Just Not Enough Time

Capt. Dickie Colburn

For The Record

Larry Breaux and a friend were cinching down the four wheeler in the bed of his truck when I first spotted them in the far corner of the high school parking lot.It was still an hour before kickoff and while the rest of the family had already made their way into the stadium, Larry was checking his list one more time.

“I have a serious love-hate relationship with this time of the year,” said Breaux.“There just isn’t enough time!”Sound familiar?

“Connie and I went to the JV game last night,” added Breaux, “packed her Tahoe and loaded my truck this morning, bought groceries and corn for the deer lease, have this game tonight and a bass tournament on Rayburn tomorrow. We’ll run by the lease on the way back on Sunday."

Due to shoulder problems that I will not have fixed, I can no longer hunt, but this is an enjoyable dilemma that takes place every fall for a fortunate few outdoorsmen.Just trying to fish both fresh and saltwater would be tough enough, not to mention adding dove and duck hunting to the mix.

Hunting and football are seasonal and not an option when looking for something to cut back.In most cases it is some aspect of fishing that gets put on hold and most folks simply squeeze in trips on the nearest venue until the last day of hunting season.The playoffs will extend that season for the better high school teams, but that inconvenience is celebrated in Texas!

The lake level on Toledo Bend is never mentioned as long as it isn’t running over the top of the spillway and that certainly isn’t the case right now.The lake level dipped below the 169 mark earlier this week and while that level works well for the fishermen, more property owners now find their docks high and dry.

The 169 to 170 foot mark not only helps the fishermen by exposing more of the flooded timber, but tends to concentrate the fish as well.If you missed the spring run on crappie I have good news.The better crappie guides are once again catching limits of the tasty pan fish over brush piles in 22 to 30 feet of water.The catching part is not all that exciting, but for my money the eating part is unsurpassed.

The bass fishing continues to improve right here at home.I have talked with a lot of pros recently that will be down here next month and they are catching fish not only in the river, but the bayous and marsh as well.Good numbers have all but been a given, but bass over four pounds still get a second look.

Cleve Decker said that he caught 12 to 14 inch bass on a small crankbait until he just got tired of catching them one day last week, but the two largest fish he caught ate a craw worm pitched into flooded cypress knees. Both of those fish were just under the four pound mark, but five fish that size will win a pro a lot of money next month!

Sabine Lake fishing is still mostly about redfish and flounder.Unless we get a cold front in the next week or two, even that bite will get tougher once the Game Reserve closes.We are finally finding more small trout working under the birds in the evening, but that bite has been very inconsistent.

If you are in the right place at the right time you can limit on redfish in a hurry, but locating the schooling fish generally requires a lot of cruising around and binocular work.We have had some big incoming tides and that has scattered the flounder the last few days.The fishing is still a lot easier than the catching!

Do not forget about the S.A.L.T. KIDS tournament on Oct. 1^st .No entry fee and you can fish anywhere as long as you are back at the clubhouse on Pleasure Island by 11:00.Prizes and cash will be awarded to the youngsters for everything from a wining crab to a redfish.The winner of a random drawing will receive a Lifetime Fishing License.

For more information call Max at 626-2501 or Roger at 920-5235.