By Chester Moore, Jr
The Port Arthur News
July 02, 2008 11:06 pm
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“The jacks are terrorizing the menhaden along the beachfront and we’ve been catching them on topwaters.”
Those words from Capt. Phillip Samuels were all I needed to get me exciting about the prospect of heading to Sabine Pass and heading east of the jetties along the Louisiana shoreline.
Jack crevalle have been in good numbers on both the Texas and Louisiana side but I have always had good luck around the Louisiana pocket when these brutes start coming in large numbers.
Samuels said his clients have been catching them on topwaters.
“I tell them when they’re fishing with trout tackle, they better get ready to dedicate an hour of their time to these fish. They are first class fighters,” Samuels said.
The short rigs are also producing jacks along with big Spanish mackerel, ling and a variety of other species.
Big, lipless crankbaits are great choices as are Snapper Slappers and the Calcutta Flash Foil Shad (six inch), which I have had great success with.
Silver spoons are also great choices, especially those tipped with a jig or cigar minnow.
Spoons are also good for working around the legs of a rig to see if there are any mackerel prowling around. Simply throw out the spoon, let it flutter and float with the current around the structure of the rig.
If you are working in state waters where possession of redfish is legal, a gold spoon fished around some of the rigs close to shore is a surefire way of catching a big bull redfish.
Some of the reds my friends and I have caught on our trips during the last two summers are so fat they look like a black drum at first glance. I would not be surprised if we see a state record coming from local waters in the near future.
As you can see, there are many exciting opportunities for local anglers right now in the Gulf. The good news is the fishing should just keep getting better for the next month or so.
The Gulf shrimping season opens in Texas waters around July 15 and that means there will be lots of big, toothy fish hanging around to eat their culls from Sabine to Galveston.
Until then the fishing should remain good when the weather allows and after the shrimp fleeting is working, it should be outstanding.
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