Scientific Name: Cynoscion nebulosus

Speckled Trout Names Anglers Frequently Use: Specks, Speck, Speckles, Spotted Weakfish, Gator Trout, Trout, Sea Trout, Spotted Sea Trout or Speckled Sea Trout

The seatrout is a very beautiful fish. It is a silver color with a rainbow like hue to it and a back covered in black spots. One of the most distinctive features is the speckled trouts canine teeth. They are very sharp and could make for a nasty bite if one got a hold of you. The seatrout features a soft dorsal fin that features scales. Its spinous dorsal fin is seperated by a notch and features two anal spines the run the lateral line and extend to the caudal fin. As mentioned before on the back of the speckled trout are spots scattered all over it. These spot can be found on the dorsal and caudal fins as well. If you catch trout in more brackish water often times you will find them to be more golden in color.

Speckled Seatrout can reach a maximum size of 34 inches. More commonly you will find them in the 12" to 30" range. Spotted Seatrout can very in weight. The majority of fish typically weigh anywhere from 1lb to 6lbs. When you get a trout over 6lbs you are in a school of mature speckled trout and you should be fishing for that 10+ pound trout. To put in perspective how massive the world record speckled trout fish was, it weighed in at a whooping 17lbs and 7 ounces.

Speckled trout is an inshore fish that anglers love to target. They can be found all throughout the inshore coastal reagion of the South and South East. They are found in all southern coastal waters from Virginia to Texas. Speckled trout tend to live in seagrass beds and around oyster beds. In warmer areas, you can catch trout almost all year in areas that hold baitfish. Once you find the bait, you will find the schools of trout moving through.

Speckled seatrout live on a healthy diet of various baitfish. They love feeding on shrimp and often times will school around seagrass or mud banks when shrimp reside. Finger mullet, mud minnows and pinfish are all species of baitfish that seatrout love. Speckled seatrout swim in schools and will follow the baitfish.