Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Sorted by date Results 110 - 134 of 201
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...
In all honesty this has to be one of my absolute most favorite times of the year, that transition from winter into spring when the weather starts to cooperate and the fishing gets a jump start. March is a true "transition" month as we begin to see some new patterns emerge and become more consistent. As long as we don't get too many of those blustery spring winds the outlook for everything from the gulf to the Sabine river will be on the good side. The folks who have been dying...
The LCM High School fishing team duo of Jacob Longlois and Tanner Stewart put a stranglehold on Toledo Bend this past weekend as they doubled up for victories on both Saturday and Sunday. The unusual circumstances where tournaments were held on back to back days was a result of rescheduled event from January being fished after the regularly scheduled event on Saturday. Longlois and Stewart posted a winning weight of 20.99 pounds on Saturday for their first win of the weekend....
If you happen to be one of those people who live their life according to the weatherman you have had a great month so far, especially for February. All things considered the temperatures have been reasonably mild except for a few frosty mornings and we have been noticeably dry for weeks now. Anyone who has spent even a little time on Sabine knows that rain and run off from Toledo Bend are the arch nemesis to the local fishing community. Most of the time the water clarity in Fe...
For as long as I can remember the first few weeks of every New Year have been an exciting transitional period for a myriad of reasons. The most obvious is the hope and high expectations that come from turning the calendar page and staring a brand new season in the face and liking what you see. For those of us enamored with the outdoors January and February are a fantastic buffet with endless options from one end of the spectrum to the other. Many of us have just put away our...
"If you're not cheating you're not trying" is a popular line used by many to describe the overwhelming desire to win at all costs which basically sums up a large portion of the population. Cheating permeates just about every facet of our lives in one way or another. Millions of people right now are trying to figure out how to "legally cheat" on their income taxes so they can balance out their debt with the government. Athletes in all the major sports and beyond are looking...
Now for most people the thought of chasing fish in the months of January and February seems a little on the foreign side, even crazy at times. The cold water and dreary days don't really motivate the casual angler like bright skies and springtime conditions when everybody wants get on the water. Well the calendar has now become our friend and the good days are outnumbering the bad. If you are thinking about tackling trout or redfish any time soon you need to be properly armed...
The home stretch for local waterfowl hunters is dead ahead as the end of January is staring right back at us. Fortunately, for many of those still chasing ducks and geese, the weatherman has decided to be somewhat friendly and finally give us some prolonged colder weather. This season has been ridiculously warm, in fact we had one of the warmest Decembers on record along with one of the driest. The conditions for shooting ducks and geese were about as bad as anybody could...
Instant gratification, speed is what we need, only 20.00 extra to get it there tomorrow. All these examples of a world in a hurry and don't think for a minute the sport of fishing is immune. Motors are getting bigger, boats are getting faster, and the whole process seems to be on the fast track to who knows where. A perfect example of the speed sensation are the new reels that boast 8 to 1 or better gear ratios, talk about burn a bait across the grass. Well in this quest for...
Here in Texas there are a few things that are common from Sabine to Baffin at this time of the year and everyone who calls the coast or saltwater home has an idea what those things are. Probably the biggest and most common factor is the wind, you just can't escape those big gusts that seem to come around every weekend. The wind is a constant factor and most anglers eventually figure out how to deal with the uncomfortable conditions, some seek shelter in protected waters while...
