Spotted Seatrout

AKA

Speckled Trout, Spec, Trout, Spotted Weakfish

Description

Both males and females as adults range in weigh from 2 to 3 pounds and grow up to 25″. Spotted Seatrout have a dark gray or green back and silvery-white below, with spots on back, fins and tail.  There is a black margin along the edge of tail; soft dorsal fin with no scales. There are one or two prominent sharp canine teeth present at the tip of the upper jaw.

Life Of A Trout

Small trout feed on small crustaceans while medium trout like shrimp and small fish. The biggest trout feed almost exclusively on other fish.  Alligator gar, tarpon, jacks, sharks and cobia all have been known to feed on Spotted Seatrout.  Spotted seatrout mature at one to two years. Most large spotted seatrout caught are females.  A female spotted seatrout can spawn several times during one season.  Studies indicate that spotted seatrout spawn between dusk and dawn,  usually in coastal bays, and lagoons. They prefer shallow grassy areas.  

Habitat

Shallow bays and estuaries during spring and summer.  As water temperatures drop as fall approaches they move into deeper bay waters and the Gulf.  In the spring, the Spotted Seatrout return to the shallows.

Spotted Seatrout  like shallower bays and estuaries with oyster beds and seagrass beds that attract prey species.  As water temperatures warm in the spring the fish move into the shallows of the primary and secondary bays. During   low rainfall and runoff, many trout move into deeper waters and bayous with the first cool weather of fall.  

Catching Spotted Seatrout

Spotted Seatrout are opportunistic and their feeding habits vary with size. Small trout like small crustaceans. Medium-size trout like shrimp and small fish. Large Trout feed almost exclusively on other fish such as mullet, pinfish, pigfish and menhaden. Their preference for large fish makes large trout difficult to catch. Large trout do not feed often.

Light to medium action rod and reel combination is appropriate since most spotted seatrout caught are in the 2-3 pound range.  Popular terminal tackle for spotted seatrout is the popping cork rig.  The best bait for catching trout with a bobber is live shrimp. Live fish such as mullet or pinfish and dead shrimp can work well.

If the cork is removed and the sinker is replaced with a very small weight, it is called a “free shrimping” rig. The same types of bait can be used with this tackle. This method is effective when drift fishing from a boat or when fishing in areas with strong tidal flow. The bait is allowed to drift freely in water. Adjust the weight of sinker and amount of line out to move the bait up or down in the water until fish are found.

A conventional bottom rig may be used when trout are found to be feeding near the bottom. Artificial baits are effective for catching trout the year round. although many types and styles of artificial baits exist, generally they can be classified in three ways; jigs, spoons and fishlike lures.

Jigs may be fished singly or in pairs either with or without the use of a cork. They are very effective fished under lights at night when trout congregate to feed. Worm jigs, fished under a small popping cork in grassy flats are effective. Try them without corks in deep guts or channels. Vary the action, depth fished and lure color. Hot pink, root beer, dark red and white are good colors.

Spoons are very effective, particularly during the warmer months. Silver is probably the best color. Vary the speed and depth of the retrieve, as well as the weight and size of the spoon. A bucktail fastened to the spoon with the hook or a bucktail and hook trailed to 12 to 18 inches behind the spoon is often successful.

Try the fishlike lures during the cooler months, although they can be effective anytime. They are especially good fished very slowly, during cold weather. When fishing shallow water during cold weather, some anglers move the point of line attachment from on top of the lure head to the snout tip to permit slower retrieval while keeping the lure off the bottom. Again, vary the retrieve, size, color, and weight. Floating lures have recently become popular with fishers stalking large trout in shallow water during the warm months. The movement of the lure at the surface may be especially enticing to trout.