The Best Spinning Combo For Speckled Trout

It is here that I would like to share my favorite spinning combo for speckled trout. Of course, it's worth mentioning that this combination of spinning rod, reel and braided main line works well for redfish, too. Let's get into it!

The Best Overall Spinning Combo for Speckled Trout

What you see below has  been an absolute work horse, throwing popping corks and Heavy Drop Shots to catch limits of specks & reds across Louisiana's coast. It includes:

And that's it. Those are priced $49, $135 and $14 respectively, and will last you forever. If that's all you get from this guide, then you'll do just fine. But, as always, there are additional details I cannot help but provide, and that's what you'll find below.

Why did I choose these items as my favorite spinning combo for speckled trout?

I'm not a brand loyalist nor do I have any sponsors, though I have flirted with Daiwa, Duce Rods and a few others in the past.

In fact, I think it's kind of brain-dead to blindly side with a brand. Instead, I think what's best is to learn specifications and make purchase decisions based upon those. That's why I wrote this guide to fishing rod selection and this other guide to casting reels.

This is because all rod/reel manufacturers follow the same specifications, and if you take time to learn them you can size up any rod or reel and know if it fits your needs or not, regardless of the brand name. While the guides linked above cover those specs in detail, it's worth noting that they don't cover spinning reels. But spinning reels are easy: they come in sizes denoted in tens or thousands. A 1000-size reel (or 10) is tiny and used for something like bluegill, whereas a 6000-size reel (or 60) is huge and really should only be used for something big and strong, like large bull reds or red snapper.

The perfect sized spinning reel for speckled trout would be 2000 to 4000. I think 3000 hits the sweet spot, and that's what you see recommended above for a great spinning combo for speckled trout.

But this doesn't mean a Daiwa BG or Penn Battle in a 3000 size aren't good reels, either. They're great reels! I just recommend that you get the correct size.

Same thing for the spinning rod...

While I cover spinning rod specifications in detail in the above linked guide, I generally recommend a seven to seven and a half foot, medium or medium-heavy power, fast action rod for a good spinning combo for speckled trout.

The Daiwa Aird Coastal mentioned above fits the bill. It is a medium-heavy rod, which is great for redfish, and even though the power is advertised as "extra fast", I can tell you that is more like a regular or moderate fast action. Sorry, I have extra-fast action rods that I use for jigging speckled trout, and those Aird Coastals are not extra-fast action.

But if I were to focus on just the specs, then I'd say a St. Croix Triumph TSR70MHF is a good choice. So is the Lew's American Hero AH70MSG3, based off the specs.

Let me make this additional recommendation for braided line...

I don't think it really matters what name-brand braided line you throw. While some companies get their line made at the same factory as other companies (the only difference being how the package is branded), some have just been better than others.

Again, this goes back to specific qualities of the line. For starters, you really want to use 8-strand braid for inshore fishing. This is line that uses eight strands of braid woven together rather than the conventional four strands. It doesn't fray as easily and casts smoother.

Honestly, it doesn't really matter, in my opinion. What matters is having something easy to see and getting a large spool to properly fill your spinning combo for speckled trout and save leftover line. I'll explain:

First, you want bright braided line because it's easier on the eyes. For years I used olive braid and it's a pain to work with. But now I use brightly colored braid on my reels, and nearly all of them have a different color. This way if they ever get tangled then it's easier to untangle them: you know which line belongs to which rod!

Next, I know that I recommended a 150-yard spool earlier, and that certainly works. But what's best over the long term is getting a much larger spool, like a 1,000-yard or 2,000-yard spool. This way you can fill your spinning combos completely for maximum casting performance and not have unusable leftover line like what you get with smaller spools.

I actually fish with a lot of different name-brand combos...

Watch my fishing videos on YouTube and you'll see that I fish with everything from Duce to Daiwa to St. Croix to Shimano. It's all tackle I've accumulated over the years and since their specifications fit the bill for the job that needs to be done, they are in my boat rigged and ready to go. But what exactly do I use them for?

What I use this spinning combo for speckled for...

I use the above spinning rod & reel combo to throw popping corks and Heavy Drop Shots for speckled trout, redfish and whatever else bites. I've used this combo to catch fish from Slidell to Venice to Vermillion Bay. If it's worked for me that well then it will definitely work for you!

But having a good spinning combo for speckled trout is only a small piece of the puzzle!

Having good fishing tackle is only where you start. What you need in order to successfully catch speckled trout across Louisiana's coast is to find them in the first place. If you can find a shoreline boiling with speckled trout then you have 90% of your fishing trip knocked out.

In fact, I would rather have fishing tackle that's hot garbage and be on the fish than have top-tier tackle and unable to find a good bite. That's because, if you can just find biting fish to begin with, it won't matter what you throw so long as there's a hook attached to it and you put it where the fish can see it.

It really is that simple.

But finding biting fish in the first place is what eludes most anglers, despite having decent tackle, a good boat and genuinely giving their best.

That's where LAFB Elite comes in.

What is LAFB Elite?

LAFB Elite is my membership teaching willing inshore anglers everything I know, an granting access to all of my courses that do that, most notably Inshore Fishing 101. That course alone is over 12 hours of 50+ video lessons detailing everything you need to know to catch speckled trout and redfish on Louisiana's coast.

Imagine if you and I could sit down over lunch and I taught you everything I know. That's what Inshore Fishing 101 is like!

But there's more: joining LAFB Elite also grants you access to the Community, where members post detailed fishing reports and get help planning their next fishing trip. Click the orange button below to learn more.

What do you think?

Do you think the spinning combo for speckled trout that I described above is a good fit or not? What do you use?

If you have something to add then please do so in the comments section below. I enjoy it when people take time to visit and comment on my website.

Tight lines, and thanks for visiting!