May Trout Waders Need to Make Their Own luck

W hen you wade-fish the coastal regions of Texas, speckled trout are available to those who put forth the effort to locate such prizes.

In doing so, however, it is important for you to know where to go, when will be the best time to be there, and what it is you need to do instead of hoping it pans out for you.

As common as it is to say that fishing is a matter of luck, there are certain things you can do to help your chances of success. If you hope to bag a large, trophy speckled trout, certain things like water temperature, salinity levels, wind direction, tidal movement, physical location, and fish activity are important.

If you consider all of those variables, you have a much better chance to achieve rewarding results than those who just show up at the boat ramp and then hope for the best.

One key is to know where the fish gather. So, think back on previous trips, or refer to your historical fishing logs to see where you’ve located a good number of trout in the past.

Fish gather in a certain location for a reason. If you know why, you have a much better chance at success. Some common reasons are water temperature, food, and a sense of security or protection from other predators.

Ideally, speckled trout like to hang out in water where the temperature ranges between 70 to 80 degrees. They will travel bay shorelines and flats areas until they find conditions as close to this as possible.

With temperatures rising in May, the flats will tend to warm at a considerable pace each day. When this happens, the water atop the flats becomes too warm for the trout, and they will head for deeper water.

So, when you look for big trout this month, it might be wise to search in areas that offer structure adjacent to deeper water. Look for jetty areas, mid-bay oyster reefs, shell pads located at the base of oil or gas rigs, and spoil bank areas like that of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Food for trout, naturally, is made up of an array of different marine life such as mullet, shrimp, croakers, piggy perch, shad, sand eels, crabs, and a handful of others. The most common, however, is probably small baitfish such as mullet.

As temperatures and the tides start to rise this month, the small baitfish will constantly be looking to the skinniest of water for protection. These little guys will swim way back into the marsh of saltwater lakes and tributaries in search of water that may be only a couple inches deep because they know they’ll be safe.

In spite of this, the tides continue to rise and fall, which means these small baitfish relocate continually based upon the movement of the tide. They enter shallow water as the tide rises, and come out of the shallows as the tide falls.

Consequently, speckled trout sit in choice locations on the down-current side of guts and bayous that lead into and out of the lakes and tributaries. There, they wait for the small baitfish and other prime morsels of food to be swept by because of the falling of the tide.

So, understanding the rise and fall of tides is important, if you wish to be successful in locating speckled trout this month.

Time has proved there are many ways to catch speckled trout. These were but a few words that might help you to hook your next speckled trout.

Be safe, be courteous, and have fun!

 

Contact Capt. Chris Martin at 

bayflatslodge@gmail.com

or visit bayflatslodge.com

 

Email Chris Martin at bayflatslodge@gmail.com

or visit bayflatslodge.com

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