What are the best areas to catch speckled trout in Florida?

Florida is a spec angler’s dream! I will list some of my favorite areas from which to fish for speckled trout. Panama City, in the panhandle of Florida really has some of the best trout fishing opportunities in the state. If you are going to be in the Panama City area, consider St. Andrews Bay. It is actually fed by several rivers the trout use in the wintertime. April to May is good for grassbeds where the water is about two to four feet deep. Just look for the baitfish, and when you see them, the specs are sure to be close at hand. Another good indicator that there will be specs is diving birds, and fish jumping off the water’s surface. The Big Bend area is a good spec habitat, particularly the areas between the Steinhatchee River and the Waccassa River. You might not see record sizes, but you will see large numbers of table sized fish, so if that is what you are after, you just can not beat the Big Bend area. There just are not a lot of places in Florida that can give you the numbers you can get t Big Bend. The spring months are the absolute best for fishing in this area. New Port Richey has a lot of shallow flats and offshore grassbeds that offer anglers a great opportunity to catch speckled trout. The Anclote Key is a great place to cast a line when you are in the mood to catch specs. The low tide finds the fish bunched up a bit more, and they really can scatter on the high tide, so it really is best to fish the low tide when you are fishing Anclote Key for specs. You will find them in the few deeper areas like potholes you will find on the bay side. You can easily fish Anclote Key all the way to Dutchman Key and have a great time catching specs. These are just a few of the places you can catch specs in the sunshine state, but they are excellent choices if you are going to be in the area.