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Go light for hot night trout bite
While many speckled trout anglers believe bigger baits mean bigger trout, at night, downsizing
sometimes works best. Big baits do catch big trout, but that’s not always what trout want. On
an excursion aboard the Hackberry Rod and Gun Club Night Stalker, a specially configured 44-
foot by 16-foot houseboat powered by twin 140-horsepower outboards, I tested the theory that
“finesse is best.” Capt. Kevin Augustine led the crew, which consisted of his 18-year-old son
and deck hand, Tyler, John Lane, Derek Brotherton and Bronson Lopez. My sons, Daniel and
Steven, rounded out the crew.
After polishing off a plate of stuffed pork chops at the lodge, we boarded the boat for the
nocturnal adventure. Just before sunset, we headed down the Calcasieu Ship Channel south
of Lake Charles, La., stopping near Sabine National Wildlife Refuge just as the sun touched
the horizon. The captain lit the lights and dropped anchor. Six 1,500-watt generator-powered
lights on the Night Stalker cast a greenish glow over surrounding waters. Then, we waited.
Sometimes, it takes a while for lights to work magic, but once fish arrive, action turns hot.
“At night, we don’t have to find fish; the fish find us,” said Capt. Guy Stansel of Hackberry Rod
and Gun Club. “We try to position the boat over a reef along the calm shoreline of the lake.
We like a dead calm night or a night with a little chop and no moon. We catch a lot of fish right
before the full moon and during a new moon, but I think wind is more important than the moon.
On a dark night, baitfish come to the lights. That gets trout in a feeding frenzy.”
With the crescent moon setting in the west, little other light illuminated the waters. Soon,
various creatures began to arrive. Lights attract plankton, a primary food source for many
baitfish. Baitfish gather to feast upon the plankton. Before long, the water swarmed with all
sorts of creatures one rarely see during daylight. Crabs of all sizes drifted with the tide.
Shrimp, mullets of all sizes, pogies and untold millions of tiny creatures I couldn’t identify
gathered under the lights. Fleets of glass minnows swarmed under the lights. Where bait
gathers, predators feed.
A 2-inch Stanley Wedgetail minnow looks almost identical to a long, slim and nearly
transparent glass minnow. The wedge-shaped tail creates a vibration that mimics the death
throes of a minnow. That erratic quivering triggers strikes from predators.
While others tempted trout with live shrimp dangling from popping corks, larger soft plastics or
live finger mullets on Carolina rigs, I tested the finesse theory. I rigged a 1⁄16-ounce crappie
jighead on a light 5.5-foot Pflueger Trion GX spinning rod.
Designed more for crappie fishing than combating tackle-busting, toothy saltwater monsters,
this light combination probably wouldn’t work well for battling bull redfish or double-digit
specks. However, I wanted to see what it would do with smaller trout.
We stayed at the first stop near where the channel and the lake meet for about two hours. In
that time, I caught more fish than everyone else on the boat combined, and they mostly used
live bait. I didn’t catch anything big, but then, neither did anyone else on the crew. Croakers
would not leave the bait alone. Then, Captain Augustine pulled up the anchor to try for bigger
fish near the Washout.
Again, enormous schools of bait surrounded the boat. Vertically fishing off one side of the
boat, I dropped the tiny jighead tipped with a greenish-clear, rainbow trout colored 2-inch
Wedgetail to the bottom in five feet of water. Immediately, croakers again inhaled the bait. We
didn’t keep any croakers, but I cannot guess how many hit the bait, almost one on every drop.
Once, Daniel lured a keeper trout near the boat with his live finger mullet. Interested in the live
bait, the fish didn’t hit. Just to aggravate my son, I tossed a Wedgetail near his bait and pulled
the trout away from the struggling mullet and into the ice chest.
Tiring of catching small trout and croakers under the side light, I tossed the tiny bait off the
boat stern where John Lane and Derek found some specks weighing 2 to 3 pounds. The bait
worked on bigger fish as well. To simulate a dying glass minnow, I let the bait drop to the
bottom and then hopped it along the bottom. Fish often slurped it on the fall.
Admittedly, neither I nor my son, Steven, who confiscated my light rod and tiny jig for the rest
of the evening, caught anything larger than 2 pounds. However, nobody on the boat caught
anything larger than a 3-pound trout, but we caught plenty in the 1- to 3-pound range. Some
anglers used larger assorted soft plastics to tempt quality fish, but anglers tossing live finger
mullets consistently caught the biggest trout.
However, the tiny lure caught the most fish, even more than live shrimp. It also produced the
most variety. Besides croakers and specks, the 2-inch Wedgetail enticed white trout, small
flounders, black drum and redfish, even despised hardhead catfish. Catfish, drum and
croakers seldom strike lures. I did lose a few good fish on the minute jig rig, as did Steven.
Sometimes, trout bit through the line. Larger fish broke the line.
Anglers might try the same baits on 1⁄8-ounce jigheads tied to 8- to 10-pound line, but I wouldn’
t go much higher. I did try the 2-inch Wedgetail on a 1⁄4-ounce jighead tied to 12-pound test
line and caught a trout, but the bait didn’t perform as well with the larger weight. When
targeting toothy creatures on such light tackle, anglers probably should attach a short length
of stronger fluorocarbon leader, perhaps 10- to 15-pound test. It also pays to retie baits after
catching two or three good fish. Even when fishing heavy tackle, retying a jighead, lure or
hook doesn’t hurt. Toothy critters tear up line. Fish without teeth can also fray line with their
gills, tongues, fins or other rough surfaces.
Accommodating up to six people, the Night Stalker comes equipped with air conditioning, a
television, bathroom, stove and a barbecue grill. The captain grilled some sausages and
boudin for a post-midnight snack. When people grow tired of catching fish, they can crawl into
one of the bunks for a nap.
To book a trip call Hackberry Rod and Gun Club at (888) 762-3391 or (337) 762-3391.
While many speckled trout anglers believe bigger baits mean bigger trout, at night, downsizing
sometimes works best. Big baits do catch big trout, but that’s not always what trout want. On
an excursion aboard the Hackberry Rod and Gun Club Night Stalker, a specially configured 44-
foot by 16-foot houseboat powered by twin 140-horsepower outboards, I tested the theory that
“finesse is best.” Capt. Kevin Augustine led the crew, which consisted of his 18-year-old son
and deck hand, Tyler, John Lane, Derek Brotherton and Bronson Lopez. My sons, Daniel and
Steven, rounded out the crew.
After polishing off a plate of stuffed pork chops at the lodge, we boarded the boat for the
nocturnal adventure. Just before sunset, we headed down the Calcasieu Ship Channel south
of Lake Charles, La., stopping near Sabine National Wildlife Refuge just as the sun touched
the horizon. The captain lit the lights and dropped anchor. Six 1,500-watt generator-powered
lights on the Night Stalker cast a greenish glow over surrounding waters. Then, we waited.
Sometimes, it takes a while for lights to work magic, but once fish arrive, action turns hot.
“At night, we don’t have to find fish; the fish find us,” said Capt. Guy Stansel of Hackberry Rod
and Gun Club. “We try to position the boat over a reef along the calm shoreline of the lake.
We like a dead calm night or a night with a little chop and no moon. We catch a lot of fish right
before the full moon and during a new moon, but I think wind is more important than the moon.
On a dark night, baitfish come to the lights. That gets trout in a feeding frenzy.”
With the crescent moon setting in the west, little other light illuminated the waters. Soon,
various creatures began to arrive. Lights attract plankton, a primary food source for many
baitfish. Baitfish gather to feast upon the plankton. Before long, the water swarmed with all
sorts of creatures one rarely see during daylight. Crabs of all sizes drifted with the tide.
Shrimp, mullets of all sizes, pogies and untold millions of tiny creatures I couldn’t identify
gathered under the lights. Fleets of glass minnows swarmed under the lights. Where bait
gathers, predators feed.
A 2-inch Stanley Wedgetail minnow looks almost identical to a long, slim and nearly
transparent glass minnow. The wedge-shaped tail creates a vibration that mimics the death
throes of a minnow. That erratic quivering triggers strikes from predators.
While others tempted trout with live shrimp dangling from popping corks, larger soft plastics or
live finger mullets on Carolina rigs, I tested the finesse theory. I rigged a 1⁄16-ounce crappie
jighead on a light 5.5-foot Pflueger Trion GX spinning rod.
Designed more for crappie fishing than combating tackle-busting, toothy saltwater monsters,
this light combination probably wouldn’t work well for battling bull redfish or double-digit
specks. However, I wanted to see what it would do with smaller trout.
We stayed at the first stop near where the channel and the lake meet for about two hours. In
that time, I caught more fish than everyone else on the boat combined, and they mostly used
live bait. I didn’t catch anything big, but then, neither did anyone else on the crew. Croakers
would not leave the bait alone. Then, Captain Augustine pulled up the anchor to try for bigger
fish near the Washout.
Again, enormous schools of bait surrounded the boat. Vertically fishing off one side of the
boat, I dropped the tiny jighead tipped with a greenish-clear, rainbow trout colored 2-inch
Wedgetail to the bottom in five feet of water. Immediately, croakers again inhaled the bait. We
didn’t keep any croakers, but I cannot guess how many hit the bait, almost one on every drop.
Once, Daniel lured a keeper trout near the boat with his live finger mullet. Interested in the live
bait, the fish didn’t hit. Just to aggravate my son, I tossed a Wedgetail near his bait and pulled
the trout away from the struggling mullet and into the ice chest.
Tiring of catching small trout and croakers under the side light, I tossed the tiny bait off the
boat stern where John Lane and Derek found some specks weighing 2 to 3 pounds. The bait
worked on bigger fish as well. To simulate a dying glass minnow, I let the bait drop to the
bottom and then hopped it along the bottom. Fish often slurped it on the fall.
Admittedly, neither I nor my son, Steven, who confiscated my light rod and tiny jig for the rest
of the evening, caught anything larger than 2 pounds. However, nobody on the boat caught
anything larger than a 3-pound trout, but we caught plenty in the 1- to 3-pound range. Some
anglers used larger assorted soft plastics to tempt quality fish, but anglers tossing live finger
mullets consistently caught the biggest trout.
However, the tiny lure caught the most fish, even more than live shrimp. It also produced the
most variety. Besides croakers and specks, the 2-inch Wedgetail enticed white trout, small
flounders, black drum and redfish, even despised hardhead catfish. Catfish, drum and
croakers seldom strike lures. I did lose a few good fish on the minute jig rig, as did Steven.
Sometimes, trout bit through the line. Larger fish broke the line.
Anglers might try the same baits on 1⁄8-ounce jigheads tied to 8- to 10-pound line, but I wouldn’
t go much higher. I did try the 2-inch Wedgetail on a 1⁄4-ounce jighead tied to 12-pound test
line and caught a trout, but the bait didn’t perform as well with the larger weight. When
targeting toothy creatures on such light tackle, anglers probably should attach a short length
of stronger fluorocarbon leader, perhaps 10- to 15-pound test. It also pays to retie baits after
catching two or three good fish. Even when fishing heavy tackle, retying a jighead, lure or
hook doesn’t hurt. Toothy critters tear up line. Fish without teeth can also fray line with their
gills, tongues, fins or other rough surfaces.
Accommodating up to six people, the Night Stalker comes equipped with air conditioning, a
television, bathroom, stove and a barbecue grill. The captain grilled some sausages and
boudin for a post-midnight snack. When people grow tired of catching fish, they can crawl into
one of the bunks for a nap.
To book a trip call Hackberry Rod and Gun Club at (888) 762-3391 or (337) 762-3391.
Click on image to see
larger view
larger view
The Shape of Things to Come
Protected under U.S. Patent # US 6,857,220 B2 and D522607S