PRING SPECKLED TROUT SURGE
By: Capt. Mike Thompson
All along the Gulf Coast anglers have anticipated the warm weather and hot speckled trout action the month of April kicks off. These tips and tactics will put you in the thick of the action this month!
The start of April is one of the most anticipated times of the year in the Deep South. The weather has taken a turn for the better, plants and trees are blooming and baseball season is about to crank up.
While all the above-mentioned events are certainly anticipated by many, the annual surge of spring speckled trout has coastal anglers tingling with excitement.
Why wouldn't a southern inshore angler be excited in April? Even though the occasional blustery day can still be expected, more of the warm, soothing winds of spring have taken control now.
Along with the seasonal changes of nature come the coordinating fish movements. When talking about speckled trout along the coast in April, it means fish movement toward the spawning areas where an angler can catch the fish of his or her dreams.
Spawning fish are a ritual of spring that lures even the casual inshore angler out in search of a trophy fish. There are no guarantees you'll catch a wallhanger in April, but your odds for doing so take a significant jump.
Speckled trout move back and forth between shallow and deep water, influenced by water temperature and water salinity. When water temperatures approach the mid-60s, the specks will become quite active.
Unlike a lot of other fish species, specks don't migrate, but usually stay within 25 to 30 miles of their spawning areas. This makes speckled trout sort of homebodies. You can just about count on them being in the same places each spring.
When water temperatures rise in spring, you should concentrate on shallow areas with deep water in close proximity. Trout seem to prefer the ability to retreat to deeper water when spooked or forced out of the shallows by weather changes.
SPRING STRUCTURE
Like many other fish species, the speckled trout is often caught around structure. During the spring things are no different. Structure provides places to hide for a variety of small fish, minnows and crustaceans. All are part of the food chain, with specks being near the top of that inshore/nearshore chain.
Reefs, whether natural or artificial, are great places to target April specks. Floating a live shrimp under a cork is almost a foolproof method for catching spring specks. Live minnows under a cork also work well.
If you live in a state that allows oil and gas exploration in its coastal waters, you already know how good the spring trout fishing can be at the wells placed in shallow water.
Any water less than 12 to 15 feet deep around oil or gas rigs should be productive for spring trout.
Other prime structure can be man-made jetties. These structures of rocks are usually near swift current, providing an advantage for predators over prey.
QUALITY OR QUANTITY
One of the easiest decisions a fisherman has to make is whether or not to go fishing. Heck, that's a no-brainer! The spring trout angler faces a much more difficult decision.
"Should I target numbers of fish or just big fish?" one might ask.
Scientific studies have shown that schools of speckled trout stay together for extended periods of their lifetime. This means that as members of a school are lost to predation or natural causes over the years, the size of the school gets smaller, while the overall size of the fish gets bigger.
A 5-pound speckled trout will be more than 6 years old. Over that period of time it is likely the fish has seen a variety of baits and lures. To have survived that many years, the fish has obviously gained quite an education. Face it -- they're smart in relative terms.
Unlike the small school trout that race each other to bait, then hit it with only the thought of getting it before another fish can, the bigger trout are more selective and cautious.
To target small spring specks, your choice of bait is not that critical. As said earlier, live shrimp is almost an idiot-proof bait.
The reason small specks like shrimp so much is that small fish spend most of their time in shallow bays and grassy areas. These are the same places young shrimp are using as they grow.
During the first couple of years of a speck's life, it feeds almost exclusively on shrimp. As they grow past a few pounds their diet contains more fish. As the fish grow to trophy size their diet is almost exclusively fish.
Since a large speck can eat a few fish and be full, it only has to eat once a day. The smaller fish will gorge themselves to the point of regurgitation, only to do it again later.
So the bottom line for those seeking quality over quantity is to use large live fish baits like menhaden, mullet or pinfish. When using artificials, you should try to mimic the previously mentioned live baits.
MirrOlure Glad Shads, Storm Thundersticks, Rapalas and large plastics such as Charlie's Worm Jerk Shads or Storm Wild Eye Shiners will all entice strikes from big trout.
So the choice is yours. Is bigger better? I'll let you decide.
To make the choice easier, I've enlisted the advice of some Gulf Coast pros.
PROS' CHOICES
Captain Joey Abruscato, of A-Team Fishing Adventures, is an Alabama fishing guide who looks forward to the month of April for good speckled trout action. With the fish moving toward their warm-weather homes, Capt. Abruscato targets these areas with vigor.
"During April our specks are moving out of the deep-water sanctuaries of the rivers toward the shallows. As they move along they seem to stage in areas with shell-pad bottoms like the oyster reefs in Portersville and Heron Bays," Abruscato said. "If available, I'll use live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder cork. If live baits are not available, I use D.O.A. shrimp."
Capt. Abruscato also carries along an arsenal of plastic grubs. Combined with a quarter-ounce jighead, the plastics can be quite effective.
"Schools of the smaller fish can be quite aggressive, making plastics a good option. I like the minnow-type plastics like the Cocahoe Minnow, Saltwater Assassins and Berkley Power Baits. For school fish it's hard to beat the brighter colors of chartreuse or white," Capt. Abruscato said.
While numbers of small fish seem to hit the reefs first, Capt. Abruscato said you can catch some of the big prespawn trout during April, too.
"For the bigger fish I like to use the mullet imitation baits. MirrOlures in chrome colors are my favorites. I prefer those MirrOlures with either black or green backs. For top-water baits, like the Top Dog, I want the specks to see either a white or silver belly, just like a mullet, as they see my bait swim overhead," he said.
As a guide, Capt. Abruscato is on the water more mornings than afternoons. He reminds folks not to ignore the evening bite.
"Most of my fishing is done during mornings, but some of the best top-water action can occur during the late afternoons. As the wind lays down, it is an excellent time to catch a big trout using top-water baits on the shoals near the Dauphin Island Bridge," he said.
Captain Brandon Carter of Reel Shot Guide Service has only been guiding for the last five years in Venice, La., but from the results of some of his trips, he's already made quite a name for himself.
He has had four winners in Louisiana's CCA Star tournament. With thousands of dollars worth of boats to his credit, Carter knows his stuff.
"In April I like to target the outer bays that flank the Mississippi River. It's usually a tough start in April, but weatherpermitting, the fishing can be good," Carter said. "I like to drift the bays with plastics under a rattle cork. I use a leader of about 2 to 3 feet, just in case some of the fresh river water has spilled over into the bays."
Carter does have a couple of favorite baits for April trout.
"I use either a Deadly Dudley or Bayside grub rigged with a three-eighths-ounce head under my cork. For the Dudley, I like the blue moon color with a chartreuse tail. For the Bayside grubs, I like anything with the chartreuse tail," he said. Like many charter skippers, Capt. Carter looks for structure when fishing. In Venice, that structure is limited.
"When fishing the outer bays, the structure I fish is hidden. Cane stubble edges left by the impacts of erosion are places where trout feed. This can be several hundred yards off the bank. People look at me funny when I'm that far off the bank, but fish are the reason I'm way out there," Capt. Carter said.
For big fish, Carter has a recipe. It involves lunar activity and places of opportunity.
"I prefer the last full moon of April. I then head to the jetties of South or Southwest Pass. I take off the corks and fish methodically on the bottom. The bite is slight, but the fish are huge," he said.
Scott Simpson of Impulsive Charters is a Mississippi light-tackle inshore guide with more than 25 years of fishing experience for speckled trout.
Over that period, Capt. Simpson has caught plenty of big specks.
"In the month of April the speckled trout will start to move out of the back bays and rivers toward the barrier islands. We like to fish both Cat and Ship Islands in April. With bait in short supply, we rely on artificials," he said.
Capt. Simpson said he likes to use artificials in the shallows and offers up several of his favorites.
"I use a lot of slow-sinking MirrOlures in April. I also use top-waters such as She Dogs and Top Dogs. For plastics, I use Mr. Twister Slugs and curly tails on a quarter-ounce jighead. My favorite colors are glow, chartreuse, purple and electric chicken," he said.
If Captain Simpson is targeting big trout in April, he has a couple of areas that have produced well over the years.
"I look for big fish coming out of the bays in April. The mouths of Bay St. Louis and the back bay in Biloxi are great for big fish in April. As long as you have tidal movement in or out you can catch specks up to 7 pounds in these areas," he said. "I'm always on the lookout for mullet or pogie activity in the bay areas. I drift and cast slow-sinking plugs during the day, but do better on top-waters toward the evening."
Simpson dispensed a tip for locating or spotting the scarce bait in April.
"Always pay attention to birds in the area. I especially watch pelicans. I'm looking for the pelicans that fly low along the water. These big birds will spook bait, causing them to reveal their location," he said.
Captain Ron Behnke is a Texas-based guide who knows quite a bit about inshore fishing. He also knows a good bit about boat design. Blue Wave Boats has a Ron Behnke edition, with the interior of the boat tailored by Capt. Ron. Capt. Behnke had this advice for those in search of Texas trout in April.
"In Texas during March and April we get the huge spring tides or what some people refer to as equinox tides. These are the big tides that bring the trout back in from the edges of the Gulf to the flats close to passes," he said. "We drift the flats with plastics under a cork, usually a rattle cork."
Capt. Behnke, like other guides, has a couple of favorite artificials he uses in April.
"With bait so scarce we use primarily artificials in April. My two favorites are Norton Sand Eels and Berkley Power Baits, both fished on a quarter-ounce, unpainted jighead. For colors, I like to use glow with a chartreuse tail and purple with a chartreuse tail," he said.
Knowing which flats to target is the result of many days on the water, but Capt. Behnke was very adamant about a couple of signs to look for.
"Always pay attention to drops in the flats. They can be drops of only a foot or so, but fish key on them. Pay special attention to any signs of baitfish, especially mullet. If we see mullet skittering about on the surface, we spend extra time working that area. We will work the mullet with and without the corks," he said.
WRAP-UP
If the warming trend of spring has got you thinking about wetting a line, try some of the tips and techniques we've covered. Hopefully, you too can get in on the spring speckled trout surge this year.
Contact Info
Captain Joey Abruscato -- A Team Fishing Adventures
251-478-8283 or 251-661-8244
Captain Brandon Carter -- Reel Shot Guide Service
985-542-0620 or 985-969-0810
Captain Ron Behnke -- Behnke Guide Service
361-991-1248 or 361-688-4030
Captain Scott Simpson -- Impulsive Charters
228-452-7117 or 228-669-6204
By: Capt. Mike Thompson
All along the Gulf Coast anglers have anticipated the warm weather and hot speckled trout action the month of April kicks off. These tips and tactics will put you in the thick of the action this month!
The start of April is one of the most anticipated times of the year in the Deep South. The weather has taken a turn for the better, plants and trees are blooming and baseball season is about to crank up.
While all the above-mentioned events are certainly anticipated by many, the annual surge of spring speckled trout has coastal anglers tingling with excitement.
Why wouldn't a southern inshore angler be excited in April? Even though the occasional blustery day can still be expected, more of the warm, soothing winds of spring have taken control now.
Along with the seasonal changes of nature come the coordinating fish movements. When talking about speckled trout along the coast in April, it means fish movement toward the spawning areas where an angler can catch the fish of his or her dreams.
Spawning fish are a ritual of spring that lures even the casual inshore angler out in search of a trophy fish. There are no guarantees you'll catch a wallhanger in April, but your odds for doing so take a significant jump.
Speckled trout move back and forth between shallow and deep water, influenced by water temperature and water salinity. When water temperatures approach the mid-60s, the specks will become quite active.
Unlike a lot of other fish species, specks don't migrate, but usually stay within 25 to 30 miles of their spawning areas. This makes speckled trout sort of homebodies. You can just about count on them being in the same places each spring.
When water temperatures rise in spring, you should concentrate on shallow areas with deep water in close proximity. Trout seem to prefer the ability to retreat to deeper water when spooked or forced out of the shallows by weather changes.
SPRING STRUCTURE
Like many other fish species, the speckled trout is often caught around structure. During the spring things are no different. Structure provides places to hide for a variety of small fish, minnows and crustaceans. All are part of the food chain, with specks being near the top of that inshore/nearshore chain.
Reefs, whether natural or artificial, are great places to target April specks. Floating a live shrimp under a cork is almost a foolproof method for catching spring specks. Live minnows under a cork also work well.
If you live in a state that allows oil and gas exploration in its coastal waters, you already know how good the spring trout fishing can be at the wells placed in shallow water.
Any water less than 12 to 15 feet deep around oil or gas rigs should be productive for spring trout.
Other prime structure can be man-made jetties. These structures of rocks are usually near swift current, providing an advantage for predators over prey.
QUALITY OR QUANTITY
One of the easiest decisions a fisherman has to make is whether or not to go fishing. Heck, that's a no-brainer! The spring trout angler faces a much more difficult decision.
"Should I target numbers of fish or just big fish?" one might ask.
Scientific studies have shown that schools of speckled trout stay together for extended periods of their lifetime. This means that as members of a school are lost to predation or natural causes over the years, the size of the school gets smaller, while the overall size of the fish gets bigger.
A 5-pound speckled trout will be more than 6 years old. Over that period of time it is likely the fish has seen a variety of baits and lures. To have survived that many years, the fish has obviously gained quite an education. Face it -- they're smart in relative terms.
Unlike the small school trout that race each other to bait, then hit it with only the thought of getting it before another fish can, the bigger trout are more selective and cautious.
To target small spring specks, your choice of bait is not that critical. As said earlier, live shrimp is almost an idiot-proof bait.
The reason small specks like shrimp so much is that small fish spend most of their time in shallow bays and grassy areas. These are the same places young shrimp are using as they grow.
During the first couple of years of a speck's life, it feeds almost exclusively on shrimp. As they grow past a few pounds their diet contains more fish. As the fish grow to trophy size their diet is almost exclusively fish.
Since a large speck can eat a few fish and be full, it only has to eat once a day. The smaller fish will gorge themselves to the point of regurgitation, only to do it again later.
So the bottom line for those seeking quality over quantity is to use large live fish baits like menhaden, mullet or pinfish. When using artificials, you should try to mimic the previously mentioned live baits.
MirrOlure Glad Shads, Storm Thundersticks, Rapalas and large plastics such as Charlie's Worm Jerk Shads or Storm Wild Eye Shiners will all entice strikes from big trout.
So the choice is yours. Is bigger better? I'll let you decide.
To make the choice easier, I've enlisted the advice of some Gulf Coast pros.
PROS' CHOICES
Captain Joey Abruscato, of A-Team Fishing Adventures, is an Alabama fishing guide who looks forward to the month of April for good speckled trout action. With the fish moving toward their warm-weather homes, Capt. Abruscato targets these areas with vigor.
"During April our specks are moving out of the deep-water sanctuaries of the rivers toward the shallows. As they move along they seem to stage in areas with shell-pad bottoms like the oyster reefs in Portersville and Heron Bays," Abruscato said. "If available, I'll use live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder cork. If live baits are not available, I use D.O.A. shrimp."
Capt. Abruscato also carries along an arsenal of plastic grubs. Combined with a quarter-ounce jighead, the plastics can be quite effective.
"Schools of the smaller fish can be quite aggressive, making plastics a good option. I like the minnow-type plastics like the Cocahoe Minnow, Saltwater Assassins and Berkley Power Baits. For school fish it's hard to beat the brighter colors of chartreuse or white," Capt. Abruscato said.
While numbers of small fish seem to hit the reefs first, Capt. Abruscato said you can catch some of the big prespawn trout during April, too.
"For the bigger fish I like to use the mullet imitation baits. MirrOlures in chrome colors are my favorites. I prefer those MirrOlures with either black or green backs. For top-water baits, like the Top Dog, I want the specks to see either a white or silver belly, just like a mullet, as they see my bait swim overhead," he said.
As a guide, Capt. Abruscato is on the water more mornings than afternoons. He reminds folks not to ignore the evening bite.
"Most of my fishing is done during mornings, but some of the best top-water action can occur during the late afternoons. As the wind lays down, it is an excellent time to catch a big trout using top-water baits on the shoals near the Dauphin Island Bridge," he said.
Captain Brandon Carter of Reel Shot Guide Service has only been guiding for the last five years in Venice, La., but from the results of some of his trips, he's already made quite a name for himself.
He has had four winners in Louisiana's CCA Star tournament. With thousands of dollars worth of boats to his credit, Carter knows his stuff.
"In April I like to target the outer bays that flank the Mississippi River. It's usually a tough start in April, but weatherpermitting, the fishing can be good," Carter said. "I like to drift the bays with plastics under a rattle cork. I use a leader of about 2 to 3 feet, just in case some of the fresh river water has spilled over into the bays."
Carter does have a couple of favorite baits for April trout.
"I use either a Deadly Dudley or Bayside grub rigged with a three-eighths-ounce head under my cork. For the Dudley, I like the blue moon color with a chartreuse tail. For the Bayside grubs, I like anything with the chartreuse tail," he said. Like many charter skippers, Capt. Carter looks for structure when fishing. In Venice, that structure is limited.
"When fishing the outer bays, the structure I fish is hidden. Cane stubble edges left by the impacts of erosion are places where trout feed. This can be several hundred yards off the bank. People look at me funny when I'm that far off the bank, but fish are the reason I'm way out there," Capt. Carter said.
For big fish, Carter has a recipe. It involves lunar activity and places of opportunity.
"I prefer the last full moon of April. I then head to the jetties of South or Southwest Pass. I take off the corks and fish methodically on the bottom. The bite is slight, but the fish are huge," he said.
Scott Simpson of Impulsive Charters is a Mississippi light-tackle inshore guide with more than 25 years of fishing experience for speckled trout.
Over that period, Capt. Simpson has caught plenty of big specks.
"In the month of April the speckled trout will start to move out of the back bays and rivers toward the barrier islands. We like to fish both Cat and Ship Islands in April. With bait in short supply, we rely on artificials," he said.
Capt. Simpson said he likes to use artificials in the shallows and offers up several of his favorites.
"I use a lot of slow-sinking MirrOlures in April. I also use top-waters such as She Dogs and Top Dogs. For plastics, I use Mr. Twister Slugs and curly tails on a quarter-ounce jighead. My favorite colors are glow, chartreuse, purple and electric chicken," he said.
If Captain Simpson is targeting big trout in April, he has a couple of areas that have produced well over the years.
"I look for big fish coming out of the bays in April. The mouths of Bay St. Louis and the back bay in Biloxi are great for big fish in April. As long as you have tidal movement in or out you can catch specks up to 7 pounds in these areas," he said. "I'm always on the lookout for mullet or pogie activity in the bay areas. I drift and cast slow-sinking plugs during the day, but do better on top-waters toward the evening."
Simpson dispensed a tip for locating or spotting the scarce bait in April.
"Always pay attention to birds in the area. I especially watch pelicans. I'm looking for the pelicans that fly low along the water. These big birds will spook bait, causing them to reveal their location," he said.
Captain Ron Behnke is a Texas-based guide who knows quite a bit about inshore fishing. He also knows a good bit about boat design. Blue Wave Boats has a Ron Behnke edition, with the interior of the boat tailored by Capt. Ron. Capt. Behnke had this advice for those in search of Texas trout in April.
"In Texas during March and April we get the huge spring tides or what some people refer to as equinox tides. These are the big tides that bring the trout back in from the edges of the Gulf to the flats close to passes," he said. "We drift the flats with plastics under a cork, usually a rattle cork."
Capt. Behnke, like other guides, has a couple of favorite artificials he uses in April.
"With bait so scarce we use primarily artificials in April. My two favorites are Norton Sand Eels and Berkley Power Baits, both fished on a quarter-ounce, unpainted jighead. For colors, I like to use glow with a chartreuse tail and purple with a chartreuse tail," he said.
Knowing which flats to target is the result of many days on the water, but Capt. Behnke was very adamant about a couple of signs to look for.
"Always pay attention to drops in the flats. They can be drops of only a foot or so, but fish key on them. Pay special attention to any signs of baitfish, especially mullet. If we see mullet skittering about on the surface, we spend extra time working that area. We will work the mullet with and without the corks," he said.
WRAP-UP
If the warming trend of spring has got you thinking about wetting a line, try some of the tips and techniques we've covered. Hopefully, you too can get in on the spring speckled trout surge this year.
Contact Info
Captain Joey Abruscato -- A Team Fishing Adventures
251-478-8283 or 251-661-8244
Captain Brandon Carter -- Reel Shot Guide Service
985-542-0620 or 985-969-0810
Captain Ron Behnke -- Behnke Guide Service
361-991-1248 or 361-688-4030
Captain Scott Simpson -- Impulsive Charters
228-452-7117 or 228-669-6204