Day One on the Sabine, Part II

Terry Scroggins shows off his first keeper of the day.

"Posted" and "Keep Out" signs were a constant feature of the landscape surrounding the Texas/Louisiana fishery.

While spring has yet to fill the landscape with green, there is enough of it to contrast with the brown water most of these anglers are fishing.

Scroggins pitches his lure to shallow cover.

He would hit an area for about an hour or less then move to the next spot.

On his second stop, Scroggins boated his second keeper. He estimated the fish in the 5-pound neighborhood.

The fish caused a loud yell from the Florida angler.

In Louisiana, the silver maples along the river bank provided color to an almost bland late winter/early fall landscape.

Scroggins poses with his best fish of the day.

As the day progressed, it warmed up enough to drop the rain suits. In this case, Scroggins is wearing green in honor of the Sandy Hook School victims.

The next few photos show the progression of Scroggins catching his third keeper.

The fish made a mighty splash as it almost wallowed on top of the water.

Jumping in the middle of the battle.

Then back to wallowing mode.

The fish finally got into position to be jerked into the boat.

Scroggins measures it quickly...

Then poses for a quick photo.

Josh Bertrand, an Elite Series rookie, runs close by.

Cypress knees are a constant part of the landscape.

As are laydowns.

And like with this cypress tree Gerald Swindle is fishing, so is Spanish moss.

Swindle had yet to boat a keeper.

Like Scroggins, he was hitting small places, then running off to the next.

Paul Elias appears to be fishing in the woods, but he's actually working his way up a small sliver of water.

Like several of the anglers, he was having a tough time finding keepers.

Water clarity like this was similar all up and down the rivers and sloughs, much muddier than what the anglers found in practice.