Try your hand at catching bigger specks with these suggestions
Tommy Vidrine shared some of his thoughts on how everyone might be able to catch bigger speckled trout, no matter where you might be fishing.
Check out Vidrine’s tips on how to land that monster speck:
- Use your trolling motor early and often. “You probably need to turn on the trolling motor way before you normally do. Come into a spot you want to fish with your trolling motor on. Big trout will spook with a gas motor.”
- Less is more when it comes to hardware. “You’ve got to be willing to change. Don’t throw the same thing you’ve been throwing for 20 years and expect to catch big trout. Big, heavy lead or round corks or big swivels won’t cut it.”
- Timing is everything. “Don’t get on the water at 9 o’clock and fish until noon in the summer and expect to catch any fish. Get up early and by 9 you’re done because you’re wasting your time after that. Or plan an evening trip: enjoy a beautiful sunset and plan to stay 30 minutes after that. The big fish bite early in the morning or late in the evening.”
- If you use a cork, invest in a good one. “Get a nice $8 titanium wire cork and pop it often and pop it hard. Tighten your slack and jerk it like you’re setting the hook. Pop it loud enough to get the fish’s attention: you’re creating the noise that trout make when they’re feeding.”
- Never grab the line with your hand when landing a fish. “With 15-pound test, don’t ever touch the string, that’s why the rod is there. The rod bends and gives it flexibility so the fish doesn’t break that line. Flip him with the rod into the net or into the boat, but never touch that string.”
