Spring
As the water temperatures warm during the spring warm fronts, spotted sea trout will come out of their winter hangouts and move back into the bays and onto the shallow grass flats where most anglers prefer to target them. Live baits such as shrimp and pinfish work great on the flats. As the waters warm, sea trout will become more active and all of the typical soft plastics, spoons, jerkbaits and spinners will work well for trout on the flats. The mornings will offer some good fishing, but the warmer temperatures that you will find during the afternoon and evening will often lead to some of the best fishing during the spring.
Summer
Summer fishing offers some exciting fishing for spotted sea trout. Most of the better fishing occurs during the morning, evening or at night. During the day, water temperatures get hot and the bite usually slow down. Early morning and late evening offer some good topwater action, although, most anglers usually target them with soft plastics and live bait instead. Get out early or fish late and make sure to find some moving water and you should have some success in the summer.
Fall
The fall provides some excellent fishing for spotted sea trout. In many of the popular tourist destinations, the crowds are gone and some of the flats will have very minimal fishing pressure. The same grass flats that held fish all summer will still be productive during most of the fall. As water temperatures drop in late fall, the fishing will start to change. Most of the sea trout will move into deeper water in the bays or back into the tidal creeks where water temperatures can be several degrees warmer than in the open water.
Winter
Most anglers will target spotted sea trout in the tidal creeks during the winter. Huge numbers of trout will move into the tidal creeks during the winter and even on low tides, you can find good numbers of fish staying put in some of the small holes throughout the creeks. If you are willing to fish in the colder weather, you can still catch some nice fishing during the winter. Warm fronts that come through during the winter will be your best opportunities for catching good numbers of fish.
