Speckled Trout Limit in 20 Minutes - Fairhope Alabama

I was not too encouraged when I got to the Fairhope boat launch for this lunchtime trip. The southeast wind forecast was southwest in reality which isn’t great for kayak fishing. With a southwest wind there isn’t anything from the mouth of Mobile Bay to break up the waves. However, it does blow in baitfish so I was hoping this would happen. The water looked Gatorade Lime so LSU colors was the choice of color for my paddle tails. I immediately found a school of speckled trout and caught the 5 fish limit within 20 minutes. I moved around the area some investigating birds and the marina at the Fairhope Pier but no bites.

I made my way back to the boat launch and found another school, catching 4 more trout. All the trout caught today were keeper size and released. I had 2 around 19”. I kept the kayak facing into the wind for the most part and had the most success casting against the wind. I wanted to maximize the time the speckled trout would see the lurer and typically specks will face into the current since they have streamlined bodies. Having a retrieve where the lurer comes to them gives more opportunity for a hookup. It was a great afternoon of fishing and even managed to book a Spring Break family session.