Robert Sloan's archive

Sneaky snakes out and about in Southeast Texas

With our warming weather, it’s guaranteed that snakes, and lots of them, are slithering around somewhere near you and me.

shadow

Sabine Pass Walter Umphrey State Park fishing pier reopens

I’ve got good news and bad news from Sabine Pass. The good news is that the Walter Umphrey State Park pier has finally been rebuilt since it was completely destroyed when Hurricane Rita made landfall between Sabine Pass and Johnson Bayou on Sept. 23, 2005. But the bad news is that the wind has been blowing so much lately that fishing off the pier, and just about anywhere else on Sabine Lake, has been about as bad as it gets.

shadow

Where to find Toledo Bend, Rayburn crappie right now

The water temperature on Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend has finally topped the 70-degree mark, according to guide Bill Fondren, and with that warming water temperature, crappie are beginning their transition from shallow to deep water.

“They started moving out of the shallows last week,” said Fondren, who runs guided crappie fishing trips on both lakes. “On Sam Rayburn, we’re catching them on the upper end of the lake around brush in about 8 to 11 feet of water. But on Toledo Bend, the most consistent action is over grass in 8 to 10 feet of water.”

shadow

Fork still the lake to fish for trophy bass

The great thing about April in Texas is that this is big bass time, as in double-digit bass, and there is no shortage of lakes that have and still can produce monster class largemouths when they are on the beds and spawning like right now.

But during the past few months, there are three lakes that stick out like a sore thumb when it comes to producing 13-pound-plus bass. They are O.H. Ivie, Austin and Falcon.

shadow