Speckled Trout

The signature light-tackle fish of the Gulf and Southeast. Aggressive, schooling, and honest about conditions — when tide, temp and light line up, specks eat.

Cynoscion nebulosus · Also known as: Spotted seatrout, specks, gator trout (25"+). Ideal water temp 65–75°F.

Habitat & structure

Seagrass flats in 2–6 ft, sand potholes in grass, channel edges, oyster bars and dock lights at night. In winter they stack in deep holes, rivers and dredged canals where water is a few degrees warmer.

Where they’re biting

Apalachicola Bay — Grass edges of St. George Sound, potholes on the incoming tide.
Port St. Joe & Cape San Blas — St. Joseph Bay turtle-grass flats — a numbers factory spring through fall.
Panama City & St. Andrew Bay — St. Andrew Bay grass lines and dock lights after dark.
Galveston Bay — Wells and reefs in the open bay, wade-fishing shorelines on southeast wind.
Pamlico Sound & Outer Banks — Marsh points and slough drains; NC holds true gator trout.
Chesapeake Bay (Annapolis & Lower Bay) — Lower-bay grass beds and stump fields, best late summer into fall.

Season by season

Season	Best bait	Best lures	Notes
Spring	Live shrimp under a popping cork; mud minnows	Soft-plastic jerk shads, 3" paddle tails on 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads	Fish move from winter holes onto flats as water passes 62°F. Work the transition edges first.
Summer	Live croaker or pigfish for big trout; live shrimp early	Walk-the-dog topwater at dawn, then jigs in 4–8 ft grass by mid-morning	Bite compresses to low light. Night fishing dock and bridge lights is the reliable pattern.
Fall	Live shrimp — the white shrimp flush turns the whole bay on	Paddle tails, popping-cork rigs, suspending twitchbaits	Best numbers of the year. Birds working over shrimp = trout (and ladyfish) underneath.
Winter	Fresh dead shrimp fished dead-slow on bottom	Suspending twitchbaits (MirrOlure-style) with long pauses; scented plastics crawled in deep holes	Find 8–15 ft holes and river bends. Warmest, calmest afternoon of a warming trend is the window.

Preferred water temperature

Active from 58°F to 82°F — sweet spot 65–75°F. Watch the live water temp on our location pages.

Weather, light & cloud cover

Classic low-light fish: first two hours of daylight and last hour before dark are prime. Overcast skies stretch the topwater window all day. Bright bluebird high-pressure days after a front push them deep and tight-lipped — downsize and slow down. A moving tide (incoming or outgoing) matters more than the clock.

Proven for speckled trout

3" Curl-Tail Grub on 1/4 oz Jighead — Soft plastic · spring / summer / fall / winter. The universal inshore search bait. Swim it steady over grass; hop it along bottom for flounder and bay bass.
3.5" Paddle Tail Swimbait — Soft plastic · spring / summer / fall. Match jighead to depth: 1/8 oz over flats, 3/8 oz on channel edges. Slow and steady beats fancy.
Soft Shrimp Imitation (DOA-style) — Soft plastic · spring / summer / fall / winter. Do almost nothing — drift it with the current like a real shrimp. Deadly under lights at night.
5" Jerk Shad (Fluke-style), Weedless — Soft plastic · spring / summer / fall. Twitch-twitch-pause over potholes. Rigged weedless it skips under mangroves and docks.
Scented Swimming Mullet 4" (Gulp-style) — Soft plastic · spring / summer / fall. Drag it slow across sand next to structure. When a flounder thumps, count to three before sweeping.
Weedless Paddle Tail on Swimbait Hook — Soft plastic · summer / fall. The flooded-grass redfish tool — crawls through spartina without fouling. Cast past tailers, drag into the zone.

What should you throw today?

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