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Catching reds like this one on Sabine Lake has been good lately, with one of the best lures being a red shad Assassin rigged up on a 1/4 ounce jig head.
The 2022 professional bass fishing season will launch early next year, with the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 1 at Sam Rayburn Lake, Jan. 27-30.
Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament fishing organization, and Bally’s Corporation, a leading U.S. omni-channel provider of land-based gaming and interactive entertainment, has announced that a groundbreaking deal designating Bally’s as MLF’s exclusive Sports Betting, Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), and Free-to-Play (F2P) Partner for MLF’s tournament circuits – all firsts for the professional fishing industry.
The partnership includes Bally’s online sportsbook, Bally Bet, becoming the title sponsor of MLF’s coveted Angler of the Year Award for the Bass Pro Tour, the sport’s most visible and competitive tournament circuit. The prize for the 2022 Bally Bet AOY winner will be $100,000. The partnership also includes rights for Bally’s to stream Bass Pro Tour events via its own apps.
On the topic of bass fishing two of the best lakes in the nation are Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend. Both are right here in East Texas and an easy quick hit day of fishing for folks here in Southeast Texas.
On Rayburn, one of the best bites right now is in the creeks on big crankbaits and slow-rolled spinner baits. On Toledo Bend, Carolina-rigged soft plastics fished in creek channels are catching good numbers of bass.
With the mild weather we’ve had the past several days, fishing on East Galveston Bay has been good, especially on the shell reefs. Waders are doing best in 3 to 5 feet of water with Corky’s in white/chartreuse and purple/white. If you do tie on a Corky, be sure and bend the tail down just a tad. That’s a little trick guides have been using for years.
On Sabine Lake, some of the best fishing for reds and trout has been at the mouths of bayous on the upper end of the lake. One of the best lures is a red/shad Assassin rigged on a quarter-ounce jig head. That’s a lure and color combination that guide Jerry Norris has been fishing with on Sabine for years. It’s a killer on reds and trout. The best water depth has been 5 to 7 feet.
One key to finding fish on Sabine Lake or East Galveston Bay is to look for jumping mullet. Even a single mullet can lead the way to a hungry trout or redfish.
On the hunting scene ducks are still very scarce, especially here on the right side of Texas. So far, this has been one of the worst seasons we have ever had.
Deer hunting has been good, especially for folks set up near a corn feeder. By the way, if you do get a deer one of the best options is to take out the back straps, and grind the rest of the venison into hamburger. With ground venison you can make chili, tacos, soups and stews.
This past week I was at a deer camp with some buddies. We ended up shooting one pig weighing about 40 pounds. We took a hind quarter, seasoned it up and placed it in a cooler overnight. We slow smoked it the next day for about eight hours at 200 degrees. It’s was excellent, and was quickly reduced to nothing but bones.
Harvesting pigs is a good way to put some very tasty meat on the table. And the season is open year-round, with no limits. That’s a pretty good hunting option since we have so many feral hogs running around all over Texas.