Corpusfishing.com

[OldSalty]

My uncle Jarrell Baker from Flour Bluff was a guide on North Padre Island back in the 50's and 60's. He taught me how to read the surf and find the fish highways. He always insisted that there was a different species of Spotted Sea Trout (Specks) than the ones in the bays. He caught some monsters over 15 pounds regularly and only used large live whiting for bait. I could never find out if this was true, but they did look a little different. Darker on their backs and broader through the shoulders than ones I caught in the bays. He revered them and always released them back into the sea just thankful for the fight.

Anyone else have a theory about this? Specks aren't actually trout. They are subspecies of drum so maybe there was a larger variety.

[CaptinAcademy]

Maybe they were a sub species to these monsters.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-m&q=totuava&oq=totua&aqs=heirloom-srp.0.0l5
Roughly same latitude...
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Steve-O
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My biggest worry is that my wife (when I'm dead) will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it. ~Koos Brandt

[cuzn dave]

My personal best trout was caught on New Year's day in the surf.
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"If we don't leave any, there won't be any."
Capt. Billy
"Enjoy every sandwich" Warren Zevon

[bulldog1935]

Most temperate inshore fish species all over the world are in family scienidae, the croaker and drum family.
Speckled trout range from Cape Cod to the north shores of Yucutan.
Average life span is 6 years. Females spread out to find breeding turf that can support their young; males school together and chase bait.
Adults can travel up to 25 mi/day to feed.
Fish under 16" are nursery trout, and live where you catch them.



Speckled trout are pisciviorous - shaped like they are so they can efficiently chase bait - in no way related to coldwater trout, family salmonidae.

[OldSalty]

Yes, that's all on Google to read, but seeing and holding a Speck that's almost 40 inches long is another thing. I called a friend who dives the near shore rigs and he said the biggest ones are out there and they are loners and very few around now. The record caught on rod and reel was in Florida. 17 pounds, 7 ounces, 37 inches long. Hopefully, one of us will catch one in the surf in Texas.

[bulldog1935]

Posted to educate the OP - there's one species that covers that range. I'm glad your friend caught a nice fish. .

the previous Texas record was caught in Baffin Bay in the winter, by people targeting to break the record.
The current state record, 37" and pushing 17 lbs, happens to be LLM summertime.
Susie's 25"er 3 weeks ago, landed on XUL after two 50-yd runs, was a schoolie male.
It came unhooked in the net.

[BayFly]

Some years ago, maybe 40-50 years, there was an opinion expressed by some in different publications there was a different species of trout in the surf and even called them a "tide runner"from what I recall. However, and I can't quote the report or where it was published, but in the last few years studies involving modern tech, including radio transmitters being placed on larger trout, the researchers reported there was not a different species in the surf then in the bays. I will suggest anyone who continues to be curious about this matter contact TP&WL and/or "Texas Saltwater Fishing" Mag. where I probably read it. Another source for the information might be CCA where they publish interesting research in their" Tide" mag.

[Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm]

[BayFly]

Maybe 40-50 years ago (maybe more like 20-30 years ago) comment was applicable to the many references to there being another specie of specs out on the beach front they called "tide runners". I can recall very long discussions online and maybe in publications about it, and most of the online comments were on 2coolfishing.com. Please excuse my poor reference to time Becky, but when one day you find yourself older then you thought you might ever be you kind of lose tract of time.

[Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm]

[HungerBuster]

The science is exiting. Theyre still just fish. You can see the fish when you catch them. Big fish are fun. You don't necessarily know what you have. And that link is awesome.
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Fish ON!

[OldSalty]

Rebecca, in that really great report it states that the bay caught trout never left the bays. And, that surf caught trout only went as far as the tidal inlets like Packery. Maybe to spawn? I assume they then went right back to the surf or offshore. Did you ever track surf caught trout caught in the winter? It mentions maybe a follow up later on, if I read that right. My uncle Jarrell said his biggest ones were caught on very cold days in the winter. I wish he would have documented the catches. He died back in 1986 and I didn't have a chance to talk with him about this. I'm more determined than ever to try to catch a big one in January and Feb.

[Salt On the Brain]

It is easy to understand how people could think surf trout are a separate species.
You catch an eight pounder in the bay and he does not fight as hard as a three pounder in the surf.
Surf trout make blazing runs like ladyfish and mackerel, while bay fish shake their heads hard enough to rip free any lure with inadequate hooks.
They have just adapted differently to different environments.
LF
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Take it outside!

[OldSalty]

I've caught hundreds of bay trout and surf trout and you are right about the fighting characteristics of the two. But, wouldn't it be interesting to see the results of genetic testing on them performed by marine biologists such as at utmsi. Seems simple enough to get emperical evidence on this, but i'm a chemist not a biologist so maybe it isn't so easy.

I think you are probably correct though.

[Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm]