The middle of December, in the middle of the night, on a tidal creek in Chesapeake, Virginia, I stand on the bow of a skiff and cast a twitch bait into the darkness. It’s cold, but I try not to shiver because I’m afraid it will affect the lure’s action. I steady my hands and give the rod tip a twitch, twitch, pause. I hold still and count to 10 while my lure slowly sinks. Twitch, twitch pause. What would get me out of bed and on the water on a cold winter night? Twitch, twitch, pause, thump. The answer strikes my twitch bait, and I hear a large speckled trout thrashing on the surface somewhere in the darkness.
Trophy Hunting
Virginia speckled trout fishing heats up in winter, and the thump of a gator trout makes cold nights and lost sleep worth the sacrifice. The presence of large speckled trout is on the rise. Results from the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament trophy-fish citation program show an increase in fish over the 24-inch or 5-pound minimum for an award. And Virginia anglers registered the highest number of entries in the Release Over 20 conservation initiative (releaseover20.org).
I joined my old friend Capt. Corey Lesko and his mate DJ Direse on a freezing night on the Elizabeth River, which connects with the Chesapeake at Norfolk, Virginia, hoping to enter the ranks of trophy trout anglers. Meeting at 3 a.m. was Lesko’s idea. “The fish don’t get as much pressure at night,” he explains.
Stomping my feet and rubbing my hands to fight off frostbite, I understand why the conditions keep the crowds down. Lesko insists the trout bite better at night. “Big trout move shallow in the dark,” he says…