How to catch Speckled Trout fishing tips and tricks

Article by: Capt. Rick Bennett

Speckled trout may be the most elusive of the three inshore slam species: red drum, flounder and of course trout. They are most prevalent in the cooler to colder months and can be particular as to what they are willing to bite. But persistence and a little know how can greatly enhance your chances of bagging a nice cooler of trout. Let’s see if we can help:

I am often asked, what is the best tide for catching trout? The answer is either tide, but the critical part is the tide has to be moving. Slack tide does not work for trout. They are ambushers and if the tide is not moving well, the bait can dart away rather than be in a free fall ready to be ambushed by a hungry trout. The second most frequent question is where is the best place to catch trout? The answer is the usual places you hunt for your inshore fish. Best places are creek mouths, points or juts in a creek, rocks and jetties, oyster bars, cuts inside creeks, marsh banks, inlets and the list goes on.

My best advice is to try some of the above under different tide scenarios and determine places that pay off for you. Here is an example: I found a cut in a creek. Anchoring just off the cut, I threw a soft plastic into the cut and just let the current sweep it out. I immediately started catching trout. This leads me to the best bait for catching trout. This reminds me, be sure to have a landing net for trout. Their mouths are very weak and pulling them out of the water will often pull the hooks out.

Possibly the absolutely best bait for trout is live shrimp. The problem is live shrimp are relative expensive and generally hard to catch outside of a bait tank. (If I do happen to catch some shrimp in my cast net, my wife prefers me to bring them home for dinner.) I prefer soft plastics, Z-Man baits specifically. I prepare these baits with a fish attractant. Truly it does not matter which of the many products out there that you use, just be sure to use one. You need to overcome the plastic smell and taste.

I also like to incorporate a popping cork with maybe twenty-four inches of fluorocarbon leader and an artificial shrimp such as Vudu. Some often overlooked trout baits are small pinfish and small spots. I’m talking 2” or less. In the colder months you can find them at boat ramps with a smallish cast net. When trout fishing I use a Z-Man jig head, either 3/16 or a ¼ ounce, with my Z-Man soft plastics. Also, Mirro Lure has some very good baits for trout. You should have some MR 17, MR 18, MR 27, 52M and 52TT lures in your tackle box as well. Trout surf fishermen have been using the 52 series for decades and they still catch fish!

Tackle for trout is generally pretty light. I use a seven foot medium light rod, say 6-12 pound class, a 2500 series reel, and 10 pound braid. I add a 15-20 pound fluorocarbon leader and attach the lure or jig head with a loop knot. The loop knot helps provide more action which I believe provides more strikes. A final note: please keep in mind that the colder it gets the more slowly you will want to move your lure.
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Good Fishing!

Capt. Rick Bennett, Ret.
www.rod-man.com
rodman@rod-man.com

Capt. Rick Bennett

A lifetime fisherman, Capt. Rick Bennett, better known as the Rod-Man,has retired from the day to day activities as a charter boat captain but does offer “ON YOUR BOAT” Guided Fishing Trips. Capt. Rick will show you the when, the where and the how. From rod and reel selection to terminal tackle to bait, Capt. Rick has the know how.