John's Journal...

Click to enlargeFishing 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.

Click to enlargeIn 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.

Click to enlargeAnother 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 Click to enlargethem. 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


Check back each day this week for more about "Fishing for Specks, Reds and Flounder with Gary Davis"

Day 1: Specks on the Reefs
Day 2: Trolling for Monster Reds
Day 3: Bottom Hopping for Flounder
Day 4: Reds on the Waterway
Day 5: Creek Trout

 

 

Entry 347, Day 1