Page 171 - South Mississippi Living - June, 2021

TOP: A split ring and a loop knot allow a topwater bait, like this walk-the-dog style bait, to zigzag from side to side with scintillating action that imitates injured baitfish. This makes it highly effective for enticing speckled trout, especially bigger ones. Resembling large baitfish such as mullets, topwater baits typically produce larger speckled trout than other baits. ABOVE & LEFT: Ronnie Daniels of Fisher-Man Guide Services admires a speckled trout he caught on a topwater bait.
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baitfish. Heavy walking baits sail long distances, a good thing since topwater strikes typically occur at the extreme end of a cast. Therefore, they cover large tracts of water, making them excellent search baits.
Anglers can also fish poppers, which displace water with curved blades or noses. When jerked, they create quite a surface commotion. Work poppers slowly. Toss one to a good spot and let it rest a while. Then, pop it. Keep repeating this retrieve.
The Mississippi coastline provides anglers with many places
to catch big trout on top in diverse habitats. Even along the beaches, fishermen without boats can wade and catch big specks on surface lures. Beaches may look sterile, but they create pockets where big fish can hide to waylay passing bait. Huge trout often drop in troughs between sandbars waiting to ambush baitfish.
“One of the great things about Mississippi is that we have a lot of beachfront that anyone can access,” Daniels states. “There are many old piers with just the pilings
still standing that create structure to attract fish. In some places, people can wade out from the beach and fish oyster reefs and other structure without a boat. Boaters can also drift along the beaches and over grass flats.”
The state also established numerous artificial reefs along the coast. Some sit in water close enough to shore that anglers in kayaks can easily fish them. These reefs make outstanding structure that attracts fish. When throwing a large topwater bait, any strike can produce the speckled trout of a lifetime!
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