Start fishing topwaters parallel to the shore, but then gradually move back so you can fish the plug from the shallows out past the dropoff. These spots will typically hold some fish, especially if some flow is entering the channel. Trout favor feeding right along the edge of the deep drop, where they ambush baitfish. This sort of spot is perfect for fishing topwaters or slow-sinking plugs like a Corky Devil. If you do use a slow sinker, make sure that you let it work the shallows before it falls over the edge of the dropoff.

Dropoffs needn't fall into impressive chasms. Some of the most productive ones amount to no more than 3 feet of water falling off into 6. That might not seem like much to us -- but to a fish it's a significant change.

Points are another crucial type of feature to target. The point of an island adjacent to a marsh flowing into the channel would represent an ideal combination of elements. Pay attention to the point itself, but more important, check out the "secondary point," which will only be visible on your graph. The main point might extend out to 10 feet of water, whereas the point below it might be sitting out on a shelf in 16 feet of water.

Baitfish will gather around these points, as will specks, which use them as transition zones when moving between shallow and deep water. Fluctuating water temperatures at this time of year spur quite a bit of deep-to-shallow movement.

Finally we come to the jetty systems along the coast, which represent a winter option too much overlooked. Admittedly, large numbers of trout don't haunt these until later in the spring, but some big fish are there to be caught by anglers willing to give the jetties a try.

Trolling at a slow pace is one of the best methods for getting the big, elusive specks to bite. Novice jetty anglers tend to think that trout are present at every rock along the jetty wall. Not true: Trout will bond to specific pieces of structure, and if you can see them, you can troll directly to them. Many times these fish are tightly bunched.

Look at a jetty, and it'll be obvious that a lot of structure is present around the top. The base of the structure, however, usually has more structure, and more trout, the rocks at the bottom typically extending out three times farther, such that a jetty 10 feet wide at the top is 30 feet wide at the bottom. Trout will often hover around one small piece of rock; at one jetty I frequent, they gather around a boat wreck within easy casting distance of the rocks.

I've had some success with using crankbaits for trolling. Hellbenders, deepwater plugs designed for walleyes and striped bass up north, have worked on a few nice specks deep along the channel during winter. I simply looked for big balls of baitfish on the graph, trolled right over those spots and caught some specks.

Using deep-diving crankbaits like the Hellbender and shallower plugs like the Fat Free Shad or Bomber 9A might provide a means whereby anglers can get to trout in the channel when bay systems are flooded. I often hear the complaint: "The trout are out deep, since it's flooded." Well -- why not go after them? Salt water is heavier than fresh, so even when it might seem that all hope is lost, crankbaits can allow you to get down to the trout in this deeper water.

At this time of year, trout fishing can be tricky, but anglers willing to give some highly focused (and somewhat unusual) tactics a go will find catching a true trophy trout a very attainable goal.