Mark Davis shows off a Louisiana redfish caught on a Heddon Super Spook. Photo by Patrick Hogan.

Everything was looking good about three years after the wrath of Hurricane Rita, and most folks on Sabine Lake and Calcasieu Lake were moving forward and catching plenty of redfish. Then, much to our horror, Hurricane Ike came calling on Sept. 13, 2008, taking no prisoners. It would turn out to be the third most destructive hurricane in U.S. history.

Even though Ike made landfall near Galveston, Sabine and Calcasieu were on the nasty east side of this vicious storm, and they took a beating.

"It wasn't the wind that tore us up so much," said guide Buddy Oakes of Hackberry Rod & Gun Club. "It was a water event. We had 11 1/2 feet of water cover us up. Rita was devastating. But Ike came in with a storm surge that leveled everything in its path."

At Sabine Lake, on the Texas-Louisiana border, a wall of water from 12 to 20 feet high moved onshore and wiped out just about everything that had been rebuilt after Rita.

So, in retrospect you would think that the fisheries on Calcasieu and Sabine would be wiped out.

Not so.

In fact, since Ike came calling, the fishing is good on both of these bays.

"I don't know what happened," said Capt. Jerry Norris, who operates a guide service on Sabine Lake. "The fishing after Rita turned on. And now, after Ike, it's about as good as I've seen it in over 40 years of fishing."

Ditto that on Calcasieu. Oakes said that he believes there are more redfish on the lake than anytime in recent years.

"Since Ike, our guides have been getting daily limits on reds," said Oakes. "It's great fishing that has saved many of our trips."

One thing is certain: Both of these bays have been top producers of reds forever. But following the storm surges from two hurricanes, things have only gotten better.

I've done quite a bit of fishing on Sabine since Ike, and I can say from hands-on experience the action for reds is something you have to see to believe. Last fall, the action under the birds was phenomenal. It wasn't unusual to go out and find an acre-size school of reds chasing baitfish.

So where do you find reds on Sabine during April?

The best tactic is to work the lower lake shoreline. The causeway bridge (that connects Louisiana and Texas) is where you want to start fishing. There is a ramp on the Texas side of the causeway bridge. That's also where you'll find a store selling tackle, food and drinks. From there, you have two options. One is to head south and fish Sabine Pass. The other is to head north and fish along the Louisiana shoreline.

UPPER SABINE LAKE
Let's start on the Louisiana shoreline. The area from the causeway bridge up to Blue Buck Point is very good. What you want to do is work your way up from the bridge to the point. That's about a half-mile of water. This particular stretch of water can load up with hungry reds, because this is the tip of what you might call a redfish tunnel.