Carolina Fishing: How to Catch Speckled Trout
They will hit a wide variety of baits and lures but generally prefer live and moving offerings. They are also well known to be hard to please at times.
Speckled trout are available in Carolina waters year-round, but sometimes only for those who know how to find them. They spawn in the spring, using the ocean surf and the inlet waterways as passages for their spawning runs. Trout roam in search of food, but schools will often station themselves near hard structure or inlet mouths as feeding zones.
Speckled trout feed heavily on shrimp and small fish. Studies show that shrimp makes up the largest percentage of the diet of most speckled trout, but that the larger trout (all females) prefer live fish like mullet and pogies. These large specks tend to be loners and will even gobble up little trout.
Specks are most active in water over 56 degrees, but can sometimes be caught in water as low as 48 degrees. In winter they school inshore or just off the beach. During this time they favor deep holes, especially around places near shallow water where bait gathers. Specks are intolerant of extreme cold and very harsh winters can cause trout 'stuns' or 'kills' in the Carolinas.
Specks can be caught in many ways. Live bait fished under a float (usually live shrimp) is the top method, although live bait can also be fished on the bottom for them. The sliding depth of float rigs allows you to experiment and find out where they are feeding.
Specks have only a few prominent front teeth and wire spooks them, so use fluorocarbon or heavy mono
line as leader material and shun wire. Fishing line of 6 to 8 lbs is sufficient, and rods should be 7 to 9 feet in length. Try to avoid a lot of weight; from a few split shot up to 2 ounces is plenty.
Specks love live shrimp. However, so do a lot of things and live shrimp is not always practical or available. The next best alternative is live finger mullet, or other minnows like pogies, pinfish, or mud minnows. Many anglers don't know it, but big trout love to hit small pinfish.
Cut bait drifted or dragged as in flounder fishing will work. Specks sometimes hit cut bait such as shrimp, squid, bloodworms, or cut fish on the bottom, but not as much as gray trout (weakfish) and this is not the best way to target them.
Speckled trout are celebrated artificial lure takers. Many anglers these days use the Gulp! line of synthetic baits or shrimp-imitations like the DOA or Billy Bay Halo Shrimp. There are many grub-styles available for trout and all of them work on occasion. Green, chartreuse, white, and pink are top color choices. Trout can also be taken on double-rigs with a smaller jig as the trailer.
Hard lures such as the famous MirrOlure plugs are also good and target larger trout. Bucktails and silver spoons will work. Surf anglers favor these weightier lures for casting distance.
Many different retrieves target trout when fishing lures, and sometimes you must experiment. The big rule: the colder the water the slower you retrieve. In the dead of winter sometimes you don't need to retrieve at all (this is called deadsticking).
Specks average a few pounds each. The NC state record is 12 lbs, 4 ounces caught in Wrightsville Beach in 1961.
Speckled trout are available in Carolina waters year-round, but sometimes only for those who know how to find them. They spawn in the spring, using the ocean surf and the inlet waterways as passages for their spawning runs. Trout roam in search of food, but schools will often station themselves near hard structure or inlet mouths as feeding zones.
Speckled trout feed heavily on shrimp and small fish. Studies show that shrimp makes up the largest percentage of the diet of most speckled trout, but that the larger trout (all females) prefer live fish like mullet and pogies. These large specks tend to be loners and will even gobble up little trout.
Specks are most active in water over 56 degrees, but can sometimes be caught in water as low as 48 degrees. In winter they school inshore or just off the beach. During this time they favor deep holes, especially around places near shallow water where bait gathers. Specks are intolerant of extreme cold and very harsh winters can cause trout 'stuns' or 'kills' in the Carolinas.
Specks can be caught in many ways. Live bait fished under a float (usually live shrimp) is the top method, although live bait can also be fished on the bottom for them. The sliding depth of float rigs allows you to experiment and find out where they are feeding.
Specks have only a few prominent front teeth and wire spooks them, so use fluorocarbon or heavy mono
Specks love live shrimp. However, so do a lot of things and live shrimp is not always practical or available. The next best alternative is live finger mullet, or other minnows like pogies, pinfish, or mud minnows. Many anglers don't know it, but big trout love to hit small pinfish.
Cut bait drifted or dragged as in flounder fishing will work. Specks sometimes hit cut bait such as shrimp, squid, bloodworms, or cut fish on the bottom, but not as much as gray trout (weakfish) and this is not the best way to target them.
Speckled trout are celebrated artificial lure takers. Many anglers these days use the Gulp! line of synthetic baits or shrimp-imitations like the DOA or Billy Bay Halo Shrimp. There are many grub-styles available for trout and all of them work on occasion. Green, chartreuse, white, and pink are top color choices. Trout can also be taken on double-rigs with a smaller jig as the trailer.
Hard lures such as the famous MirrOlure plugs are also good and target larger trout. Bucktails and silver spoons will work. Surf anglers favor these weightier lures for casting distance.
Many different retrieves target trout when fishing lures, and sometimes you must experiment. The big rule: the colder the water the slower you retrieve. In the dead of winter sometimes you don't need to retrieve at all (this is called deadsticking).
Specks average a few pounds each. The NC state record is 12 lbs, 4 ounces caught in Wrightsville Beach in 1961.
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