Speckled trout and puppy drum are opportunistic feeders and will eat just about anything that will fit into their mouths, but anglers who are serious about catching them, and successful in their pursuit, will frequently use specialized tackle, rigs, and techniques. They have taken the time to learn about the habits and haunts of these fish and those are the anglers who consistently catch trout and drum.

I love to catch them on artificial lures and light tackle in the surf and one of my favorite lures is a lead head jig and soft plastic tail. Head weights may vary from 1/4 to 3/4 ounce, in typical colors of red or white, but the tails come in every color of the rainbow, and several different styles.

Popular soft plastic tail brands are Grubs, Twister Tails, Gulp! and Gotcha Tails, in varying lengths from 2 to 4 inches. Despite the endless selection of colors, the same hues tend to produce most of the fish. Lime green, dark green, chartreuse white, red and white, pink and white, or the red-tipped firetails, are proven favorites. However, trout and drum may change their color preference almost daily, depending on water and light conditions, and the bait they’re eating. Be prepared to regroup in a hurry if your color isn’t catching and the angler next to you has the hot color of the day and is hammering the fish.

Trout and drum can be leader shy and it’s a good idea to avoid wire or heavy mono leaders. I like a 15 inch piece of clear 20- pound test fluorocarbon leader, either tied directly to my line with a Uni Knot, or I will join the leader and line with the smallest black barrel swivel I can find, usually a size # 10 or # 12. The swivel helps reduce line twists that can come after hundreds of casts. I use a Uni Knot loop to attach the leader to the leadhead. Most of time I rig the lead heads in single fashion, but I’ll also rig the jigs in tandem, with a small head trailing behind the first. Often, the second, smaller lure of this rig will catch best.

Light tackle is necessary to effectively fish these bantam weight lures, and spinning rods are used almost exclusively. Rod length in the surf varies from 6½ to 8-feet. During the past few years, I’ve filled my reels with no stretch, thin diameter braided lines in 8 to 10-pound test

If I’m targeting trout and puppies from my beach vehicle, I will have three rods rigged and ready. One seven footer is set up with a single lead head; another is rigged with a tandem jig combination. The third is an 8-foot rod rigged with a heavier ¾ ounce head in case I need to bomb a long cast to fish that might be holding along the edge of an outer sand bar a long way from the beach. If I’m walking over to the beach my go-to rod is the seven footer rigged with a single lure.

I also like to use shiny or painted, heavy metal spoons such as Gators, Stingsilvers, Kastmasters, Hopkins, or Gotchas when casting for feeding blues, albacore or Spanish mackerel, but these fish will usually strike anything that’s moving or shiny.

Exploring a section of beach is fun with a small, ¾ ounce Hopkins Shorty. Speckled trout, blues, stripers, and even drum will eat this lure. It can be fished with a variety of different retrieves at every season of the year. I’ll usually rig these the same as I do my lead heads, with a short mono leader and small black swivel.

A few other “details” will also help to put more fish in the box. Whether fishing with lures or bait, I always sharpen my hooks, and frequently check them throughout the day. Sharp hooks catch fish.