Normally by June weather patterns have begun to stabilize and light to moderate winds persist. Not in 2014. Sure, we have had some “good” days, but as a whole fishing has been a challenge. Here is a rundown of the past two weeks from Sabine to Port O’Connor:
These days a chance of rain in the forecast rearranges people’s lives. Remember when it used to rain? We grabbed an umbrella and went about life normally. We still went to school. We drove in the rain.
Love it or hate it, if you fish south of the swing bridge in Sargent, fewer speckled trout will be hitting the grease come Sept. 1.
Davis 1
“Give me a call when you get on some fish.”
Break out the short sleeves and sun block. Spring is here.
What’s the chance of Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow this week at Gobbler’s Knob?
The first pintail decoy I tossed across the shallow Wharton County pond Tuesday morning, bounced and slid across the ice. The first group of real pintails that worked the same pond at sunrise did the same thing.
What began as a solid first split of duck season in the South Zone has turned into a lackluster second half of the season.
• NORTH SABINE: Redfish are fair to good at the discharge canal on peeled shrimp. Black drum are fair around rock groins. Sand trout are good in the deep holes on shrimp.
• NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good in the river on live shad. Redfish are fair to good around marsh drains on the outgoing tide.
Rest Texas coastal ponds, prairies and marshes for 14 days, throw in an Arctic cold front and watch the ducks appear. Open the second split of duck season on a full moon, and watch ducks sit for most of the morning.
The piercing shrill of 1500 birds sounded off as the truck lights shined on their shallow roost.
It’s hard to get excited about a day on the water, much less the boat ride to the bay, when the wind and water is so chilly.
• NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good under birds and pods of shad on soft plastics. Redfish and flounder are good in the marsh on shrimp. Trout are good over mud and shell.
Soaking rains and unseasonably frigid autumn temperatures have been tough on the extremities, but you won’t hear any Texas waterfowlers complaining.
With Thanksgiving upon us, here are a few things that put a smile on my face:
We finally got it - a cold front.
Wednesday afternoon I rode the Pierce Ranch looking for spots to hunt for the coming days. What I saw was a jaw-dropping amount of ducks - more waterfowl than I can remember ever seeing in a 25-year span of hunting.
Friday afternoon a received a weather alert on my phone advising thick smoke from wildfires in Jefferson County.
Despite it saying fall on the calendar, most fish and fowl have been in warm weather mode until the recent cold front blew through this week.
• NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good under birds and pods of shad on soft plastics. Redfish are good in the marsh with high tides.
North winds blew, thermometers dropped, windows opened and everyone smiled. Tides receded, waters cooled and the fish went nuts.
If the first week of fall is a barometer of what Texas anglers can expect for the remainder of the season, spool up new line and check your drag, it could be an awesome autumn.
• NORTH SABINE: Redfish are good in the marsh with high tides. Tides are well above normal. Drifters have worked slicks for trout and redfish on plastics and topwaters.
Since a lot of good things happened to the La Porte Bulldogs last year, it’s hard to remember that they came very close to losing their home opener last season to the Clear Brook Wolverines.
A win is a win is a win.
Bulletin board material doesn’t always translate to wins on the gridiron, but it sure did Friday night in Crosby as the Cougars scalded 4A powerhouse Nederland 56-35.
Johnathan Giles showed first hand why he is a standout quarterback for the Elkins Knights. The junior passed for three touchdowns while rushing for three more scores as Elkins beat Dayton 55-13 in both teams season opener on Friday night at Hall Stadium.
• NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair in the river on live shad. Redfish are good in the cuts and drains leading to the marsh on shrimp and jigs tipped with shrimp.
This summer I attended a wonderful camp coordinated by the Texas Brigades.
It all comes down to two local rivals playing it out for a shot at the Class 5A sweet 16 in boys basketball.
The Barbers Hill softball team stands unbeaten after four games following a 4-0 win over Kingwood Friday afternoon.
It was quite the Barbers Hill High School way to open up a collegiate softball season.
By Alan Dale
Clutch free throws send GCM to Saturday matchup against Crosby
In a season where the Goose Creek Memorial boys basketball team recorded its first ever playoff win, could it be that it may go hand-in-hand with its inaugural postseason run?
In a matchup between the two top teams in District 22-5A boys soccer, the host Goose Creek Memorial Patriots fell behind early and couldn’t recover in a 4-1 loss to first-place Friendswood.
Check off chapter one in the new Baytown softball championship battle for the Sterling Lady Rangers.
Second straight year Crosby on to Region 3 hoops quarterfinals
GCM's first boys playoff win, Crosby moves on, Eagles are eliminated
The baseball season is upon Goose Creek CISD high school fans as it saw its first pitch Monday as Robert E. Lee played host to Dayton.
Lady Eagles bounced in area
The first live ocelot I ever saw was in a cage outside a furniture store in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico in the ‘60s. It was the most beautiful cat I had ever seen.
Barbers Hill graduate and University of Texas women’s basketball standout Charli Collier teamed up with Roppolo’s Pizzeria owner Marc Roppolo to give back to the Austin community in the wake of the winter storm.
As anticipated, the boys and girls basketball playoff schedule was sent scurrying following the winter storm and its aftermath this week.
Big time potential was in store for the Barbers Hill baseball team a year ago before it had to shut everything down in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Things were going so well last spring for the Anahuac Panthers baseball team.
Updated times, dates, locations of games as announced
It’s hard to talk about Barbers Hill basketball without mentioning Gaven Barber.
The Baytown high school softball programs were all hoping to make notable progress last spring and it appeared that objective could be met.
The Barbers Hill Lady Eagles basketball team will face No. 1 Richmond Foster 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Shadow Creek High School in a Class 5A area round playoff.
Maybe l should stick my hat around the door on a stick to see if anybody is going to take a shot at it since I’ve been saying Texas has the best winters in America. The forecast is now calling for a low temp of one degree above zero, Fahrenheit! Broken limbs and sometime entire trees litter …
Advance to play No. 1 Foster on Wednesday
First trip to postseason since 2015 could set tone for future
It’s playback time.
GCM wraps record-breaking regular season with win
Woody Raymond Walker, the first boys basketball coach at Sterling High School, passed away at the age of 90 Tuesday.
Three area girls basketball teams will begin their playoff journey this week and it starts tonight in Port Arthur when the Sterling Lady Rangers – making their first playoff appearance in six years – tip off against undefeated Beaumont United.
The Manvel Mavericks scored in the first minute of the match, added some insurance before halftime and used that start to gain pole position in a 3-0 victory against Robert E. Lee in Baytown Tuesday night.
With a chance to potentially improve its District 22-5A standing, the Sterling Lady Rangers basketball team dropped a 55-45 home decision against La Porte Saturday.
The Friendswood Mustangs used a 13-3 run to end the first quarter and used that momentum to hold on for a 55-42 victory Saturday in Baytown.
Every year about this time, some men and women go into something akin to mild depression. And please don’t think I’m belittling the post combat malady known as PTSD when I call it “After Hunting Season Downer”, or “AHSD”.
Barbers Hill drops contentious battle with unbeatens
Baytown schools stumble
It was a good day to be a senior and former prep football player in the Baytown-area.
The Super Bowl means something to a lot of people, but it doesn’t necessarily impact everyone equally.
The Goose Creek Memorial girls basketball team battled district heavyweights Manvel to a tight ballgame through the first half to see the Lady Mavericks pull away for a 54-40 win Thursday night.
Sterling splits two road games
Improved play, even during a pandemic, paid off for Goose Creek Memorial’s Taylor Kotlarz.
The Goose Creek Patriots are playoff-bound and clinched the postseason trip in dramatic fashion, winning 66-61 at La Porte Tuesday night.
Patriots ride big lead to rivalry win
Two big strikes before half pushes Lady Patriots past RSS
Crosby, Eagles win to jockey for playoff positions
The Goose Creek Memorial boys basketball team inched into a playoff spot and wrapped up the season sweep of district and city rivals Sterling with an 82-48 home win Saturday.
RSS in first playoff in six seasons
The Goose Creek Memorial Patriots used goals by Darwin Velasquez and Carlos Gonzalez to pull of the important, 2-1 road win against one of the challengers for the District 22-5A title.
In a match Goose Creek Memorial girls soccer coach Roman Huizar called a “good game,” the Lady Patriots still fell short in a 2-0 home defeat Friday against the Manvel Lady Mavericks.
The Sterling Rangers tennis team is off to a blazing start to the spring campaign after placing in nine of the 10 divisions at the Kim Enocksen Varsity Invitational in Humble on Friday.
I’ve never met Brandon Butler – at least, not that I recall. But we’ve travelled some of the same trails, including Missouri’s Current River. We’re brothers in a bond that comes from treasuring the outdoors and the precious memories of time spent there with family and friends. Or alone.
It appears the Goose Creek Memorial boys basketball team is embracing the concept of becoming a playoff team.
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