Speckled Sea Trout are a reliable target just about all year long in Tampa Bay. While most species migrate and move their way in and out of Tampa Bay, Trout remain a staple along with being great table fare. They have very firm light flakey taste making them the least “gamey” tasting of all local inshore species. 

In the winter months trout will stage up in deep canals, shipping channels, and rivers. These areas hold the warmest body of water as the sun radiates off of the sea walls and the muddy bottoms hold heat.

My bait of choice when fishing in the winter is a live shrimp tipped on a light jig head. When fishing artificial lures I prefer soft plastics.

As the water temperatures warm up these toothy critters can be found in very healthy grass. I look for healthy grass flats that are surrounded by a lots of sandy pot holes. You will find them schooled up looking for small bait to come by. I typically drift using artificial lures allowing me to cover more ground until I locate the school and then drop my power poles to anchor and fish the school.

Often, if you have fished and area for a while and then the trout bite stops pull anchor and move until you find them again. In the spring my bait of choice is small white bait. I am able to throw out chum to attract them and even keep them there when the bite slows down. However, once the heat of summer sets in I go right back to using live shrimp. Typically I use either a popping cork, or weighted cork about 3 feet up on my liter. Trout have a very soft sensitive mouth so we don’t “set the hook” on these fish. I use circles only, so when the bobber goes down all you have to do is real your fish in.