RUNOFF STYMIES AREA FISHING

I was both surprised and disappointed following a pair of road trips immediately after the most recent torrential downpour hit the area.I knew that we took a pretty good one day pounding locally, but I apparently slept through just how much rain they got north of us.

Two days after that rain event, I was still unable to reach my destination located on the east side of hwy. 87 due to the flooding.On Friday, while driving to Lufkin, I noticed that there was no longer any standing water on the road, but the surrounding woods and ditches were still full of the nasty brown stuff.The bottom line is that it will all eventually empty into Sabine lake!

Since the rain moved on, the weather has been to kill for, but big incoming tides have bucked the flow of water slowly running downhill.All of this is not good news for Sabine lake anglers that have patiently waited on winds to diminish over the past couple of months.

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours Sunday afternoon talking with TPWD agent, Mark Foreman, and he agreed with the assessment of local anglers concerning the trout bite in Sabine Lake.“We still have a number of nets left to set in the lake as a part of our creel surveys,” said Foreman, “but thus far we have caught very few trout.”

We caught six keeper flounder in extremely muddy water Monday afternoon, but never caught the first trout or redfish.I intended to slow down on my guiding this year, but not completely quit.Regardless of what they may or may not say over the phone, prospective clients want to go “catching”, not “fishing”, and I am not consistently catching enough fish to feel good about making that happen!

The revetment wall, bayous on the east side of the lake and the ship channel have had their moments, but the unexpected bite either vanishes the following day or the area is immediately covered up with frustrated fishermen.Only time and a little assistance from Mother Nature can remedy the situation.

Good luck if you were already making plans for a leisurely fishing trip around here the rest of May.On the other hand, if you are just looking for some loud high speed entertainment or competitive fishing, you are in luck.There are three redfish tournaments and the annual Sabine River Shootout boat races already scheduled. The boat races and live entertainment set for the weekend of the 30^th are confined to the spacious City Boat Ramps and a small section of the river, but the folks chasing redfish exclusively will fish any water that will float a boat.

For my money, the CCA High Youth team challenge tournament hosted out of the Orange Boat Club will not only be fun, but the most beneficial of them all.The CCA is the heartbeat of the future of saltwater fishing and this tournament will benefit that organization. Each team will consist of High school kids between the ages of 12 and 18 and a boat captain at least 21 years of age.

This event kicks off the weekend of the 20^th .For more information you can contact Louis Moore at 988-4845.

The S.A.L.T. Club will also host their 42^nd annual tournament the weekend of the 28^th .The number one reason this yearly event is so successful is its dedication to involving the entire family.They are committed to educating and sharing information on fishing Sabine Lake and darn near everything they do involves good food.I could smell the crawfish boiling for their annual membership drive while crossing the MLK Bridge Sunday afternoon!

Not only do they get great participation at their meetings, they are the last word in tournament weigh-ins in this area.Their team includes everything from the scales and weigh masters to computer read outs for virtually every tournament in the area.

A number of the SETX high school bass fishing teams I spoke with at the Sabine River event last month were already concerned about last weekend’s tournament on Sam Rayburn. Apparently, the Bridge City team consisting of Tanner Wilson and Ethan Borque and the LCM team of Kameryn Henderson and Tyler Shearin were not two of them.

In spite of another huge field, the Bridge City team finished second with 35.56 pounds and the LCM team took home the sixth place check with a total of 28.32 pounds.Congratulations to both teams, their schools and their volunteer captains!