The spotted sea trout (Cynocscion nubulosus) ranges along the east coast of North America from New Jersey to Central America including Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

It is a member of the drum family (sciaenidae) which includes the red and black drums, king fish and white trout. It is also called one of the “weak fish” because hooks can be easily pulled out of its mouth. It lives to be about 10 years old weighing at as much as 20 pounds, but is commonly one to five pounds with the females almost always larger than the males.

Spotted sea trout live in estuaries, marshes, inlets and oyster and weed beds in both inshore and near shore. Salt and brackish waters are equally preferred to depths of 60 feet and temperatures in the 70's (F) and lower 80's. Water temperatures in the low 50's can be fatal if the fish doesn’t move into deeper water. This usually only occurs when the air temperature is below freezing for three or more consecutive days.

This time of year you’ll primarily find sea trout in the deeper areas of Mobile Bay, coastal rivers such as Fish and Magnolia and up in the delta.

If you are new to the area and want to fish the delta it might be a good idea to make sure you have a map, as it is easy to get lost in all those channels. Live shrimp are the preferred bait but they’ll also take plastic grubs with a lead-headed jig. You can have a good time using light tackle with six- to 12-pound test monofilament.

Don’t horse them in or you’ll most likely lose them because of their soft mouth. Be sure to check with the conservation department for current length and number regulations. Make sure you have a saltwater or freshwater fishing license for the area you’re fishing in.

The speckled sea trout are batch spawners and lay several groups of eggs over an extended period starting when the waters heat up in the spring and on into the early fall. They are sexual mature at two years of age and egg production ranges from 100,000 in small fish to more than one million in large females (sows).

Fish two to four years of age make up the majority of the spawning population. They spawn in the early evening in the high salinity areas of bay and sounds and some shallow near shore areas. They do not spawn in rivers and streams or the upper and middle areas of Mobile Bay. The eggs hatch in less than 24 hours and the larvae are washed by the tide in to the estuary.

Because of their protracted spawning period species like the speckled trout will have the best chance of avoiding the residual negative effects of the oil spill. Additionally, studies of each batch of 2011’s spawn could show any impacts of the oil on the larvae.

The smaller fish feed in schools near shallow grass beds and oyster beds, especially in the early morning or late evening, and also are attracted to and feed under lights at night.

They feed largely on shrimp, crabs and smaller fish such as pinfish, croakers, mullet, menhaden and glass minnows. Large fish feed near seawalls and grass beds bordering deeper water, especially in areas with strong currents and oysters.

These fish will occasionally feed in the surf and on the edges of passes and channels, and will only rarely go out into open ocean to follow schools of bait fish. Speckled trout grow to eight or nine inches in length during their first year of life. The females grow larger than the males and when they are 7 years old are an average of eight inches longer.

Speckled sea trout are non-migratory with only small inter-bay movement, with this in response to water temperature and spawning. They are common in shallow bays during spring and summer. When water temperatures decline during fall the fish move into deeper areas of the bay. Speckled trout are a game fish and any commercial harvest is prohibited. Be sure to check with the Alabama Marine Resources Division on number and size regulations for recreational fishermen.

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