Fall Trout & Red Transition
As fall begins to make its presence this month, some of us will be hanging up the rods & reels for a tree stand 20 feet up a tree hoping to avoid
the rash of Buck Fever I heard about last year. While the rest of us will be
watching the weather anxiously awaiting a cool front or three to pass
through the area to really get the speckled trout transition
into full effect.
Lately playing the speckled trout game
has been hit or miss while the redfish
game has been phenomenal, but if
you’re like me, you are ready to start
cleaning a table fare that doesn’t
wear you out at the cleaning table.
It’s been a great summer for both
trout and reds, but the fuel bill for
trout has been on the rise while
finding schools of keepers has
been on a steady decline. Thankfully this month all of that is going to
change.
October is my favorite month of the
year for fishing, the redfish are in big
schools, the bull reds are easily found in the
passes, the flounder are making their yearly run, and the
trout are moving inside in preparations for winter. And while it seems the
stars align this month to catch almost any species of inshore fish you want,
it’s the trout that we have been waiting for. No more 50 minute boat rides,
no more leaving the marina at 5 a.m., no more coming in before noon because the sun has worn you down into a withered raisin, this is the month
where you can fish all day, catch all day, and relax all day, this is the month
that fishing was built around.
If you’re looking for some fast moving trout action this month, go for the
topwater bite.
After a long summer of throwing spoons or popping corks, take the
time to entice some of your larger trout with a topwater. I’m usually a big
fan of the Rapala Skitter Walk in its’ smaller size, but lately I have been on a
steady reach to the new Matrix Mullet, this lure has a combination of beads
inside that really produces a sound I haven’t heard in another top waters
and best of all, the specs love it. Keep your focus around points, oyster
reefs, or the easiest of all, current lines. I like to pick an area that has a
much defined point of land that the current is rolling around it so hard you
can actually see the bait being rolled over as it is carried around the point.
This month I like to search the interior bays that have somewhat of direct line to open water. Remember, the trout are making their run inside
from the outside, and for the majority of the fish, the straightest path is the
easiest path. I’ll usually start on the further southern bays and slowly work
my way north as the weeks and months pass trying to stay in line with the
trout’s transition. Areas to start around Hopedale/Delacroix would be bays
like Lake Robin, Campo, Four Horse, Coquille, two trees, and Treasure Bay
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October 2016 www.marshandbayou.com
and determine where the trout are holding and whether it’s fish and schools
large enough to fill your boat, and as the seasons become cooler start making your move north.
Expect some great falling tides at prime time this month in the early
hours of the morning. With those tides are going to be thousands of
shrimp being washed out of the marsh and bays and through areas I refer
to as trout highways; avenues trout can travel in fast, mixed with an area
where bait is flushed out fast but through a narrow water highway, like between islands or between two long points where bait gets congregated on
the bank and then flushed out through the highway. Picture a funnel, a
cove like land mass with a long point, the wind and tide will push the bait
into the cove and then eventually around the point or highway where the
trout will be there waiting.
While I am quick to reach for a topwater this month, a popping cork
with a Matrix Shad 18 to 24 inches below it is still a deadly combination and
if all else fails; live shrimp is always your friend.
October is family month on the water, it’s a time where the weather
conditions are favorable, the temperatures are tolerable, and the fish are
everywhere, it’s a month to take your family, friends and most all your kids.
Until Next Time, Safe Safe & Catch1 - Capt. Casey Brunning