“My relationship with speckled trout goes all the way back to 1993 when I caught my first while bank fishing a canal in southern Louisiana. Redfish was the target species for me back then but a bi-catch of speckled trout made for great table fare and at times, a treat for our dinner. The meat on a speckled trout is flakey-soft and less coarse, unlike a redfish or catfish filet, and it doesn’t have a strong fishy taste, but at the same time, a distinct taste that I always recognize right away. When I lived in Louisiana, we fried a lot of speckled trout and added a side of red beans and rice to the plate and called that dinner. After living there for a while and purchasing a boat, I learned where to catch speckled trout in different seasons but always struggled in the hottest few months of the year down there. They were plentiful in the fall, winter and spring but in the summer, I had a harder time fishing good numbers out of the marsh. When I say, “good numbers”, the speckled trout limit was 25 fish so a good day would be filling a cooler with 50 fish for you and a buddy. That was a lot of fish fries. Nowadays, the limit of trout is 15 per person and I find it interesting to figure out the cost per fish after factoring in guide services, lodging, gas, food, etc. I grew up on a small farm in a weird sustenance type of lifestyle when it came to meals, and I still enjoy keeping my catch to store in the freezer. Louisiana is both a place where I can restock my freezer and also rekindle this profound love I have for the marsh. I spent four exciting years emersed in the culture of southern Louisiana while in the Navy and it seems that every year, I’m drawn back, and called to run the marshes again”.

It’s probably been a few years since I started noticing these two fellas that were charter captains down around the Venice, La. area that mainly targeted speckled trout. It was a Venice fishing group on Facebook where I first saw Jon and Brandon Carter from Reel Shot Guide Services. It seemed like every day they were just bringing in piles of trout, day after day. It got to the point that there was never a bad day with these guys. Even in the hottest months of the summer these two brothers were hammering the trout, so I put them on my radar for a guide trip. Last year Lisa and I went in the spring and restocked the freezer with red snapper and redfish from Venice and by now our freezer was completely depleted of fish from last year. It was time to make a run for a restock and I wanted to see for myself just how these two brothers were catching the limits of trout every day, even in July and August. I called and got a reservation for two consecutive days of fishing with Jon for Lisa and I it took about 6 weeks to set up a trip for two consecutive days so there was plenty of time for anticipation for the trip. Weather, and health is always a factor for a fishing trip to Louisiana set up in advance this time of year and timing-wise, both Lisa and I were in good health for the trip. We couldn’t have asked for better weather both days and we never got rained on. It did get a little warm in the late morning, but we were back at the marina by 11:30 both days. It’s always a gamble during hurricane season down there, but everything worked out perfectly for health and weather this year. The last obstacle was the fish; we had to find and catch them. That’s the part that really piqued my interest and I was looking forward to finding out the technique to limiting out on trout on every trip. My experience with trout has always been a few here and there but when I lived down in La. there were a few months, we might catch a dozen and consider it a great day.

This year I chose to rough it a bit and stay ala cart, so to speak. In the past we’ve always stayed at an all-inclusive lodge, so we really didn’t need to worry about shelling out a lot of money while on the trip. At the lodge, it’s just a flat rate fee for fishing, meals, private rooms, etc., but usually the total cost can be a bit pricy if you’re on a budget. Lisa just retired from her job so we’re both retired now and on a budget. So, on this trip I decided to find a little cheaper sleeping accommodation, and I found the Venice Inn rooms for a little over a hundred bucks a night. It looked good enough for a 2-night stay, so I booked it. I gotta say this, it’s not exactly a Marriot property but they had a nice king-sized bed and good air conditioner, so I considered it a win. Lisa, not so much.

We pulled into the area on Saturday evening and checked into the hotel. It’s been quite a few years since we stayed in a hotel or motel where the door was facing the exterior and not a hallway, but we endured.

After dinner we got a text from our captain, and we were all set for a 5:15am launch from Venice Marina. I forgot to reset my wristwatch to local time, and I was up an adam at 3:15am waking Lisa up, and making coffee, thinking it was actually 4:15. Eventually we got to the marina and met our guide for the next couple of days. It was still dark when we left the marina and we had a pretty lengthy run of about 30-40 minutes till we started fishing. We cleared the marsh and hit open water fairly quickly as I started to piece the navigational puzzle together when the sun rose to our right. Our guide Jon reminded me of a Brittany spaniel we had growing up. That dog was all about the business of finding birds and didn’t spend a lot of time socializing during the assignment. That kinda pleased me because I’m not all about listening to some chatty Kathy guide stroke his ego on my nickel. We had a job to do and a freezer to fill, so that was the goal. When we pulled up to our first stop, it was open water, nothing but a few cut-off wells and smaller abandoned platforms as far as we could see. Jon explained that there was a certain type of bottom that attracted the speckled trout to an area in the summer months, out in the shallow open water of the gulf. In the fall through spring the trout move into the marsh but this time of year they are in big schools out in the open water. We started off with two live bait techniques, the Carolina rig and the popping cork with live shrimp on both. Jon put us on spot lock according to the current with his open center console, and he basically told us where to cast in order to target the bottom we were looking for. The Carolina rig was very effective on the shallow bottom for the trout as well as using the popping cork. Lisa and I would alternate using either bait and we would usually catch 5-10 per stop and move on. There wasn’t a whole lot of bi-catch, except for some very pesky ladyfish and hardheaded catfish. If you are familiar with saltwater fishing, you probably already know about hardheaded catfish. They are considered a trash-fish and not good to eat. As an added bonus, they have poison dorsal and pectoral fins, and I just happened to take one to the thumb while helping to remove a hardhead from my hook. It was bad for about 30 minutes, then the pain from the poison and the swelling subsided a bit and I went back to fishing. My best recommendation for a wound from a hardhead is constant pressure and maybe some ice till the pain subsides. Between moving around and catching trout here and there, over the course of the morning, we put our limits together popping and dragging shrimp around old oil platforms and open water waypoints. The picture below was one of very few we took while fishing but most was just open water from horizon to horizon.

It was basically 2 days of bringing in trout and having a good time knowing that with every trout was a meal for our dinner over the next year. We limited both days and headed back to the homestead. Here’s some random pictures from the trip.