Clear water provides opportunities to target gator trout
As we approach May, Anna Maria Island anglers are flocking to the shallow inshore waters to target spotted seatrout.
With the lack of rain recently, most of the waters remain clear, providing good visibility enabling anglers to locate where potentially good grass flats exist to target large trout.
Taking advantage of this water clarity makes finding the fish attainable as the angler can easily move from one grass patch to the next until stumbling upon a school of trout.
Spotted seatrout are one of the most popular fish to target throughout our inshore waters as they are typically readily available. They are fun to catch using a variety of techniques and they provide good tablefare.
Although the name represents a trout, they are actually in the drum family. This becomes apparent to the angler, as like all fish in the drum family mature males make a drumming sound which is used to attract females in the spawning season. Upon landing a male trout and while removing the hook before being released, the sound is quite audible to the angler.
Upon further inspection, trout have a bright yellow mouth accentuated by two prominent canine teeth reinforced by small, jagged teeth that line the jaws. Depending on location, trout have a green to bluish back with silver sides that are speckled with black spots resembling some freshwater species. Hence, they have the name of a trout.
Generally, trout take between 1-2 years to reach 12 inches, and between 2-3 years to reach 16 inches with a lifespan of 4-5 years. They reproduce frequently throughout spring and summer months, ensuring healthy populations of fish thrive — except for unforeseen factors like red tides, freezes or pollution, which can greatly reduce their numbers or simply cause them to move elsewhere.
Trout are reliant on their camouflage as they are ambush predators. They are perfectly colored to blend in with eel grass and turtle grass that makes up their habitat. Targeting spotted seatrout can be intriguing. Although they are frequently caught in the grass flats, they will also take a residence in other terrain, such as sandy beaches, rock piles and wrecks, which means they can be found in depths as shallow as 2 feet or as deep as 20 feet. Trout are susceptible to a wide variety of live baits and artificials, which can make them easy to catch although their wants can change depending on the day, so it’s advantageous to be well versed on what to present to them.
Large baits such as shiners, pinfish, finger mullet, and shrimp are worthy of targeting trout. Artificials can trigger a response by these toothy predators with the most popular being soft plastics on a jighead. Suspending baits and topwater plugs are also effective, especially for larger trout. The MirrOlure 84 MR top water plug is a something definitely a part of many trout anglers’s arsenal as they are known for attracting trophy-size fish to bite.
When catching trout, remember they are quite delicate and must be released with care. When using live baits, it’s best to use circle hooks which aids in lowering the frequency of “gut hooking.” A hook ripped out of the throat of a trout will result in a casualty, so if you experience a gut hook, it’s best to cut the line as close to the hook as possible and release the fish in hopes that the hook will eventually rust away and not impede the life of the fish.
As far as tablefare is concerned, trout have a sweet white fillet that can be cooked in a variety of methods, which makes them popular among anglers in search of a fish dinner.
In larger examples of trout, a parasitic tapeworm, commonly called a spaghetti worm, can be present in the flesh. Although unsightly, these worms are harmless to humans and could be easily cut out of the meat. You may find these worms more apparent in the warmer months of the year.
What’s amazing about these worms as they are a parasitic worm that exists in the intestines of sharks. These worms lay eggs in the intestines, which are then expelled by shark, and eventually after hatching use the trout as an intermediate host. The lifecycle is completed when the host trout is eaten by a shark and the process begins again.
Lastly, let’s touch upon the topic of ethics. In our region spotted sea trout must be between 15-19 inches to be harvested with a limit of three fish per person per day. In this bag limit, the angler is allowed one fish of the three to exceed 19 inches. When fishing from a boat only one fish over 19 inches is allowed on the boat no matter how many anglers.
As far as ethics goes many local captains believe that any trout over 20 inches is a spawning fish. Therefore, we never keep the big ones. Harvest of the slot-sized fish ensures sustainability and leads to more opportunities for someone else to hook a big one in the future.
On my Just Reel charters, targeting spotted seatrout is paying off resulting in plenty of action on shallow grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Freelined live shiners on a circle hook are leading to numerous hookups with some instances proving multiple anglers with a fish at once.
Size ranges can vary depending on location, depth and terrain. On deeper flats in 6-10 feet, a variety of other species are mixed in. Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, blue runners and jack crevalle are being caught, which adds a nice variety to the bite. Targeting snook is quite productive, especially during the higher stages of the tides. Mangrove edges and oyster bars are holding good numbers of fish.
Fishing along Gulf beaches is producing some action for anglers who wish to sight cast to snook.
Lastly, blacktip sharks are infested shallow grass flats of Anna Maria sound which provides some drag-screaming action on medium spinning gear.
