Downsizing for Speckled Trout | OutdoorHub

One of the vital difficult features of speckled trout fishing is having to regulate to quickly altering situations. This spring we’ve seen no scarcity of fixing climate. Excessive winds, barometric stress swings, and drastic drops in temperature have speckled trout anglers guessing right here in Southeast Louisiana.

I lately made a visit to Lake Pontchartrain the place I discovered myself making an attempt to place collectively a sample after experiencing a “no-bite” morning. I’ve to confess that I wasn’t shocked by what I skilled after a chilly entrance that handed by way of the day earlier than. We’ve been experiencing temperatures within the higher 70s for the previous week and the speckled trout chunk has been on fireplace in Lake Pontchartrain. However with the current temperature swing of 30 levels, the trout appear to have shut down. On this morning I attempted every thing: completely different shade baits, jigging, tightlining, reside bait, and even trolling, however the trout simply weren’t having any of it. By 9:00 A.M. I used to be confronted with the dilemma of quitting early and saving the day, or persevering with to try to determine these fish.

I selected the latter and started rummaging by way of my sort out field for one thing completely different. Then it hit me! I noticed a small 2.75-inch plastic shad that I used for crappie fishing. It was a Lil’ Tuffie Swimbait made by Rambling Angler Outdoors. The bait resembled a silverside minnow completely, so I threaded it on and motored down the canal to search out my subsequent spot.

I stumbled on a small ditch within the marsh with water flowing out of it. There wasn’t a lot floor motion so I didn’t anticipate a lot. I casted into the blending line of water and let the drop-shot rig sink. I then slowly reeled in and bam! I waited all morning to really feel that thump and there it was! I set the hook and landed a 13-inch speckled trout. After tossing it into the ice chest I solid out to the identical spot in the course of the mouth of the small ditch and repeated the strategy of barely shifting the swimbait.

As soon as once more I felt a thump and landed one other 13-inch speck. I sat in that one spot and caught 15 speckled trout (and several other others which I tagged) and it was all resulting from a easy change in lure measurement. The tiny swimbait which served primarily as a crappie fishing lure, did the trick and saved my journey. The downsizing was all that was wanted to entice the lackadaisical trout to chunk!

Keith Lusher

Keith Lusher is an award successful outside journalist that resides in Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthshoreFishingReport.com and writes a weekly outside column for the Slidell Unbiased Newspaper. He additionally writes for the St.Tammany Parish Tourism Fee’s VisitTheNorthshore.com. He’s the previous host of The Northshore Fishing Report Radio Present and is on the board of the Louisiana Outside Writers Affiliation. Keith contributes to quite a few publications each on-line and in print and prides himself on selling South Louisiana’s distinctive fishery. To contact Keith electronic mail: keithlusherjr@gmail.com