Well a new year is underway and so far it has been nothing short of awesome. As Texans, I think that we all agree that winter never showed up and spring time is near. The warmer temperatures and abundant rainfall we had in December really made for a funky winter bite. This completely threw off the trout fishing on Sabine and made anglers, including myself, work hard to find them.
I did spend several trips fishing the well known areas and coming up short every single time. After 7-10 trips with not the first bite, I had to revert back to targeting redfish as a reassurance that I still knew what a fish felt like. My first trip was merely to explore a new area and hope to pick up a few fish along the way. The findings that I had made me question of why I ever stopped chasing redfish in the first place. I found flats with the water clarity being crystal clear and only holding around 1-2 foot of water due to the northern winds. It did not take me long to start sight casting some big brutes in the shallows.
The few colder days that we experienced did affect the fish in the typical winter time manner. When temperatures dropped it drove the fish to seek refuge in deeper holes in the channels and bayous. Once you found their little hideouts, it would make for a fun day of fishing because they would be stacked up!
So within the past month or so I literally have found fish in 10" to 10' of water. Also with the water temperature being WAY warmer that what it should be for February and coming into March, it seems to have caused the shrimp to hatch earlier this year. So with the northern winds blowing a majority of water off the flats combined with a strong outgoing tide, everything in the flats has to exit and ride the tide out. These conditions have put redfish staging at marsh drains and any funnel point to gorge on the outflow of shrimp. I even found a pretty healthy trout hanging in the same area with some bigger redfish. In a few short cast I had a 34" red and a 26" trout fall prey to a gold spoon in the same marsh drain.
So just about everywhere I have fished I have found them to be stacked up and very aggressive. These gals are not planning on skipping a meal and you can tell they haven't! I have been trying to find the perfect fish for a upcoming tournament but have been finding a bunch that were over slot. Luckily on the day it counted, I found 2 reds that were under the slot and was good enough to land me 3rd place weighing in with a even 15 lbs.
The past few months for me have been incredibly productive. I have found fish, broke out of my comfort zone and tried some new tactics, lures and explored new water. I also decided to rebuild and update my site to make it more appealing (which it is a major upgrade from what it was).
There are several new opportunities and adventures coming my way and I plan on taking advantage of every one of them. I have come to realize in the past few months that nothing is out of reach, if you want something, get off your ass and get it! It is ok at times to veer off course, stumble and fall but whatever you do, do not lose sight of your goals and never forget why you started in the first place!
"Practice like you have never won and play like you have never lost!"
Enjoy Life