Reefs to Rigs for Spawning Trout

The springtime spawning run is in full swing along the coast for speckled sea trout. Just like any spawning fish, they can be easy to catch once located. Those locations include many of the islands to the rigs in the bays and along the Louisiana coast. The trout tend to run much larger than you will find in schooling fish under birds. It is not uncommon to catch fish in 2-4lb range and some 5lbs plus. Techniques are somewhat different than fishing for schooling trout. Live bait can be a plus, if not necessary at times. However, in many cases artificial baits work just as well as live. Live bait includes, minnows, croaker, mullet, and shrimp. These are typically fished either under a popping cork or Carolina rigged with a sinker and hook. A plain jig head can also be used for live bait. Once you have located fish, you can anchor the boat and catch limits of fish. Although if you are not into anchoring, a trolling motor can be used to stay on the fish. Boat position usually depends on which direction the tide is flowing. With oil structures many times you will locate the fish on the upside of the rig. This lets you cast to the structure and allows the bait to stay in position next to the structure where the fish are located. But this may not always be the case. In these circumstances you may have to cast the bait against the structure and let it move back toward the boat. This could be a problem keeping the bait in position. Usually a heavier weight can solve the problem by keeping the bait close to where the fish are located. Using live bait such as croaker or mullet can net bigger fish. The key when using croaker or mullet is to give the fish time to get the bait in position to be swallowed before setting the hook. This can be trying at times since most of the time you want to pull as soon as you feel the bite. Simply by free spooling the line after the fish has picked up the bait for a few seconds will result in more hook ups and better catch ratios. Artificial bait can be fished in the same manor but has to be retrieved back instead of just letting it lie there until a fish picks it up. Positioning the boat is the same as it is with live bait. There are many artificial baits that work well for catching spawning trout from suspending jerk baits to sand eel type plastics and swim baits. Color, as usual, depends on the fishers preference. Typically, anything and chartreuse to the old motor oil colored plastics will work well. Jig head weight depends on the current and the winds. The stronger the tidal flow, the heavier the jig head will have to be used. It also depends on location and how active the fish are. Sometimes the bait can be worked fast just under the surface and sometimes it has to be worked bouncing off the bottom. So, now is the time to head south to the coast for some really big catches of speckled sea trout. Special thanks to Tim Dusenbery and Captain Carey Naquin for today's trip. Rough seas, but nice trout where caught using these techniques. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.

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