Nobody ever targets small speckled trout like this, but a wise angler may learn from the experience. This blog post reveals exactly that.
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While fishing the other day I was in for a treat!
Apparently Mama and Papa Trout had no idea their small speckled trout was running amok in the marsh, wreaking havoc on three-inch swimbaits.
I was catching and tagging speckled trout for TAG Louisiana, a program that uses volunteers to tag and release fish so we may monitor their growth rates and movements through the marsh.
If you catch a fish with a yellow tag, that is a TAG Louisiana tag.
Red tags are for the STAR Tournament put on by the CCA every year.
If you record the tag number and call 1-800-567-2182 or visit www.TAGLouisiana.com you can report that tag, the fish's location (exact location not required) and the fish's body length to receive some free swag in the mail.
It happens that I catch small speckled trout, but they are still big enough to tag and release.
In fact, I like tagging small speckled trout (usually nine to eleven inches in length) because if they are recaptured before growing to twelve inches (the Louisiana minimum length for speckled trout) they must be returned to the water, where they can continue their mission.
Anyways, I caught this little guy and couldn't resist taking a picture.
He was small, even too small for a tag.
There's something to learn from this Small speckled trout
He hit a Matrix Shad that is 3" long, about half of his body length.
Small speckled trout need to eat as much as possible because they are growing, even if it means striking something out of their league.
To give you an idea, it is estimated that bass fry will empty their gut every three hours, but an adult bass will make a meal last an entire day.
Small fish must grow as fast as possible so they can grow as fast as possible.
After all, once they get big enough there are fewer things that can eat them and they have a much better chance of surviving.
I know...
Maybe information like this isn't very exciting to you, but it is to me!
I love "getting inside" the minds of speckled trout, learning more about them and seeing them behave in the wild.
That's why my Fishing Trip Reviews are so good to watch, because you get to see how to do exactly that.
It's an edge that helps avoid the small speckled trout and find the keepers to put a limit in the boat, even when the fishing gets tough.
