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Some pointers for catching speckled trout
By JOE MALAT  Few
coastal fish have as many devoted fans as the speckled trout, and many
of these fans flock to Hatteras and Ocracoke in the winter in search of
these fine fish.
Specks move with the changing water temperatures. As surf temperatures fall, schools of specks move southward out of the Chesapeake Bay and from the shallow protected waters of the Pamlico Sound. That’s when they congregate around the mouths of each of the Outer Banks inlets and trickle out into the ocean, feeding in the surf zone as they move. Along the northern beaches the peak of the fall fishing is usually from October through early November. Along Hatteras Island and south of Cape Point down to Ocracoke, where the water stays warm longer in the fall, the season usually peaks in from November through December. However, if the fall and early winter weather is mild and the water temps remain comfortable, January may offer some banner days at any location. Preferred baits, lures, and techniques for speckled trout do not vary much from year to year. A trout angler’s tackle bag should have a selection of lead head jigs and soft plastic tails. The assortment may range in size from 1/4-ounce up to 3/4-ounce, with the favorite being somewhere in the middle. I like the 3/8-ounce cannonball or round heads. They cast well, but are small enough that almost every size plastic tail will fit them. Red is the most frequently seen head color, and on a few occasions I’ve seen white heads produce fish. Every trout angler has his or her favorite tail colors. Shades of green are always good, but smoke, root beer, or Christmas tree shades also take a lot of fish. Occasionally a green body with a red firetail will draw strikes when everything else is practically ignored. But, don’t let past success dictate what you might use in the future. Experimentation is key and sometimes the specks will eagerly take a color that bucks the trend. Presentation is another key, and it’s a good idea to minimize or eliminate hardware such as snaps or swivels. Sometimes I might tie my lure directly to the line, but most often I will run a 12-inch piece of 15- to 20-pound test monofilament leader in front of the lure, tied to the main line with a Uni-Knot. If the water is not extremely clear, I might insert a tiny, black #10 barrel swivel between the line and leader, to help minimize line twist. Color and type of lure are certainly important, but two other factors can contribute greatly to an angler’s success with speckled trout in the surf -- persistence and observation. Most of the good anglers I know are also good observers. They watch the water, other fisherman, the birds, and the sky, all at the same time. Often trout will be holding along a certain section of beach for a specific reason. Maybe the water is deeper or maybe there’s a current that’s washing baitfish over the top of a sandbar. If you happen to notice an angler or group of anglers on the beach getting strikes while you are doing little more than practice casting, move in their direction, but don’t crowd them. When you are in the zone, watch where the strikes are coming. Are they far out, or at the end of each cast, or halfway to the beach, or right at the “drop”? What kind of retrieve is taking fish? Pay attention to your lure as soon as it hits the water. At the end of each cast, take up the slack and feel the lead head hit bottom, feel the jig bump on bottom and try to visualize the tail working in the current. Think slow, especially when the water is cold and the fish may not be feeding very aggressively. Frequently trout will inhale a lure as it crawls ever so slowly across the bottom. The difference in catching and just fishing is often in the details, especially when the target is a speckled trout. (Joe Malat lives in Nags Head and is a professional outdoor writer, book author, and director of the Outer Banks Surf Fishing Schools. He writes about saltwater fishing along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and is published regularly in national and regional magazines. To order his books, or request information about the Outer Banks Surf Fishing Schools, visit Joe’s Web site at: www.joemalat.com.) 
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