Southeast Texas Offers Incredible Fishing
Chester Moore Loves Port Arthur Fishing
From Sabine Lake to the Gulf of Mexico and the Sabine and Neches Rivers, which feed into both, the region is rich with popular sport fish and ample habitat that allows them to grow big.
I’ve been blessed to fish at every conceivable location along the Texas Coast and can honestly say that ours is the best overall in the Lone Star State. Other regions might have us beat in one category but in terms of the whole picture for saltwater fishing, we are tops in Texas – no question.
While I do enjoy fishing at various Texas locations, there really is no place like home. I remember attending a media fishing event in another coastal community and everyone there boasting about the fish we were catching. My thoughts were, “Gee, I could’ve caught more and bigger fish by launching 10 minutes from my house instead of driving all day.” It was fun and the opportunity was great, but it was not Southeast Texas level fishing.
Local Ecosystem
The reason for this is the productivity and uniqueness of our local ecosystem. Benefitting from the vast amount of marsh found along the Louisiana shoreline of Sabine Lake and areas conserved in Bessie Heights Marsh and Keith Lake, we have rich estuary habitat for everything from brown shrimp to southern flounder. This allows our area to produce huge numbers of fish and not only sustain them but allows them to reach their maximum potential.
To top things off, we have one of the largest jetty systems in the state, giving anglers supreme opportunity to catch quality inland and Gulf-dwelling species. From bull sharks to bull reds, our jetties are hard to beat.
Breaking Records
In 2011, Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD) officials reported the highest levels of speckled trout, redfish and flounder ever found throughout our ecosystem. While other regions are experiencing declines, we are seeing an upgrade. On top of that, we are getting large stockings of speckled trout and redfish to boost our already high numbers via TPWD’s hatchery at Sea Center Texas.
We were the first area to ever get a flounder stocking. That 2009 historic event symbolizes how valuable and well-known Sabine Lake’s flounder fishery is known throughout Texas. After all, it’s held the state record since 1976 when Herbert Endicott caught a mind boggling 13-pounder.
If you have never fished Sabine Lake and its surrounding waters, come give it a try! You will not be dissapointed, and you just might catch the fish of a lifetime!
Chester Moore, Jr. is an award-winning wildlife journalist, host of “Moore Outdoors” Newstalk AM 560 KLVI and founder of Kingdom Zoo Wildlife Center. To learn more about Chester, visit his website.
