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Upping bait size does not always mean bigger fish. I have caught a lot of bigger fish on Mirrodines and I have buddies who primarily target bigger trout who do well on smaller jerkbaits.
To me, the biggest factor in catching big trout on purpose is going where they are. I’m not familiar with vermillion bay but on the east side of the river I’m generally looking for things that hold what big fish like: fin fish. Grassy flats and rocks can hold fin fish and big trout from November to April.
Water temperature is something I look for as well. I’m not as concerned about what the temps are as much as what the temp trend is. 55 degree water temps are not the same when it was 45 or 65 days before. Look for warming trends or for when cooler temps have held for a few days.
I would also be looking for grass flats 3-5ft that are near deep water refuges during the colder months. Seems like a cold front will consolidate fish in deeper water and they will be looking for the nearest flat or structure with bait as temps warm up.
Finally, learn how to throw topwater. I catch most of my 20”+ fish on topwater (might be skewed because I throw topwater every chance I get). Seems like many people think the magic number is 63 degrees to find fish willing to feed on top but I’ve occasionally gotten them to bite in water temps slightly lower than that. I generally do well in late winter/early spring on overcast days and windy days. It helps if there are pogies and mullet in the area.
This is all for the east side of the river so you may have to extrapolate or even move to different areas if vermillion bay doesn’t hold big fish anymore.
