(This is part 1 of a two-part series to be concluded in the Sunday edition. In the next installment we will talk about two of the most abundant offshore species, snapper and sharks)

    “Big 5”.

    That title is usually reserved for Africa’s most dangerous game: lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and Cape buffalo.

    The Texas coast however has its own “Big 5”, species that provide serious recreational opportunity for anglers and in the case of us in Southeast Texas, they are all biting right now. They are not all dangerous but their reputation as sport fish earn them plenty of respect nonetheless.

     Let us start with speckled trout.

    Live shrimp fished on a Texas Rattlin' Rig, Mansfield Mauler or similar popping cork/treble hook combo can be deadly on specks at the Sabine Jetties.

    “During the summer, the specks will sometimes just almost shut down completely to lures out at the jetties and you have to adjust your game plan. A popping cork and shrimp will allow you to ‘see’ what you’re doing and adjust the depth at which you’re fishing easily. Depth is very important,” said popping cork fishing expert Steve Walko.

    Walko said pitching a live shrimp along the jetty wall and letting it float down could be exciting and nerve-wracking experience.

    “Seeing that cork go down always gets you. Sometimes it’ll bob just a bit and come back up and then sometimes it will just dive straight down. It’s a lot of fun,” he said.

    Moving into the bay systems like Sabine, East Galveston and Calcasieu, soft plastic shrimp and menhaden imitations are tops but topwaters and lipless crankbaits are also catching fish. Look for diving gulls and emerging slicks to lead your way to the specks.

    For anglers targeting reds during the summer months, the open bays are the best bet.

    During hot, calm days, redfish begin to school up and offer up a feeding frenzy that has to be seen to be believed.

    “What anglers need to do is to start out fishing when everyone else is going home,” said former Sabine Lake guide Capt. Skip James.

    “When we get the mid-day ‘slick-offs’, these reds bunch up in the middle of the bays and start chasing around menhaden. Sometimes you see them feeding like piranha or something on the surface and then sometimes you will just see a hint of bronze below the surface. But when you find them, the results are all the same: intense fun.”