Photo by Ron Sinfelt

It's July, midsummer, and Mississippi's beachfront areas, pristine barrier islands, and lower sectors of major bays and bayous are alive with all sorts of species of saltwater game fish. It's also sweltering hot. But anglers willing to fish at the crack of dawn, the last hours before sunset, or into the night can catch their share of fish.

One of the Magnolia State's most highly-sought species is the spot-laden speckled trout, and it's the most knowledgeable coastal anglers -- those savvy to the proper times, areas, and tides -- that land the lion's share of these fish during the hot season. These anglers also know that the use of various live baits often fools the wariest of speckled trout.

Some of the most popular live offerings for specks include shrimp, menhaden, croakers, pinfish, spots, bull minnows and small "finger" mullet. The following breakdown details some of the coast's hottest live baits as well as methods for fishing them, times for deploying each, and a sampling of some of the better areas in which to offer these baits to a hungry speckled trout.

SHRIMP REIGN SUPREME
A live shrimp is a delicacy to all the gamesters roaming Mississippi's inshore waters. A mainstay of a speckled trout's diet, a live shrimp is deadly when dangled in front of a trout. Besides being incredibly effective live offerings, shrimp are usually plentiful at coastal bait shops throughout most of the fishing season.

A live shrimp can be fished in a variety of ways; when fished under a popping or clacking cork, it makes trout fishing quite exceptionally exciting. There's the visual excitement involved in watching the cork take a sudden plunge, and watching a live shrimp jumping across the surface as it's chased by a swirling trout is still more exhilarating. To achieve such a thrill, fish a 3-foot length of 25-pound-test fluorocarbon leader material under the cork, and then finish off the leader with a 3/0 hook. However, if the current's running strong the application of a split shot weight a foot or so above the hook will be needed to keep the bait below the surface.

Also: Remember to keep twitching those corks. The surface noise generated by a popping or clacking cork gets the attention of nearby specks, and directs them to the bait.

There are a couple of ways to pin a live shrimp on a hook. One extremely effective way involves inserting the hook in one side of the skull at the base of the horn and out the opposite side. Or insert the hook under the shrimp's head and back out at the base of the horn. Either way, don't penetrate the dark brain spot in the head of the shrimp, thus killing it instantly and divesting it of the greater part of its natural appeal.

Some anglers prefer to present a live shrimp by inserting the hook through the third joint up from the tail; in dirty water, you can add more scent to the water by pinching off the tail. A live shrimp works well either free-lined or worked on a Carolina rig. No matter how you present the crustaceans, live shrimp are always on the specks' must-eat list.