Anglers looking for year-round saltwater fishing couldn't find a much better place to live than the Lone Star State.

Only Florida produces more solid angling throughout the coldest months. That said, however, Texas' coastal waters can boast plenty of diverse opportunities throughout the calendar year.

The key for Texas anglers lies in understanding the patterns and migration patterns of the game fish available to them. Once they unlock this information and apply smart fishing tactics, there's no reason that they can't score on a number of fish just about any day of the year.

Lots of fish swim off the Texas Coast, but the following five provide the most consistent action and are among the most sought-after.

SPECKLED TROUT
Speckled trout are not only the most popular game fish in Texas but also the most abundant. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials have seen a dramatic increase in trout numbers over the last 20 years, and anglers are reaping those rewards today.

During the summer months, anglers with boats should concentrate their efforts around jetty systems. These large granite structures designed to aid ship navigation attract speckled trout by the thousands, and anglers who learn to read the jetties can with little effort catch themselves a legal limit of specks.

The bait to try during summer will be something live, like shrimp or croaker. Fishing shrimp under a popping cork is a well-liked method. Attaching the shrimp on a free line with only a small split-shot weight rigged above the hook and letting it drift along the jetty wall will produce more of the large fish. The same method applies to fishing with a live croaker.

Another worthy summertime opportunity, particularly for those without boats, involves targeting the surf. Specks run the surf in big schools and gladly take offerings of silver spoons and shiny topwater plugs. Using live bait can also get results, but since you often have to follow these schools as they move along the beach, using artificial lures is more practical.

Moving into fall, the fastest action is in the bays. Watch for commotion under flocks of gulls feeding on the shrimp and menhaden that the trout spook to the surface. This is the easiest time of year for catching specks, as they feed aggressively and will often hit just about anything you throw at them. Soft-plastic shrimptails, Rat-L-Traps and spoons are some of the easiest and most effective lures to fish during these situations.

During winter, Texas' trout fishing slows down -- but it doesn't shut down. This is the time of year that sees anglers seeking trophy-sized specimens for the wall throw slow-sinking plugs like the MirrOlure, Catch 2000 and Corky along shallow mudflats on warm afternoons, hoping to score on the trout of a lifetime.

The areas to focus on are those mudflats adjacent to a ship channel, as trout inhabiting deep water will move during warm spells onto the shallow flats on high tides. The black mud retains heat from the sun, and the surrounding water warms up a few degrees, attracting baitfish and the predatory trout that seek them.

REDFISH
During summer, redfish school on the open water of bay systems during midday "slick-offs." Running the open bay looking for hints of bronze on the water and massive schooling action is the way to locate these brutes. Gold spoons and Rat-L-Traps are best for use on schooling reds in the bays; the ones offshore, however, turn their noses up at anything except live or fresh-cut fish and crabs.