If it is not, it sure seems like it is. The trout are everywhere in Northeast Florida and can be caught several ways, from casting to trolling. Here are a few ideas that might help you put a few trout in your boat.

Casting soft plastics:

When i cast soft plastics this time of the year for trout, I like to ease my Minn Kota trolling motor in the water and ease along about 80 to 100 feet from the shoreline, cast right up on the edge of shore and slowly work the lure back to the boat. This method of fishing can be production for not only trout but just about every fish that swims. This past week we have had trout, flounder, reds, blues and a jack that I am sure was lost. I like to make my cast, give the lure a moment to get tot the bottom or close tot he bottom and start working it back towards the boat slow and every few turns of the reel handle, I twitch the rod tip slightly, to give the bait a wounded appearance. Most of the time, your strike will come when you have twitched your rod tip and the lure is falling back to the bottom.

My rig normally consist of a Jaw Jacker 1/8 to 1/2 ounce lead head with a Gotcha 4 inch trout grub on the hook. The colors that i use the most are, a white body with a red or pink tail and a white body with a chartreuse tail. Sometimes I will switch over to an all white or all chartreuse or even a root beer color now and again.

Chuncking Hard Plastic Baits. This method is very much like "casting soft plastics", except you are generally working the lure a little faster and trying to give it a little more action, working the rod tip a little more to put some life into it.

Start with your boat in the same position as above and use your trolling motor to keep the boat parallel to the shore. If the current is strong, I generally let the current pull the boat with the current and use the trolling motor to slow the boat down and keep it the correct distance from the shore. I toss my lure right on the shoreline and right away start working it back towards the boat. This time of the year I like a lure that sinks or will sink when it is worked. Lures that have worked for me in the past are the MirrOlure 52M, the Provoker, Broken Back lures, and suspending lures. Colors that I like the best are blue back-silver sides, chartreuse back-silver sides and all white. The lighter the line on the reel the more action that you will get out of the lure. Try 15 pound test, 4 pound diameter Power Pro. this is a great line for working artificial baits.

Trolling:

Trolling is probably one of the easiest ways to catch trout this time of the year and fairly productive. If you do not have a bottom machine (fishfinder), you will need one for this type of fishing. You need a bottom machine to show you where the drops and channels are. Most of the times trout are going to be in the deep part of the creeks and ICW and to see where these deep spots are you will need eyes under the water, the bottom machine. You want to troll your baits just on the edge or drop offs.

Once you have found the deep drops, try to use the bottom machine to keep your baits in this area.

I like to troll two to three lines and each line will have a double or triple lead head jig with a grub on each. From the line on the reel, I tie a very small swivel, to that a piece of 15 to 20 pound test monofilament. I tie on a jig to the end of the leader and up about 18 inches, I tie a dropper loop and go up another 18 inches and tie another dropper loop. I then slip a jig head to each dropper loop and on each jig head I slip onto the hook a curly tail grub. I always mix up my colors. I will have a chartreuse on the bottom, a white in the middle and a root beer on the top of one of the rigs and some other combination of the others. If I catch a few fish on one color, I might switch all of the grubs to that color. I believe that the fish see the first grub go by and this gets their attention. The second or third is usually the one they eat. WHY NOT HAVE AS MANY BAITS IN THE WATER AS POSSIBLE.