(Sea)Trout in the Rivers

I haven't found the big trout yet but, they should show up soon.  This white trout is a little small but, if you can find decent white trout, they are just as good as speckled trout.

      This time of year, fishing can get a little tricky, especially for fishermen without a boat.  For most of the winter, I just occupy myself with other tasks (usually a building project or brewing).  However, when a day like today comes by, I just have to hit the water.  The air was calm, it was sunny, and probably in the 70's.  With the cooler temperatures, speckled and white (a.k.a. sand) trout move into the lower portions of rivers making them accessible to anybody fishing from a bridge, or drifting in a boat.  I like to keep things simple, so I just get some shrimp and drift down the local river in my canoe.  I don 't have to buy gas, it's stable, and I get a little exercise on the way back.  If you don't like to paddle much, don't worry, you can probably find a bridge to fish off of.  If you are in brackish water, you can find trout.  Just keep in mind, even with the warm air temperatures, the water is still pretty cool.  This means the fish are a little sluggish.  You will want to fish really slow.  I just drift one shrimp on the bottom and one on a popping cork.  If you start hooking fish, you may want to anchor up but, I usually just make multiple passes through an area if it is productive.  That way, I don't have to deal with an anchor.  You may find that there are a lot of white trout mixed in with the specks.  Some people prefer the specks, but I'll take either.  They taste the same to me but, white trout tend to be a little smaller.

      Today, I only caught two fish (one speckled trout and one white trout) but, the bite was picking up as I left.  I should  have started later and stayed later.  It was still a great time (aside from the extremely annoying goose that followed us everywhere) and, it was great to get my little sister out on the water.  I was using live shrimp but, I suspect that a gulp shrimp, or plastic grub on a jig slowly dragged across the bottom could work.  I have also heard that Rat-L Traps are good.  If I try either, I'll let you know how they work.

This goose would not leave us alone.  It was literally nipping at the gunwales of my canoe.