Sea trout

What type of tactics and tackle can be used to target sea trout - particularly in a confined estuary mouth? Are you better off with natural or artificial baits - or is that one of those 'on the day' things? State of tide make any difference? Dawn/dusk? I've never caught or even tried to target these on a rod when spinning etc. Wondering if there's something radically different to spinning for pollock/mackeral etc involved.....

Sandman,

We target therm in the estuaries here during the winter. It sure beats "cod fishing" in kerry. Don't know how good it would be during the summer months, too busy off catching other things.

From December to end of February we use light bottom fishing tactics, a 1 up 1 down paternoster with 18inch 20lb clear snoods to sz 1 aberdeens. you can shorten the snoods further, they usually take these baits very deep and it isn't worth damaging the fish (hence a decent sized hook). All these fish are returned and are a by-catch of trying to catch bass. Small sandeel, AMMO Green are ideal but we even catch them on chunks of mackerel as well. I know some purist sea-trout anglers would cringe at the tactics I'm describing but they work like a treat! We often get good bags of up to half a dozen fish to 2lbs in a session. Double shots of 1lb+ sea trout are fun :-)

Water clarity must be good, no floods/water in the river for a week or two will cause the fish to hang around feeding in the estuary rather than running the river. Dusk definitely sorts out the bigger fish.

Come March I start spinning for them and that's when I begin to see other anglers starting to target them also. the best fishing of the my season is often over at this stage. My own favouite is an 18g Dexter Wedge, it's quite a big lure but you can absolutely belt it and it helps sort out the big greedy guys.

Liam

We target therm in the estuaries here during the winter...
...are a by-catch of trying to catch bass....

Which is it?

Sandman, send me a pm about where you fish.

Liamo has proven precisely why I won't post such info in public. And I'm by no means a purist!

:evil:

Anyone asks, I'm bass fishing. Not sure of the legalities of catching sea-trout in an estuary even if the fish are returned. I'm just covering my ass. PM's may be the way to go, pity

Yup, I'm bass fishing too. Just wondering if sea trout would be a by-catch. I've never heard of anyone actually landing a bass anywhere west of Culdaff and north of killybegs. So I plan to be 'first'. Seems to be the same tackle, tactics etc for both....

you can fish for trout at the mouth of a river this is different for each river and not always the high tide mark