Simple Summer Speck Strategies

Simple Summer Speck Strategies

Use these techniques and coastal anglers will find themselves catching plenty of fish.
Story and Photography By Danno Wise

Speckled trout are the top target for most fishermen on Texas bays during the summer months, and with good reason. Summer is a time when anglers can find concentrations of fish and employ fairly simple strategies to catch them. It is also a good time for kids and casual anglers to catch plenty of fish.
It is also a time period that offers anglers a chance to catch fish in a variety of ways and places. This may come as a bit of a surprise to some Texas saltwater fishermen, many of whom assume trout are always inhabiting deep water during the summer months. While it is true that speckled trout will spend a good bit of time in deep water, they will actually be found at a variety of depths throughout the summer, and often times, within a single summer day.
Mark Lingo, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Coastal Fisheries Science and Policy Branch Chief in Brownsville, offers a concise explanation of why these fish are found at various depths throughout the summer months.
“Spotted seatrout frequent shallow waters during summertime to mate and search for prey. However, if water temperatures get too hot, or salinities change too much, they will move to deeper water until conditions improve,” said Lingo.
With this in mind, the best way for anglers to consistently be successful during the warm weather months is to be prepared to fish a variety of depths, structure and bay terrain. However, this doesn’t mean they have to be a highly-skilled tactician to catch fish in these areas. Rather, there are a number of simple summer speck strategies that can be utilized to catch fish in a variety of areas and situations.

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