Tips and Tactics For Speckled Perch Fishing

These simple speckled perch fishing tips and tactics will help you make the most of your fishing trip. If you want to catch the biggest specs, stick to areas where you see action near structure. Areas that harbor lots of forage, such as depressions where they can lie in wait for bait to come by, point, oyster beds, sandbars, docks, cover such as mangroves, rock piles, bridges, docked boats, downed trees, and jetties are prime areas in which to find big speckled perch.

Just look for shallows where there is deep water nearby, and you will find speckled perch looking for forage, but keeping a good avenue for escape close at hand in the deeper waters.

Knowing where to locate the big specs is only half the battle, though, and you will want to have some more knowledge under your belt before you proceed. If you are fishing flats, you really have to be stealthy and quiet to get to the specs before they see you. For this reason, you might want to wade out and fish rather than getting to them in a boat, when and if you can.

Again, to catch the big specs, fish at night. Most people don't realize that the bigger trout tend to feed at night, and the best time to catch a fish is at its normal feeding times. Other advantages to fishing at night include the fact that there is less boat traffic, and since most anglers fish during the day, there is less fishing pressure out there at night. Another thing...since you are fishing structure anyway, and fishing at night, consider fishing around lighted dock areas. The big fish are drawn to the cover and the forage that is drawn to the light, so it is just a natural place to catch big specs at night.

It always pays to use bigger bait when you are trying to catch bigger fish, but this is especially true of trout. They really want to get the most out of a meal that they can, and they will go for amazingly large bait. Sometimes, as you are reeling in a smaller trout, a bigger one will just grab it. They are voracious when it comes to bait, so just remember, use the largest bait you can for the size spec in the areas in which you are fishing.

Here are some other tips that will help you:

Try blind casting with fly or spin tackle when you are fishing for big speckled trout.
Use soft baits and a slow retrieve. Whenever you are fishing for big specs on the flats, pay close attention to the areas that have lots of grass and sandy patches. If you just cast right past the sandy area, and use a slow, series of about three twitches then a pause as you reel in slowly, you should have good luck.

Anytime you are fishing for specs in deeper water, particularly in the wintertime, fish around structure such as docks and boatslips for good results.