Speckled Trout Fishing with Live Shrimp
The best bait for speckled trout fishing is live shrimp under a popping cork or with a split shot. The easiest way to catch speckled trout is with live shrimp as your bait because shrimp is a dietary mainstay for inshore predators like speckled trout.
Live shrimp are one of the best baits to fish with regardless of what inshore species you are targeting. Speckled trout, redfish, black drum, flounder and many more will readily eat your live shrimp offering.
There are many different ways to fish with live shrimp for speckled trout. The best ways are under a popping cork or a rattle cork or with a simple split shot and a circle hook rig. The key is to figure out where the speckled trout are within the water column.
Sometimes they are at the top of the water column. Sometimes they are in the middle of the water column and sometimes you can pick them up right off the bottom.
It depends on water temperature and where the baits they are feeding on are. Your job is to figure out where the feeding fish are.
The author of this article is a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN. He has been fishing the for speckled trout (spotted sea trout) on the grass flats, oyster bars and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, we will talk about the best ways to use live shrimp to catch a ton of speckled trout.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below to learn more about how to catch speckled trout with live shrimp.
The best bait for speckled trout fishing is live shrimp under a popping cork or with a split shot. The easiest way to catch speckled trout is with live shrimp as your bait because shrimp is a dietary mainstay for inshore predators like speckled trout.
Live shrimp are one of the best baits to fish with regardless of what inshore species you are targeting. Speckled trout, redfish, black drum, flounder and many more will readily eat your live shrimp offering.
There are many different ways to fish with live shrimp for speckled trout. The best ways are under a popping cork or a rattle cork or with a simple split shot and a circle hook rig. The key is to figure out where the speckled trout are within the water column.
Sometimes they are at the top of the water column. Sometimes they are in the middle of the water column and sometimes you can pick them up right off the bottom.
It depends on water temperature and where the baits they are feeding on are. Your job is to figure out where the feeding fish are.
The author of this article is a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN. He has been fishing the for speckled trout (spotted sea trout) on the grass flats, oyster bars and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, we will talk about the best ways to use live shrimp to catch a ton of speckled trout.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below to learn more about how to catch speckled trout with live shrimp.
Speckled Trout Fishing with Live Shrimp Under a Popping Cork
In my opinion, a popping cork with an 18 inch leader with a 1/0 or 2/0 hook and a live shrimp are the rigs for catching speckled trout. It is an easy way to catch a lot of speckled trout.
The technique is pretty easy for even the newest of speckled trout fishermen. You simply cast out your live shrimp up current and let the current bring your live shrimp over lots of water. Just give it a pop or two every 60 seconds or so and reel in the slack, then repeat.
The speckled trout will often bite your hook right after your bobber gets popped. That is why you have to have to get the slack out of your line after you give your line a sharp tug or two.
When your float goes under the water either set the hook if you are using a J hook or reel down hard if you are using a circle hook. Circle hooks work great and accidently kill a lot less speckled trout. Aggressive trout will often swallow a j hook if you don't set it fast enough and that will often kill them later.
Your shrimp do not need to be lively or swimming and kicking but that fresh shrimp smell will definitely get more speckled trout on your line.
I created an entire online video course all about the best tips and techniques on speckled trout fishing. This FREE course can be found right on this website. You can get the course by clicking right here.
The best leader for fishing with a popping cork and a live shrimp is 15 pounds or less. Spotted sea trout have excellent eye sight and can be very leader shy so go as light as you can get away with to catch more speckled trout.
Many veteran speckled trout fishermen will just fish with a straight 8 pound mono filament line.
There is something about the popping cork with a live shrimp, live fish, fake shrimp, jig head with a paddle tail.......... under it that speckled trout cannot resist.
Watch the video below to see the kind of speckled trout action you can have with a popping cork and a fake shrimp.
Speckled Trout Fishing with Live Shrimp and a Split Shot
By far the most simple rig to catch a whole bunch of speckled trout with is a 1/0 hook with a split shot 6 inches above it. This rig is great for catching those speckled trout that are in the middle to bottom part of the water column.
Tidal Creek Mouths- My favorite place to target speckled trout is at creek mouths. The tide doesn't really matter that much. It can be incoming or outgoing. It can be at the upper part of the high tide or the lower part of the low tide. It just doesn't matter too much.
The key to catching speckled trout is a moving current. The speckled trout will move into those tidal creeks from the grass flats that are inevitably close by with the incoming tide. They will forage for food and avoid predators for the 6 hours of the tide.
When the tide turns and starts to move out of the tidal creeks the speckled trout will move back out to the grass flats. You will usually get small schools of speckled trout moving through the mouth of the creek.
You will get a whole bunch of bites and then nothing until the next school of fish moves through. You have to make hay while the sun is shining and catch those fish when they run by your spot.
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The best way to fish with a live shrimp and a split shot is to cast it up current and bounce it on the bottom as the bait comes back to where you are. Just keep your rod tip high and reel in the slack until your bait moves past you.
The key to fishing with a weight is to have just enough weight to keep your live shrimp moving with the tide. You want your bait to cover as much water as you can so that you can find out where the trout are schooling.
Speckled trout like to hang out with other trout that are within a few inches of each their size. In other words, if you are only catching 13 inch trout, then you will probably not be able to pull any keepers out of that school.
BUT if you are hitting keeper size speckled trout, then you can limit out pretty quickly. The reason that these trout like to hang out with other trout their size is because they are cannibals. Big speckled trout like to eat little speckled trout.
You would be amazed at the size of a fish that a 24 inch speckled trout can get down its throat. A trout that size can eat a 14 inch trout. Now you know why those little guys stay away from those big girls. They will end up being lunch for a gator trout.
Watch the video below to see the technique for fishing with a live shrimp under a split shot at a tidal creek mouth.
What tackle is best for live shrimp fishing for speckled trout?
You don't need a lot of rod or super good drag to catch trout. They are fun to catch but they are not the best fighters in the sea for sure. My rod and reel combo of choice is a 2500 series reel coupled with a medium or medium/light action rod that is 7 to 8 feet long.
You will want to fill the spool with 8 to 10 pound mono filament line or braided line. This is enough pound test where you won't lose any trout because of your line breaking and if you hook a big redfish instead of a trout you will still be able to land him too.
You want a rod with a lot of give because speckled trout have a very fragile mouth. The skin will tear wide open creating a hole for your hook to loosen up. You will lose a lot of trout because of this if you don't reel them in carefully.
That is why mono filament is another good choice for a fishing line for speckled trout. Mono filament fishing lines have a lot of stretch in them and are less apt to tear the skin around the trout's mouth when you hook them.
Conversely, braided line has no stretch so you really have to be gentle when you are fishing for speckled trout with a braided line or you will tear their mouths.
That rod and reel combo is my go to whether I am fishing with live shrimp, a popping cork or a jig with a soft plastic for speckled trout. It will work for just about any bait when you are fishing for trout.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail all of the best baits and lures for speckled trout fishing. You can find that article by clicking right here.
When you are targeting large speckled trout with large baits like a live or dead mullet you might want to step up to a 4000 series reel and a medium/heavy rod. Those big speckled trout can actually pull some drag. You might think that you have a snook or a redfish on the line when they get to 25 inches or so.
Watch the video below to see some serious speckled trout action from a kayak.
Conclusion:
Speckled trout are one of the most sought after inshore species of fish in Florida and everywhere else they live. They are very fun to catch and are very aggressive. When they are in feeding mode they can be caught on just about any bait or lure.
A live shrimp is by far the best bait for speckled trout. It doesn't matter if you are fishing it under a popping cork, freelining it; on a jig head; or with a split shot or weight; you just can't do better than a live shrimp.
It is also the best bait for catching redfish and black drum too but those are other articles for me to write some day. I would hate to be a shrimp because every inshore species of fish would love to eat me.
I hope that this article helps you go out and catch more speckled trout with live shrimp.
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