Sea trout, November to March

Sea trout from the shore: cold water, long casts

Baltic coast of Germany and Denmark. Four signals before you wade in.

Read the water

Before you wade in

Wind Two days of onshore wind colour the water and push food to the shore. Good.
Bottom Sand and stone patches with weed, the leopard pattern. Sea trout patrol it.
Depth Wade to the first drop, cast beyond it, fish back across the edge.
Temperature In a hard frost the fish move to sheltered bays and river mouths.

Three places to begin

Leopard bottom Mixed sand, stones and weed in knee to waist deep water.
Points and reefs Current and bait meet here. Fish both sides of the point.
Sheltered bays In cold snaps and on calm, clear days. Smaller lures, slower.

Rule of thumb

Fish the first hour of light and the last. Move every 20 casts, sea trout do not come to you.

Keep it moving

Spoon Slim and long-casting. Steady retrieve, speed up when a fish follows.
Fly Shrimp pattern on a sinking line, slow strips with pauses.
Soft plastic shrimp Count it down to the bottom, twitch it back over the weed.

Before you keep one

Closed seasons and minimum sizes differ by state and country. Coloured spawning fish go back.

When is the best time for sea trout from the shore?

In the cold months, after two days of onshore wind, in the first and last hour of light. Keep moving: about every 20 casts.

Which lures work for sea trout?

A slim, long-casting spoon, a shrimp fly on a sinking line, or a soft plastic shrimp twitched back over the weed.

What about coloured fish?

Coloured spawning fish go back. Closed seasons and minimum sizes differ by German state and by country, check the sea trout profile first.

Everything here is a rule of thumb from practice, not a guarantee. Lures are named as a group, not as a brand.

Check the rules

In Germany, closed seasons and minimum sizes are set by each state and can be stricter for single waters. All German rules by state, with the legal source. Outside Germany, the local rules apply: licence and agency by country.

Additions, photos of your catches or a mistake in the text: write to us and we will gladly credit you as a helper.