It’s current, current, current for specks

Look for trout in areas where the water is always moving, guide says

Current, current, current. If there’s one factor that stands out to guarantee success catching spring speckled trout, it’s current. No current. No fish. Plenty of current, plenty of fish.

At least that’s the opinion of Tom Siwarski of Carolina Aero Marine Guide Service, who specializes in catching specks in South Carolina’s sprawling Bulls Bay and Cape Romain areas.

“The tide doesn’t matter,” he said. “You can catch trout as long as the water is moving.”

And it doesn’t matter what Siwarski is throwing as long as the water is moving, because he throws a lot of different baits for specks once they make their first appearance in mid-April, then pile into inshore waters.

“It will be on full-scale by May 1,” he said. “You’re starting to get bait to show up, so you can catch them on topwater baits like Skitterwalks or Zara Spooks, on a 4-inch D.O.A. shrimp under a Cajun Thunder cork, or on a Z-man grub on a 1/4-ounce jighead.”

Since he’s interested only in fishing in moving water, Siwarski naturally looks for areas where current is common — where shallow water meets deep water and where one body of water meets another.

“I find specks on points close to deep water — where you’re sitting 10 to 12 feet deep but it comes up to 4 or 5 feet — like over oysters,” said Siwarski (843-327-3434). “The other places I like to fish are around creek mouths close to deep water, where a creek dumps into a bigger creek.”