October presents various options for boat-bound anglers as fish are on the move with their fall patterns.

Story and Photography by Nate Skinner

“I’m going to drop the hook,” came the announcement from the bow. I was busy at the stern watching my wife, Emily, battle yet another solid trout, while Captain Nick Poe slipped the anchor into the brine. The fish seemed to be holding tight to a shell hump on the south end of Lake Calcasieu and after quickly drifting through them twice we decided we would try to park right next to the school to maintain a steady bite.
The plan worked. As our drift came to a halt the hook-ups commenced. Short casts towards the structure that lined the estuarine bottom just 20 or so yards in front of us produced bent rod after bent rod. Slowing our retrieves added pounds to the bites. Bigger trout were holding closer to the structure on the bottom and with the boat no longer inching towards our lures with the wind, a more passive presentation kept our baits in the strike zone.
We fished at anchor for about 30 minutes until the action lulled. Pulling up the anchor Poe turned to us and said, “Sometimes you just have to make an adjustment to stay on ‘em.”

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