 Fishing
for Specks, Reds and Flounder with Gary Davis
Creek Trout
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.
 One
of the things I’ve learned about speckled trout
is that they don’t always do everything at the
same time. Although most of the trout are starting to
move out into the bay here in April, I do catch some
trout in some of the creeks that run into the bay. One
of my favorite creeks to fish at this time of the year
is called Hammock Creek. The trout in this creek will
hold along a 4-foot drop-off with the bottom in 1-1/2-
to 2-feet of water. Then the bank runs out a little
way into 4 to 5 feet of water. Along that breakline
is where I find the fish holding. Since the deepest
spot in this little creek is only 5- to 6-feet deep,
even though 4- to 6-feet deep doesn’t sound very
deep, it’s the lowest spot in the creek. I cast
from the deep water to the shallow water and swim or
hop my Spike-It jig on my 6-pound-test Mossy Oak Fishing
Line in front of the shallow water, over the breakline
and into the deep water. Most of the time, the trout
will take the bait just as the grub comes over the breakline.
I’ve found that the most- successful
tactic is to hop the jig rather than swim it when I
fish in this creek. Most of the strikes occur when I
hop the grub off the shallow side of the ledge and let
it fall onto the deep side of the ledge. Although the
fish in this creek don’t start showing up until
December, I can catch trout here all the way into the
summer.
April is the best time to come to the Gulf of Mexico
and catch speckled trout because they’re just
about to move into the bay and the gulf. Every day we
see more and more trout coming into the bay. You also
can catch speckled trout during May, June, July and
August in our region of the country. Generally, we take
speckled trout, redfish and flounder from March all
the way until the end of November. Since the weather
has been really warm this winter, I’ve caught
plenty of specks, reds and flounder almost every day
I’ve fished. If our part of the coast gets lots
of rain, and the bay muddies up, or if the area has
lots of wind, making the bay too rough to fish in, then
we may have a hard time producing the  specks
and reds that everyone wants to catch. However, even
in the worst weather and during the coldest temperatures,
we can usually catch redfish and sheepshead. There’s
always fish to catch down here, but April will be one
of the most-productive months of the year. If you’re
planning a trip to the Gulf Coast to go snapper fishing
this year, don’t forget to include at least one
day of inshore fishing for speckled trout and redfish.
We have plenty of fish here to be caught and all you
have to do is show up with Spike-It grubs and Mossy
Fishing Line, and you can catch them.
To fish with Gary Davis, you can contact him at 251-942-6298
or 251-943-6298.
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