For most of the last nine months, the Mississippi River has been higher than a Colorado coed, pushing speckled trout away from outfall areas impacted by its sweet, stained water. Specks are notorious for seeking out clear water, where they can use their razor-sharp vision to feed, and in the summertime, they need salty water to complete their spawning mission.

But something magical happens most years in the late summer and early fall: The Big Muddy slows to a relative trickle, inshore waters clean up and all that bait left behind by the high water becomes irresistible to the trout stocks that are finishing up their spawning duties. They abandon the outside salty waters and move inside to feast.

That’s going on right now on the east side of the Mississippi River, and to get it on the action, Baton Rouge angler Chris Macaluso and I rode out with Capt. Davey Miles. We made a quick attempt to catch some of the bull redfish that have been terrorizing bait stocks in the area, but after that effort produced nothing, we switched gears to speckled trout, and it was definitely the right call.

The fish bit H&H TKO Shrimp and Z-Man Shrimpz under Versamaxx Bolt and H&H Big Ballin’ corks. They weren’t rodeo winners, but most fell between the 12- and 14-inch marks on the ruler, making them eligible for a boat ride back to the fillet table.

For all the details, check out the video below.

Like the video? Please give it a thumbs-up, and subscribe to the Marsh Man Masson channel on YouTube. Also, leave a comment below or on the YouTube page. What kind of speckled trout season are you expecting this fall? Have you found the fish in any inshore areas yet?