Tips To Land Homosassa Trout

Action for spotted seatrout has been good and went to excellent this past week. Sizes have been ranging from a little under 15-inches to 19-inches. Landing limits of 5 per person has been easily attained if you are adapt at working the cork rig. If you do not know what I mean, keep reading to learn how the pros teach their clients. Dozens of one-quarter ounce 3-inch DOA glow shrimp, Bass Assassin Slurp and some Berkley Power Baits are crammed into my tackle bag. A red 3-inch cigar shaped Cajun Thunder cork rig in tied with a two foot long section of 20-pound test completes the rig. A good tip is to use a 3/32 ounce jig head made by Love Lure. For trout, I will drift and cast downwind using 10-pound test Power Pro braided line. I fish with a 3000 Shimano Spheros spinning reel and a 7 ½ foot Shimano Teramar rod powered by medium action with an extra fast tip. Instead of just popping the cork, I let it stand on end after a two foot long sweep of dragging the cork over the surface creating a bubble trail. Remember trout usually grab the jig on the way down. When the cork goes under, I quickly reel up any slack to set the hook and keep on reeling until the trout is at boatside where a dip net is employed to land the fish. Use this method and you will catch a nice mess of fish. Locations are the mouths of Fish Creek, St. Martins River and the Homosassa River. Find spotty bottom mixed with grass and there you will find the fish in about three feet of water. TIPS FOR TANGLE FREE CASTING: After I make a cast, I ALWAYS close my bail by hand just before the rig lands in the water. This does two things. It keeps the running line from tangling around the top of the cork and the line should become tight both on the spool and to your rig. Also, I make sure there are no loops on the spool of the reel before and after I cast. If there is a loop buried under the spool of line, never cast it, instead pull the line by hand preferably upwind from your drift [and not under the boat and around the motor] until the loop is out. In order to stay tangle free, I only fill my reels three quarters to the rim of the spool. The last tip when deploying braids is NO side arm cast. This action will result in birds nest the fastest. Last but not least is to not cast the rod as hard as you possibly can. An 85-90% power cast is just as effective if properly launched over the shoulder with the tip of the rod on the same plain through the cast. Try following these tips for tangle free days and keep your tip up! Capt. Mike