http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/captains-corner-speckled-trout-action-takes-off/2291011

Speckled trout action, slow throughout the past six weeks, exploded this week. With aggressive fish feeding throughout the morning, it was not difficult to catch a lot of “slot”-sized fish on lures. Go with your lightest tackle: rods and reels, leaders and even lures. An outfit that casts a long way is best, and ⅛-ounce jigheads are ideal. Rig with a 3- to 5-inch plastic tail. Retrieve the lure at a slow pace, making the lure swim right down by the bottom. Target areas of depth 3 feet or more. Trout in less than 3 feet are great targets with topwater lures. Light strikers, the best technique is to let these fish hook themselves. During the slowest bite, slow the lure to a crawl. The “slot” is 15-20 inches, and the bag limit is four per angler. One fish can be more than 20 inches. My personal slot is 16-20 inches. A 16-inch fish has much more flesh than a 15-inch fish.

Neil Taylor charters kayak fishing trips in the Tampa Bay area and can be reached at strikethreekayakfishing.com and (727) 692-6345.

Neil Taylor
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