Entry 211-1

New Hot Inshore Saltwater Lures and How to Fish Them

Part 1: Speckled Trout and the Glass Minnow

Question: Scott, where do you fish?

Simpson: I fish Cat Island, Ship Island and the oyster reefs around Pass Christian.

Question: How are you catching the speckled trout?

Simpson: I’m a real fan of the 3X Plastic lures that Strike King makes for the saltwater fisherman. Although these lures are made of soft plastic, they are extremely strong, and more important to me, they are very tough. I catch Spanish mackerel, bluefish, lady fish, speckled trout and redfish all on the same bait in the same day, and the bait will stay together fantastically. These fish have razor-sharp teeth that will cut other soft-plastic lures in half. But that 3X material that Strike King uses for the company’s lures can be chewed-up and spit-out by some of these teethy fish, and I can still fish the lure. I like to fish the Glass Minnows, the Zulus and just this summer I’ve started fishing the Trout Tubes.

Question: How are you fishing the Glass Minnows?

Simpson: I rig a Glass Minnow with a 1/4-ounce jig head and fish it in water depths from 2 to 7 feet. I’ll cast the Glass Minnow out, use a slow, steady retrieve and twitch the bait about every three or four turns on the reel.

Question: What color of Glass Minnow seems to be the most productive for you?

Simpson: Blue gum pearl, pearl, chartreuse, chartreuse with a red tail, chartreuse pearl and Electric Chicken are some of my favorite colors, but there aren’t many colors I won’t use. I usually have four anglers in the boat or out of the boat wading, and we’ll throw four-different colors until we find a color that the trout want on the day we’re fishing. I’ve caught speckled trout on just about every color of Glass Minnow that Strike King makes. 

Question: When do you use the Glass Minnow?

Simpson: My favorite time to fish it is when I’m fishing shallow water around the Barrier Islands off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, or when I’m drifting over grass beds when we’re fishing the surf and the troughs (underwater ditches and cuts)  that surround the islands.

Question: So you do fish out of the boat as well as in the boat?

Simpson: Yes, we do. We have quite a lot of people who enjoy wade fishing, and I do, too. Many times when we’re wade fishing, we’ll rig the Glass Minnow with the flat jig head that Strike King makes. Also, sometimes we’ll fish the Glass Minnow on a
1/8-ounce jig head below the cork. We pop the cork to get the trout’s attention.

Question: How big are the speckled trout you’re catching?

Simpson: The trout will weigh from 1/2-pound up to 5 or 6 pounds.

Question: How many speckled trout will you usually catch in a day?

Simpson: Today I was fishing oyster reefs with four people, and we caught 42 trout. On a typical day, we’ll usually catch and release 25 or more trout. Then if we find the trout schooled-up and working under the birds, we’ll catch more.

To learn more about inshore fishing with Captain Scott Simpson in Biloxi, Mississippi, call (228) 669-6204 or visit Impulsive Charters.

Next: Put the Zulu on Your Trout

Contents:

• Part 1: Speckled Trout and the Glass Minnow
• Part 2: Put the Zulu on Your Trout
• Part 3: The Magic of the Redfish
• Part 4: Boat Or No Boat
• Part 5: Life Doesn’t Get Better Than This