Christmas Cleaning and Fishing

D ecember is a great time to take care of some much-needed fishing-related business that doesn’t necessarily involve the use of a rod and reel.

It’s time for all the little things you kept telling yourself you would get around to soon, but just never quite found the time—little things like cleaning out and organizing your boat.

If you are anything like me, cleaning your storage compartments have the potential to be like an early Christmas. Usually, once I’ve weeded through the layers of rusty hooks, chewed up soft plastics, old potato chips, and wads of monofilament, I get to the good stuff.

I’ll discover bags of new topwaters and other baits I thought I bought but could never find, bulk bags of leadheads that mysteriously went missing after one trip, and an assortment of other goodies. Once you have the treasure chest emptied, you can start the reloading process.

Having everything neatly organized and knowing your inventory can save you time, money, and headaches. It’s also a good time for doing some maintenance on your boat, motor, and trailer.

Take a screwdriver and check every screw you can locate and ensure they’re tight. Change the lower unit oil if needed, and check your fuel and water separator filters.

A simple tune-up is not a bad idea, either. Make sure your tires are in good shape, repack the bearings, and check the seals. Check your trailer wiring and replace that taillight that hasn’t worked in a few months

Taking care of these things now can drastically reduce your stress level in the future. Now, you can head to Sabine Lake, where the north end should produce some nice trout and upper-end slot reds.

Coffee Ground Cove is usually one of our first stops. Make long drifts down the shoreline in about four to six feet of water. Longer soft plastics (five to seven inches) work real well when slowly bumped off the bottom.

Red Shad, Morning Glory, Purple, and Glow with chartreuse are the best color choices. Other good bait choices are slow sinkers like a Corky, MirrOlure, CatchV, and Catch 2000. Let it get down and give it a couple of light twitches. Darker colors usually get the job done better.

Some other areas that consistently hold fish in December are East Pass, the flats behind Sydney’s Island, and the flats across from Stewart’s Island where the Intracoastal Canal meets the Neches River.

It’s not uncommon to encounter birds working on Sabine Lake in December, so keep an eye out for that or surfacing shrimp and fish. Hopefully, you can knock out your organizing and maintenance in time to hit the lake and take advantage of some fantastic December fishing on Sabine.

 

 

Email Eddie Hernandez at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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