Robert Sloan

Sam Rayburn, T-Bend make nation’s Top 10 for bass

Two East Texas lakes are ranked as the Top 10 best in the nation — Sam Rayburn a

The second annual list ranking the country’s best bass lakes has been released by Bassmaster Magazine, and Sam Rayburn is ranked No. 2 with Toledo Bend at 10.

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Lake Austin is the place to catch giant bass right now

It’s not known as the most popular bass fishing lake in Texas, but truth be known, Lake Austin is an up-and-coming star when it comes to producing 13-pound-plus largemouth bass.
“Lake Austin continued to solidify its ranking as one of the best trophy bass lakes in Texas with Toyota ShareLunker 548, caught March 27 by Round Rock angler Colin Pack while fishing in a tournament,” said Larry Hodge with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Hodge reports that Pack caught the fish in 10 feet of water using a Carolina rig while fishing in hydrilla.

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Lunker bass, big Sabine Lake trout keep anglers going strong

The cold front that came in last Sunday was nothing more than stumbling block for anglers in the hunt for trophy trout on Sabine Lake. The cold weather came in Sunday, and by Wednesday it was back to spring time, warm temperatures and warming tides along the upper Texas coast.

From now through the end of April, big trout will be roaming the shallows of both Sabine Lake and East Galveston Bay. Ditto that for the east shoreline of Trinity Bay. 

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Kountze angler wins Toledo Bend bass tourney

This past weekend, professional and college-level bass anglers on Toledo Bend made it clear that this East Texas lake is still one of the best in Texas. They caught bass — big bass and lots of them. Could it be global warming in February? Or maybe it’s just that Toledo Bend is and has been a great bass fishing lake for decades. Whatever the explanation, one thing is certain – bass on big T-Bend are definitely not in a winter cold-water stupor.

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Crab trap removal volunteers needed on Sabine Lake, East Galveston Bay

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with crab traps for years. I love to use them to catch big blue crabs and the occasional stone crab on Sabine Lake and Keith Lake. Conversely, I hate to have to get out of the boat and untangle a mangled derelict crab trap that’s been wound up on the prop of my outboard.

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Sabine Lake flounder run one of the best

The water temperature on Sabine Lake this past Monday was 69 degrees, and with this week’s cold front lowering temperatures into the 40s, it is a sure bet that water temps will drop at least a few more degrees. That’s going to give flounder fishing on Sabine Lake and in East Galveston Bay a big-time bump. The run on Sabine has been pretty darned good the past couple of weeks, but I can guarantee you it’s going to be red hot for at least the next week to 10 days.

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Duck hunters bingo on public hunts

Although it was a bit warm for the Southeast Texas duck season opener on Saturday, Nov. 3, most hunters that had access to fresh water did very well with lots of limits that included teal, gadwall, pintails and widgeon.

Beaumont’s Kirby Richards reports that his group had an easy hunt Saturday morning at the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge.

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