A Speck-Tacular Day
By Graydon Hall
I fished the Faux Pas Lodge Invitational with my dad Mike Hall and my grandpa Rudy Hall. It is a 3 day tournament in Venice, LA on July 25-27, 2019. We fished hard all 3 days battling windy conditions and running from thunderstorms.
Our main tactic was deep water jigging matrix shad green hornets on 3/8oz golden eye jig heads in 8-18 ft of water. The fishing was very slow and methodical. We continually trolled and drifted, always trying different locations and presentations of the green hornet. The biggest fish were caught when the tide was moving and we found clean water. With 3 people casting matrix shad for 12 hours a day we were able to land a 6.25 and a 5.05 lb trout within 10 minutes of each other when the conditions were right. Staying persistent was our key to success. Our next 3 biggest trout were 4.35, 3.6, and 3.15 lbs giving us a 5 fish total weight of 22.4 lbs, enough to take home first place in the Faux Pas Invitational 5 trout stringer category. We also had the 2nd place overall trout as well as the 3rd place stringer. The biggest trout at 6.25 is currently in 1st place for the CCA STAR RODEO.
With an eroding estuary, historically high Mississippi River, and unusual weather patterns these big speckled trout are becoming much more difficult to find in Louisiana waters but the matrix shad green hornet and golden eye jig head helped us get it done this weekend.