laling32
New member
The spotted sea trout has a more common name here on the panhandle of Florida ” speckled trout” and in many fishing circles its known simply as a “speck”. The speck with its white flesh and terrific flavor is a valued food and game fish found in the shallow sand flats. I hope after reading this you will have a better understanding of the speckled trout and that you will be enjoying your fishing time more and you will take a look at your fishing habits so you can find better ways to protect what we have.
Description to 36 inches ; 16 lbs. Elongate fusiform, moderately compressed dark gray upper with bluish iridescene and black spots that extend onto the dorsal and caudal fins. Its spiny dorsal fin is a dusky color with other fins being a pale yellowish with silvery below. The dorsal fins are separated by a deep notch. The soft dorsal fin is unscaled with its base much longer then the anal fin base. Caudal fin is truncate or emarginated. The specks mouth is oblique; it’s lower jaw projects beyond the upper jaw and extends beyond the eye. The upper jaw has two large curved canine teeth; the scales are small; there is a lateral line that extends to caudal fin tip. However my specks average 15 to 23 inches and somewhere around 1 to 4 lbs.
Habitat of the specks range from as juveniles hanging in the estuaries, tidal mud flats, grass beds and salt marshes. Larger specks like mostly shallow coastal waters over sand. Specks are found here on the Panhandle year round. There range can be from Cape Cod to Florida; In the Gulf of Mexico in West Florida to Laguna Madre Mexico. They prefer an area with low to medium salinity of coastal waters.
From the bottom to the top of the water the speckled trout is a voracious predator that will lay in ambush and feed on most any animal it finds. It will feed on most any fish, but the main diet seems to be mullet, menhaden, croaker and pin fish. They also will take shrimp and crabs as well. Many have found they can catch lots of small trout on shrimp, but larger fish come from fish baits such as the mullet or pi fish. So when fishing for the specks try to set out a good mullet to soak in hopes of a big trout, but at the same time fish shrimp under a cork or free lined. Also, toss top water lures such as the mirrolure top dog with my favorite color being bone. Others will be a plastic grub and a favorite color there is green with a red tail. Fish the DOA shrimp under a cork or all by its self. And for trolling for specks a favorite is a mister twister green with red tail.
Specked trout have a life span of about ten years. With the fish aged 1 to 10 years will have an average length thus being 8, 12, 15, 18, 22, 25, 27, and 30 so a fish 15 to say 22 inches will be a fish 3 to 5 years old. These fish will mature between their first and third years of life.
Now that May has arrived a lot of us will be fishing the shallows. So watch out for the bottom and be careful not to do any prop scarring. It’s a good time to pull your boat up anchor out and try wading the flats. You will see the difference in the amount of fish you catch and you will be assured your prop does no damage to the bottom. Good luck and safe trips!
Reporting from Pensacola, Leigh Ann
Info given by Captain Gary Goodrich.
Description to 36 inches ; 16 lbs. Elongate fusiform, moderately compressed dark gray upper with bluish iridescene and black spots that extend onto the dorsal and caudal fins. Its spiny dorsal fin is a dusky color with other fins being a pale yellowish with silvery below. The dorsal fins are separated by a deep notch. The soft dorsal fin is unscaled with its base much longer then the anal fin base. Caudal fin is truncate or emarginated. The specks mouth is oblique; it’s lower jaw projects beyond the upper jaw and extends beyond the eye. The upper jaw has two large curved canine teeth; the scales are small; there is a lateral line that extends to caudal fin tip. However my specks average 15 to 23 inches and somewhere around 1 to 4 lbs.
Habitat of the specks range from as juveniles hanging in the estuaries, tidal mud flats, grass beds and salt marshes. Larger specks like mostly shallow coastal waters over sand. Specks are found here on the Panhandle year round. There range can be from Cape Cod to Florida; In the Gulf of Mexico in West Florida to Laguna Madre Mexico. They prefer an area with low to medium salinity of coastal waters.
From the bottom to the top of the water the speckled trout is a voracious predator that will lay in ambush and feed on most any animal it finds. It will feed on most any fish, but the main diet seems to be mullet, menhaden, croaker and pin fish. They also will take shrimp and crabs as well. Many have found they can catch lots of small trout on shrimp, but larger fish come from fish baits such as the mullet or pi fish. So when fishing for the specks try to set out a good mullet to soak in hopes of a big trout, but at the same time fish shrimp under a cork or free lined. Also, toss top water lures such as the mirrolure top dog with my favorite color being bone. Others will be a plastic grub and a favorite color there is green with a red tail. Fish the DOA shrimp under a cork or all by its self. And for trolling for specks a favorite is a mister twister green with red tail.
Specked trout have a life span of about ten years. With the fish aged 1 to 10 years will have an average length thus being 8, 12, 15, 18, 22, 25, 27, and 30 so a fish 15 to say 22 inches will be a fish 3 to 5 years old. These fish will mature between their first and third years of life.
Now that May has arrived a lot of us will be fishing the shallows. So watch out for the bottom and be careful not to do any prop scarring. It’s a good time to pull your boat up anchor out and try wading the flats. You will see the difference in the amount of fish you catch and you will be assured your prop does no damage to the bottom. Good luck and safe trips!
Reporting from Pensacola, Leigh Ann
Info given by Captain Gary Goodrich.
