Southeast Texas anglers wanting to score on great bank fishing have more opportunities than those in other parts of Texas. We get lots of questions on bank fishing opportunities so here are some great options for boatless anglers from the region.
Highway 73 runs concurrently with Highway 62 from Interstate 10 in Orange County and picking up with 87 this relatively short path breaks off and cuts off toward Winnie.
Anglers have a variety of options beginning in Bridge City where both sides of the Lower Neches Wildlife Management area offer fine fishing between the city and the Rainbow Bridge.
Anglers find solid number of oversized black drum, redfish, croaker and flounder on the intake side of the Entergy Canal as well as plenty of spots for crabbing. The area is also a popular spot for anglers to throw castnets to catch bait on their way to fish in Sabine Lake and nearby Bessie Heights Marsh.
As 73 forks off toward Winnie anglers will find opportunities for catfish under the 73 Bridge at Taylor’s Bayou and at various drainage canals between there and Winnie.
When Highway 82 forks off from 87 and cuts across Pleasure Island it bring anglers to some of the best bank fishing and crabbing to be found anywhere. We are covered Pleasure Island well in our inaugural edition so we will not spend much time on it here.
It is however worth noting that various points on the ship channel side of 82 offer solid fishing, especially for black drum and flounder. Anglers should use caution in traversing the steep slopes down toward the channel but these do offer solid fishing especially for anglers equipped with surf rods.
Once you cross the Louisiana border SH 82 opens up dozens of miles of excellent surf fishing. There are numerous beaches there including Peveto Beach, Johnson Bayou Beach and Holly Beach.
One of the top producers for speckled trout, Spanish mackerel and redfish is Constance Beach.
It along with several of the others has rock jetties spaced out several hundred yards apart to help reduce erosion. This has created a natural fish attractant and when tides are are running high they offer superior trout fishing in particular.
In fact, the fishing can be so good there that many anglers will launch in Sabine Pass, run through the Louisiana boat cut at the jetties and run over to the beach from the surf side to fish. Landbound anglers can enjoy the same kind of action and can simply walk across a few yards of sand to get there.
Another option along those beaches is setting out big surf rods rigged up for bull redfish and sharks. The Louisiana coast runs a little deeper than the Texas side and big bull reds and sharks stay close to shore throughout the summer and into fall. Large chunks of cut mullet or croaker can lead to super-sized catches.
Highway 87 also offers lots of good bank fishing opportunities.
It begins in deep East Texas and runs down to Sabine Pass where it is cut off by a Hurricane-savaged stretch of road that prevents running from there to High Island.
Beginning in Newton County are a series of creeks that drain into the Sabine River. These areas receive little fishing pressure and can produce solid numbers of catfish and crappie. The peak fishing is when high water pushes lots of water into the creeks but the fish will bite any time there is movement to the water.
In Orange County, Lion’s Den Park located in the heart of Orange is popular with local bank anglers and gives up quality catches of catfish, bream, alligator garfish and occasionally redfish.
Cow Bayou in Bridge City has fair fishing opportunities around the public boat ramp under the big bridge entering the city. It is also good for catfish and bream but at times can be good for croaker and even speckled trout depending on salinity.
The extreme southern end of 87 offers super surf fishing for redfish, shark and speckled trout in Sea Rim State Park with a bonus that all state park fishing can be done without a fishing license and in the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge for redfish, gar and catfish.
If you know of any bank fishing options available that are not listed we would appreciate you sharing with us so we can share with the angling public.
(To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at chester@kingdomzoo.com. You can hear him on “Moore Outdoors” Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI or online at www.klvi.com.)