Slicks

One of the first things an angler new to fishing for speckled trout learns is to look for “slicks” and that sweet watermelon smell. Slicks, as the name says, are oils released from prey species.

“Slicks are dead giveaways to where fish are. They’re their downfall this time of year, “said Galveston Bay fishing guide Capt. Jim West  (bolivarguideservice.com) “Truth is, if trout didn’t make slicks, it would save a lot of their lives. Fishing slicks is the number one game plan for fishing reefs in mid summer,” West said.

Find slicks and cast into it-right? Wrong. Finding slicks is only an indicator as to where the trout are, or have been. “Many anglers think the fish are directly beneath the slick…not necessarily true,” says Capt. Steve Hillman (www.hillmanguideservice.com).

“If I see a large slick, don’t see anything else, I will go 200 yards upwind of it and start looking for the smaller ones to start popping up. The fish will be under the smaller slicks.”

“Work the upwind current sides of the slicks,” continues Hillman. “Look for small slicks; don’t mess with the big ones; they are usually old.”

But, sometimes the wind side is not always the right side to be on if the current is running stronger than the wind. For example, if you a have light breeze, 2-3 mph and 2-3 knot current, there will be times when the fish will be downwind.” “If I can’t figure it out whether the current or wind is stronger, I will look at what direction or way my boat is drifting.”

Slick etiquette:

Whatever you do, do not run up on a slick on a plane. Idle as close as possible without trying to spook the fish. Sounds travel further under water. Run up about 150 yards up current from the slick then either drift in or use the trolling motor. Use either a controlled drift or a trolling motor to fish the edges.