Big Speckled trout move into what we associate as ‘winter haunts’ much earlier than we’ve previously perceived. While the high water temps of July and August drive trout to deeper waters and feeding at night on shallow shelves, the cooling temperatures of fall increase shallow water oxygen levels sufficient to allow big trout back into their favorite areas. Early November is the perfect time to start targeting big trout as the make their move back to shallow feeding areas.
Trophy speckled trout are a breed all their own. They prefer to conserve energy and ambush prey in areas where they can strike from beneath, oddly similar to feeding antics chosen by great white sharks. Trout like edge relief. What do I mean by edge relief? There are numerous edges that speckled trout will seek out for refuge and for feeding. One of those edges is a drop off similar to what one would find moving from the main bay shoreline dropping three to six feet into deeper water. Others are not as big, but are just as effective such as a small muddy depression on a flat that only drops 12 inches. Others include the edge of a sand pocket (about a 12 inch drop), and even the edge of column like oyster growth, or the edge of a solid oyster reef (4 to 18 inches). All of these edge features afford the mature speckled trout with safety, refuge, and an ambush point from which they can strike unsuspecting prey while conserving their energy and camouflaging their presence from their own predators.
These trout have chosen areas to live that best fit their needs (listed above) and a lot of these areas contain bottoms of soft mud or at least at a minimum silt bottoms in some grass flat areas. Some areas on the flats can have an extremely soft mud bottom if you find an area that will give these fish safety from dolphins, sharks, and boaters. But this early in the season (November) the fish don’t require the mud’s warming ability as we’ve always heard. The mud is simply there because of the type of bay features these fish select. Those fish are there now and the mud will help them stay there in January and February there’s no doubt.
Having the right equipment and being mentally prepared will go a long way in keeping your mind right and fishing confidently. Fishing this time of year I won’t be looking for those gentle summer winds of June and I’ll be prepared and knowledgeable about what Mother Nature will be throwing my way, and I’ll be ready. My Simms gear has lasted me year after year and in the long run they’ve been less expensive and have kept me dry and focused on enjoying my trip. In either case choose the best equipment that you can and prepare yourself mentally for all situations including weather forecast and operating your boat.
While the fall can result in epic numbers of fish working pods of shrimp, the key to catching big fish early is to ignore the schools and fish specific areas to draw a strike from a trophy. The lures that have been found to be most effective for drawing strikes from mature fish have almost always been slow sink or suspending twitch-bait lures and soft plastics on light jig heads (1/16th and 1/8th oz.). While the lead jig head is certainly not slow sinking or suspending, they can be worked fairly shallow and kept at a consistent depth by controlling the speed at which the action is imparted. Working the lure with short twitches mimicking an injured baitfish will draw more strikes than a retrieve that covers a lot of water. Capt. Ernest Cisneros will be fishing with Kelly Wiggler Ball Tail Shads in morning glory and plum chartreuse on lighter jig heads, and Mirrolure Paul Brown ‘Originals’ and ‘FatBoys’. He’ll also throw small to medium size top-water lures that can draw aggressive, froth and spray type strikes that burn into your memories deepest core. Ernest knows where to find mature trophy speckled trout on the flats in the Lower Laguna Madre. He’ll be fishing mud and grass pockets with silt and mud where these trout ambush mullet and late season menhaden.