Speckled Trout Were on the Chew in Muddy Water | Fairhope

The last time I fished Fairhope was early February and it was right before the freeze and heavy rains. The water was fairly clear then. Today, it was very muddy for this 10am to 2 pm trip. The trout were tearing up a white 5” swimbait and I had a feeling this wouldn’t work today. After launching the kayak I did my water test with the 5” Slam Shady and I could barely see it. I had a purple and chartreuse lure on the second setup and it was much more visible, or at least it had more contrast. I also noticed the bait fish in the area was smaller as well so the smaller 3.75” profile was probably more in line with what the fish were feeding on. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw a great blue heron feeding and I couldn’t even see what it was feeding on. So, it looked like the fish would be looking for quantity.

There was a southern wind throughout the day which is usually bad for kayak fishing in Fairhope but it was manageable. There was an incoming tide and the south wind helped push water into the area. I had my best luck fishing against the wind and current casting past structure. Wherever I saw mullet jumping or nervous bait I made fan casts in the area. Since it was muddy I would saturate the area. This strategy worked and I caught 8 speckled trout, all keeper size. Two were around 20” and all were released. I also used the eye strike trout finesse jig head. The previous day I used the smaller hooked jig head and I was losing smaller trout. I knew there was the possibility of big trout in Fairhope so I was curious if the smaller hook would lose bigger fish as well. It was just the opposite. The fish were very aggressive and I was getting solid thumps. I believe the smaller hook excludes smaller trout because they will tend to go after the tail and miss the hook and the larger fish will inhale the lurer.

My take away from this trip is we are heading into spring conditions and my lurer selections will now transition to 3” and 4” inch paddle tails to match the baitfish speckled trout will be feeding on. The Slam Shady 3” and 4” will be my go to search lurer but I will also have a darker lurer ready to go if it’s muddy.