Our good friend Todd Masson has been bird-dogging some Speckled Trout down in Louisiana lately. His observations and techniques can be applied all across the Gulf of Mexico for some fantastic speck fishing. Based on his last few videos, here is the reader’s digest condensed feedback.
Normally by September, the trout have begun a migration back into shallower eelgrass flats but because of the extended very hot weather that has been delayed until now. The slightly cooler weather and shorter photoperiod has pushed the fish back into submerged grass bed areas, where they seek to devour vegetation-loving shrimp.
While there are many great techniques that will work, the two hottest methods according to Masson are a soft plastic shrimp type bait underneath a popping cork and his most preferred method a shallow hard jerk type bait.
You will need to cover a lot of water until you locate a school of trout. In the Louisiana area, eelgrass is preferred as far as a bottom to look for. Diving birds are always a good sign for locating bait but sometimes the best give-a-way is the old standard slick spots on the water. When trout and redfish feed on a school of bait, the feeding causes an oil slick from crushed crabs, shrimp or baitfish. The tighter and rounder the slicks the fresher they are. Try and cast upstream of the slick to bring your lure into the active area.
When an area slows down on the strikes don’t hesitate to quickly move on in search of another active school.
That's all of your Fall Speckled Trout recap. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have time check out Marsh Man Masson's channel. Then check back in next Tuesday for more tips from our expert staff and pro staff from around the country.