Plastics, live shrimp and minnows all great methods to load up on specks, guide says
Anglers heading out of Cocodrie currently have lots of options on the table when targeting speckled trout.
“Man, it’s busted wide open. The trout are in their summertime patterns on the platforms, the wellheads and the islands. You can pretty much catch them however you want right now,” said Capt. Anthony Kyzar, with Cajun Fishing & Hunting Charters out of Houma. “It’s on, on, on — now is the time.”
Kyzar said he’s had solid success using both live shrimp and live minnows — under a popping cork, with a slip cork at the wellheads in Lake Pelto and Lake Barre and also Carolina-rigged. Additionally, he’s caught trout with double-rigged Matrix Shad using two ¼-ounce jigheads, mostly with shrimp creole and green hornet colors.
“Everybody’s got live shrimp right now,” he said. “Bait House Seafood has them, plus there’s a new place call The Bait Connection at Sharky’s Landing by Lake Boudreaux.”
Kyzar said he’s also been targeting specks on both the Gulf and bay sides of Timbalier and Last Island — when the wind allows him to make the trip across Terrebonne Bay.
“If it’s blowing out of the south, you’re alright. But make sure it’s not blowing east …. On the back side of the island, I’m looking for oyster reefs that you really can’t see. But you can also target points, pockets and irregular stuff like that,” he said. “On the Gulf side, I’m using a Carolina rig to fish the trough between the sandbar and the beach.”
The size of the trout his clients have been catching this spring is impressive, he said.
“The trout are big, very much above average this year,” Kyzar said. “We didn’t have to measure a fish last week. We’re catching some solid 2 ½ pound, 18- to 20-inch fish.”
Kyzar typically rigs up with 20-pound Power Pro braid, with a 30-pound Berkley Big Game leader. He uses a 3/0 kahle hook, and either a ¾ or 1-ounce weight for his Carolina rig, depending on the wind and tide.
“Fishing under the birds is about the only place you’ll find smaller trout right now,” he said. “And even then, you could probably pick through a limit in Lake Barre.”
