Speckled Trout Handling Tips
By Neil Taylor, Guide Services-Tampa Bay Region
Speckled Trout are great light tackle “catch-and-release” fun but they are unfortunately one of the most delicate species of fish that we encounter in the Tampa Bay area. Implementing some of the following suggestions and techniques will increase the chances that those fish will survive the encounter.
Some fatalities will happen no matter how perfect your “plan” but, consider some of the following suggestions.
Tackle:
Take pliers and mash the barbs of the jig/lure hook down. This will allow you to dislodge the hook or lure easily and inflicting a lot less damage to the mouth of the fish. This can be particularly important if using lures (like plugs) with treble hooks which can be a virtual nightmare to efficiently remove from a fish’ mouth. Tip: With a single hook jig head with a mashed down barb, one can fight a speckled trout up to where they can grab the leader and leaving the fish in the water can slide their hand down the leader to the lead head of the jig and dislodge the hook without taking the fish out of the water. Keeping the fish in its natural environment minimizes the stress placed on the fish.
Live Baiters:
Keep a tight line and attend to your fishing rod. This will reduce “gut hooking” the fish. Circle hooks or “Mosquito” style hooks reduce the gut-hooking of fish. Tip: When you gut-hook a fish: Try to keep the fish in the water and clip the line as close to the hook as you can. Unless you are using stainless steel hooks, the fish’ digestive juices and the salt water will dissolve the hook away. Avoid lifting larger fish vertically by the grabbing the leader.
Tools:
Landing Net? A landing net removes the membrane on their skin, which exposes them to diseases. A wet hand is also preferable to a towel for the same reason. Tip: A lip-gripping tool can be used to control a fish that you need to pull out of the water.
Dehooking-tools? The objective of a dehooking-tool is to dislodge a hook without having to touch the fish. Inexpensive and easy to use, it is an item you should take along with you and utilize. Another standard item is a pair of needle-nose pliers, which may be even better for certain de-hooking situations. If a de-hooking tool or pliers is not available, wet your hand before touching a fish.
Common Sense handling tips:
Do you really need a photo of a ten-inch trout? Regardless, try to minimize the time the fish is out of water. Leave the fish in the water until the camera is ready. Get your photo quickly and get the fish back in the water and released. Definitely try to avoid dropping a fish on the deck of the boat, seawall or dragging them across the sand to land them. Enjoy your fall and wintertime fishing!
Neil Taylor, Guide Services-Tampa Bay Region
Strike Three Kayak Fishing • http://www.strikethreekayakfishing.com
(Cell) 727-692-6345 • LivelyBaits@aol.com
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