point me toward the big trout

[pcbayou]

(sorry 'bout the double post. I had meant to put this on fishing instead of tips & tricks):oops:

I'm sure y'all can tell me: Where do the bigger trout hide? We must have caught 50 trout in East Bay (Callaway/Tyndall/Sandy Creek) on Sunday and today. All were 12 inches or less.

It's a little far from most of your fishing holes (except Old Dog and a few others). But the right tricks for bigger trout should be the same.

My theories include:

Not fishing deep enough/not finding holes and dropoffs. I've had luck before slowly working out to deeper water from the 2-3 foot depth close to shore. Usually I like it right up next to the bank for reds right at sunrise, then deeper water for trout as the sun gets higher. We went out to about 5-6 feet this weekend and stayed there when the little trout found us. The big ones never showed.

Wrong lure/bait? We tried topwater Chug Bugs, popping corks/Cajun thunders with Gulp/pinfish and bottom fishing with a 1/2 ounce weight The poppers with Gulp Nuclear Chicken pulled in babies every time we cast. But no mamas and daddies.

Sand/grass mixture. There's not a lot of sandy bottom in East Bay. But we did find some, with grass on the edges. That's been a big-trout producer before. But this weekend, just catfish.

There probably are other things I'm missing entirely. Any ideas/advice?

[snatch-n-reel]

Shallow water and big bait catch the big fish!!!!!!

[birddog]

Shallow water, give up the CT cork, you ain't gotta use GULP.

[caseycook]

Shallow water, give up the CT cork, you ain't gotta use GULP.

Don't listen to BD, he's just trying to steer you away from his go-to lures...

[birddog]

I'm a SLURP'er

[SHOWBOAT]

I'm a SLURP'er

here comes the pitch...

[Chalk]

I'm a SLURP'er

You weren't slurp'n in Key West

[birddog]

I'm a SLURP'er

You weren't slurp'n in Key West

Well,.....When in Rome

[Charles]

The best suggestions I have for finding big trout are:

Shallow water with a little ripple on it.
Mullet in the immediate area.
Moving tide, but not rippin'.
Structure or edges, oyster bar, drop off, grass/sand, etc., the more edges the better.
Low light, early, late or overcast.
Big topwater, Topdog, He Dog, She Dog, Zara Spook, etc. Preferably in chrome.
Wade. Quietly. If it's knee deep or more, you are probably standing where you should be fishing.
No bright shirts.

If you find little trout, move a little past the edge of where they are. Big trout think little trout are just dandy, 'bout better'n mullet.

If you catch a big trout, it's unlikely (possible, but unlikely) that there will be another big trout in the immediate area. Somtimes that's wrong. Sometimes there might be several big trout in a particularly favorable spot, but it's real unusual to find them like that.

Patience, lots of patience.

[birddog]

Charles nailed it. Do what he said and you'll catch big trout.

[pcbayou]

Structure or edges, oyster bar, drop off, grass/sand, etc., the more edges the better.
Low light, early, late or overcast.
Big topwater, Topdog, He Dog, She Dog, Zara Spook, etc. Preferably in chrome.
Wade. Quietly. If it's knee deep or more, you are probably standing where you should be fishing.

Thanks all. Charles' advice especially feels right. I'm gonna try to study that skinny water more, and maybe get knee-deep in it. It's funny; that's how most of us start catching fish in the first place. Then we get a boat and the latest line and some new smelly stuff on the shelves, and we get away from it.

[Charles]

Disclaimer: The above is not to imply that I have ever actually caught a big trout.

[gonefishing]

if you fish live grab some grunts 2-3 in razor top fin but letr dangle 2-3 ft water,popping bobber 2-3 ought circle if you miss let it sit they shred first eat later,watch for sharks they will smell what your cookin up

[MudDucker]

Disclaimer: The above is not to imply that I have ever actually caught a big trout.

Gotta luv it

[Charles]

Something I've been thinking about that I should have mentioned before. Like over a year or so ago.

If you want to use live bait don't think trout size, think grouper or tarpon size. A 6-8" mullet or whole hand size pinfish isn't too big. Match the hook size to the bait.

I like to cut the tail off, not into the meat, just the fin, so the bait has to struggle more.