Fishing this type of structure is guaranteed to hammer limits of speckled trout. But what’s the easiest way to find deep holes? Read on to see how!
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How to Find Deep Holes for Specks
Deep water is important to fish. When weather turns for the worst, they have a place to run and hide.
Imagine this:
You are outside enjoying the 72 degree weather and shining sun.
Suddenly, a storm blows in, ruining the great weather and sending you running inside.
It's the same thing for fish!
Especially speckled trout.
Deep water is their "thunder bunker".
How do we find these deep holes?
It’s easy to find deep holes without even launching the boat, though you’ll have to fish them in order to see if trout are there or not.
This video does a pretty good job of explaining how, but if you want to learn the finer details of why trout go deep when the weather gets bad, then be sure to read the rest of the article.
Note: this video is one of six detailing how to find deep holes.
The rest are inside Inshore Fishing 101, a course available inside LAFB Elite.
What does deep water provide for fish?
Stability.
Not because deeper water is warmer (warm water rises and cold water sinks), but because deeper water is stable.
The strong west winds of a nasty cold front can drop water levels so fast that speckled trout in shallow water might find themselves exposed.
Rolling waves and fast temperature changes affect fish in shallower water more strongly than fish in deeper water.
A trout's metabolism changes with body temperature, which matches the surrounding water temperature.
And fish body temperature can vary as much as 40 degrees! If that happened to us, we would die.
But fish don’t.
They don’t die because they can adapt by changing their body’s chemical processes.
And this adaptation requires a “time out” to adjust.
This time out is reduced by inhabiting the stability that deep water offers.
Even during the summer deep water offers shade and cooler temperatures to rest in, so identifying and fishing deep holes is still a good idea, so long as they are near spawning areas.
Conclusion
Knowing the biology of your target species (in this case, speckled trout) is key to predicting what they will do next.
When using this knowledge, you’ll know where to find deep holes, and when you go looking for their “thunder bunkers” you’ll know exactly where to cast a line!
Questions? Comment below!
Hey Jerome, great question. That’s a good deal of what I teach inside Inshore Fishing 101, specifically, inside the Advanced Inshore Navigation Module:
https://www.lafbelite.com/course/inshore-fishing-101/
I’d say the majority of what I teach is finding biting fish from scratch then, after that, safely navigating the marsh. There’s a lot of hidden dangers out there and, over the years, I learned how to find most of them before launching the boat.
What I teach is a process that’s worked for me over many years ranging from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, to the Chandeleur Islands, to Venice, to Vermillion Bay and even Big Lake.
Devin, how do you navigate the biloxi marsh? GPS, experience?
As someone who has never been there how can I find my way around there?
Sure, if it freezes. But how often does it freeze in south Louisiana?
Devin, warm water does in fact sink and cold water rises.
Hey Jeff, I’m glad to see you like this article.
Very good news!
Okay, to answer your question…
Ya know, there are some good articles somewhere in here, but the really good stuff is inside LAFB Elite.
Since you’re a member, here’s a link: https://www.lafishblog.com/courses/sfms-part11-finding-the-best-redfish-spots/
You’re looking for the sections titled, “The Myth of Clean Water”, “Using Satellite Imagery to Find Awesome Redfish Ponds”, “Sorting Good Ponds From Bad” and “Identifying Consistently Clean Water”.
That should keep you busy for awhile. lol
Devin, I thoroughly enjoy your wisdom and knowledge as it relates to catching speckled trout. I’m trying to learn how to use Google Earth as well as you do, but it’s a slow process. Today, you really helped me understand about deep holes, even thought as you stated, the water color all looks the same.
One more comment if you do not mind. How can you find clear waters from Google Earth? If you mentioned this before, please accept my apologies.
Yes! Here’s the link: https://www.lafishblog.com/courses/10-1-2018-rigolets-specks/
You’re welcome, Francis! Thanks for being a regular, man!
Also, I like the bombshells on deep holes… tks
Devin, I may have missed it but did u do a f/u from your trip 10/1/18. I enjoyed the preparation phase and wanted to view your results, especially since that area is where I enjoy fishing.
Thank you!
Awesome very informative
Hey Robbie, I appreciate you commenting!
There’s a few places they’re biting at, but I only disclose that to members of LAFB Elite.
You can join here and see everything you get.
Thanks and tight lines!
Where’s the fish biting in Hopedale