CATCHING CONTINUES TO IMPROVE

The weather could go to pot by the weekend, but thus far

scattered thunderstorms have not lasted long and runoff has not been

a major problem. That is good news for the folks planning on spending

this Saturday fishing the OCARC event.

The following breakdown, as in past years, will hopefully get you

pointed in the right direction if you haven’t been on the water much of

late. My number one recommendation is to take along way more

water than you ever thought you would drink and put on your

sunscreen before you ever leave the house!

This year the big bass will earn some lucky angler more money

than in past years. Dominion, Inc. has increased the winner’s check

from the original $250 to $750!

I also think it is important to know going in that it will take more

than luck to cash that check. A significant number of local anglers have

been weighing in four-pound plus bass every Tuesday and that will still

be a hard weight to top.

There is no doubt that the marshes afford the best shot as the

water is much clearer, the vegetation affords lots of hiding places and

we are seeing more bait fish every trip. The redfish are competing for

the same buffet, but some very solid bass are holding their own.

The largest bass we caught last week might have weighed three

pounds, but we got a lot of swings fishing a free-floated lizard and a

Ribbit Frog. We talked with two anglers that were fishing a Whacky

worm in the deeper trails and at the time they had seven small keepers

and a four-pound bass in their live well.

Make no mistake about it, the marshes will be crowded with

competitors chasing both redfish and bass in the same ponds. We have

been targeting reds with the afore-mentioned lures and the bass still

occasionally crash the party. For the first time this year we have seen a

few small lady fish in the marsh and that is a good thing for Sabine Lake

fishermen.

Last week it seemed that most of the redfish we caught in the

marsh were either too short or too long. The redfish we caught fishing

the lake were mixed. Our most consistent bite was on points and easily

our most productive lure was a morning glory or space guppy Usual

Suspect. That swim bait in the four-inch version worked even better

than GULP!

The winning redfish, trout and flounder are all worth $250 and I

think the chances of catching a solid fish in any of those categories are

better than they were a week ago. We are seeing larger pockets of

clearer water in the mid-lake area and that expands what has been a

very limited playing field.

Someone could very easily steal the trout pot with a fish weighing

less than three pounds, but we are finally seeing a few larger fish both

on the jetties and along the revetment wall. The jetties have been

crowded, but wind permitting, the best combination has been early

morning and a good tide change.

Choice of lures is a toss-up as I have seen a nice trout or two

caught on a 5-inch Assassin rigged on a quarter ounce head and a

Softdine XL. James Pousson caught three trout over four pounds the

same morning fishing live shrimp under a cork in front of the pipes on

the north end of the wall. He was drifting three to five feet of water

fifty yards off the shoreline.

James didn’t mind sharing the information as he is a client from

San Antonio that was on vacation. He was wondering what all the fuss

was about concerning small trout!

I am betting the winning flounder will come off the ship channel

somewhere between the Causeway and Lighthouse Cove. The size has

continued to improve as have the numbers. We have caught some

solid keepers on the Swim Bait, but my first choice would be a finger

mullet fished on a Carolina rig.

With the exception of the croaker, any of the other winning fish

could come a short distance from the launch. Anyone want to bet

against a Borel winning the grinnel Division?

As of Tuesday, there were still a few corporate tables as well as

individual tickets available for the Orange County CCA Banquet and

auction Aug. 8 th . It all kicks off a 6:00 p.m. at the Convention and Expo

Center on hwy. 1442. For more information or tickets call Louis Moore at 409-988-4845.