Sabine River produces new white bass record
The annual white bass spawning run got off to a slow start in 2010, mainly as the result of stubborn winter weather that refused to allow water temperatures on East Texas rivers, creeks and tributaries to warm up. In a normal year, spawning activity will get going sometime in early January and carry on through most of March.
"This year has been different, way different," said Jane Gallenbach, a fishing guide on the Sabine River. "There wasn't much happening over here until about two weeks ago, then it busted wide open. It was almost like somebody flicked a light switch."
Gallenbach said the bite literally changed overnight. Interestingly, all it took was a one degree rise in water temperature to turn limp lines into tight ones.
"I was out one day with a client, and we only caught five fish in 54-degree water," she said. "The next day the water temperature warmed up to 55 degrees, and we limited out. We've been steadily catching limits ever since."
Gallenbach had an especially good day on March 19. Her client, Ben Cornelius of Conroe, was soaking a live shiner on an underwater sandbar when he felt the thump of a bite. Cornelius set the hook and a lengthy battle followed before the guide was able to get a net under the thick shouldered white bass.
The fish was bigger than either angler had ever seen. It weighed 4.04 pounds on Gallenbach's digital sale. Pending certification by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Cornelius' white bass will rank as a new record for the Sabine.
The current water body record of 3.90 pounds was caught in 1998. The state record white bass is 5.56 pounds, caught from the Colorado River in 1977.
Reports indicated the spring spawning run was still going strong at white bass hotspots around the region late last month, and Gallenbach said she isn't quite sure if it has peaked out or not.
"The first big wave we saw was in early March there were a lot of large females in the mix," Gallenbach said. "Lately, it seems like we are catching mostly males. There could be another big wave of females after the full moon [March 29], but we'll just have to wait and see. This has been a weird year for weather in East Texas."
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