What is the Best Tackle for Spotted Sea Trout Fishing?
The best tackle for spotted sea trout is a 2500 series spinning reel coupled with a 7 foot medium action rod. You will want to spool your reel with either 8 pound braided line or 8 pound mono filament line. Braided line will require an 8 pound leader.
Spotted sea trout a.k.a. speckled trout are one of the most sought after fish in Florida. This is most likely because they are very abundant and wide spread through out Florida's grass flats and estuaries.
They are also extremely good to eat. Fillet and release into the grease. BUT you will need the correct tackle to catch a spotted sea trout effectively.
They are a very fragile species of fish and have a very high mortality rate after being released. Their mouths also tear very easily which is why lighter tackle works best when targeting this popular species of fish in Florida.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been fishing the grass flats and mangroves all around Florida for over 40 years. The article below is all about the best tackle for spotted sea trout fishing.
Watch the video below and see one of the best trout lures and tackle in action.
The best tackle for spotted sea trout is a 2500 series spinning reel coupled with a 7 foot medium action rod. You will want to spool your reel with either 8 pound braided line or 8 pound mono filament line. Braided line will require an 8 pound leader.
Spotted sea trout a.k.a. speckled trout are one of the most sought after fish in Florida. This is most likely because they are very abundant and wide spread through out Florida's grass flats and estuaries.
They are also extremely good to eat. Fillet and release into the grease. BUT you will need the correct tackle to catch a spotted sea trout effectively.
They are a very fragile species of fish and have a very high mortality rate after being released. Their mouths also tear very easily which is why lighter tackle works best when targeting this popular species of fish in Florida.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been fishing the grass flats and mangroves all around Florida for over 40 years. The article below is all about the best tackle for spotted sea trout fishing.
Watch the video below and see one of the best trout lures and tackle in action.
Best rod and reel spotted sea trout tackle combo:
In my opinion, the best rod, line and reel combo for catching speckled trout is a 2000 to 2500 series reel loaded with 6 to 8 pound mono-filament line and a 7 to 8 feet medium light or medium action rod.
The reason that you only need a 2000 to 2500 series reel is because most of the trout that you will catch will be under 5 pounds. Probably 90% of those will be under 2 pounds. The largest one ever caught in Florida was about 14 1/2 pounds and was caught near Fort Pierce. In other words, they are usually pretty easy to handle.
The reason that you only need 6 to 8 pound mono filament line instead of a braided line is because of the speckled sea trout's fragile mouth and jaw. The mono filament line stretches and is less apt to tear the fish's mouth which makes it easier for the fish to shake the hook out of the newly created hole in its mouth.
Braided lines do not stretch and will almost always tear a hole in the trout.
If you want to use braided line then you can use a 8 or 10 pound braided line for speckled trout and just about anything else on the flats. I like the bright yellow ones because I can see where my line is much better that way. As long as you have at least 18 inches of leader the speckled trout won't be scared off by the bright line.
Read this article that I wrote about the best lures and baits for catching speckled trout.
Lastly, the logic behind the longer rod is to maximize casting distance on the flats. The more water that you can cover will yield more trout in the boat. Long casts also give you a better chance of getting your offering in front of your quarry before being seen by them and spooked.
BEST ALL AROUND REELS FOR SPECKLED TROUT
I have used many different rods and reels over the last 40 years of fishing like Diawa, Shimano and Penn.
My favorite line of reels that are out now is the Penn Spinfisher series reels. They are smooth, tough; have great drag systems; and best of all a sealed body so sand and water don't get inside the reels.
They are perfect for surf fishing, wade fishing and kayak fishing. (Any fishing technique that makes it likely for water or sand to get in them)
You can expect to pay $150 plus for these reels. BUT they are worth it.
My second favorite non-sealed reels are the Diawa BG reels.
They are the reels that I use on my flats boat because I know that they are unlikely to get dunked in the water or to get beach sand in them.
You can expect to pay $100 plus for these reels. They are a great bargain in my opinion.
Learn more about the best tackle for spotted sea trout in the video below.
Best gear and tackle for spotted sea trout fishing:
If you are going to be fishing for speckled trout all day you will definitely need to protect your eyes and skin from the sun's harmful rays. Polarized sunglasses are a must for spotted sea trout fishing. A high end pair of sunglasses will run about $250 and a lower end pair will run you about $25 with glass lenses. You can find them with plastic lenses for about $5 at Walmart.
Whatever price range you decide to go with you must wear polarized sunglasses or you can not sight fish for trout on the flats. The polarized lenses eliminate the glare on the surface of the water so that you can see under the surface.
Polarized glasses will also protect your eyes from the sun's harmful rays. You have to remember that the harmful UV rays will bounce off of the surface of the water and right into your eyes even when you are wearing a hat. It is important to protect your eyes when you are fishing.
There is nothing like spotting a huge gator trout sunning itself on a mud flat. Then you stalk over to within casting range and get it to bite your offering. That is a bucket list item for sure if you love fishing for specks.
The best color lenses for inshore and dirtier water scenarios are amber, rose and copper. If you are fishing super clean and clear water or you are fishing offshore a blue or a gray lens is best.
You will also want to stock up on UV performance fishing shirts to protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays. These shirts have built in sunscreen and are moisture wicking which means they evaporate your perspiration more efficiently keeping you cool on those hot days on the water.
WANT TO CATCH SPECKLED TROUT? BOOK YOUR FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
Best water temperature for speckled trout fishing:
What is the best water temperature range for catching trout? You can fish all that you want for a certain fish but if the water temperature us too hot or too cold you ain't catchin' any. You can have all of the top of the line tackle that you want but if you are fishing where there aren't any fish, then it won't do you any good.
Speckled trout are cold blooded just like a snake, turtle or a lizard. They cannot regulate their own body temperatures. They have to use the surrounding waters to do that. If the water gets too hot or too cold they will die or at the very least not be interested in feeding.
Just finding the speckled trout is only half of the battle. You have to find the trout when they are interested in feeding.
You can also downsize your tackle for fishing in cold water because the fish will often struggle to move effectively. This is only when it is super cold.
Different fish like different water temperatures around Florida. You have to figure out what those temperatures are where the fish are. So if you have a thermometer on your kayak, boat or whatever, it is only telling the temperature at the surface of the water.
Tie a thermometer onto a string so you can lower it down to any depth that you want and know what the temperatures are.
Read this article that I wrote to learn more about how to catch a spotted sea trout in detail.
If the fish are 10 or 15 feet down in the water column, then their temperature is very different than the one your thermometer is showing you at the surface of the water column.
The video below is all about the perfect water temperatures for seatrout fishing.
Use smelly baits and lures and light tackle to catch more spotted sea trout
Most fishermen forget that fish can smell very well. Think about it. You are a predator who needs to eat things to live. The water is dark and murky so you can't see. Your prey is staying very still so you can't hear or feel it.
If a predator can't perceive its prey using one of its senses, then it will go hungry. In my opinion, smell is one of the most overlooked factors that cause fishermen catch less fish or no fish.
You have to use a fish's sense of smell against them. The largest trout that I ever caught was on a dead mullet chunk that was laying by some mangrove roots on a sand bar in less than 2 feet of water. That bait was supposed to catch a snook or a red fish but a huge trout ate it instead.
The closest grass flat to the bait was about 50 feet away. I believe that fish smelled that bait and came all that way to eat it. My ultimate point is that you should incorporate as many of the fish's senses that you can to get them to bite your lure or bait.
That is why the GULP 3 inch shrimp revolutionized the soft plastic bait industry. It stinks more than the real thing and fish obviously like the smell. Before the gulp came around trout fishermen used the popping cork (sound/vibrations) and a flashy jig (sight) to catch fish. It worked pretty well but when you add the olfactory system to the mix it is irresistible to the trout.
Light tackle fishing for trout with gulps is a blast if you can find the big schools of fish. There are many times that the gulps will out fish live shrimp and whitebaits.
Watch the video below to learn more.
Watch the video below and catch more trout kayak fishing.
Conclusion:
The spotted sea trout is one of the most sought after inshore species of fish in Florida. They are getting harder to find because many parts of Florida are losing their grass flats at an alarming rate. BUT if you can find grass flats then you can find some sea trout to catch.
When you do find the fish a light tackle set up like a 2500 series reel and a medium action rod is the way to target spotted sea trout. You need a rod with some give so that you don't tear their mouths when you set the hook.
If you can find some fertile grass flats, then it is time to bust out your Berkeley Gulp Shrimp or your DOA CAL three inch shad and start slaying the sea trout. If they are around you will be able to catch them for sure using those lures.
If you are ever in the Treasure Coast of Florida book a flats boat charter with me. Spotted sea trout, snook, redfish and tarpon are the main fish species that we target on our fishing trips. The sea trout stay in our area all year long so it's always a good time to catch one.
I hope that this article helps you catch more sea trout or at the very least have more fun fishing for them. Let's get some lines wet Florida.
About the author: The author of this article insists that we all refer to him as The Titan Terror of Trout Fishing. BUT we all just ignore him and call him Mike, the co-owner of FYAO Saltwater Media Group, Inc.
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Bonus Video: Catch and Release Ethics and Techniques
Watch the video below and catch more speckled trout around docks.