This soft plastic was made for catching large speckled trout
One of Matrix Shad’s top soft plastics — tested in Florida half-a-dozen years ago, then put on the market around January 2020 — has enjoyed perhaps its most productive late fall and early winter ever the past few months in Louisiana.
The 4-inch long Mega Matrix Shad fits right into the sequence starting with the 2-inch long Matrix Mini Shad, introduced in 2016, the 3-inch long original Matrix Shad that showcased the company’s debut in 2010, and the 5-inch long Monster Matrix Shad, introduced in 2018. Matrix Shad owner Chas Champagne and many others have been wearing the 4-pound-plus trout plumb out since early November on Lake Pontchartrain.
“Mega Matrix is awesome on all the bridges — the Trestles, the Causeway, Highway 11 Bridge and the Twin Span. I’ve been fishing that for 30 years… around all the bridges that cross the Pontchartrain Basin,” Champagne said after a bountiful speckled trout trip on Dec. 5 with his friend, Barrett Marx from Mandeville.
When Champagne fishes along the bridges he threads the Mega Matrix Shad on a ½-ounce jighead with a 4/0 hook. In fact, he noted, no matter what the weight of the jighead it’s critical to use a 4/0 hook.
Bigger fish
The first Matrix Shad hit the water 15 years ago soon after Champagne entered the artificial lure manufacturing business. Without a doubt the iconic soft plastic has been a major player ever since for countless saltwater anglers.
Since January 2020, there has been something else available that appeals to larger speckled trout that like to feed on larger baitfish.
Champagne, 42, who majored in sports marketing at the University of Southern Mississippi, said those who don’t use the Mega Matrix Shad, “don’t know what they’re missing when they’re eating bigger (bait)fish, and they’re bigger fish this time of year.”
The 42-year-old Slidell outdoorsman believed it was high time to bring the bigger soft plastic to the market. Introduced four years ago without a lot of fanfare, the Mega Matrix Shad quickly rose to, well, mega go-to status for many saltwater fishermen across the Gulf Coast and elsewhere. Every angler who has been happy to get his or her hands on a soft plastic larger than the Matrix Shad can thank folks in the Lone Star State, according to Champagne.
“Honestly, people in Texas use a lot bigger lures there, so our accounts in Texas asked us to make a bigger lure,” he said.
Matrix Shad made it bigger, for sure, but the shape of the body and its features remained the same as the original Matrix Shad.
“It’s the same exact design and swims identical,” Champagne said. “It’s a much more effective lure if you’re catching a lot of larger trout, over 17 inches, which a lot of Louisiana does in the winter time. It’s also a good lure to use when big trout are in Breton Sound or off the Gulf Coast on the oil rigs.”
Personally, he said, he eschews popping corks and relies solely on tight-lining.
Match color to water clarity
Champagne matches the Mega Matrix Shad’s color to water clarity as much as possible when he’s targeting speckled trout anywhere. For example, the day he and his fishing buddy caught 21 speckled trout with four in the 4- to 5-pound range before heavy rains drove them off the water, his choice was shrimp creole. Why?
“The water’s been gin clear in the lake and that’s a good one for clear water,” he said. “There are only nine colors. I use them all. They all work. They’re all good.
“The reason manufacturers like us make a lot of colors is because people in different cities like different colors. Every estuary, it seems, has its favorite different colors.”
Other popular Mega Matrix Shad colors recently along the Gulf Coast have been green hornet and pink champagne, according to Champagne.
For more information on the Mega Matrix Shad and other Matrix Shad products, go to www.matrixshad.com or call (985) 707-9049.
