Now that midsummer is upon us, most any regular inshore angler in south Mississippi knows it's a good to time to seek better than average size speckled trout. Of course, you can count on scorching temperatures, but anglers that get on the water before daylight or fish the few hours before dark have the best chance of the year to land a few of the larger spotted beauties.

The grassflats of Smugglers Cove on the south side of Cat Island are ideal for wade-fishing for speckled trout. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.

With the hot weather upon us, the majority of our speckled trout population can be found outside the bays, bayous and rivers. Areas like front beaches, nearshore wrecks, oyster or rubble reefs in the Mississippi Sound and grassbeds, deep gullies and tidal guts around the barrier islands are places to look for the seatrout.

The feeding fish may often be found under flocks of hovering gulls, or at times terns and pelicans as well.

Yet, there are a few places in south Mississippi that deliver in June on an even more consistent basis. However, being at the right place at the right time is the key. In June, fishing the proper tides, moon phases and times of the day all blend into conditions for landing big sow seatrout.

The following are a few tips and places that should steer you to a bountiful catch, or at least to hooking a few speckled trout this month.

BIG TROUT HAVEN THE KATRINA REEF
Although the fury of Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Mississippi coast, and the scars from its power are still visible, a magnificent fishing reef came to be due to its destructive power. By using the crumbled remnants of the Biloxi to Ocean Springs bridge that spanned the entrance to the Back Bay of Biloxi, one of the finest manmade inshore fishing reefs in Gulf waters was created. Located south of the east end of Deer Island, this lengthy reef running east to west is a magnificent concrete isle, and it's now loaded with all sorts of fish.

You name it; redfish, ground mullet, white trout, flounder, black drum, bluefish, sheepshead, spadefish, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalles and plenty of sharks take up summer residence around this long structure. However, it's the big sow speckled trout that deliver the most exciting action when the bite is on.

In June, especially around the time of a full moon, some of the biggest female trout gather around the reef, and anglers at that time can enjoy world-class trout fishing. The fish can range from 2 to 6 pounds, and there have been a number of 7- and 8-pound specimens taken off the reef to date.

Since the entire length of the reef protrudes out of the water -- anywhere from 2 to 5 feet or more above the surface -- simply casting to structure as you would in freshwater bass fishing can be employed to fool these huge trout.

Generally, the best bite is early in the morning or in the late afternoon. At those times, the wind is often down, so the calm seas and clean water on the Mississippi Sound create ideal fishing conditions. A trolling motor is necessary for silently working the length of the reef.

Since the reef is composed of massive concrete chunks stacked on top of one another, the structure offers all sorts of nooks, crannies and chambers for big specks to use in ambushing passing baitfish. A mixture of mullet and croakers swarm in and around the perimeter of this reef. Those are two of the favorite finfish big specks prefer to dine on.