Chester Moore
The Port Arthur News
PORT ARTHUR —
I turned in the copy for the Thursday outdoors edition Monday morning before taking a brief trip out of town.
The lead story in the outdoor news dealt with how much the waters of Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn have risen.
Well, they have risen again.
Since last week’s report Toledo Bend has jumped up nearly two feet from 168.56 to 170.32 which is just two feet below normal pool and Rayburn has hit 161.71 from 160.43, putting it another notch near the 164.71 normal level.
And since water is still running into the lake from the huge rains throughout East Texas, they will rise some more as the weekend approaches.
This should make for some magnificent bass fishing in the next couple of weeks and once the lakes clear from the run-off crappie should be thick in the creeks.
Here in the Sabine Lake area things are different.
This will set back fishing a little bit with water clarity already off and enough freshwater to perhaps push the trout down toward the south end. The largest concentration has already been there but this could seal the deal.
We will see what happens over the coming week.
Now onto the report…
North Sabine---Very few anglers out at mid week. Flounder are solid in areas with clear water along the Louisiana shoreline.
South Sabine---Very few anglers out at mid week. The trout have been bodying up around Blue Buck Point out toward the reef before the rains hit.
Sabine Pass---Flounder remain good on incoming tides on the points and around drop-offs on Gulp and live mud minnows. The jetties are good for redfish and jack crevalle on crankbaits.
Lake Calcasieu (Big Lake)---Very few reports at mid week. The fishing has been solid over south end and mid lake reefs and mixed shell for trout. Flounder are good in the channel.
Sabine River---Catfish are very good in the creeks and bayous feeding into the river on dead shrimp and chicken liver fished under a cork. No reports of bass since the big rains hit.
Sam Rayburn---Guide Roger Bacon reports Big Bite Jerk Minnows and Zoom Super Flukes in Watermelon colors are good for bass in areas with fairly clear water. Anglers are also taking bass on frogs fished in the thick cover. Very few reports of crappie and catfish.
Toledo Bend---Holly Park Marina reports bass have been hitting on Senkos, worms and spinners in the shallows. Crappie are good off the docks on shiners. Bream are starting to pick up. Look for catfish around creeks with steady runoff.
LAKE LEVELS
TOLEDO BEND: Normal Pool Level: 172.0 Current Pool Level: 170.32 Was 168.56
RAYBURN LAKE: Normal Pool Level: 164 Current Pool Level: 164.71 Was: 160.43
B.A. STEIN HAGEN: Normal Pool Level: 85 Current Pool Level: 82.76 Was: 82.66
