March and April are often overlooked months when it comes to fishing for speckled trout. While most anglers work to target their pursuit during the summer months, they overlook the spring opportunities to catch large trout.
Capt. Bruce Baugh is a bit of a local trout legend in Southwest Louisiana. He has fished the Calcasieu estuary for over 20 years and has harvested many incredibly large trout with several mounts covering the walls of his home that are in the 7- to 8-pound range.
Baugh prefers to chase trout wade fishing and has a strong client base that returns year after year. They count on his expertise to put them on big fish.
“The best time frame to catch large trout starts at the end of March and moves into the month of April,” Baugh said.
In the spring, trout are looking for warmer temperatures and Baugh waits for the water temperatures to reach the mid 60’s for the most productive fishing. When black drum start to show up at the beach, jetties and in the shallows, it is a good sign the trout have begun to move in as well. The trout are looking for warmer water in the southern part of the estuaries across the state.
What to look for
Scouting this time of year pays great dividends. Anglers should look for dark bottoms, oysters, or shell bottoms that will warm in the sunlight and heat water temps more quickly than other areas of deeper water or sand bottoms. Trout will be feeding in shallow water that warms more quickly.
Baugh targets water that is about 2 feet deep, but trout may be in as little as 8 to 12 inches of water. These trout also follow bait that move into shallow, warmer water. When schools of moving bait are spotted along the shoreline that is a good indicator that predator fish may not be far away. These schools of baitfish can be disrupted by predatory fish and react in a way that anglers can observe them scattering and breaking the surface of the water.
Another key thing that Baugh looks for is “slicks.” Slicks are created from the oil of fish preyed upon by larger fish. When the oil rises to the surface it leaves a slick that will sometimes have a sweet smell like watermelon or fresh cut grass. Baugh searches for small slicks about the size of a dinner plate in an area trout are feeding.
These predatory actions by trout can also get the attention of other predators; the two most prevalent being gafftopsail catfish and sharks. The number of gafftopsail catfish and sharks has increased dramatically in recent years. There is nothing worse than gafftop slime or losing a good trout to a shark.
Water quality and wind
The water quality is another important factor. An age-old standard is if you can see your trolling motor head a foot under water, then the water quality is great. Wind can also impact water quality; however, a way to get around this is to fish the leeward bank, which is the side of the water body that the wind originates.
“The best wind for Calcasieu Lake is a south wind at five to 10 miles an hour,” Baugh said.
In these conditions, Baugh prefers to fish with different variations of the Corky. When the water temperature reaches 70 degrees, he prefers topwater in 2 to 3 feet of water over oysters or shell bottoms. This combination can produce some of the most exciting and action-packed trout fishing an angler will ever see.
Baugh added that if you catch a few redfish do not immediately leave for another spot, as this time of year large trout and redfish will tend to congregate in the same areas of warmer water and chase the same baitfish.
Look for moving water
Likely the most crucial factor is the tide and moving water.
“The best times seem to be the two hours just before high tide and as the tide starts to fall the two hours immediately following high tide,” Baugh said.
Baugh prefers an incoming tide fishing a flat with mid-60 and 70-degree water temperatures; however, an outgoing tide can be very productive when fishing a drain out, bayou, or a cut feeding out from the marsh. Baugh said always look for moving water. The fastest way to shut off the fish activity is a slack tide and no moving water.
Spring trout fishing in shallow water can produce some of the most exciting fishing, as well as produce some of the largest fish, all year.
