Need a story? We have you covered. Check out these leads courtesy of Chester Moore
Sabine State Records
The Sabine Lake area is known for big fish it holds the state record for flounder and redfish. A story about the history and current status of those fisheries can be conducted by talking with local guides like Eddie Hernandez and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department coastal fisheries officials.
Virgin Oyster
The oyster reef at Mesquite Point on Sabine Lake is the largest virgin (never harvested) oyster reef in North America. It is used for research on how oysters impact sport fisheries like those for speckled trout and redfish. Since oysters are a hot item in terms of regulations and conservation focus, this is a great takeaway story.
Mottled Duck Marshes
The mottled duck unlike most waterfowl hunted in Texas is a resident of the coastal areas. Officials with the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area and Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge have conducted interesting research on issues facing this duck that has seen some declines in recent years.
Shark Nursery
Sabine Lake is a nursery for bull sharks. These large predators cane live in totally freshwater and come in to have their babies on the upper end of Sabine Lake, often near the mouth of the Neches River. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department coastal fisheries officials can aid in getting info on sharks caught in their gill net surveys, etc.
Surf Santa
A great Christmas time story is that Marcus Heflin of Christian Surf Fishing Adventures hosts free fishing clinics through Sea Rim State Park. He also plays Santa for kids throughout the area, specializing in underprivileged children. It's a powerful human interest story.
Marsh Bassin'
The Bassmaster Elite Series has visited the Sabine area out of Orange several times since 2013. The biggest stringers come out of a marshy area called Taylor's Bayou in the Port Arthur area. Contacts would include local tackle shops.
Coastal Gar
Alligator garfish have become a popular catch-and-release fishery due to Jeremy Wade of "River Monsters" fame featuring them on his program. The Sabine area hosts a large gar population and angler Frank Moore is an expert in the field of catching them in the bay and rivers.
Skinny Water Reds
The Keith Lake system and Bessie Heights Marsh offer as good a shot at sight-casting to reds as anywhere on the coast but they get little play in media. Pluggers and flycasters can score on big reds in super shallow water here.
Coastal Wardens
Being a game warden is a challenge. Being a game warden that works the Gulf Coast is another level of challenging. A great story would be what coastal wardens who work the nearshore Gulf have to go through and what issues they come across in the wilds of the Upper Coast with rough seas, game law violators and commercial and recreational fishing interests to monitor.
Alligator Alley
The Port-Arthur and Sabine Lakes area marshes hold more alligators than any other location on the Gulf Coast. The return of gator's to huntable numbers after being on the endangered species list is a conservation marvel. Gators also pose special issues for game wardens as well as the biologists who monitor their populations.
