Seatrout are known for their habits. If you catch some seatrout in a particular location, chances are really good that you can find them there again in the same location on the same tide. Many seatrout anglers depend on these habits to be assured of a good catch.
The fishing locations may vary according to the area of the country you fish, but the pattern will still be the same. You could be fishing a huge flat off the Texas coast, a tidal oyster creek in Georgia, or the low surf on Florida’s lower west coast. The pattern remains the same. If you catch seatrout there on a particular tide, incoming or outgoing, the chances are good they will be there again.
Tidal movement is one key, moon phase is another, and the time of day is the third. If you catch seatrout on an outgoing tide in the early morning three days before the full moon, you can pretty well be assured that you will catch fish again next month in the same location under the same conditions. If the moon is not the same, the fish may not be there, and if it’s afternoon instead of morning, they might not be there.
Most fish are either opportunistic feeders or hunter feeders. Opportunistic feeders simply sit and wait for food to appear. They are very territorial and include most bottom species. Seatrout are hunter feeders. That means they actively pursue their food. It’s the whole reason they can be found in the same areas time after time. They are simply following the baitfish. Know where the baitfish are moving, and you will find the seatrout.
So I present my theory on finding a “Secret Hideaway” for seatrout. It is very simply – locate the baitfish and know their movement patterns. It’s as easy as that. But keeping that place a secret will be hard. As soon as you begin catching fish, other boats will be surrounding you.
The knowledgeable angler will have made enough notes in his log to know that the fish he is catching today won’t be back there for another three days, or even a month. The “hangers-on” will come back to that same spot without the knowledge that you have and scratch their heads when they can’t find any fish.
The secret then becomes your fishing knowledge and your fishing log that can both lead you to fish on any tide, on any moon phase, and in any weather condition.
