Old Sabine River Bottom WMA
Kayak paddle route map on the Old Sabine River, located within the Old Sabine Bottom WMA area north of Tyler TX. A surprise, its so nice. The only downside is that it’s short, about 6 miles round trip. Quite a few gators, some of them decent size, say 6-ish feet, but picture resistant. Huge alligator gar that slide by the boat. Several incredible beaver dams, quality work, these guys know what they’re doing. The Sabine River at Mineola read about 45 cfs, very low. But its not clear to me how the flow rate in the main Sabine River correlates to levels in the Old Sabine area. This trip at least there were lots of side channels and low lying areas to paddle and there would probably be a lot more if the water was higher. At one point I hiked in, along the white dots on the map, to take a look at the little interior lake. Note that you do have to pull the boat a ways to get from the road to the launch, its not real close. But great paddle.
Above: This is the launch. From here you drag the boat.
Above: But worth it.
Above: There is an alligator in this picture, expand to find it, like Where’s Waldo. The last picture in the series, below, shows the answer.
Above: View from the back, through the duckweed and/or watermeal.
Above: A splash in front of the boat is a cormorant. Sometimes you follow them upriver as they surface and submerge over and over.
Above: Long beaver dam, curving in an S shape from one bank to the other.
Above: This is from below the dam sitting in the kayak. The surface of the water upstream is about eye level, about a 3 foot differential. Its a weird feeling.
Above: Here is the alligator zoomed in, sitting on a log.