3 Critical Factors for Speck Fishing

You want to catch some speckled sea trout, right? Of course you do! There are lots of ways to make it happen, but whatever tactic, technique, or bait you intend to deploy, you won’t catch fish if you’re in the wrong spot. When deciding where to fish for this species always consider these three factors:

• Wind direction – if there’s no breeze, fine. But if there is, the water will likely get churned up and reduce visibility. Specks are sight-feeders, and finding clear water is imperative when targeting them. So, it’s usually best to look for areas in a lee where the chop is minimal and the water clarity is best.
• Sun angle – Early and late in the day when the sun is low on the horizon, you’ll likely find specks in skinny or very skinny water. But in bright sunshine they’ll commonly move to close-by holes, channel edges, and weedbeds, where they can either move deeper or find shade from the direct light. One exception: on cloudy, low-light days they may well remain very shallow throughout the day.
• Current direction – Most good speck hotspots are places where structure of some sort gets hit by direct current. Many, however, only get hit by the current during one specific cycle of the tide. A spot that’s awesome on an incoming tide may well be deader than a doornail on an outgoing, and vise-versa. So as you pick your spots, be aware of the current’s direction and how it is (or is not) affecting that particular spot.

Of course, there are no guarantees in the world of fishing. You may have all your ducks in a row and still go home empty handed. But if you put these three factors together and choose a lure or bait that the fish want, and there’s a very good chance you’ll enjoy some serious speck action.