I already covered rods, reels and fishing line. In this article, I go over the best lures for jigging speckled trout.
Having the correct tackle isn't enough to catch speckled trout at Lake Pontchartrain's bridges.
Remember, these bridges pose unique challenges to inshore anglers, not found elsewhere.
If you are reading this for the first time and are not up-to-speed on what I refer to, then you should read the previous articles related to this one:
Read this one first. I pose the challenge that bridges can be tough to fish and explain why.
https://www.lafishblog.com/why-the-bridges-in-lake-pontchartrain-make-tough-fishing/
After posing the challenge, I propose solutions in a three-part series.
In Part One, I detail which rods, reels and fishing line are for best deepwater jigging.
You are now reading Part Two.
If you already read those articles, then great! We can move on to fishing lures.
Best Jigging Lures for Speckled Trout
Jigging for speckled trout requires lures with a specific design to allow the technique to work.
These lures must have these qualities:
- must sink in the water column
- must be streamlined
- must have a single exposed hook
These examples do not fit the bill:
- spinnerbaits (too much surface area for current to grab)
- gold spoons (again, too much surface area)
- crankbaits (won't dive until you start retrieving)
The best lures for jigging speckled trout is a jighead and 3" soft plastic body.
These come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
These match all of the qualities mentioned earlier.
They will sink fast in the water column, without blades or skirts to slow their descent.
That and they don't have multiple treble hooks to snag the bottom, which is great because there is a lot of debris on the bottom of the water around the Trestles and Hwy 11 bridges.
Think about it: losing $4 lures adds up quick! So keep it affordable.
Soft Plastics
My favorite is Matrix Shad, and for a few reasons.
I like to stock up on Lemon Head, Ultraviolet, Purple Haze and Spartacus (not pictured).
About colors...
Note that's two light colors and two dark colors. There is no need for every color in the rainbow, as presentation is more important and usually what anglers lack.
Go ahead, swap out colors until you're blue in the face.
It won't change a thing if you can't get your lure in front of the fish.
I also like sparkle beetles. They've been catching fish since 1955 and the top speckled trout in Louisiana was caught on one, so it's kind of hard to beat that.
Jigheads
Designed to fit snugly into Matrix Shad, Goldeneye jigheads are my favorite for jigging the Trestles.
They have holographic eyes, come in varying weights and are not terribly expensive.
This is important because there is a LOT of junk you can get hung up on.
When you do, it's usually best to break the line and re-tie.
Rigging
There's no point in me going into detail because I have already written about in this article.
Rigging a jighead and soft plastic correctly demonstrates you know what you are doing.
Nothing screams "I don't have a clue" more than a soft plastic rigged upside down.
Does it really matter?
Yes.
Because it makes a difference between catching and not catching.
Yes, we all know trout will hit anything during a great bite. Those fishing trips are easy.
But what about the difficult days? Correctly rigged jigheads will catch when trout are being picky.
Conclusion
Having the right lure is just as important as having the right tackle.
In Part Three of this three part series I will go over the knowledge and skills required to employ the two.
Will definitely keep you in the loop sir as we go along still in the testing stages also have to test the market you know how people can be that only fish one way and they don’t want to try something new really not too far of what’s already out there my friend lives locally there fishes the gulf a lot inshore and offshore
Sounds like you guys are working on an awesome thing!
Myself and a good friend of mine are designing a jithead specifically for trout reds and snoke we’re working on marking it out of South Texas right now he personally has been on the water with it and it’s working really good don’t want to give up any secrets yet but definitely will be in contact with you and have you do some testing if you want or some of your people
100%, thanks for commenting, Gary.
100%, I have pics of that exact thing here: https://www.lafishblog.com/how-to-properly-rig-jigheads-and-soft-plastics/
I forgot to mention rigging as you I always rig the way shown but I find sometimes I might accidentally bury to much of the hook making for a lot of missed strikes. Always match the jig to the lure as to where to bring the hook out for enough exposure.
Those are my favorite’s as well Ultra violet Lemon shad Green hornet Creole and Glow I use the matrix line and a lot of the H&H of the same color’s
Thank you! And be sure to read Part 1, too!
Great info missed part 1