SECRETS OF THE SABINE FISHING CALENDAR – March/April 2022

SABINE LAKE, located out of Port Arthur on the Texas/Louisiana border, is a unique ecosystem with incredible fishing opportunities for redfish, speckled trout, flounder, and other species.

Add Keith Lake, the Bessie Heights Marsh complex, and Sabine Pass, and this region offers hundreds of square miles of top-level saltwater action. However, in many ways, the area remains a mystery to most anglers other than locals who understand the intricacies of Texas’s smallest major bay.

Fed by two major rivers and surrounded by a massive complex of marsh estuary, Sabine Lake is the epicenter of a diverse regional fishery. Let’s take a month-by-month look at fishing highlights and strategies for the Sabine Lake region.

January: Cold weather doesn’t stop the bite on Sabine. In fact, at the Sabine Jetties, the sheepshead action is on fire this month. Anglers vertical jigging dead shrimp on a ¼-ounce jig head can score on limits of big sheepshead. Fish tight to the rocks anywhere from the Texas boat cut to the southern tip of the

rocks. The action tends to be better on the Gulf side, but when waters run clear the channel produces as well.

On warm afternoons anglers begin to catch big trout on the wading flats south of Stewts Island as big fish move from the warmer depths of the Intracoastal Canal onto the flats to feed. Slow-sinking soft plastics are the most effective, but topwaters will produce, especially on unseasonably warm days when there’s just a slight ripple on the water.

February: Giant black drum are present here year-round, but more of them show up this month from the jetties into both the intake and outfall side of the Entergy Canal on the Neches River. Dead shrimp and crab fished around deep holes on the bottom are best.

Trout action continues on the wading flats and improves going into marsh. However, trout are also to be found in the deep bayous on the southern half of the Louisiana shoreline. Anglers should look for deeper parts of the canals and fish soft plastics imitating mullet crawled slowly across the bottom. 

March: One of the keys to Sabine is understanding water flow. The big reef on the south end of Sabine at Mesquite Point heats up in years with much freshwater inflow.

Anglers fishing eel-imitating soft plastics in colors such as burnt orange, firetiger, and other obtrusive patterns on ¼- to ⅜-ounce jig heads to drag the bottom will entice big trout bites. The reef is the deepest spot on the lake. Because saltwater is heavier than fresh, this area is a sanctuary during spring floods.

April: The Keith Lake system located just across the Sabine-Neches Waterway from Sabine Lake is great for redfish this month.

Anglers in shallow-water accessible bay boats, skiffs, and kayaks can find good tailing action in the interior of this estuary. Topwaters are highly effective, especially lighter patterns such as bone.

Keep an eye on tidal movements; it’s easy to get stuck in the farther reaches of this area.

May: Sabine jetty action gets really good this month. On the Texas and Louisiana side for trout.

Early-rising anglers would do well to get to the jetties pre-dawn and fish topwaters along the rocks, especially toward the southern tip and around washouts.

Don’t be surprised if you get cut off. Spanish mackerel are also present. If you’re so inclined, they make a welcome addition to the morning’s catch. If you want to seek them specifically, use a wire leader and tie on a silver spoon. You’ll have all the action you can handle.

June: The red snapper fishery in federal waters is scheduled to kick off June 1. Anglers venturing to the rigs can score on big ones beginning at about 25 miles offshore.

Ling (cobia), king mackerel, and tripletails are also abundant. Many anglers on their way back to shore stop at buoys and weed lines that might hold these cover-loving predators.

July: Sharks are on the scene in a big way this month. The jetties and nearshore oil platforms are loaded with blacktips, spinners, and Atlantic sharpnose sharks.

Anglers fishing the Sea Rim surf also do good on sharks this month and those who fish overnight have over the last few years caught fair numbers of large bull sharks and a few lemon sharks as well. We’re talking big ones.

 

 

August: The peak of summer offers great Sabine Lake redfish action. On super-hot days when the lake slicks off in the early afternoon is a great time to find schooling reds.

Anglers fishing the mid-lake area and anywhere from a quarter to one mile from the Louisiana shoreline can find big schools of reds that will hit virtually anything you throw at them.

There are two things to remember here. The first is to not run right up to the school. Try to drift in if you can. If not, use your trolling motor. Big motors spook them.

Secondly, the best time to seek these schools is when everyone else is coming in for the day. Peak heat is peak redfish time.

September: The surf at Sea Rim State Park is one of the best places in the state to land the bull redfish of a lifetime in September.

As the big bulls start gathering to spawn, thousands swim along this stretch of Upper Coast shoreline.

Look for high tides with a falling barometer for the best action. Dead mullet is the standard-issue bait, but anglers that can get (or catch for themselves) live croakers up to 10 inches long have a big chance of hanging into the biggest redfish of their lives.

 

 

October: Things start to get serious for flounders this month. The mouth of the bayous along the Louisiana shoreline starts to load up with fish. Although most anglers fish the outgoing tide, incoming flows often outproduce up until the first big cold fronts.

Live mud minnows and Gulp! Swimming mullets are popular local flounder baits here.

November: November is the peak time to catch trout and redfish under the birds. Anglers watching for diving gulls on the north and south end of the lake can get serious rod-bending action all month.

The biggest trout are typically caught on the outer edges of schools as are redfish. Sand trout often mix in with the specks, and some of them are big enough for the frying pan.

If you catch one sandie after another, move on. They often beat specks to your bait.

December: Redfish action is good in the Bessie Heights Marsh area as well as in the northern tier of the Louisiana marsh in areas like Blacks Bayou. Dead mullet fished on the bottom around the shell is the best offering.

Big, freshwater blue cats are abundant as well and inhabit some of the same areas as the reds. They make a nice addition to a bag limit of reds.

 

 

 

— TF&G STAFF REPORT

 

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