Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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As the mercury creeps up into a more comfortable range outside as well as on the water, don’t let that fool you into feeling too secure at this time of the year. January and February on the Texas gulf coast can be down right brutal with all the rank weather we receive at this time of the year. Bone chilling winds coupled with humid overcast days can make even the toughest fisherman wish for a warm spot in the truck and hot cup of coffee. When late winter fronts pass through a...
Local duckhunters prepare for final weekend For all those hunters who have spent the last couple of months waking early, fighting the weather, and staring at the skies in search of ducks it's almost over. In what feels like the blink of an eye the duck season that started back in September with early Teal will end on Sunday leaving waterfowlers wishing for more. The light goose conservation season will allow hunters a chance to keep chasing birds but for the majority of duck h...
Just like the old saying “all good things must come to an end” the 2022-23 waterfowl season is almost over. For plenty of local hunters it feels like the season already ended as this crazy weather pattern has made staying on the birds a challenge. Hunters who have been willing to put in the scouting time and be flexible are still shooting their birds but they are certainly working for them. Without a doubt the hunters who are locked in on a freshwater pattern are having the...
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 w...
From my perch on the poling platform I often have plenty of time to think while I push my little boat around the marsh. The standard stuff that goes through every fisherman’s mind usually dominates my thoughts. “Where are the fish?” “Should I change locations?” “Is this the right bait?” Nothing out of the ordinary, just everyday fishing thoughts that happen to come to mind. Plenty of those moments routinely get interrupted by my fishing partner for that day and I snap back t...
For months the faithful waited in anticipation for opening day and in what seems to be the blink of an eye the 2022-23 duck season is just about gone. With a few weeks to go before the end, many water fowl hunters have resorted to road trips to get that last little fix in before the party’s over. For many hunters the coast has been the destination, especially the Rockport and Port O’ Conner areas since they have been covered up with ducks for most of the season. The stories ab...
Pardon me for just one moment while I steal a line from a great Texas country music drinking song by Roger Creager “It’s the invisible intoxicant….it’s call Everclear”. Ah, the wonders of clear liquid and what it can do to ones senses. Clear liquid doesn’t have to come in a bottle, be a zillion proof, or cost 10 bucks at the bar to do a number on your senses. The water in your nearest bay during the winter months can easily have the same effect. Catch clear water in your favor...
In every sport there are different levels of accomplishment, different levels of skill. In baseball you have rookie leagues, minor leagues, and then you have the guys in the majors who are at the top of the food chain so to speak. Far too many times in magazines the writers take for granted that everyone out there fishes just like they do. Nothing could be farther from the truth if you just get right down to it. On more than a regular basis I get asked about certain...
December and January, two months that for a long time were rarely associated with fishing of any kind in this area, have now become almost like any other good month to wet a hook. Techniques that were brought up from the lower coast of Texas have transformed the dismal winter months into a saltwater fisherman’s paradise. Over the last several years Sabine Lake has suffered from the effects of floods, storms, and freezes which have greatly contributed to the lack of big t...
A steady stream of boats, hunters, and dogs crowded the local launches Saturday morning as the Louisiana duck season officially opened. Texas hunters continued their hot start from the previous weekend by taking advantage of the big north winds that greeted hunters at shooting light. The high winds made for some fantastic decoying action in marshes all along the southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana marshes. Heavy straps of gadwall, teal, wigeon and shovelers were the norm...
Saturday morning will officially usher in the 2022-2023 waterfowl season for all our local hunters and expectations run the gamut from cautiously optimistic to gung ho. Texas duck and goose hunters cranked up last weekend and the initial reports were very good.. Many local marshes that are historically proven early season producers had mixed reviews after the storms rolled through but they made up for it on Sunday. High water during the late summer stunted vegetation growth...
“You remember when….” is a question that I am hearing all too often these days, especially when I am talking to water fowlers. Less than a decade ago our area marshes were a haven for all types of migratory birds, world class wing shooting at its best. The skies were filled with ducks and geese and the local hospitality and great Cajun cuisine made this part of the world a magnet for hunters from all around the globe. Well the food and hospitality are still here but the birds...
One of perhaps the most anticipated hunting days of the year is upon us; Saturday morning starts off the annual youth hunting weekend in Texas. Young hunters and adults alike look forward to this very special weekend for a variety of reasons. For many young hunters this is their opportunity to take center stage and reap the benefits of all the practice and preparation they have been through during the off season. The trips to the range, the work at the hunting lease, or...
The sun has just broken the horizon to illuminate a relatively smooth lake surface, the temperatures are mild and the forecast is in the anglers favor. A short boat ride into the wide open expanse of Sabine is stopped so one of the anglers in the boat can glass the area with a pair of binoculars in hopes of finding a set of working birds. The glassing pays off and the boat of hopeful anglers speed off in the direction of the birds with visions of speckled trout busting shrimp...
I must admit I never imagined I would see our Louisiana friends to the east jump on the conservation bandwagon this hard. For years there has been a huge disparity on fishing limits between Texas and Louisiana, so much that many Texas anglers have routinely taken to launching their boats on the Louisiana side of the lake in order to keep the much more liberal limits. Once Texas moved their speckled trout limit to 5 there was a large increase in the number of Texas boats at...
All along the Texas gulf coast the pattern is the same, cool fronts signal the much anticipated 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 scenario in each bay...
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...
