Unless you stay on the fish every day, whenever you head out on the water, you have to go find them. You might have some ideas of general areas to look based on weather patterns, time of year and past experience, but you never really know until you get on the water and observe conditions.

That can make for a slow start to a fishing trip, but the good news this time of year is if you move around enough and fish aggressively, you WILL run across an excellent speckled trout bite.

Capt. Justin Bowles, my son, Joel, and I certainly did on a trip a couple days ago. We found some mediocre fishing by jumping from area to area, covering water and making lots of casts, but eventually, we hit the motherlode, locating nonstop, every-cast action on keeper speckled trout that became welcome passengers on Bowles’ bay boat after a long, hot summer.

The key was finding a bayou that was pouring white shrimp into a large lake. Speckled trout crowded the mouth of the bayou, stuffing their growing bellies with the hapless crustaceans. In the frenzy, everything we threw to them looked delicious, and they seemed to race each other to be the first to our lures.

It was crazy-fast action that reminded us how incredibly good Louisiana’s marshes are in the fall. The best news of all is that the run is just beginning, and will stretch many more weeks.

To see 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 are some of your favorite patterns for fall speckled trout fishing? Have you gotten on a good bite yet this year?