Winter sleet, snow or rain are sure to bring the creek levels up. Most folks sit at home with an understanding that the high water is too dirty to catch trout. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Chas Champagne’s best day of scouting for Lake Pontchartrain speckled trout in recent years was actually accomplished in his car. The owner of the Matrix Shad line of baits and avid angler had just ...