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How to catch in the |
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In the 1950's and 60's the Cocoa Beach
area was known as the Speckled Sea Trout Capital of the World. Fisherman
came form all over the world just to catch one of our prized game fish.
About the same time more and more commercial gull netters were targeting
these fish as well. By the 1980's the abundance of trout in our rivers had
gone from plentiful to hard to find.
In 1994 fisherman, lead by CCA (Coastal Conservation Association) put a halt to commercial netting in state waters. Since that time the trout population has grown and the quality of the fish in Cocoa Beach has improved dramatically. Though the fishing has not returned to what it was in the 50's, the Cocoa Beach area is once again regaining its reputation as the Sea Trout Capital of the World. There has been a controversy for a few years now about the size of our Sea trout. Arguments have been made by people trying to have our sea trout reclassified. I do not know all the details but I will try to answer with what I do know. There is a small genetic difference between the sea trout that live in the Indian River Lagoon System and the sea trout found anywhere else in the world. This is due to our trout being Land locked. There are a few inlets along the Indian River Lagoon but our fish are non-migratory. Because of this small genetic difference most world record trout have come from the Indian River Lagoon. Over the past few years we have boated gator trout up to 16 lbs and have had days that most of the sea trout boated were over 30 inches. I am not saying that we do this every day, but it is becoming more common every year. At what size a person considers a Sea trout a Gator trout depends on who you talk to. Back in the 80's many people considered a Gator Sea trout any trout over 20 inches. However, today with the increasing size and numbers of sea trout I don't consider them a gator until they reach 30 inches. To me the Gator Trout is the allusive sea trout. It is the trophy we work for not something that is caught all the time. Think about trophy bass. Is a 5 pound bass a trophy when it is common to catch them over 10 pounds? Look at it this way. If you wanted to catch a trophy sailfish you wouldn't come to Central Florida. You would book a trip to Costa Rica. If you wanted to catch trophy Peacock Bass you would go to the Amazon. And if you want to catch trophy Gator Sea Trout you come to Cocoa Beach. How to catch a Gator Sea Trout Once again the methods of catching gator sea trout depends on who you talk to. However, they are a few things we can all agree on, so I will try to cover them first. Sea Trout have great vision. They can spot a fisherman from a lot further away than you can spot them. So, keeping a low profile when trying to land one of these guys can be make a difference. Sea Trout are top water feeders. Most larger trout will hit a top water plug before anything else you may throw at them. I have had my best luck over the years with ether a noisy or walk the dog style top water plug. In many cases, the louder the better. These gator sea trout love to hide in the grass on a shallow flat near schools of bait. I have caught some of my largest fish in less than a foot of water where they were waiting for an unsuspecting meal to swim by. Most of large trout I have caught has been within the first few hours before or after sunrise. I will typically scout the flats I want to fish the day before looking for shallow water that holds a lot of bait. The next morning I hit the water about a hour prior to sunrise and fish the areas I found the most bait the prior evening. Most morning I start out by throwing nosey top water plugs to the edges of the bait. Make sure you toss a few in the middle of the school as well. I have caught big trout looking for an injured baitfish in the middle of schools of mullet. I always start out working a top water plug a little slow when I'm looking for larger trout. Remember, gator trout are opportunists. They want to find the best meal for the lest amount of work. It takes a lot of energy being a fish that big so they don't want to spend it all chasing fast moving small meals. Try casting a 4 to 6 inch plug. A good friend of mine caught a 28 inch sea trout not to long ago. The funny thing was that this fish hit a 4 inch top water plug and when he took it home to clean it, it had a 12 inch trout in its stomach. Work it slow and don't stop. Trout are sight feeders. You want your plug to look like an injured fish not a dead one. I can't tell you how many times I have watched a trout bust a plug and miss, then the person stops the lure hopping the trout would try again. Then I would watch the gator trout come back around and not see the lure or lose interest. Keep working that top water plug. Make it look like something trying to get away. With these things in mind get out there and give it a shot. I know you will put more fish in the boat. Just remember to let me know how you did. See you on the water Capt. Doug Blanton |
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