Fishing for redfish in the mouths of bayous on both Calcasieu and Sabine lakes can be excellent in April. Photo by Robert Sloan.

The reds move up from the Gulf through the jetties, then Sabine Pass and into the lake. Their first stop is the big, shallow flat from the causeway up to Blue Buck Point. That particular flat is among Norris' favorite spots to fish.

"That area holds lots of reds because it attracts lots of baitfish, like shad and mullet, during early spring," Norris said. "Harvesting oysters on Sabine has been illegal for years. Because of that, we have a lot of oyster reefs on the lower reef, especially along that particular shoreline."

Since the water in that area is shallow, it's best to do one of three things -- drift, stake out or bump and go with a trolling motor. Reds are skittish when they are feeding across a shallow flat. There are several isolated oyster reefs just south of Blue Buck Point. I normally drift within casting range of the reef, then stake out my shallow-running Maverick HPX. At that point, I can fan-cast over and around the reef. You never know where reds are going to be feeding in a situation like that.

Often the water on the lower end of Sabine Lake will be stained. That's when you might want to fish with a black spinnerbait. My favorite is one with a black grub tail and gold blade. You might be surprised at how aggressive reds can be on spinners worked over shallow flats. I found that out one day while fishing with Billy Murray. He's best known as a bass fisherman, but one day while fishing shallow flats for reds, he and I caught easy limits of 5- to 10-pounders while fishing spinnerbaits over scattered shell reefs.

Norris said his favorite lures over shallow oyster reefs include a She Dog, Super Spook or Bass Assassin.

"I'll almost always start out with a topwater, then move to a soft plastic," explained Norris. "Reds will smash a topwater if you can get it over them. I'll fish a She Dog in black/char­treuse. If nothing happens, I'll switch to a soft plastic like an Assassin in chartreuse or red/shad."

The entire shoreline from the causeway bridge and up to Blue Buck Point can hold pods of reds. That's a lot of water and can take up a whole morning or afternoon of fishing if you do it right. The main thing is to go slow, look for mullet and fish every inch of water thoroughly.

LOWER SABINE LAKE
On the lower end of Sabine Lake is a huge reef that's in 6 to 20 feet of water. This is probably the most popular spring fishing spot on Sabine. It's easy to fish and more often than not holds plenty of reds. This is a massive reef that stretches for several hundred yards. It begins at the causeway bridge and heads north up toward Blue Buck Point.

The best way to fish this deep-water reef is with soft plastics. And fishing is simple. You make a cast and allow the jig to sink to the bottom. As the boat drifts with the current, the jig will bump over the oysters. Hang on and wait for a bite. April is one of the best times to be fishing this reef. When it's right, you can get easy limits of reds, along with a number of speckled trout.