A Tale of Two Months SABINE

Reported by CAPT. EDDIE HERNANDEZ

WHAT MORE COULD ANYone ask for? Over the course of these next two months, we are blessed to be able to sh two very exciting, very productive and very di erent techniques in our e orts to outsmart the three most sought a er inshore species on the entire Texas coast.

Starting with September, the month that the calendar says fall o cially begins. If you’ve lived in southeast Texas long enough you know that just because the calendar says that fall has arrived, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the thermometer is going to support that theory. In fact, many times what the calendar tells you is the exact opposite of what the mercury is reading.

September on Sabine is o en just an extension of the summer heat wave we’ve grown so accustomed to. erefore, for the time being, we will continue catching sh the same way we have been for the past several months. at means that channel, je ies and all points south of the causeway bridge, we are not quite done with you yet. e topwater bite in the ship channel should remain consistent early and late for the next few weeks. is should produce some he y stringers of trout and reds. Once the UV rays begin to penetrate the water and the blowups become less frequent, make the switch to so plastics bounced o the bo om or under a popping cork. e same should hold true at the je ies as we still have a few more weeks of late sum- mer pa erns there also. Again, throwing topwaters early is a good idea. Make the switch to so plastics around mid-morning. ese will be the rst ones to make any signi cant di erence in air and water temperatures. ese ever increasing fronts will slowly begin to bring lower than normal tides that will pull water from the back lakes and purge the marsh and bayous of shrimp and bait sh, and the much anticipated fall bite should blast o from that point on. e shrimp will nally have the green light to ride the current out of the marsh and venture out into the open waters of the bay. Once there, they will be happily greeted by hungry trout, reds and ounder. is is a continuing process that gains momentum with each new front. is is only the beginning of the declining fall temperatures and as a result, the mouths of the bayous, shorelines and open bay are all excellent places to locate sh. Birds working over schools of hungry predators will be telltale signs that some of the shrimp have indeed decided to relocate from their summer home in the marsh and set their sights on the big water. Chasing birds in the fall is by far the most popular means for catching quick limits.

Locations with good bait holding bottoms and uctuating depths are areas you will want to key on. Good tidal movement and the abundance of bait sh is what keeps these areas at the top of most people’s list.

As the month of October begins to make itself comfortable here on Sabine, you’ll notice that the cool fronts will become a li le more frequent and intense.

October brings with it the rst real fronts of the year which tend to raise the bird chasing bar up a few notches. e amount of bait, coupled with lower water temperatures allow the big 3 to really showcase their dominance in the food chain. Hopefully we’ll see you down here experiencing the tale of two months.