More on Hackberry Rod and Gun Club at Louisiana's Lake Calcasieu
What Equipment to Use when Fishing for Redfish and Speckled Trout on Lake Calcasieu
 Editor’s Note: Hackberry Rod and Gun Club on Lake Calcasieu, in Hackberry, Louisiana, is one of the premier speckled trout and redfish destinations in the South. People from all over the nation make pilgrimages to Hackberry each year to pull speckled trout and redfish from the bounty of Lake Calcasieu. Kurt and Guy Stansel, near Lake Charles, Louisiana, plow the waters of Lake Calcasieu in their boats almost every day of the year, searching for speckled trout, redfish and flounder. The Stansel brothers guide fishermen to the fishing trips of their lifetimes. This week, the Stansel brothers will tell us how to catch specks and reds in bad weather, and Michael and Dan Sheldon of Sheldon’s, Inc., the makers of the Mister Twister and Mepps lures, will talk about testing the new Mister Mino and Mister Shad lures at this top fishing spot.
Question: When you’re fishing for redfish and speckled trout down here on Lake Calcasieu, what kind of line are you using?
Guy Stansel: I usually use 12-pound test all the time for both species of fish. I like the 12-pound test because it’s heavy enough to allow me to hook the fish, but it’s light enough to let me cast it a really-long way. So, I haven’t found a reason to change from 12-pound-test line. I like to make long casts and stay as far away from the fish as I can. Most of the time, there is nothing for the fish to get hung-up on, so you have plenty of room to play them. On that 12-pound-test line, you can have a good time with the fish and break-off very few of them. These redfish will often take off 50 yards of drag.
Question: Guy, what do you think about the Mister Mino and the Mister Shad, the new hollow-type baits that Mister Twister is introducing?
Guy Stansel: I think they’re going to be great. They look like and swim like a lot of the baitfish that we have in the marsh and in the lake. I think the more we fish them the more we’ll learn how to fish them.
Question: With what rod are you fishing?
Guy Stansel: I’m fishing one of the American Rodsmith Rods called the Ultra. It weighs just a few ounces. It’s 6-feet, 5-inches long and it’s really strong. Over the last few years, I’ve gone to stronger and lighter rods, and I set my drag fairly loose.
Question: What’s the best bait for speckled trout and redfish at Lake Calcasieu?
Stansel: Those redfish will eat up a Mepps Little Wolf Spoon and the Mister Twister RT Slug. They’ll hit any kind of soft plastic, so I think the Mister Mino and the Mister Shad will be really-great lures. Our company has also done well with the Little Wolf Spoon with the orange stripe on it — whether we’re wade fishing or fishing from the boat. We’ve been using Mister Twister and Mepps for a good number of years down here at Hackberry and those lures have always produced plenty of speckled trout and redfish for us. Even when the weather is bad, the wind is blowing, and the lake is muddy, those lures still will catch fish. When you catch as many fish as the Sheldon’s and Chuck Byrd caught in a 20-knot wind on a muddy lake, you know that Mister Twister and Mepps will produce fish in bad weather as well as good weather.
To learn more about Hackberry Rod and Gun, call (888) 762-3391, email captainbuddy@hackberryrodandgun.com or visit www.hackberryrodandgun.com.
For more information about Mister Twister’s and Mepps’ top-quality lures, visit www.mistertwister.com and www.mepps.com.
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