Inshore: How to Catch Gator Trout With Topwater Plugs

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We were only a few days into February, a time when many anglers along the Gulf Coast usually post up in deep, winding bayous and manmade canals to toss soft plastics in hopes of eliciting strikes from a few apathetic speckled trout still in winter mode. But the marshes we fish in South Louisiana were in the midst of a relatively warm spell. Daytime highs climbed above 60 degrees and the lows at night barely kissed the 40s, promising conditions for targeting big trout with an equally large appetite suddenly awakened by the temperature rise.

Chris Macaluso and I wondered if some gator trout, as large speckled trout are often called, might have fanned out over a grass flat in a lake near some productive winter spots, and decided to investigate. If some fish were there, maybe they’d do us the honor of smacking our topwater plugs.

Of course, during wintertime, no matter what the forecast predicts, you never really know what conditions you’ll face until you’re on the water. We hoped the weather gods and the fish would look kindly upon us and that we’d manage to tangle with some trophy-size specimens.

Macaluso and I are both early birds, so we left the marina in twilight, with the sun just starting to light up the horizon. We motored to an edge of the flat where a shoreline offered us protection from the 12-knot, easterly breeze. With the sky still too dark to scan the surroundings for clues, I lowered my trolling motor into the water and set my eyes on the temperature gauge. The initial reading of 60 degrees instilled some immediate confidence. Surely the trout would be active, and maybe some giants would be on the prowl.

In my experience, the absolute perfect water temperature to target wintertime speckled trout with topwaters is 68 degrees, but anything in the 60s is bound to produce good fishing. Along the Gulf Coast, such temps are a lot more likely in February than in December or January.

Our first pass across the flat resulted in some half-hearted swipes and no connections. At least we knew there were trout around and they were looking up. Although both Macaluso and I had rods rigged with other lures, we reached for our topwater sticks. His was paired with a MirrOlure SheDog and mine with a little more subtle Matrix Mullet, two artificials that have proven their effectiveness on countless occasions.

By the time we started our second drift, the sky had brightened enough to reveal clear water and pods of finger mullet milling on the surface, a combination that couldn’t have been better for trout fishing if it had been conjured in a lab.

Within minutes, Macaluso’s SheDog disappeared into a vortex of swirling water that culminated with the muted pop characteristic of a big trout engulfing a topwater plug. The instant he set the hook and leaned into the fish, a massive tail breached the surface and churned the water into a froth. The trout my friend had on wasn’t a double-digit-weight fish, but it was close. Certainly, it was the biggest speck he’d hooked in years.

Unfortunately, we never got to find out the exact size of that trout. In a display of unstoppable power, it surged toward the back of the boat and dug for the bottom. And just 2 minutes into the fight, the hefty speck managed to free itself from the thin tether we’d hoped would keep it at bay. Standing aghast with the landing net in my grip, I turned to commiserate with Macaluso, who was slowly reeling in the slack in obvious disappointment. The lure was still there, so clearly its trebles had ripped out of the trout’s mouth, known to be quite tender even on trophy-size fish.

My sidekick was crestfallen, but his disposition quickly improved thanks to the steady action we would encounter soon after. Our hunch had paid off and the flat we were drifting delivered numerous 3- and 4-pound specks, as well as a plump 6-pounder to end the outing.

THE FLATS ARE WHERE IT’S AT

Fishing the flats in wintertime is an overlooked strategy that often pays dividends, especially during warm spells, which frequently produce the biggest fish of the year for many anglers. The reasons are varied, but the main one is the warmth the specks find in the shallows, according to Capt. Joe Prado, who guides out of Port Mansfield, Texas.

“Those fish are easy to pattern in the winter,” he says. “When those nasty fronts with 40 mph north winds roll through, everything just shuts down. Then, two days later, you get a warming trend and bluebird days. That’s when the fish move up onto the flats, which the bright sun will warm up first.”

Prado explains that a dark bottom on the flats, be it mud or grass, absorbs the sun’s rays, intensifying the warming effect. “In the summer, the trout can go wherever they want, everything is comfortable for them. But in the winter, there are only so many places they can be,” he says.

Because of the speckled trout’s predictability during winter, that’s the season when Christopher Bush has come to expect the most encounters with jumbo fish. The owner of “The Speckled Truth,” a website and podcast specializing in promoting trophy trout fishing, Bush schedules annual vacations during the coldest months of the year, and he will wade the Texas flats for several days in a row to catch fish of astonishing proportions.

After Bush and I discussed trout fishing in an episode of his podcast, he invited me to come wade-fish with him. I took him up on his offer and headed to the Lone Star State in December 2023 to sample the flats action my host had been touting.

Prado and Mike “McTrout” McBride, another well-known Port Mansfield guide, joined Bush and me for what turned out to be the most amazing trout trip I’ve ever experienced. We caught numerous fish weighing more than 7 pounds. And although none of us got a 30-incher in our two days of fishing, we did catch several fish that were probably only a couple of mullet meals and a few weeks away from reaching that “holy grail” length.

That Texas trip really convinced me that, if you want to catch giant specks along the Gulf Coast, you should be thinking about your winter prospects and remain shallow-minded.

TEMPS AND BAITS

After many years of targeting speckled trout, I’ve developed an affinity for certain lures that just seem to produce best in certain specific conditions. When water temperatures are in the mid- to upper 60s, I always give the MirrOlure SheDog a try first, particularly if it’s windy. The fish will be more aggressive in this situation, and the loud rattling and vibration of a SheDog seems to make them hit with fury.

When water temps drop to the lower 60s or upper 50s, I reach for the Matrix Mullet, which is a bit smaller and less obnoxious than a SheDog and perfectly mimics the behavior of the finger mullet usually encountered on the flats. In those cooler temperatures, trout are looking for smaller, weaker baits, and they’ll key on the stragglers of a school that provide easy meals without putting up much of a fuss.

Some days, however, trout just don’t want topwater lures. They may show some interest, yet their response will be lukewarm. You might get a few tail slaps, but no aggressive hits with the intensity of a hungry predator that’s intent on nabbing a prey item trying to get away.

That was the case during the aforementioned Texas trip, when the use of topwaters proved futile and subsurface plugs came to the rescue after someone in our group tied on a Paul Brown’s Soft-Dine and started slaying the fish.

I learned from Bush and Prado that working a Soft-Dine or similar lure with a hyper-fast, walk-the-dog motion can be incredibly effective. The speedy retrieve cadence seemed almost ridiculous and took me a while to master. In the meantime, I got to watch my fishing partners catch one jaw-dropping speckled trout after another.

SEATROUT LURES

• Top artificial picks for big wintertime specks.

Topwater plugs and shallow grass flats go together like movies and popcorn. These lures create an enticing surface disturbance that gets the attention of any trout nearby. Of course, they also minimize interaction with the aquatic vegetation in the middle to lower parts of the water column, thus reducing fouling and enabling longer periods of uninterrupted fishing.

Along with the MirrOlure SheDog ($9.99) and Matrix Mullet ($8.99) mentioned earlier, heralded surface walkers like Heddon’s Saltwater Super Spook and Super Spook Jr. ($8.49-$9.99) are serious trout catchers.

For the times when specks refuse to hit on top, consider suspending twitch baits like Paul Brown’s Soft-Dine ($9.99) or the MirrOdine XL ($10.49), both made by MirrOlure (mirrolure.com). Lipped jerkbaits are also deadly on the flats. Some of the best are the Jackall Rerange 110 ($16.99; jackall-lures.com), Rapala Shadow Rap ($11.99), Lucky Craft Lightning Pointer 110SP ($9.99) and Matrix RipShad ($8.99).

Carry a few of these three types of baits the next time you hit the flats for trout, and don’t be afraid to switch from one to another. That’s how you’ll figure out which one triggers the desired response from specks and yields the most hookups on any given day.

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• This article was featured in the February 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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