I want to tell you three of my “success – rules” which should make you more effective for seatrout fishing during winter- and early spring time

1.Color could make the difference
The seatrouts are not very active when the water temperature is under 4°C. They don’t want to spend much energy to hunt the fast prey. UV-active or aggressive colors like red and orange attract the seatrouts. Often, it is enough to have a few small dots or a small spot with these colors on the lure. The 3D Horny Herring, ISP Seeker and most of the 3D Sandeels have these markers. With a provocation spot on your lure you can have great moments on days that you thought they were lost.

The new 3D Sandeel Pencil is perfect early spring when sandeel is coming towards the coastline

2.Adapt the speed
As mentioned above, seatrouts are no longer so dynamic. For this reason, the spinning speed should be adjusted. What should be considered? Not every lure can have a slow swimming action. An example is a heavy "steel bomb" with a simple design (without bend). It should be tested in close range how fast each lure can be winded in. Some lures are made for this, an example is the 3D Horny Herring. This lure allows absolute "slow motion" movements and is predestinated for the early spring and winter.

Sound is ON – Do you see the two rattles in the back. With small twitch movements, the rattles make noise. Particular good in murky waters or rough seas

3.Stop in front of the feet 
Often the seatrout follows the lure right into the front of the feet. Before the fish takes the lure, it sees the fisherman and is spooked and scared for the rest of the day. The way I handle this is to make 2 spin stops after 1 cast and then a longer third one about 4-5m in front of my feet. The reason for this is to give the trout a last chance to bite, because successful lures like the 3D Sandeels, Seeker or 3D Horny Herring have irresistible drop-down behavior, which a following seatrout hardly can resist. In case of doubt the trout can turn away before without seeing me, so there might be another chance for a bite later in the day.

The 3D Horny Herring is a killer when it comes to slow presentations in winter

I have had very good experiences in winter with observing these points. Just give it a try and see if you can increase your success-rate in winter.