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Springtime speckled trout fishing fever
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Written By - Jerry Labella - 05/14/2007 |
Link to Original Article here
It is a debilitating affliction; no angler is immune. The symptoms
begin to show up during or about the final week of wintertime, when
blooming vegetation begins acquiring their original colors and fragrances.
Over the winter haul, for many anglers, the illness is only heightened by
the constant listening to the weather channel, looking at fishing maps, and
perusing through the tackle box.
Yes! It's springtime and the speckled trout fishing fever is running rampant
throughout the south. During this time of year, the illness will only
escalate by the mere sighting of a speckled trout on the end of anyone's fishing
line.
It's safe to say that only a select group of anglers have actually ever
caught what's called a real "wall-hanger," "trophy trout," "line
smoker," or whatever your terminology is for a speckled trout in the
heavy-weight contender class.
Actually, trout between 4 - 5 lbs. are often referred loosely to
the previously described; but, not to hurt anyone's feelings, those sizes
are not "trophy trout" in the true sense.
The true trophy trout reaper understanding
that the "where," "when," and "how" can either
make or break you, depending on the degree to which you have appreciated each. Now
it's true, however, that some anglers have accidentally
caught a trophy sized speckled trout with
limited understand of the aforesaid. Some have
even placed in the state record book or
won rodeos with their catch. All of such occurrences
only adds more hype to the springtime speckled
trout fishing fever.
But what size does a
speckled trout have to be in order to be
considered a "trophy speckled
trout?"
The answer, no doubt, would totally depend on where and to whom you would
pose that question.
Understandably, since this species occupies waters throughout a wide range
of states, one would have to first consider the fishing pressure heaped upon
it from both commercial and sport user groups. This, of course, varies
drastically from state to state. Added to that consideration is the fact
that only a small percentage of spawners live long enough to grow larger
than four pounds. So, simply stated, what might be called a trophy trout in
one place may be only mediocre elsewhere.
It's safe to say that a speckled trout 7 1bs. or more might be considered a trophy
trout. That's applicable for most of
Louisiana
, since further west, near the Texas/Louisiana
border, that size is significantly more common. This is true with some other places in
the surrounding
Gulf
Coast
states, which yield specks regularly over eight pounds.
Such places can contribute that type of success to their
strict marine fish management and enforcement programs.
It's no secret, to the well-informed angler, that springtime is one of the
foremost seasons for yielding trout in the trophy
sized class. In fact, most
authorities and professional guides agree that it is this time of year that
the odds are at their greatest for that dreamed about speckled trout to become a
reality.
Trophy sized speckled trout are distinctively
different in appearance: black
spots the size of pennies scattered along their sides, fist-sized, yellow
mouths, and stomachs bloating from roe waiting to erupt. They more resemble
a freak of nature because of their
rarity.
Springtime offers ideal conditions for your
chance to catch a trophy sized speckled trout.
For example, marine biologist claim
that when water temperatures reach around 68
degrees, speckled trout begin spawning. However, there are other
influencing factors that come into play as well. Such as length of
daylight and water salinity; and it all seems to come together during this
time.
Basically, big spawners are considered by experts to be loners, only
coming together in numbers for a brief time for the purpose of
propagating. They can be found in deeper, open waters of the
near-shore Gulf but not solely. And, as the spawn builds to a climax, they
are in continuous search for food to rejuvenate their
bodies from the toilsome activities.
Those in the know, know when to go! Most big
speckled trout angler veterans agree that the
trout spawn is triggered during the first
full moon in May, when temperatures reach between 68 and 74 degrees.
Even though such factors as water temperature, salinity, length of
daylight, and time of year all play a vital roll in bringing these big trout
together, there are variations that can impede these
components to some extent.
For example, the salinity factor can be influenced greatly both on
the inside and outside waters if heavy spring showers and/or snow melting
from the north persist to an unusual degree. Such conditions will influence
whether the spawners choose that area or not. Never think that just because
you have caught big trout in one location one year that they'll inevitably
be there again.
The benefits of moving away from areas that are likely to be adversely
affected should be obvious. Two highly susceptible places in
Louisiana
are those in and around the Atchafalaya
River and
the Mississippi
River, two heavy fresh water generators..
Big trout during spring are often targeted along the coastal beaches and
inside areas near the Gulf where various types of structure draw bait. They
can even be caught at or near the two aforesaid rivers if a dry
season occurs causing low river stages to linger.
The smart angler, nonetheless, will always have several optional areas to try and
won't be pinned down to any one locality in the event it proves unfruitful.
Good conservation is another factor that should always be kept in mind when
going after any fish in the spawning class;
considering the fact that spawners represent future
fish stocks, they should be handled as
little as possible and released readily. I know some will sneer at such a
suggestion, but these size trout are not good table fare because their flesh
is
oily and inferior to trout four pounds and under.
Those who are conservational minded regularly
release spawners, documenting their
catch with the use of a camera, fish scale, and tape measure.
This way a reproduction of the fish can be a accurately
made by a skilled taxidermist at a convenient time.
While it's true that every big trout seeker has his own secret bait and method for
success, it is arguable that live bait is most likely to prove best
in comparison to artificials. Don't take this
to mean that big trout cannot be caught on certain
lures at certain times, nonetheless. Of course
this is generally true only after one has
put much time and effort into it the techniques of the art of lure fishing.
Take Captain Poe of Cameron, Louisiana
, for example. He's a professional big speckled trout guide who prefers fishing with
the jointed
Thunder Stick lure. This is a top-water lure, constructed in two pieces and
jointed in the middle to mimic a injured swimming bait fish when retrieved
through the water.
While this is his first choice when going
after the big boys, his next best choice is a six-inch
live croaker or mullet. His theory- like many big fish hunters- is that the bigger baits catch
the big fish.
Captain Poe says anglers fishing the Cameron area may catch trout as big as
eight pounds or so and, if they are really fortunate, might even land a
speckled trout in the ten-pound class.
Some of Captain Poe's favorite big speckled
trout fishing holes lie at the south end of
Calcasieu
Lake
and the beach surf between Sabine Pass
and the Mermantau River. He says that as soon as the school mullet show up, the
big trout action begins; and, this stretch of coastal surf covers a lot of territory for the
big trout searcher to capitalize on. Speckled trout from this zone commonly
run between 6 and
7 ponds, and they favor this locality preferably because of the high salinity
factor common to the region.
Hopedale, Louisiana, is another big-trout territory.
Some popular places are the famous Black Tanks, Eight
Pilings, and Battledore Reef. Here is where live shrimp on a Carolina rig seems to rule.
However, the wellheads and oil rigs throughout that area
produce big trout as well. Particularly at night, large
speckled trout like
congregating under the subdued lights of these structures in early spring.
But there are locals guides who will
argue that Lake Pontchartrain, the states
biggest lake, produces the biggest speckled trout.
Validating this is the fact that two speckled
trout state fish records were caught here.
Like most other predator fish, speckled trout
feed on what's available in the water for that
season. Abundant in the water during spring
are silverside minnows (glass minnows), often
overlooked by speckled trout anglers. These
delicate minnows have transparent bodies with a thin
silver stripe running horizontally along their sides. These
minnows are very short-lived out
of the water and even in most bait tanks. The best size to fish with are
those of at least 3 inches. The big trick in
fishing them is
hooking them so that they don't readily
die.
 The
best method is to hook them under their
lower jaw and pass the hook through the upper
portion of their mouth, just ahead of their
eyes. It's very essential to support the top
portion of their head when doing this or the
minnow's backbone will break, resulting in
instant death. The placement of the hook, its
size, and thickness are obviously crucial. The
#6 Eagle Claw
089A hook or equivalent is ideal for the job
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