Winter Flounder Fishing on Sabine Lake
On the Road with Champions Outdoors
Kayak angler Jenn Nolan of Champions Outdoors says fall is an exciting time to get out and enjoy cool air and transitions in Sabine Lake, the marsh and bay. She says, “Things are happening in the water…”
The Wonder of the Flounder Run
“This elusive fish is sought by many and caught by few. However, during the run, it’s ANYONES game and your best bet to get on the flounder bite. Let me take you around the friendliest place to fish in Texas and set you free with the flounder, they are on the run,” Nolan says. Take her advice:
Fishing Port Arthur
There are so many great places in the Port Arthur and Sabine area to grab a spot on the bank and get a quick limit if you know exactly where to go and how to target them. A few of my favorite places in SETX are the boat ramps and docks around Keith Lake. Great place to get a bucket full of bait AND a quick flounder limit. Another place I love to fish this time of the year is anywhere along the pier, banks and walkway at Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site. If you need that overnight bite and want to lock it in for a family day, along the rocks at Walter Humphrey State Park and on the inside of the pylons prove to be great target flounder . While you are at it, you may feel that explosive bite of a resident red fish.
How Do You Get Them to Eat?
Whether you’re fishing on the bottom and slow bumping a swimbait, finessing a shrimp or soaking a live mud minnow under a popping cork, IT DOESN’T MATTER! You’re sure to entice the bite of both flounder and reds in these waters. If none of that is working for you, grab you some gulp paired with a popping cork. This is a tried and true killer flounder combo. Throughout November, be reminded the limits drop down to two per person. As an additional reminder, the size limit has gone up to 15 inches for flounder. NO gigging this month and as December rolls around, you can start gigging again on the 1st but that limits stays at 2 until the 15th of December. Then we go back to our five fish, 15 in minimum.
Sabine Kayak Cartel
Find these limits and all other state rules and regulations on our fisheries in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Journal. You can now download that to your phone and always have your fishing license as well as the size and limits handy. This a great tool. If you’re looking to get off the bank and want to explore the fisheries more in depth, kayaking has continued to grow in our areas. One local group, the Sabine Kayak Cartel, has free meetups. Be sure to find the local fishing pages for your area and get out enjoy the outdoors. You’ll have fun finding some freedom outdoors with the flounder run. Until next time, I left them biting.
