Finding trout.

[Otto_08]

Ok I wasn't going to do this but after 4 failed trips I think I should see if anyone could throw a tip that can help me out a little.
I'm trying to locate speckled trout and haven't had much luck doing so. I've been searching for mud with shell and I've found a couple places in Matagorda. One trip I hooked two specks but they shook the hook while trying to net them.
I went back the following week with live shrimp to see if I could get more to bite and came up empty handed with that. I feel like maybe I'm trying the wrong areas or something I'm doing isn't right I'm hoping maybe someone can give me a bit of learning curve. I know the best bet is to keep getting after them on the water but maybe something someone says will help me shorten that curve.

[gonefishin]

Just because you found trout there one week, doesn't mean they will be there the next. Are you seeing bait in the water? Is there structure? Is there moving water? Do you see Trout busting the surface? Lots of variables to winter fishing, the first obstacle is locating the fish and the second is getting them to bite. What about the water temps?
Colder, they will go deeper, mud will hold more warmth. Warmer afternoon they will be shallower. Flats adjacent to deeper water are a good bet. Just keep trying. You will get there.

[macjank7]

Keep trying. Look for bait and brown pelicans. Trout have to be feeding to catch them generally speaking. Are you fishing all day or at least during major or minor feed times? Going out for two or three hours then throwing the towel in will not get you far unless you hit it just right. If trout were easy to locate they would probably be extinct by now with all the meat haulers.

[Otto_08]

I guess I should've specified that I did fish multiple areas, my fault. In two trips I logged 12 miles along a shore line fishing numerous spots. The last trip was November 16th. Conditions were poor for fishing but you go when you can right? There was a slack tide from sunrise until noonish then the outgoing was supposed to start I believe but it didn't seem to change. There was no wind blown tides as the wind was non-existent and very little bait to be spotted.
I can't remember major or minor feeding times for this day but I will kepp that in mind next trip. Hopefully some trial and error will help me find a good pattern in these trout.

[gonefishin]

I guess I should've specified that I did fish multiple areas, my fault. In two trips I logged 12 miles along a shore line fishing numerous spots. The last trip was November 16th. Conditions were poor for fishing but you go when you can right? There was a slack tide from sunrise until noonish then the outgoing was supposed to start I believe but it didn't seem to change. There was no wind blown tides as the wind was non-existent and very little bait to be spotted.
I can't remember major or minor feeding times for this day but I will kepp that in mind next trip. Hopefully some trial and error will help me find a good pattern in these trout.

You will have more luck on days with more tidal variance. We can't always choose the best days to go fishing though. On days like that, I try to fish the mouths of bayous or channels, marsh drains and wind blown shorelines with points, those places are more likely to have some water movement. If all else fails, try trolling a soft plastic or Gulp behind you. Watch and listen for that "thunk" when your lure is hit, then fish that area. It is a great way to locate fish on those windless, slack tide days. That and following Macs advice to find bait and birds are your best bets. Even one jumping mullet can point you to the fish. After all, something made it jump

[Matyyaker]

As we get more into winter you may wanna fish the late afternoon's. Water will warm a few degree's and if they are gonna eat that's when they will do it. That's not written in stone , but works for me in the winter.

[macjank7]

Twelve miles in two trips is an awful lot of paddling and not much fishing unless you are trolling between spots. You can usually limit the distance you paddle and just find a high percentage area and stick to it all day and at some point the fish will turn on. I used to paddle 8-10 miles a trip and slowly realized that I could catch more fish by fishing more and paddling less. Not to say you can't have a good day paddling a lot but it all depends on where you are fishing. Lots of times the fish are there, you just have to be there with a lure in their face when they turn on. I have fish one small area for 8 hours or more with little or no fish then BOOM! Fish after fish hot and heavy for a couple of hours straight.
That is why I love to fish, you can never predict what is going to happen but you can usually help it happen by grinding it out.
Remember, that "sweet spot" can be in a ten foot radius..,fan cast and work the entire water column.

[Spectre5922]

^^^^ Mac always has good advice. That's why I just got rid of my super fast Viking and got a Jackson Big Rig. Out of a 6 hour fishing trip, I only paddle maybe an hour, and fish the rest of the time. I'd rather be super comfortable during my 5 hours of fishing than be super fast during my one hour total of paddling. I subscribe to the Macjank school of thought. If your lure /bait isn't in the water, you can't catch fish.

[macjank7]

^^^^ Mac always has good advice. That's why I just got rid of my super fast Viking and got a Jackson Big Rig. Out of a 6 hour fishing trip, I only paddle maybe an hour, and fish the rest of the time. I'd rather be super comfortable during my 5 hours of fishing than be super fast during my one hour total of paddling. I subscribe to the Macjank school of thought. If your lure /bait isn't in the water, you can't catch fish.

Thanks bud, I am no pro but learning more every trip. Less than 4 years ago I was given a Perception Prism 14 and paddled my first stroke towards Zephyr Cove and I have not looked back.
I saw the video of the Viking Reload and kind of want one just for the Chill Pod and huge storage compartments.
Trout can be predictable but also very humbling because just when you think you have them figured out they behave unlike ever before.

[gonefishin]

I agree with Mac too. You don't have to paddle a long distance to find the fish. Check maps of the area and find spots to key in on and work those areas. Maximize your fishing time not your paddling time. I don't paddle that far, I just concentrate on places that may hold fish and work those areas thoroughly before moving on, and then I may only move a few yards.

[Otto_08]

Thanks for all the tips fellas.
The tips help and hopefully there will be a report up soon with a couple trout on a stringer.

[macjank7]

If size is not a problem you can't go wrong with a shrimp lure under a popping cork. Fish are still on shrimp right now. This rig is almost a guaranteed pole bender if you are near fish.

[Otto_08]

My last trip I caught a 23" red that looked bloated it's stomach was so fat.
When I cut it open it had about two handfuls of shrimp in it's stomach. Caught him on a chicken boy.

[macjank7]

My last trip I caught a 23" red that looked bloated it's stomach was so fat.
When I cut it open it had about two handfuls of shrimp in it's stomach. Caught him on a chicken boy.

A few weeks ago I took my old buddy fishing in a back lake area and we started out throwing 4" red/white chickenboy shrimp and I could see the fish spooking when they saw the lure so I downsized to the 3" (it more closely matched the size of the shrimp I saw popping out of the water) and we caught reds, trout and even a nice sheepshead on it almost every cast or so for about five hours. Size can be a deal breaker. Also, larger fish will absolutely smash a 3" lure, don't think small baits mean small fish.

[Yaklash]

Right Place Right Time is a difficult combination to attain. No advice, not even a well written book will even come close to teaching a person all the do's and don'ts of fishing. As Macjank has said many times, time on the water is the best teacher. And by time we mean that trips in single digits is not time. Many have spent years of 50-100 trips/year to get a decent understanding of how to match locations with conditions, lures and presentation. Sure, tips on sites can clue you in a little, but the best thing I could add to what's been written already, keep notes after you fish. A log is a good addition to spending time on the water. When you hooked the two trout, did you note the time, tidal conditions, wind conditions, water clarity, bait used, bait (hatch) present in the water????

Process of elimination (notes in a log about the conditions when you get skunked) is almost as helpful as noting the conditions when you do have success, but you should log all of your trips, regardless. I know seasoned guides (tho not many) who still keep logs, 20 years into fishing 200+ days a year.

[macjank7]

Last week I threw the yak in and paddled to an area that was a consistent producer of nice fish but failed to note that last year I was fishing this area in nearly the same conditions BUT this year I was fishing right after the first real cold spell...that meant the trout retreated for much deeper water in the ICW and river. Once they get acclimated to the colder water they will hang around longer. I should have known better but I learned something and put that in my mental log book. I only caught two reds while grinding for six or seven hours. Will I go back and do it again? Sure will, but I will be there when the time is right.

[Yaklash]

Last week I threw the yak in and paddled to an area that was a consistent producer of nice fish but failed to note that last year I was fishing this area in nearly the same conditions BUT this year I was fishing right after the first real cold spell...that meant the trout retreated for much deeper water in the ICW and river. Once they get acclimated to the colder water they will hang around longer. I should have known better but I learned something and put that in my mental log book. I only caught two reds while grinding for six or seven hours. Will I go back and do it again? Sure will, but I will be there when the time is right.

I stopped logging trips about ten years ago, because my memory was better back then and I stopped fish tournaments for money. Now I should probably go back to keeping a log just to keep up with my waning brain power .

[Otto_08]

Thanks for all the tips and I really should start keeping a log. My pops has told me to do this numerous times and I just forget to do so. I understand the putting time on the water and I'll continue to do so I was just hoping someone would mention something that'll help me a bit, which did happen. I think I'll limit miles paddled and grind out a few spots and try to get this down along with keeping a log. Thanks again.

[TroutSupport.com]

Learn everything you can from every source you can. Dean's school, books, videos, magazine articles, and go fishing with those that know how every once in a while as well. Include an annual trip with a guide and budget for it yearly... it's an investment in what you love and will shorten your learning curve. If you budget for it and make it part of your plan it will lessen those frustrating days on the water to a lot lower...sure we all get a skunk every now and then but that's ...like mac said... part of the nature of trout fishing.

Learn what trout habit is .... oyster (especially live oyster reef) and its peripheral edes where it meets the mud...also know as the mud shell mix. This can be in 18"s of water or it can be in 9 feet of water. I like it to be 3-5 ft depth because I like to wade and that depth is highly productive and easy to find for a yaker like yourself...some of the 6-9' depths are a little tougher. Sometimes they'll be in 18" though...but the right conditions have to be there for that to happen.

While time on the water is certainly a big key, having a resource that you can apply from will shorten your learning curve. If you have something that you can read or watch (like a lot of people from this board have watched the trout support dvds, or gone to Dean school.... taking something from resources like that and applying them to your next trip will double down and enrich your trip...you'll shorten your learning curve immensely compared to just spending time on the water and going at it blind.

If you even need more input,...feel free to email me at tobin@troutsupport.com

[macjank7]

Thanks for all the tips and I really should start keeping a log. My pops has told me to do this numerous times and I just forget to do so. I understand the putting time on the water and I'll continue to do so I was just hoping someone would mention something that'll help me a bit, which did happen. I think I'll limit miles paddled and grind out a few spots and try to get this down along with keeping a log. Thanks again.

That's what it's all about brother. No derogatory statements here, just how it is . Go get on em' ! I have trash trips, tough trups and even skunk trips but it is how you handle it in the end how you remember it!

[Yaklash]

Another tip I'll share - a mile of wading is worth 20 miles of drifting in a boat of any kind, at least IMO. Feeling the contours, guts, mud, shell, mud/shell mix etc., etc., can not be done with your feet in the boat. There are shorelines I've waded so many times that, except for the changes made by big storms like Ike, I know where certain patches of shell or certain guts are (that can be worth a few blind casts) before I get to them and without stomping all over them; because I have stepped on them or waded thru them before. You can also feel tidal flow on your legs during the stronger tides and if you stand still for a moment and dangle a 1/16 oz jighead just above the bottom, with your rod tip only a few inches above the water's surface, you can see even the slightest of tidal movement and it's direction. None of this can be done when you are floating, even on anchor.

People in Louisiana look at Texans wade fishing and shake their head, but I know some parts of their bays better than they do because I've waded them 20 times.

So get out and wade a while every trip, especially to an area that is new to you.

[Otto_08]

Another tip I'll share - a mile of wading is worth 20 miles of drifting in a boat of any kind, at least IMO. Feeling the contours, guts, mud, shell, mud/shell mix etc., etc., can not be done with your feet in the boat. There are shorelines I've waded so many times that, except for the changes made by big storms like Ike, I know where certain patches of shell or certain guts are (that can be worth a few blind casts) before I get to them and without stomping all over them; because I have stepped on them or waded thru them before. You can also feel tidal flow on your legs during the stronger tides and if you stand still for a moment and dangle a 1/16 oz jighead just above the bottom, with your rod tip only a few inches above the water's surface, you can see even the slightest of tidal movement and it's direction. None of this can be done when you are floating, even on anchor.

People in Louisiana look at Texans wade fishing and shake their head, but I know some parts of their bays better than they do because I've waded them 20 times.

So get out and wade a while every trip, especially to an area that is new to you.

This is a good tip and on one of my better redfish trips this is exactly what I did. Me and my pops yakked into E Matty, beached the yaks and waded one area all morning. He limited on reds and I had two reds and a flounder with both of us catching a bunch of rat reds in between.
I've never thought about the dangling your lure in the water to find a very slight tide thanks for that. All of these tips are very helpful thank you.

[saltykat]

What I like about winter fishing for trout is that you can quickly eliminate alot of water and fish are schooled up more. While they can be shallow during a warming spell I concentrate on 3-5ft deep water and throw a suspending bait like a corky. While they will hit other baits a suspending lure will stay in the strike zone longer and out fish all other baits imo especially if its cold. If you don't have the troutsupport videos put them on your Christmas wish list, watch them and get on the water every chance you get. Good luck

[mpg2yahoo]

If you cant find the signs (ie, baitfish, birds, etc) you can look for ambush places. I like canals where depth is between 3-7ft deep. With those 12 miles you did you could have trolled several plastics on a jig head while enjoying the nature trail. Once you hook the fish in your trip you have a good spot to try some more fishing.

I think of these places like major highways and usually water movement is good close to the ends. Good flounder spots on the ends.

[stryper]

Keep it coming guys