I grew up fishing farm ponds and small lakes in central Georgia for largemouth bass. Other than musky fishing each Fall, I still primarily target spotted and largemouth bass when I hit the local lakes here in NC. However, last October my neighbor took me to Manteo for some inshore speckled trout fishing. His acquisition of a new Carolina Skiff is working out well for me.
I’m now a self-proclaimed inshore addict, and bought a rod/reel combo just for this purpose. I realize that I’m also likely to catch small reds and the occasional flounder while targeting specs, but I bought the combo solely with speckled trout in mind. Here’s what I selected:
Rod: St. Croix Premier 7’ Medium Light action with a Fast tip
Reel: Penn Battle 2000
Line: Suffix 832 8lb test
Leader: 15 lb fluorocarbon
With this setup I’m primarily throwing the following:
- 1/8 to 1/4 oz. jig heads tipped with 3-5" soft plastics
- 3/8 oz. Mirrolure 17MR Mirrodine suspending jerkbaits
I will occasionally throw topwater (maybe about 10% of my time on the water) with 3/8 to 5/8 oz walk-the-dog style plugs, and have the same rod in 6.5’ medium/fast action for this purpose. It’s my ned-rig setup for spotted bass on Lake Norman. The heavier lures and hard-twitch style retrieve makes a slightly stiffer rod preferable.
Note: I’m not a rod snob – I just happen to have hunted and fished my entire life about 30 miles from the St. Croix factory in northern Wisconsin, and love supporting the company and people who work there. They make a great product, and their Premier rods (and most others) are made in the USA. That said, I've fished with much cheaper rods my entire life, and the fish could not tell the difference. But the St. Croix's feel like magic wands compared to the rods from my younger days.
I’ve seen inshore combos in use that run the full spectrum, and they all catch fish, but being new I’m interested in what everyone else is using and why.
So, what’s your setup for speckled trout?
I’m now a self-proclaimed inshore addict, and bought a rod/reel combo just for this purpose. I realize that I’m also likely to catch small reds and the occasional flounder while targeting specs, but I bought the combo solely with speckled trout in mind. Here’s what I selected:
Rod: St. Croix Premier 7’ Medium Light action with a Fast tip
Reel: Penn Battle 2000
Line: Suffix 832 8lb test
Leader: 15 lb fluorocarbon
With this setup I’m primarily throwing the following:
- 1/8 to 1/4 oz. jig heads tipped with 3-5" soft plastics
- 3/8 oz. Mirrolure 17MR Mirrodine suspending jerkbaits
I will occasionally throw topwater (maybe about 10% of my time on the water) with 3/8 to 5/8 oz walk-the-dog style plugs, and have the same rod in 6.5’ medium/fast action for this purpose. It’s my ned-rig setup for spotted bass on Lake Norman. The heavier lures and hard-twitch style retrieve makes a slightly stiffer rod preferable.
Note: I’m not a rod snob – I just happen to have hunted and fished my entire life about 30 miles from the St. Croix factory in northern Wisconsin, and love supporting the company and people who work there. They make a great product, and their Premier rods (and most others) are made in the USA. That said, I've fished with much cheaper rods my entire life, and the fish could not tell the difference. But the St. Croix's feel like magic wands compared to the rods from my younger days.
I’ve seen inshore combos in use that run the full spectrum, and they all catch fish, but being new I’m interested in what everyone else is using and why.
So, what’s your setup for speckled trout?