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Seatrout

Seatrout

The Seatrout

The Spotted Seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus

Streamlined shape; large mouth with prominent canine teeth; color gray or silvery with many prominent black spots on sides. Background may be quite dark, or gold, when fish are in back bays or streams.

SIZE

Usually 1-2 pounds; common on both coasts to about four pounds. Largest fish, both in average size and maximum size, come from East Central region, where fish to 10 pounds are taken at times and where potential is to 15 pounds or more. Gulf Coast trout are considered large at 5-8 pounds, but can top 10. World and Florida records 17 pounds, 7 ounces.

FOOD VALUE

A table favorite.

GAME QUALITIES

Not exceedingly strong or active, but a hard striker on a variety of baits and quite sporty on light gear. Showy, surface-thrashing fighter but not a long runner. Sometimes jumps.

TACKLE AND BAITS

Spinning, baitcasting and fly tackle are all effective and sporting. Best natural baits are live shrimp, live baitfish and strips of cut Mullet or Pinfish. Most popular lures are bait-tail jigs, swimming plugs and topwater plugs. Poppers are productive fly rod lures over the flats; large streamers work in all waters.

FISHING SYSTEMS

Drifting; Still Fishing; Casting.

Recommended


OTHER NAMES

Trout,Speckled Trout,Speck

RANGE

All Florida coasts.

HABITAT

Spotted Seatrout can be caught in virtually any of Florida’s inshore waters, from the outside surf to far up coastal rivers, and, at times, in fairly deep Gulf water. Most commonly caught from spring through fall on shallow grassy flats and in grass-lined channels and holes. During cold snaps, they run far up coastal rivers.  

Double Trout

Forum member Capt.Jared has been on a hot trout bite in Tampa Bay. Here's a few happy clients with a double header.

Sanibel Trout

Forum member Gray Beard with his personal best trout at 25 inches.

Biscayne Trout

Young angler with a beautiful Biscayne Bay trout.

Indian River Gator

Forum member Rulesman69 with a nice trout from the Indian River.

Gators in the Northeast

Forum member PTFBrian shows off a nice seatrout.

Trout Haul

Forum member, piner_wahoo1, shows off his clients haul for the day in the Keys.

Trout

Forum Member ranckgarman caught this nice Trout out of his kayak on a D.O.A. shrimp

30 inch Gator

Cricket Larsen caught this beauty of a gator trout using 10 pound braid with greenies

St. Johns Trout

Nice Trout caught on the St. Johns River using live shrimp

Flamingo Fishing

FS Member USNavy_Angler and his friends had quite the successful trip to Flamingo Island

Patrick's Baby Trout

Patrick Kelly caught this bruiser of a trout on a \"Slow but fun\" day of fishing

Patricks big trout

Patrick \"Patar\" Kelly with an impressive trout caught in the St. Lucie River

23.5 Inch Trout

FS Member Bassin Assassin caught this trout in Domino Park

Monster Trout

FS Member GoneFi5hin caught this monster 29\", 9lb trout on a chunk bait

31' Trout

Caught this 31 inch beauty on cut pinfish late in the afternoon right along the grass line.

SeaTrout

FS Member Nick caught this massive haul of Seatrout fishing in Cedar Key

Minister Trout

May 21, 2013 Hunter Hadden of Tallahassee, FL caught this monster 25\" trout fishing Jugg Creek in Charlotte Harbor in 6 feet of water.

Red and Trout!

Good day of inshore fishing with a red and a trout!

Back- to- Back Red and trout

Floyd Williams, Wildwood, Fl. 26 inch redfish and 17 inch trout caught in Lemon Bay, Englewood, Fl. Both caught with a baby torpedo on back to back cast.

Robert's First Trout

Robert Baity caught this awesome 1st trout with Captain Mark Benson on January 2, 2013 on Mosquito Lagoon around 8:30 a.m.

Mosquito Lagoon Trout

Robert Baity caught this awesome trout with Captain Mark Benson while fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon.

Mikaela's Trout

Mikaela Mcshane with a nice trout she caught and released while on spring break from FSU. She caught it on a yozuri diving plug in the Indian River near Cocoa

Cassidy's Trout

Cassidy Mcshane with a 23 inch trout she caught on a yozuri shrimp in the Indian River near Cocoa

Zorin's Seatrout

2-year old Zorin DeSantis caught this sea trout in Ormond Beach, FL. Way to go Zorin!

Sean's Sea Trout

Sean Merle's 24\" seatrout. Sean says, \" I caught in the St. Lucie inlet at my secret spot. I caught it on a mullet and had caught a 28\" sea trout the day before at the same exact spot!\"

seatrout-seb

West Coast Trout

Hector Laureano caught this 25 inch seatrout in the Apollo Beach area of Tampa Bay.

Seatrout Surprise

Nine year old Weston Baptiste caught this 22- inch seatrout at the Indian River lagoon on a live shrimp.

Good Day on the Water

The morning low tide didn't make catching pinfish easy. So we headed out to 60ft in choppy seas without much bait. Bounced around a couple spots until we located the fish. Hit a spot in 62ft and boxed 11 keeper red grouper up to 28\" in about 45 minutes. Made a couple more stops to finish out our limit by 3:00 when the seas slicked off. We headed inshore with about an hour to kill so trout were on the chopping block. Caught 12 legal trout on gulp in about 30 minutes until the storms rolled in.

Longboat Trout

Christine Wilder caught this 16.5 inch trout on Longboat Key with frozen shrimp.

Grand Lagoon Trouts

Elliot Hart of Dothan, Alabama caught 2 of a kind (matching speckle trout) while fishing with live shrimp in the Grand Lagoon at PC Beach

Out with the Trout

Kurt Hopson and friend caught this seatrout near Matlacha.

Memorial Day Seatrout

Sabrina caught this sea trout, and a few others, over the Memorial Day weekend in Vero Beach.

Rock Island Bay Seatrout

John Emerson with a nice trout caught in Rock Island Bay on the coast of Hernando County.

Sharp Trout

Ashley Sharp caught this banana river trout.

Florida Bay Flamingo Trout

Mikaela and Cassidy McShane caught this flamingo trout on live shrimp this June while friend Christina D'Amico looks on.

Pensacola Trout

Natalie Biggs, 6, caught this 3.9lb trout in Pensacola Bay, Florida.

Caught through a Tropical Depression

I caught this seatrout in the calm before tropical depression byerl, wading the banks at the Merritt Island National Conservation area, caught her on a 8 wt reddington with a okuma slv reel on a mullet pattern dry fly.

Sarasota Seatrout

Doug Millett caught this seatrout in the Sarasota area.

Mosquito Lagoon Trout

R.J. Malones caught this 25 1/2 inch trout in mosquito lagoon on a mullet.

First Time Trout

Jake McDonald, age 5, made his dad and grandpa proud when he caught his first trout at Waccasassa in the Turtle Bay flats. He was using a new penny Gulp shrimp beneath a Cajun Thunder popping cork, with a 2 1/2' leader.

Sebastian Trout

Jonas DeWitte Sebastian, FL Caught at Inlet Marina just north of Sebastian Inlet on live finger mullet. 29 inches, 7.6 pounds

Garrot's Seatrout

Trout caught by FS Member Garrot of Fort Myers.

Miami Seatrout

The seatrout is the star of this photo.

Wading for Trout

Taylor proudly displays this nice seatrout caught while wading.

Topwater Trout

Sam caught this spotted seatrout on topwater.

Flounder and Seatrout Combo

Phillip Baker caught his curltail grubs inshore Jacksonville.

Spotted Seatrout and Redfish

Pontoon Trout

Nice trout on a not so nice day

Gator Trout

Monster trout caught while wading

Eek! Trout!

Youngin with a nice trout

Lippin' Trout

Kourtney's Trout

Oyster Bar Trout

Jeremy's Trout

Hayden's Trout

Chiefland Tournament

Spotted Seatrout

Carter's Trout

Trout for Dinner

Aaron's Trout

Spotted Seatrout

No Competition Here

William Polk of Auburn, Al. and his father caught two speckled trout in Choctawhatchie Bay. His trout is the larger one at 25 inches and his Dad, Bill Polk caught the smaller trout - just 24 and 1/2 inches.

Troutman Seatrout

Florida Sportsman member troutman lives up to his name.

Spotted Seatrout

Cam Simon's 22 inch seatrout caught off the flats of Whitebait, FL.

Fat Trout

Caught in the Sanibel sound with Captain Kaminski.

Edgewater Trout

Bonnie Fitzwater Caught this 23.5 inch spotted sea trout in Edgewater, Fl.

West Central Seatrout

Flats Trout

Florida Sportsman simeoncoleman caught this nice trout on the flats in the southwest region.

Keith's Trout

Keith Lozott's 6 pound trout caught in Newfound Harbor, Merritt Island.

Seatrout

Pandich Junior caught this 22 inch seatrout while fishing in Ormond Beach.

Flats Trout

Florida Sportsman member zar2764 caught this flats trout in the southeast region.

Aliyah's Trout

5 year old Aliyah Lai with her huge trout!

Pensacola Trout and Reds

FS Member Pensacola Fishing posted this bountiful mixed bag of fish caught near Shoreline Park.

Jacksonville Trout

FS Member LightTackleKing caught this 29-inch trout near Jacksonville.

Trout Bag

FS Member mudbuggy shows off a Flagler County trout bag.

Homosassa Trout

FS Member angler18 posted this trout photo from Homosassa.

Homosassa Trout

FS Member angler18 posted this trout photo from Homosassa.

Tampa Bay Gator Trout

Captina Steven Markovich posted this gator trout closeup from Tampa Bay.

Fort Desoto Trout

FS Member RawDaws posted this kayak trout catch from near Fort Desoto.

West Central Trout

FS Member onthemarkcharters caught this nice trout in West central Florida.

Tomoka River Trout

FS Member CaptScott posted this trout photo from the Tomoka River.

Titusville Trout

FS Member bigmanT33 posted this redfish near Titusville.

Titusville Trout

FS Member bigmanT33 caught this trout near Titusville.

Indian River Lagoon Trout

FS Member flkayakangler landed this trout in the Indian River Lagoon.

Palm Coast Mixed Bag

FS Member mudbuggy shows off a nice trout, redfish, flounder mixed bag from near Palm coast.

Homosassa Trout

FS Member troutman57 caught this trout off Homosassa.

Big Bend Trout

FS Member deerfly caught this trout off the Big Bend.

Sarasota Trout

FS Member saltfishr posted this Sarasota Bay trout.

Crystal River Trout

FS Member shuterkng caught this trout near Crystal River.

Pine Island Trout

FS Member GatorInPISound posted this Pine Island trout.

Cockroach Bay Trout

FS Member flatsjunkie88 caught this large trout, in Cockroach Bay.

Sarasota Bay Smiles

FS Member Flat_Top posted this big \"Gator\" trout from Sarasota Bay.

Sarasota Seatrout

FS Member Flat_Top posted this big \"Gator\" trout from Sarasota Bay.

Spotted Seatrout

Spotted seatrout on the flats. The action is hot all year-long.

Homosassa Catchin'

FS Member troutman57 posted this trout photo from Homosassa.

Homosassa Trout

FS Member troutman57 posted this trout photo from Homosassa.

Flamingo Seatrout

Florida Sportsman member Rizangler posted this trout caught near Flamingo.

Middle Bank Seatrout

Florida Sportsman member Rizangler posted this trout caught in the Middle Bank are near Flamingo.

Flamingo Seatrout

Florida Sportsman member Reporte de Pesca posted this trout off Flamingo.

Colleen's Trout

FS MEmber troutman57 posted this photo of Colleen with a trout she caught.

Flamingo Trout

John from Rhode Island shows off a nice Flamingo trout.

Taylor's Trout

Taylor Custer caught this 29 inch spotted seatrout while throwing a topwater on the flats by the Gandi Bridge in Old Tampa Bay.

Seatrout Salute

The flats are expansive in Florida Bay. Seatrout catches are common.

Pinellas Point Trout

Drew Maccini, 7, of St. Petersburg, caught this trout off Pinellas Point on a soft plastic lure.

Cedar Key Trout

FS Member Big Bend Brian posted this trout photo from the Cedar Key area.

Titusville Trout

Keith Lozott caught this 6 plus pound trout while hiding from the wind in the Honest John's canals in Sebastian, Florida.

St. Marks Marsh Seatrout

FS Member tpasurf caught this trout in the St. Marks Marsh.

Dustin Rodeo Hula Trout

November 28, 2011. Janice Bowman better known as Artificial Al's Lady Angler Friend spent the better part of the Halloween day searching for the elusive Hula trout and finally after tagging and releasing 15 sub slot trout and using a variety of artificials including the popular Legelure she landed this classic 3 pounder for a show stopper on the final day of the Destin Rodeo making Headline News and laughs and cheers from the fish gallery that had assembled to see this rare never before seen trout being the first ever to be weighed in at the Destin Rodeo.

Melbourne Beach Trout

FS Member Ryanc caught this big trout near Melbourne Beach.

St. Pete Seatrout

Kristina Gemayel with a gator trout caught while fishing with Capt. John Ritters in Petersburg, FL.

Spotted Seatrout

seatrout_0

Nice seatrout caught on the Indian River Lagoon

Trout

Tammra's Trout

Jeannie's Trout

Nicholas's Trout

Northwest Seatrout

FS Member beer thirty caught this trout in Northwest Florida.

Trout Sisters

McDoutgel's Trout

Titusville Seatrout

Andrew Polasek landed this 22\" trout on a super fluke worm in the grass flats of Titusville.

Elizabeth's Seatrout




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