Speckled Trout Guide — Delacroix, LA

When a cold front pushes through Delacroix, specks pull tight to structure and move shallow. You're looking at the marsh grass edges and the shallow flats around Lake Borgne, especially the back lakes east of the settlement. Water temps drop and they get lethargic, so slow your retrieve way down.

Work the edges of Caernarvon Lake and the flats between Delacroix and the river. I've had good luck on the incoming tide in winter, around the last two hours before high slack. The trout stack up in four to six feet of water near any submerged logs or oyster shells. Use a standard 1/8-ounce white or chartreuse jig head with a 3-inch soft plastic MirrOlure or Gulp worm. Cast tight to the grass line and keep it on bottom, barely moving it. Let gravity do the work.

If you're in the wider cuts between the lakes, a suspending topwater like a Corky can work early, but honestly after the front moves in, jigs outfish everything else. Cover water slow. Don't move fast between spots.

Water clarity runs murky out there year-round, so lighter colors help. Conditions are usually calmest the day or two after the front passes—that's when I go. Wind out of the north, water dropping, and you'll find them schooled up in the deepest pockets they can find in that shallow country.

With over 40 years on these guys, if you aren't getting bites, try any type of bait to see if you get activity. Look for bird activity on the water. Look for a cloud that might give you cover. Don't just fish the fish. Use the above water observations to guide you. A depth finder might come in handy in the lull situations. The big ones like to sit in holes. If they are in a hole, they won't bite like the magazines tell you.

Magazines are made for what, "To sell", not catch fish. When and if you find a hole, use a weight and drop down to bottom with around 6-8 inches of fluorocarbon leader. Live shrimp is best but if you find a hole, you'll quickly find out if anything is in it. Might even be a nice Red, or even better a nice lunker flounder. They are there. Have patience and don't fish the fish, as you've seen on TV and Magazines. Fish the location and surroundings.

You can try all of these and have success. As a lifelong angler of these waters, I deem catching fish a success. Specks are one of the best fish to get young anglers in the game. Hard strikes, coming out of the water, but most importantly not worn out young kid arms. This has been my favorite fish to ever catch in my years because of all of these things. I haven't even mentioned how to clean and cook them. That's another story we can tackle after you've got them in the boat. We may add a preparation and cooking section. We'll cover cleaning and cooking in a separate guide.

If you want speckled trout without the cold front challenge, the Chandeleur Islands offer wade fishing on exposed sandbars where the fish stack when water temps are right.

Either way, happy fishing and keep your bait away from the dreaded hard head catfish. If you haven't caught one yet, you won't forget when you do. Your wife won't either for a few days.