Fishing
for Specks, Reds and Flounder with Gary Davis
Specks on the Reefs
EDITOR’S NOTE: Editor’s Note: Gary Davis
has fished the Mobile Delta area around Foley, Orange
Beach and Fort Morgan, Alabama, all his life. He knows
where the speckled trout, redfish, and flounder will
migrate – almost before they know themselves.
As a full-time fishing guide, Davis makes his living
knowing what tackle and what line produce best throughout
the year.
In
the spring, particularly the early spring in March and
April, speckled trout are moving out of the rivers and
into Mobile Bay and the Intercoastal Canal, where they’re
holding on oyster bars and oyster reefs. One new tactic
that I’ve learned this year, really just this
spring, is how important putting scent is on your lures.
Although the bay doesn’t have as many shrimp right
now as the bay will hold later, the trout remember what
shrimp look like. I’ve caught plenty of nice-sized
speckled trout using Spike-It grubs, jigs and Shrimp
Spray this spring. I’ll spray my grubs with the
Spike-It Shrimp Spray and let the grub fall to the bottom
for a minute or so. The trout will come and eat the
grub. I know that the spray has been working to get
the fish to bite because I haven’t been giving
the grub any action. I think that using the Spike-It
Shrimp Spray is critical for fishing in the early spring
when there’s not much bait in the bay.
Another
key factor that I’ve learned is that you can downsize
your line to catch more and bigger trout. In the past,
I only fished 10-pound-test line. However, now I’m
fishing Mossy Oak Fishing’s 6-pound-test line
because it’s limper, casts further and isn’t
spotted by the trout as easily because of its small
diameter. The last week of March, we caught numbers
of trout on 6-pound-test line. When the water’s
clear, like it is now in April, I’ve learned I
can catch more big trout on 6-pound-test Mossy Oak Fishing
Line than I can on 10-pound-test line.
The two types of techniques that seem to be producing
the most trout are to cast the bait out, let it fall
to the bottom and then let it hop up off the bottom
and fall back; or, cast the bait out and swim it back
to the boats with a steady retrieve. In April, I’m
catching most of the speckled trout on the outer edges
of the oyster beds. I don’t know why the trout
hang out on those outer edges; I just know that’s
where I catch them.
I’ve tried drifting across those oyster beds,
and even when I drift all the way across the oyster
bed, I’m still catching most of my trout on the
outer edges. I guess the fish just like to hang on the
edges at this time of the year more than staying on
the oyster bed. Most of the reefs I fish are man-made
reefs. I’ve been fishing on the reefs for speckled
trout since the end of March.
To fish with Gary Davis, you can contact him at 251-942-6298
or 251-943-6298.
Tomorrow: Trolling for Monster
Reds
|