Sabine Lake fly and conventional tackle fishing reports & photos
Thursday, July 26, 2007
7/26/2007 - Tuff conditions and bad weather
I had the pleasure of guiding Bill Heugel and Don McMurry today on their 1st trip to Bessie Heights Marsh. The weather man said bad weather was coming but we thought we could beat the weather and get a days fishing in before it happened. Well we did beat most of the weather but we had to run from a thunder storm around noon but went back out after it passed.
Don got the first Red in the boat shortly after sunrise, it was a Rat Red but a Red none the less.The activity was extremely slow with no real feeding going on except for the small lady fish and small specks. We moved around and Bill caught a small Lady fish so we moved to another area of the marsh. Around 10:00am Bill hooked up with this nice 23 & 3/4 inch Red that weighed 5 lb. on the Boga grip. The Red ate a Capt. Scott Sparrows"mothers day fly". It's a shrimp style pattern. Shortly after Don hooked up with another Rat Red. After releasing the fish we saw a huge thunder storm heading our way so we beat it back to the boat ramp and waited for it to pass. After a short wait we hit the flats again with the weather deteriorating rapidly. Don hooked up with a small black drum on a similar pattern as Bills. The thunder and lightning is heading our way and the rain in coming down hard so we call it a day at 2:30pm.
Bill and Don are great fly casters and practice catch and release.They were a joy to fish even in the less that favorable conditions. My hat's off to them for hanging tuff.
Tight lines, Mike
Sunday, July 22, 2007
7/22/2007 Tuff day,but we did catch!We were fishing at first light today.The tide was almost slack and there wasn't much activity going on. The marsh has a certain sound and feel when the bite is going on and the feel wasn't there. We had a few blow ups from small Speckled trout but the baits we were using were just to big for the smaller fish to eat. To make things worse I clipped a submerged board and popped the trolling motor mounting screws out of the front deck. It sounded bad but I should be able to fix it with out much trouble. Most of the Red fish activity we saw today didn't start until around 10:30am . My good friend Dale Beaty boated this 26 inch 6lb. Red at about 11:45am. The tide was very low and the Red was pushing a good wake as it moved across the flat. This fish would have been a good target with the fly rod but Dale only does conventional tackle. Dale was fishing a soft plastic called a Horny Toad he swam on the surface about a foot in front of the Red. The strike was unmistakable!
I fished the fly rod early on when we had the trolling motor with no strikes. I switched over to the spinning rod after that because I can fish and pole the boat to. I had one Red on but I didn't get a good hook set and the fight was short lived. the Red ate a D.O.A. shrimp that I swam in front of it as it was moving across a shallow flat. Dale did have one other Red chase his Horny Toad but it wasn't hole heartily after the bait and backed off after a short chase. We ran down South and found the water very muddy compared to the North end of the marsh and called it a day about 1:30pm.
Hopefully the tide will be moving next time I get out in the marsh. By the way the other picture in this post is the marsh restoration project going on South of Hwy 87 West of Bridge City. There is a lot of work going on down there and the area is closed to the public so fishing there is out for the next year at least. The North side of the hwy. is still open to fishing until Teal season opens.
Tight lines, Mike
¶ 7:08 PM 0 comments
Saturday, July 21, 2007
7/21/2007--- Fished Toledo Bend lake Today
Got and invite to come up to the lake today and meet a group of fresh water fly fishers.
We fished a few hours then returned to Bill and Connie Heugels home and had a great lunch.
Lots of fish stories and recipes for fly tying were exchanged.
On conventional tackle I caught a few small Bass and one Bream but I couldn't get a bite on the fly rod? The lake is 2 foot over normal pool level so the fish have more places to hide but the water is very clear. The weather was partly cloudy with lots of sun and no rain at all.
I got to try out my new 100 to 400 zoom lens today, a few shots came out good but I need some practice hand holding such a strong lens. Hopefully we will have good conditions tomorrow for Bessie Heights marsh and a few good pictures also.
Tight lines , Mike
Friday, July 20, 2007
7/20/2007 - Another Low Pressure Weather system just hanging around.
The weather just won't seem to give us a break here on the Texas coast. I thought last week would see improving conditions but here we are again in a rainy pattern.
I have cancled my week off again in hopes of getting better weather conditions. I have plans to fish this week end rain or shine. A good guide friend of mine" Capt. Dickie Colburn" reports the bite on the lake is very slow and has cancled several trips this week due to the bad fishing conditions. Hopefully the marsh hasn't suffered the same fate as the lake with all the fresh run off water coming down the Sabine and Neches rivers. Either way I'm going to find out what Bessie Heights marsh looks like.
Tight lines, Capt. Michael Rector
http://rectorsguideservice.com ¶ 9:34 AM 0 comments
The weather just won't seem to give us a break here on the Texas coast. I thought last week would see improving conditions but here we are again in a rainy pattern.
I have cancled my week off again in hopes of getting better weather conditions. I have plans to fish this week end rain or shine. A good guide friend of mine" Capt. Dickie Colburn" reports the bite on the lake is very slow and has cancled several trips this week due to the bad fishing conditions. Hopefully the marsh hasn't suffered the same fate as the lake with all the fresh run off water coming down the Sabine and Neches rivers. Either way I'm going to find out what Bessie Heights marsh looks like.
Tight lines, Capt. Michael Rector
http://rectorsguideservice.com ¶ 9:34 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
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7/10/2007 The SUN Returns !
Looks like the weather is going to give us a break for a few days and allow us to dry out some. It did sprinkle yesterday morning but it wasn't enough to make any difference.
The water level has gone back to normal in the bayou behind the house and we are actually getting tide swings but the water is still muddy but clearing more every day. I was working on the boat dock this past week end and saw a Bass feeding on small shrimp not 10 feet from me. That tells me the water isn't as fresh as I thought it was. Another local guide reported the river is in good shape. The lake is off color up North but down South the water clarity is much better. Hopefully the marsh will settle out sooner with the submerged grasses filtering out the sediment a little faster than the open water.
I rescheduled my week off for the the end of July. July the 26th is booked but the rest of the days are open. If any one is interested in booking a trip shoot me an email, there is a contact link on my web site.
I plan on hitting the flats this week end and hopefully the Red fish program is under way again.
Tight lines, Mike
¶ 3:40 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
7/4/2007 Rain Rain go away!
It has been raining for over a week now. the water is high in the bayou behind the house and muddy . I wanted to fish the marsh today but I just can't get excited about fishing in the rain with the hi water and muddy conditions. If the rains stop now maybe the water will clear up enough to fish next week. If it doesn't I plan to reschedule my vacation along with the trips I have booked for next week to a better time.
Happy fourth to all and may God bless America!
Mike
¶ 10:01 AM 0 comments
