Oustanding Speckled Trout Article in Nola.com

[SpeckleDawg]

It's weird how it is. Between me and my dad and our cousins, we share reports and kinda of gauge how it's been between us. Last year was really bad for all of us. This year me and my dad have done better than last year but not outstanding. We're not limiting out or anything but we're catching decent numbers of trout on almost every trip. My cousin and his crew have had another tough year. It just shows how much it varies from person to person. I think this year has been good (not great) but all the small trout is encouraging for the future. I think Mason sums this up nicely in his article.

It's actually been the opposite for me over the last 2 years. Last year was probably one of the best years that I've had as far as numbers and overall size. This year has been very slow, although I have also taken quite a bit fewer trips this year. I also did catch my personal best trout this year, so I can't complain too much!

I do find it kind of funny when one person says there is a major fisheries issue when they aren't catching many fish, but someone else will then post a report of a limit of trout. There's usually way more to it than "there's no more fish!!!". The folks in LA are certainly vocal about their opinions on their fish though.

MSUDawg4Life, you are correct about the records. Also, like I said, too many people will have a few bad trips and automatically assume there aren't enough fish and say "this is the worst year I can ever remember." I do actually keep records of every trip (date, tides, water temp, fish caught, baits, moon phase, etc.) in a spreadsheet. This of course does nothing for the big picture of a fishery, but it has taught me a few patterns over the last two years that I've done it. I recommend everyone do this. You may be surprised at some of the little patterns you notice if you fish the same areas often.

ETA: Beast, I agree about the huge numbers of school trout and the future. Between myself and other reports I've seen, there are a ton of trout in the 12-12.999" range in MS right now. Many of those ought to be perfect frying size by the time they make it into the rivers this fall/winter.