Kayak Fishing for Spotted Sea Trout in Florida (The Complete Guide)
The best way to catch speckled sea trout when you are kayak fishing is with with a popping cork and a live shrimp or white bait. If you want to use lures then use the same popping cork with a fake shrimp or a white 3 inch paddle tail shad lure with a 1/8 ounce red jig head is your best bet.
Just pop the cork every 20 or 30 seconds and wait for the cork to go under and set the hook.
The spotted sea trout a.k.a. speckled trout, a.k.a. specks is probably one of the most sought after inshore saltwater species of fish in Florida. They are abundant anywhere near grass flats and are very tasty to eat.
The spotted sea trout is actually in the drum family along with that redfish, black drum and croakers. Sometimes they will make the drumming sound when you catch them. They are an absolute blast to catch from a kayak.
Sea trout are extremely aggressive feeders. When they are turned on you can catch them with every cast. It doesn't matter whether you are using live shrimp or white baits or paddle tail jigs or top water lures. This is even more exciting when you are fishing from a kayak.
I am a kayak fishing guide in the Treasure Coast of Florida and have fished the flats and oyster bars of South and Central Florida for over 40 years.
I will tell you my tips and techniques for kayak fishing for speckled sea trout.
Let's get started.
You can see some of my tips and techniques in the video below.
The best way to catch speckled sea trout when you are kayak fishing is with with a popping cork and a live shrimp or white bait. If you want to use lures then use the same popping cork with a fake shrimp or a white 3 inch paddle tail shad lure with a 1/8 ounce red jig head is your best bet.
Just pop the cork every 20 or 30 seconds and wait for the cork to go under and set the hook.
The spotted sea trout a.k.a. speckled trout, a.k.a. specks is probably one of the most sought after inshore saltwater species of fish in Florida. They are abundant anywhere near grass flats and are very tasty to eat.
The spotted sea trout is actually in the drum family along with that redfish, black drum and croakers. Sometimes they will make the drumming sound when you catch them. They are an absolute blast to catch from a kayak.
Sea trout are extremely aggressive feeders. When they are turned on you can catch them with every cast. It doesn't matter whether you are using live shrimp or white baits or paddle tail jigs or top water lures. This is even more exciting when you are fishing from a kayak.
I am a kayak fishing guide in the Treasure Coast of Florida and have fished the flats and oyster bars of South and Central Florida for over 40 years.
I will tell you my tips and techniques for kayak fishing for speckled sea trout.
Let's get started.
You can see some of my tips and techniques in the video below.
Kayak fishing for sea trout--Grass Flats
Kayak fishing for spotted sea trout on the grass flats is a great time when the bite is on. I like to drift the flats with live bait or most often casting jigs until I find the proper water depth to find the fish in. The trout bite can be amazing if the grass flats where you are fishing are expansive and healthy.
Sea trout depend upon the grass flats and live on them from hatching until they die of old age or being filleted and released into the grease. Which ever one comes first. Along the Treasure Coast of Florida we have lost a huge percentage of our grass flats because of freshwater run off from Lake Okeechobee and other inland sources.
This kills most of the grass and whatever is left over is eaten by the huge population of manatees that we have around here. They may be cute but they are eating a lot of my favorite grass flats down to nothing.
The best live bait for catching large numbers of trout is definitely shrimp. Just about every fish in the sea eats shrimp and so do spotted sea trout. You can present the shrimp free lined; with a split shot to get it down in the water column or under a popping cork.
Drifting the flats on your kayak with a live shrimp under a popping cork is probably the most effective way to fish for trout. You can cover a lot of area using this technique and catch tons of speckled trout too. I like to target the sandy pot holes that are in all of the grass flats.
Quite often the larger trout will be waiting in the grass near one of these pot holes for unsuspecting prey. A live pin fish is another great bait choice for this scenario.
If the trout are feeding on finger mullet you should definitely free line one behind your kayak as you drift. I like to lip hook the mullet when I am drifting/trolling one behind the kayak over the flats. This gives them a more natural presentation.
I wrote another article that you can read that is all about how to catch a spotted seatrout. Click here to read that one now.
When I am anchored I like to hook them in the back by the tail. This usually keeps them on the surface of the water which is what I want when I am fishing in 4 feet or less of water.
The video below shows a day of kayak fishing for redfish and trout.
The best lures for trout fishing the grass flats are Berkeley GULP white or natural colored scented imitation shrimp with a red jig head. I like to drift over the grass flats casting to noon, 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock to figure out where the fish are. Once you find them remember the water depth.
I have found that they will have a favorite depth and the majority of the fish will be found in that depth. Learn more about getting the right tackle to maximize your day of spotted sea trout fishing fun.
You still want to focus your efforts around sandy pot holes if you can but you will be catching trout the whole time anyways most likely. When I am not using a scented jig I will have a white soft plastic shad with a paddle tail and a red jig head tied on.
The DOA CAL is my favorite. This set up catches just about every fish that swims inshore waters. A gold spoon is another great choice for the grass flats.
Kayak fishing for sea trout--Oyster Bars
Oyster bars are another great spot to find trout. I like to find a choke point of some kind like a cut between two oyster bars or mud flats. This funnels the fish right to your position so that you can target them more effectively.
The best live bait for this environment is hands down live shrimp. You can send a live shrimp with a split shot up current and let it drift back with the tide. Remember to keep your rod tip high to avoid underwater snags.
You may also want to put a live shrimp under a popping cork and cast that rig up current popping it occasionally as you reel it back to you.
The best lures for this scenario are a scented imitation shrimp on a jig head bounced from up current on the bottom. OR you can put the scented shrimp jig under a popping cork and fish it the same way that you would if you had a live shrimp under the cork. If the trout are in the area this set up is a no brainer. You only need about 18 inches of leader between your bait and your cork.
A gold weedless spoon works well in this environment. Just cast it up current and work it back to you slowly.
The video below teaches the benefits of the popping cork with jig head combo.
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Kayak fishing for sea trout--Docks
Big trout often hang around dock pilings during the higher parts of the tide. I like to fish docks with my kayak for trout, flounder, snook and redfish. They are magnets for bait fish and shrimp and are therefore magnets for predators that want to eat that bait.
When I am using live bait to fish the docks I will anchor up stream and let my live bait offering drift back to the dock. This technique is much less likely to spook your quarry. It is a great technique when you are using live finger mullet because they are hard to control. Using this technique you can stop them just short of the dock pilings which stops them from tangling your line.
If you have to kayak over to the dock to untangle your rig you might as well leave and find another dock. All of the fish that were there will probably spook and get lock jaw for a while.
The same technique works for live baiting a shrimp or a pin fish under a popping cork. Just let the current take your bait right where you want it to go and wait for the hit. Big trout love big baits. A 25 inch trout can eat a 10 inch mullet without a lot of effort.
My favorite lures for fishing the docks is....... You guessed right. It is a white scented imitation shrimp with a red jig head or a soft plastic shad with a paddle tail and a red jig head. You can also float a popping cork with the scented jig back with the current and use it like a live shrimp.
I wrote another article all about catching speckled trout with artificial lures. You can read that article by clicking right here.
Best kayak fishing gear for spotted sea trout:
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.
There is something awesome about seeing a huge gator trout sunning itself in a shallow pot hole on the grass flats. Then you stealthily sneak up on it and get it to bite you lure. That is a bucket list item for just about any speck fisherman.
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.
Watch the video for more spotted sea trout fishing tips.
Best water temperatures for speckled trout kayak fishing:
What are the optimal water temperatures for trout? Fish are cold blooded and can't regulate their body temperatures themselves. They have to move to where the temperatures are right for them. If you can't find those optimal temperatures for speckled trout you ain't catchin' any. It is as simple as that.
In the Winter you have to fish deep early and you can fish the flats after the sun heats them up. In the Summer you can fish the flats early and then fish deep late after the flats get too hot.
The problems with the thermometers on the boats and kayaks is that they only tell you the temperature at the water's surface. What about the water temperature 10 feet down? That might be were the specks are.
The video below will teach you all about the optimal water temperatures for speckled trout fishing in Florida.
Use smell to catch more spotted sea trout kayak fishing.
I think that many fishermen forget about the importance of smell when fishing trout. I am not talking about the fishermen's sense of smell. I am talking about the trout's sense of smell.
The largest trout that I ever caught was on a big mullet chunk that was next to the mangroves on a sand bar in about 2 feet of water. The closes grass flats were about 50 feet away.
That trout smelled those odor molecules from probably 50 feet away and followed the scent right to my bait. That bait was for a redfish or a snook but a trout sniffed it out first. That tells you that trout have a very good sense of smell.
Why do you think Gulp shrimps work so well for catching trout? If you think about it they really don't look like a shrimp. Some of them are green and hot pink. There are no green and hot pink shrimp.
A scented jig will out fish an unscented jig under a popping cork every time. I have compared them head to head and the stinky ones always win.
My point is to add scent to your lures if they are not already scented. There is a product called Pro Cure that has many delicious smelling scents to choose from.
It is a sticky liquid that you can apply to your lures to give them some stink. I recommend using the shrimp and the mullet scents.
I am not sponsored by Pro Cure, Mirro Lure, Gulp or any other brands that I mention in my articles. I only tell you about them because I know that they work.
Watch the video below and catch more speckled trout.
Conclusion:
Spotted sea trout are one of the most sought after fish in Florida waters. Their numbers have been decreasing lately because their grass flats have been devastated in recent years. Hopefully, the grass flats will start to come back and the good ol' days of catching dozens of sea trout will return.
If you are ever in the Treasure Coast of Florida book a kayak fishing charter with me. Spotted sea trout are one of our main target species on our fishing trips. We also target redfish, snook, tarpon and flounder to name a few.
I hope that this article helps you catch a lot of speckled trout. Good luck and tight lines.
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