer. Welcome back the sweltering heat and humidity so thick you need to breathe through a snorkel just to cope with everyday tasks. Gone are...
In all my years on the water I can't remember ever having this much wind for this long during the month of April. It has just absolutely howled for nearly a month straight and according to the forecast it doesn't look like it plans to let up any time soon. For obvious reasons the folks wanting to get out on Sabine Lake or Calcasieu has been pinned down to very small areas that offer the most protection. These spots tend to get crowded in a hurry which only adds more misery to...
The horizon was filled with black clouds gathering over the gulf and lightning strikes were just enough to make you wonder "what am I doing out here?" A close look at the west shore line of Calcasieu through binoculars revealed no rain but that was just a matter of time. All of us in the boat were in agreement that we stay put until the weather began to clear. While we waited to see if we were going to get to fish or have to run for shelter I noticed the streams of finger...
Fishing too fast is a common problem that many anglers have, especially when the fish tend to gather up and school in big bunches. Saltwater anglers who chase schooling fish along with freshwater fishermen who also key in on flocks of birds over hungry groups of stripers, hybrids, and whites are perhaps the worst. The frenzied activity puts everyone on the boat in high gear often leaving the majority of the water column untouched. It's a proven fact that smaller more...
Just about any Texas fisherman who ever wet a line knows that the spring is full of many things, most of which fall into the category of uncertainty and unpredictability. The all time #1 villain is the weather man and his friend the marine forecast, aka "that #$%@ wind"! For plenty of us who take advantage of every season the waders that were used during duck hunts have become your best friend as the gears switch in favor of chasing trophy trout in 60 plus degree water. All bu...
You ever wonder what a 64 pack of Crayola crayons, 31 flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robbins, or bags of assorted candy have in common? The answer is they offer something for everyone because we all don't have the same taste. If everyone did things exactly like everyone else then life would be ridiculously boring and mundane. It's choices and options that give each individual the opportunity to succeed and sometimes those options and choices are a little different than what...
