Fishing Expert Dr. Bogus Answers Seven Speckled Trout Questions

Richard Ehrenkaufer, better known to his Carolina readers and listeners as Dr. Bogus, is a man on a mission when it comes to speckled trout fishing. Dr. Bogus is a writer and radio personality whose fishing reports are eagerly awaited by his audience since he himself fishes the Emerald Isle, NC beaches almost every day.

Although Dr. Bogus claims red drum are his favorite fish, if you read his reports its hard not to notice that he goes out of his way to chase speckled trout. He certainly has a lot of success doing it.

With Carolina speckled trout season really just getting underway I asked Dr. Bogus seven questions about the beautiful specks and the allure they hold for inshore saltwater anglers.

Weeks: Why are speckled trout such a popular saltwater fish in the Carolinas?

Dr. Bogus: For some reason there is a mystique about trout. They are finicky, they are off season and the tradition of trout fishing goes way back. It's like a fraternity, a zen thing. People pilgrimage to the surf in the fall and winter to catch trout. They are a finesse fish to catch, and boy are they pretty. They are also great eating fish too.

Weeks: Although they are around all year many folks equate trout with winter and cold water. Why is that?

Dr. Bogus: Summer trout fishing is mainly the most productive in areas where they spawn in the summer. In the fall when the fish are on the move, either going up creeks for the winter or when they enter the ocean to go offshore, they are generally available to more people in more places from the beach, piers and in the backwaters. Plus there isn't much else to fish for in the 'off season'. Nice here in NC you can still fish now.

Weeks: Do you prefer to fish for trout with bait or lures?

Dr. Bogus: You know me, I'm strictly an metal/plastic/sometimes wood guy. It's more challenging and takes more skill to present a MirrOlure, etc. to a trout and make him eat. No finesse, no secrets in hooking up a live shrimp.

Weeks: Quite a few anglers have gone to the scented baits like Gulp lures. From what you have seen does the scent make that big a difference?

Dr. Bogus: Gulp and other scented baits are awesome and catch plenty of fish. They turn mediocre anglers into flaming geniuses. There are some things that are scams made to sell tackle to unsuspecting anglers, but noisy baits and scented baits aren't in that category. Both work extremely well.

Weeks: Trout are known for having soft mouths. How does an angler compensate for that and not lose fish?

Dr. Bogus: Flexible rod tips. I have 8.5-ft Fenwick HMX steelhead rod (or a custom made version) that gives when the fish tugs. Loosen your drag, keep the trout's head below the water level. I use non-stretch braided line so I can feel the light bump of the trout and get a quick hook set, but I set the hook on a short tug of the line.

Also if you use a lead head jig, I use the open hook trick. I bend the hook slightly to open up the gap between the hook point and the shaft. This helps to get the hook in the roof of the mouth, which is nice and hard and won't tear out.

Weeks: With size limits increasing and creel limits going down folks are targeting bigger trout. What are some tricks to catching larger specks?

Dr. Bogus: Larger fish including live baits like shrimp and mud minnows, night fishing (they feed heavily at night and have great eyesight), and MirrOlures usually will often get bigger fish than soft plastics on jigs. Frequently I find fish with soft plastics or Gulp baits on a jig and then switch to MirrOlures for bigger fish.

Weeks: So now that you've told us about trout, what is your favorite fish to catch?

Dr. Bogus: I'm strictly an inshore fisherman, so my favorite is our state fish: the red drum. Pull hard, never give up, bulldog of a fish. Also beautiful fish, copper color and silver, the iridescent blue tail waving at you, and a spot or many spots.

I love that iridescent blue tail waving at you as you land then from the surf. Tailing drum an awesome fishing experience, tracking down spooky drum in the shallows and up in the grass on astronomical high tides.

In the surf we had a great day a few years ago, three of us landed 20+ fish each on top-water baits. We had a school of several thousand in front of us. Great fun on a kayak too, you get a nice tour of the sound or creek landing them.

You can read more from Dr. Bogus on his website. The Ask Dr. Bogus Fishing Show can be heard every Monday morning at 7:30 in the Morehead City area on WTKF, 107.1 FM and 1240 AM or accessed by anyone on the Coastal Daybreak Facebook page.

For many more tips about speckled trout fishing or Carolina inshore saltwater fishing in general check out my new book Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas.