Spotted Seatrout
Cynoscion nebulosus · Sciaenidae
Also known as: Speckled trout, Speck, Trout
The defining inshore gamefish of the Gulf coast — an estuarine drum, not a true trout, that holds over grass and along drop-offs and feeds on shrimp and small baitfish.
- Typical size
- 14–20 in, 1–3 lb
- Max size
- A gator trout over 25 in is the fish of a season for most anglers.
- Water
- Brackish
- Best season
- Spring through autumn on the flats; deeper holes and channels through winter.
Identification
Elongated silver body with distinct black spots scattered across the back, upper flanks and into the tail fin, and one or two prominent canine teeth in the upper jaw. The spots run into the fins, which separates it from other drums.
Habitat & Range
Seagrass flats, deeper holes and channel edges, marsh drains and oyster. Moves deeper in cold weather and shallow to feed on warming tides.
Gulf of Mexico and the south Atlantic coast, with Louisiana and Texas the strongholds.
Diet & Feeding
Shrimp and small baitfish, taken from ambush along grass edges and drop-offs.
Spawning & Reproduction
Spawns in the estuary over the warm months, often at dusk near passes and deeper edges. No agency spawning temperature was found, so none is published.
Spawning timing by location
Spawning tracks water temperature, so the calendar shifts with latitude and elevation. These break spotted seatrout timing down by state and water body.
- How to Catch Speckled Trout in Louisiana
Work grass edges, marsh drains on a falling tide, and deeper holes when it turns cold. Before you go, know that Louisiana's limits changed in November 2023 - the minimum went up, the creel came down from 25 to 15, and most of what you will read online still quotes the old numbers.
How to Catch
Their mouths are soft and tear easily — a hard hookset pulls the hook. Come tight steadily, and use a net rather than lifting a big fish by the line.
Best techniques
- Working soft plastics along grass edges
- Popping cork with a shrimp imitation
- Topwater at first light
- Drifting live shrimp over grass
Lures & baits
- Soft-plastic paddle tails and shrimp imitations
- Live shrimp
- Topwater walking plugs
- Suspending twitch baits
Best season: Spring through autumn on the flats; deeper holes and channels through winter.