# What's your best bait for Speckled Trout?



## brofoster (Apr 13, 2010)

Ladies and gentlemen,

This Sunday afternoon I decided to lay off of the sheepshead for a while and throw a few grubs around the marina a few hundred yards from my office.  Needless to say; I just stopped fishing today around lunch!  Man the trout are tearing it up over here in Brevard County on the Banana River; specifically Patrick AFB!  I talked to one guy that works in the marina on base and he says he likes throwing lime or chartruese colored grubs on an 1/8 jighead.  All I had was white Cotee curly tailed grubs on a 1/4 oz. Cotee Liv Eye jighead.  The trout tried to destroy that thing. 

I found a grass bed against the shore backed up to a rockpile.  The small minnows are on top of the grass trying to hide and the trout are on the dropoff waiting a few yards out.  Also there is a seawall on the way down to that point.  I simply cast the lure behind me and start walking slow holding my arm over the water.  LIKE TROLLING WITH NO BOAT! LOL! 

 I have caught some monsters this week and will post pictures here shortly.  I caught quite a few gator trout over 4lbs! What is your best lure to wear these boys out?


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## spaceman (Apr 13, 2010)

*trout*

Zara Spook on top water. Technique is called walking the dog.


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## Capt. Richie Lott (Apr 13, 2010)

top water is awesome as mentioned above, a spook or top dog should be fun. Glad to hear someone wearing out the trout! Maybe there will be a trickle effect on that......


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## Hooked On Quack (Apr 13, 2010)

I dunno about the Ga coast (yet), but in the Gulf top water = big trout, 2nd choice is a suspending plug, 3rd choice is a Berkley Gulp under a popping cork.


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## cohutta21 (Apr 13, 2010)

I have had great success with a standard cheap 2-3 inch crappie jig on a 1/16th once lead head...  I fish some around a dock with lots of lights and during the summer the trout love to ambush the glass minnows...  A clear crappie jig kills them...


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## Dustin Pate (Apr 13, 2010)

Mirro-lure's, flukes, jerkbaits and if all else fail a pinfish or finger mullet.


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## dawg2 (Apr 13, 2010)

Silver spoon.


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## wharfrat (Apr 13, 2010)

topwater like mentioned above is hard to beat at first or last light. but i have caught some BIG trout down your way using a weedless unweighted fluke or 1/32 or 1/16 weighted weedless hook. twitch that thru the grass and hold on. i like the baby bass or smokin shad color, but usually the trout don't care. oh yeah, the record trout was caught about an hour south of you.


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## bird_dawg (Apr 14, 2010)

Top water as everyone else, 4-6 inch gulp, new penny is awesome!


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## bighonkinjeep (Apr 14, 2010)

Greedy guts in pink, yellow or white, but hang on tight cause everything that swims likes Greedy guts.


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## florida boy (Apr 14, 2010)

2 inch pinfish under a popping cork has always caught my bigger fish


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## brofoster (Apr 14, 2010)

*Here are the trout pics!*

Wow! I see that I am only scratching the surface when it comes to catching specks!  I did live in Pensacola on the Gulf side for a while, and I caught trout mostly on grubs.  I caught a lot of weakfish (trout without specks) and in the winter they can get pretty big.  One trick you all need to try is a Culprit freshwater bass worm on a 1/4 oz jighead.  Pinch the worm off at the last two ribbed sections and thread it on your hook.  Grape shad works best and I beat em up pretty good with it this morning!  Here are some of the pics of the fish I have been catching as promised.  I didnt have anyone to take pics so I used my cooler and feet to show some type of scale.  The ones in the pic are over 4lbs and over 18 inches!  I am throwing the net today for pinfish and finger mullet! STANDBY!

GUNNERY SERGEANT FOSTER!


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## Capt. Richie Lott (Apr 14, 2010)

Nice.... Very Nice. I agree with you on the ole bass worm. I know some guys that lost down here in GA and ended up on the ICW and tghey fished anyhow... They SLAYED the specks. on guess what.. Bass Worms. I saw the fish, they were nice..... Boys didn;t have a clue what they were doing and caught nice trout on worms...


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## Swamprat (Apr 14, 2010)

I use the Zara Puppy....trout tear that thing up. When they seem not inclined to hit the Zara Spook they will nail the smaller version.

Brofoster. Good looking trout. On a few of the bigger ones I have caught I cut open the stomach to see what the were eating. One that I caught that was close to 7 pounds was packed full of baby needle fish. They must have been just a tad bigger around than a pencil lead but evidently she liked them.


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## sea trout (Apr 15, 2010)

gulp, root beer, 3" swimming mullet. trout love it!!!


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## sea trout (Apr 15, 2010)

nice big trout in your pictures!!!!!!!!!!!
were goin in a week and half, i hope we get some big one too!!


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## brokenskeg (Apr 15, 2010)

I fish the Banana River quite a few times a year with a guide buddy of mine . Try a 4.25" High Roller in the Florida Special color . its an ugly topwater bait that the trout love to bust up . Find bait schools and throw it anywhere near them and get ready . Our next state record trout will come out of that river , there are some bigguns in there for sure .


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## brofoster (Apr 19, 2010)

Got'em again this weekend on the 3 inch Berkley Power Grubs!  We caught about 26 in all and kept about 15!


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## whchunter (Apr 20, 2010)

*Size*

BFOSTER>>>What size worm do you use and does it have a swim tail?

Wish I had a plate of fresh fried trout and fixings.........Yummmmm


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## sea trout (Apr 20, 2010)

man sounds like your doin good!!! 
are they in the creeks rivers or bay??? shallow or deep??


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## brofoster (Apr 20, 2010)

whchunter I use a 3 inch grub on a 1/4 oz. jighead.  I cant really throw that thing with getting a hit.  It does have a swim tail but it they dont like the bigger baits with longer tails.  I am catching them close to the edges in the main river not in any creeks.  They are staging in the deep side of any grass beds near the edge.  Usually 2- to 4 feet of water is the answer.  Most are caught within 100 yds of the edge.  We are going up and down a 2 to 3 mile stretch in the Banana River that runs behind Patrick AFB and killing em!


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## whchunter (Apr 23, 2010)

*Thanks*

Man I would love to be dragging some in right now. Don't know what's better catching or eating a mess of them.


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## SFLRICK (Apr 23, 2010)

Zara II white with green and silver specs. I grew up on Merritt Island in Brevard County (1962-1994)and I wish I had a dollar for every trout I caught using that Zara Spook combo. Also freelining finger mullet is a blast in the early morning.


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## dawg4028 (Apr 23, 2010)

Super Spook, DOA, Shrimp on popping cork, pinfish on poppng cork, ping grub/jig is most popular here.


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## Hooked On Quack (Apr 26, 2010)

brofoster said:


> Wow! I see that I am only scratching the surface when it comes to catching specks!  I did live in Pensacola on the Gulf side for a while, and I caught trout mostly on grubs.  I caught a lot of weakfish (trout without specks) and in the winter they can get pretty big.  One trick you all need to try is a Culprit freshwater bass worm on a 1/4 oz jighead.  Pinch the worm off at the last two ribbed sections and thread it on your hook.  Grape shad works best and I beat em up pretty good with it this morning!  Here are some of the pics of the fish I have been catching as promised.  I didnt have anyone to take pics so I used my cooler and feet to show some type of scale.  The ones in the pic are over 4lbs and over 18 inches!  I am throwing the net today for pinfish and finger mullet! STANDBY!
> 
> GUNNERY SERGEANT FOSTER!



Hey BroFoster, I don't know why you're asking for any advice, looks like you got it figured out!!


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## brofoster (Apr 26, 2010)

Quack,

I want to try different baits especially for when the grubs dont work because sometimes they dont. I dont know if it is because the fish arent there or because I am throwing the wrong thing.  I went looking for a lot of the top water baits that are discussed in this thread and the pickings were slim at Wally World.   I ended up buying a suspending twitch bait and topwater mullet.


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## Hooked On Quack (Apr 26, 2010)

brofoster said:


> Quack,
> 
> I want to try different baits especially for when the grubs dont work because sometimes they dont. I dont know if it is because the fish arent there or because I am throwing the wrong thing.  I went looking for a lot of the top water baits that are discussed in this thread and the pickings were slim at Wally World.   I ended up buying a suspending twitch bait and topwater mullet.




BroF trust me, when you start getting " blow ups" on top water at first light and late evenings, you won't give a dang about a jig!!   I'd rather catch one on top water than 10 any other way!!  It's a RUSH!!!


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## 4HAND (Apr 26, 2010)

Those are some fine trout. The biggest trout I've ever caught was on cut bait (ladyfish) fishing the bottom for Reds.


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## fishbum2000 (Apr 27, 2010)

green curly tail or split tail grub on 1/4 oz red or pink head, mirr-o-lure, and if all else fails finger mullet or live shrimp. course if the bite is on i think you could probably throw just about anything and catch specks. nothin better on a plate than a fresh trout and some new red potatoes


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## Wood Smoke (Apr 28, 2010)

spaceman said:


> Zara Spook on top water.





Hooked On Quack said:


> I dunno about the Ga coast (yet), but in the Gulf top water = big trout,





Swamprat said:


> I use the Zara Puppy....trout tear that thing up. When they seem not inclined to hit the Zara Spook they will nail the smaller version.




What colors do y'all like for the Spook and the Puppy?


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## big country rnr (Apr 28, 2010)

Saltwater assasin paddle tail in electric chicken.On 1/4 oz jig heads. Or live shrimp under a cajun thunder.


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## Gixxermike (May 1, 2010)

Live baitfish. Greenbacks, pogies, herring, and things like that. Fingerling mullet work good also. It's best to catch them with a cast net. There are also other small forage fish that live on the flats like pinfish that work well, especially for reds. Or fish live shrimp with a bobber.

If you're not into live bait try a mirro-lure minnow or any type of shiny silver spoon. 1/2 ounce white bucktail jigs are good also.


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## Swamprat (May 1, 2010)

Wood Smoke said:


> What colors do y'all like for the Spook and the Puppy?



For the Puppy I prefer the smoke color which is kinda grayish/translucent color. The second is like baby blue on the bottom with black on top

Seems to mimic the color of most baitfish pretty well.

For the bigger Spook or even Mirro-Lures I prefer the ones with a goldish or yellow bottom and black top. 

Never had much luck with a red/white topwater but you could throw a red/white jig and grub combo and it works.

There use to be a guy in either Oak Hill or Titusville, Fl who made cedar wood topwater baits that were mostly a light gray on bottom with a black top, he had several variations. Some were walking baits, some were a stick bait with a rear prop, and some were almost like a stick bait with a popper mouth. I think he has well passed on but I had a few of his baits that after a few trips had more chipped paint and teeth marks than anything else.


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## short stop (May 3, 2010)

Fished this  weekend   down in the  passes  around   Tampa / St pete ..

      Caught plenty   of  trout   between myself and my daughter   off  the  banks   to keep  her entertained .  All on DOA      4''holographic glitter   

   biggest was  around  5 lbs  .   

     no pics  but  some folks  who were using live bait / topwater  just   plain  got  outfished   this  week  by an 11 yo girl in a  camoflage bikini  --->  from the bank ......


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## drhunter1 (May 4, 2010)

Norton Sand eels rigged without weight like a banjo minnow, in other words with corkscrew hitchiker through the head. Bass assassins work well doing that also. Color really doesn't matter much. Along as it is heavy enough to cast with the wind.


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## jimbo4116 (May 4, 2010)

brofoster said:


> Ladies and gentlemen,
> 
> This Sunday afternoon I decided to lay off of the sheepshead for a while and throw a few grubs around the marina a few hundred yards from my office.  Needless to say; I just stopped fishing today around lunch!  Man the trout are tearing it up over here in Brevard County on the Banana River; specifically Patrick AFB!  I talked to one guy that works in the marina on base and he says he likes throwing lime or chartruese colored grubs on an 1/8 jighead.  All I had was white Cotee curly tailed grubs on a 1/4 oz. Cotee Liv Eye jighead.  The trout tried to destroy that thing.
> 
> ...



Put a new penny or chartruese swim mullet gulp on a willow leaf spinner.  Reds and Trout.


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