The cool thing about September is that as reds move outside, hordes of speckled trout start their fall migration into the coastal marshes.
That means you can catch specks in the same bays you’ll be working to catch redfish.
“(Lake) Campo, Iron Banks, American Bay, Bay Gardene, Grand Point Bay — all those are going to be good,” Capt. Austin Plaisance said.
Live shrimp still play a role, and he always gets the largest bait possible.
“The bigger the shrimp, the bigger the (trout),” Plaisance said.
But he also said you can actually do well on plastics as the weather cools.
“It’s white shrimp season, so shrimp colors will be the best,” he explained. “Something with red or pink works the best.”
He said he’ll be dangling these lures under corks, as well as tight-lining.
“It depends on the depth you’re fishing,” Plaisance said.
As always, the presence of bait is a giveaway that predatory fish could be around.
But he said there’s another necessity for trout success.
“The saltier the water, the better you’re going to catch,” Plaisance said.
And there’s one telltale sign that you’re in a high-salinity area.
“Look at your prop wash,” Plaisance said. “If it’s making a lot of bubbles, the salinity is high. If you see foam behind you, the salinity is high.
“In fresh water, you’re not going to have that.”
Tidal movement definitely triggers fish, and Plaisance said direction really doesn’t matter.
“You’re going to be fishing the outer bays, so when you’re that far out, tidal direction really doesn’t matter,” he explained.
Focus on shell banks, old islands and reefs — anything that can create current breaks.