Return to the Fishing Articles page. Return to the Port Isabel/South Padre Island fishing page.Transcribed with permission from the Port Isabel/South Padre Island (Texas) Press Parade -- April 1996
Well, the gauntlet has been thrown! A new state record Speckled Trout: 13 pounds, 11 ounces; and in, of all places, North Baffin Bay. As we all know, the real state record trout are in the lower Laguna Madre. Even the State Biologist thought it would come from our bay. So, I guess some one will just have to catch it. Then the rest of the world will know that we have the best fishing hole in the state.
So, you ask, where might it come from, how will it be caught, and when? This month's column will speculate on the possibilities of where, how, when, and, of course, why.
Those of us that spend a lot of time on the bay have all seen what we think are potential state records, say at least 14 pounds. Just about every man, woman and child will concur that the areas of Holly Beach, Airport Cove and Stover's Point usually hold the largest trout in our area, and sometimes you will see large trout around the spoil banks at Marker 59.
Once in a while you see a big old solitary sow of gigantic proportions either behind El Primero or the southeast edge of Gas Well, but the largest trout for its size that I have every seen (this is girth size, not length) came from, of all places, the grain docks on the Brownsville Channel. The trout was only 29 inches long, but weighed an impressive 10-3/4 pounds.
Over the years, I've brought in 26 trout over 10 pounds, with the largest being 12 pounds, 3 ounces; and everyone of them has been at least 32 inches in length. Just think, here is a trout that is three inches shorter than normal, but very fat. This fish was caught with live shrimp, fished straight down near the bottom in 40-foot deep water. The man that caught it said he had four other fish on (suspected to be trout) that they couldn't get to the top. He was using a chart recorder and graphed these fish before he landed this giant one.
Most people know that the biggest Snook came from this area. Speculation is that some resident fish in this area don't move very far because of the abundant easy food source that prevails in this area. My bet for a state record from this area just might come from the Brownsville Grain Docks. Second choice would have to be the area just north of Holly Beach, around the discharge area for the Holly Beach Shrimp Farm. I not only have caught a lot of large trout in this area, but have seen some real monsters also.
Next, how will this big old state record sow be caught? I'd like to say with a top water bait like the one in Baffin (by the way, by the time you read this story, I should have at least a couple of dozen of these baits at my bait store - Hi-Way Bait Stand).
But I really believe "the" fish will come on bait, probably live or fresh finger mullet or a large live shrimp free-shrimped or free-mulleted, as you wish. And if not caught in the Brownsville Channel, the fish will be caught either in the afternoon on a heavy wind or at night from an anchored boat. My guess is if caught in the afternoon, the fish will be seen before it is caught (because big trout are heavy feeders, but only feed once every other day or so). They are also very aggressive in their feeding habits. They also have no natural predators (except man) and are the rulers of their domain (i.e., they are the big bad wolf).
The prime time for this fish to be caught would be Spring from April till about Father's Day in June. This is when they are spawning and at their heaviest. But the 29-inch, 10-3/4 pound trout I mentioned was caught in November, so it could really be caught anytime during the year. I'm betting on the cooler months of either Spring, late Fall, or early Winter.
As you can tell, all of the above are personal predictions. Time alone will make me either very knowledgeable or just another sage. But one thing is for certain, you absolutely can't catch the New State Record Trout unless you are fishing.
P.S. Big trout are not very good to eat, so unless you are going to mount the fish, release all fish over 27 inches. Maybe they aren't the new state record, but released, they might with time become one.
Good fishing,
Capt. Lou Austin
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