How To Catch Speckled Trout (Right After A Cold Front)
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on
It’s trout time!
Do you struggle to catch fish right after a cold front?
It’s windy, freezing, and the fish are cold and spooky…
Not exactly the ideal time to fish, right?
Many people think that, but that’s not the case at all!
Once you do find them, they’re often schooled up and you can catch lots of them!
We recently went out with Capt. Tyler Kapela of Hit And Run Charters and the Discovery Channel show, Discovering Water, and he put us on some nice trout (follow Capt. Tyler on Instagram here).
The best news is, he agreed to make this video and share his secret strategies of catching trout right after a cold front.
Want to see how he does it?
Watch the video below.
How To Catch Seatrout After A Cold Front [VIDEO]
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We used to sit at home these types of days and wish for better weather to go catch fish, but now these are some of our favorite times get out there!
As you saw in the video, these fish are schooled up and can’t resist what appears to be an easy meal that swims by their faces.
Here’s how we did it:
Equipment To Use For Winter Speckled Trout
When the fish are cold and schooled up like this, they’re really spooky.
It’s all about finesse fishing so the key here is to use light tackle and small lures.
Here’s what we used:
- A small suspending twitchbait worked very slowly to entice lazy trout to strike
- 10 lb braid
- 20 lb leader
- 7′ 6″ rod for long casts
Where To Find Speckled Trout After A Cold Front
Since cold trout don’t want to travel far for a meal, it’s very important that you find them and put your lure right in front of their faces.
There are two main things you want to look for when you’re looking for winter trout spots:
1. Wind protected areas
Wind cools down the water so pockets that are tucked away and protected from the wind will heat up in the sun in the afternoon.
We were fishing in the mangroves but other types of spots that may be protected from the wind are residential shorelines or tree-lined shorelines.
2. Depth changes
The sun heats up shallow water in the afternoon so trout like to go up there and enjoy the warmth, but at night these shallow waters get very cold, so they’ll want to dive deep where it’s warmer than the shallows.
Areas with depth changes are best because trout don’t have to travel far to find warmer water.
We were in a hole near the mangroves but other options could be holes in a river bend or man-made canals near a flat.
Bonus trout spot tip:
If you see mullet jumping, there’s a high chance that game fish will be nearby.
Conclusion
At a time when most anglers are at home cleaning their gear and waiting for warmer weather, we were out there catching back to back nice trout!
Growing up we never would have fished the day after a cold front but there are lots of nice fish to be caught!
Here’s how to do it:
- This is finesse fishing. Use light gear, small lures, and a long rod for long casts.
- Look for areas that are protected by the wind, have depth changes, and where you see mullet jumping
And if you want to book a trip with Capt. Tyler, send him a DM on Instagram @captain_tyler_kapela.
Do you have any questions about catching trout the day after a cold front?
Let me know in the comments below!
And if you know someone who is frustrated by these types of days and wants to catch more trout, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Today I watched your video about Reels. My question is what is a 3000 series reel?
Great report! I use to fish for bass year round on the OBX of NC, still caught them in winter, schooled up like this.
Too bad winter time is my really busy season at work, only have 1 day off a week and I like to rest up and relax. sometime around the end of March or early April it’ll slow down a little to were I get weekends off.
That is an awesome report! Just 1 question – do you typically stay with the twitch bait that goes about 1-2 ft. deep, or do you also use ones that go deeper? This is very helpful, looking forward to the podcast!!