Fishing Q&A

Speck Fishing?

The local papers around here (southeast florida) have been saying the speck have been going crazy around certain spillways. I have a general idea on what bait and gear to use but i never really fish for em. Do they hit all day? Best bait for them? Should i use small hooks with a splitshot or no? Sorry crappie....around here we call em speck.

Public Comments

1. I need just a bit more info....Are you referring to speckled sea trout?
2. OOOOO.K., now we got it (thanks to your additional info ;) ). For the likes of Crappie, I'm sure ya' know they run in "schools", and if you run into one them, their goin' ta' hit all the time (night time be my preference)! Try goin' with shiners aka minnows, crappie jigs, night crawlers (I usually tear them in 1/2) and the good old worm. Link will give ya' some more info., with the use of the different types of Crappie Jigs, live bait, habitat and ways to fish for them. Good luck and hope this helps ;)... Note: Small hooks (#'s 8 or 10's are fine), small split shot, bobber. You'll probably get variations of my spec's from Answers ppl, but this is my own way with them Crappies ;). Also, they have very soft mouth's so ya' don't want to set the hook like one would with say, a Largemouth Bass. http://www.crappie.com/johna/johna.htm
3. what is a speck
4. Speck hit usually in the morning. Where I go fishing, I fish on the top around 6-7 o' clock, or just when you can barely see. Don't worry if you don't catch them with in 2 hours, there is usually a 10 o clock run. They usually bite on live shrimp.
5. Specks are also tend to be a deepwater fish. Right now we are catching them in 15-22 foot of water on Lake Seminole in SW Georgia. Our preferred attack is to use a small minnow 2-3" long and hook them though the lips or the eyes. There shot be a small split shot 4-6 above the minnow to get it down to depth. Use a small cork/bobber. Crappie will usually hit from the bottom and go back down, thereby hooking themselves, so really yanking on the hook isn't necessary for a good hook-set. If you are an artificial lure guy, larger beetle spins run real deep tend to work good also. They also LOVE structure, you will rarely find them in open water. Look for an underwater ridge, sunken trees, or deep dock pilings. In fact after Christmas, we'll take old trees and dump thme in 20-25 foot of water and make our own "honey holes"
6. If your fishing for crappie at a spillway, try running a beetle spin along the edge where the water is falling over the spillway OR try double rigging two 3" sassy shad (pearl white) with a 1/8 oz bell weight at the bottom of them and also running them along where the water is falling over the spillway, also good for white bass aka sand bass !!