The Best Time To Catch Speckled Trout

EDITOR'S NOTE: Anthony Randazzo works as a guide for Paradise Plus Guide Service. For more information on fishing the Mississippi Delta, write to 201 Bergeron Drive, Belle Chasse, LA 70037, or call Anthony Randazzo at (504) 656-9940.

QUESTION: You fish from Empire to Venice, Louisiana. What's the best time of year to catch speckled trout in that area?

ANSWER: We catch speckled trout consistently 10 months a year from March to December. We have access to migrations of fish each and every month, but generally we catch the biggest fish in the early spring and the late fall, like October and November.

QUESTION: What size fish do you find at that time?

ANSWER: The bigger speckled trout typically weigh in the 5- to 6-pound classes with an occasional fish exceeding 7 pounds. All year long we catch trout in the 1- to 3-pound classes.

QUESTION: During this time, will you also catch redfish?

ANSWER: Tons of redfish. An abundance of redfish resides here. On some days, we see so many redfish that we must move to a new location to have an opportunity to catch the trout.

QUESTION: And how many redfish can you catch? ANSWER: Five redfish per angler. QUESTION: How big can they be?

ANSWER: The size length can range from 16 to 27 inches, and one of the five may measure over 27 inches.

QUESTION: In a day of fishing from March to December, what will you expect to catch along the Louisiana coast?

ANSWER: An average day of fishing with two anglers and a guide onboard typically means 40 fish. They will weigh, depending on the species, 1 to 3 pounds each for the trout and 4 to 8 pounds each for redfish. On other days we may catch significantly larger fish as well as more fish. In an average year, each of our guides fishes about 200 days, and he'll have at least 60 to 80 days with clients who take over 100 fish in a day.

Tomorrow: Why Fish Out Of Venice