My son decided he couldn’t wait till next week, lol. Dylan Andrew Sanchez was born last Friday! My wife and him are doing great!
Corpus Christi, TX, United States
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My son decided he couldn’t wait till next week, lol. Dylan Andrew Sanchez was born last Friday! My wife and him are doing great!
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This is regarding the question about studies on speckled trout spawning. I’ve linked the Sportfish Center’s Spotted Seatrout Species Profile and the paper I was discussing last night:
https://issuu.com/harte_research_institute/docs/cssc_species_profile_flyer-s.trout_v.2
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Below is the information on why some spotted seatrout make sounds while others do not. The answer is that male spotted seatrout have a specialized muscle called a sonic muscle that vibrates against the swim bladder, producing drumming or croaking sounds.
This muscle is exclusive to male spotted seatrout and is used to attract females during spawning, as illustrated in the picture. Furthermore, research has shown that their red sonic muscle is prominent only during spawning and becomes inactive during winter. This is also observed in male red drum, spot, star drum, and silver perch, although both sexes of black drum and Atlantic croaker possess sonic muscles.
Picture 1: Male spotted seatrout anatomy
Picture 2: Female spotted seatrout anatomy
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Here is the information for the Sportfish Center Tagging Initiative. This is a great opportunity for recreational anglers to participate in the scientific process. If you are interested in tagging the species listed below, please email me at james.sanchez@tamucc.edu or scan the QR code to request a tagging kit. In your email, please include your first and last name, phone number, email address, and mailing address for our records. Once I receive this information, I’ll mail your tagging kit to you.
Species of interest:
- Southern Flounder (Any size)
- Spotted Seatrout >20 in
- Red Drum >30 in
- Snook (Common and Largescale Fat; any size)
- Atlantic Tarpon
- Cobia
- Tripletail
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After listening to Capt. Hillman’s podcast, I wanted to share a graphic I created for the Sportfish Center's social media. I hope this information helps you learn about slicks and how they're formed by fish. Yes, even Gafftops...
If you have ever gone fishing on the coast, you have probably seen a fish slick on the water's surface. It has a sweet and pungent smell akin to watermelon or fresh-cut grass. This slick is a telltale sign that helps anglers locate fish in the area. Spotted seatrout are often the cause of these slicks. However, they can also form from other fish such as red drum, black drum, southern flounder, ladyfish, hardhead catfish, and gafftopsail catfish.
Two scenarios can explain how slicks form. First, a predatory fish will consume a prey item such as mullet, menhaden, pinfish, bay anchovy, or shrimp. During consumption, the prey can be torn apart and release oily body fluids. Second, after a heavy meal, a predator will regurgitate its food (e.g., like a person burping), releasing fragments of its prey and even digestive juices. In either case, the contents are less dense than the surrounding saltwater environment and float to the surface, creating an oily slick. These slicks start small and can quickly expand in size, depending on the strength of the wind or current. If you come across a sizable one, it has had time to spread out, and you should position yourself upwind where the fish that created it will be holding.
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Hello AU members,
As promised, here is my first post to educate members about the science behind fishing. Feel free to ask any questions!
Fishery Science Content - Sea Lice
During winter, fish decrease their activity as the water temperature drops, making them vulnerable to ectoparasites. Common parasitic copepods such as Caligus spp., commonly known as sea lice, are often observed by anglers on spotted seatrout, red drum, black drum, and southern flounder. As the fish rest on the bottom, these parasites attach themselves to their abdomen to feed on their blood and mucus, causing skin lesions (red sores) that increase the risk of infection.
As anglers, these observations highlight the diminished activity levels of fish when water temperatures are cold. By working lures slowly on the bottom, you improve your chance of catching fish by giving them the opportunity to get a quick meal without having to expend a lot of energy.
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Baffin Bay: January 25 - 26
Here’s my report after running trips in Baffin Bay this past weekend. To start, the good news is that I didn’t see any dead fish following water temperatures in the 40s.
On Saturday, my clients and I were greeted to 47 degree water temperatures. Our strategy was to wade in waist- to belly-deep water with scattered seagrass beds and rock formations. Initially, we observed little to no bait activity until the major feed began. As the south winds picked up and the water warmed slightly, we finally spotted a couple of mullet jumping along a color change. It was a slow day, but we managed to catch five trout (the largest weighing 4.5 pounds), a black drum, and two redfish, including one undersized fish that weighed four pounds.
Sunday proved to be much more productive, with the water warming up to 52 degrees. We noticed multiple slicks and more mullet within just 30 minutes compared to the previous day. Although we initially tried to find fish in shallower water without success, we reverted to the same strategy as the day before. This approach paid off, resulting in over 20 trout caught, though surprisingly only three were keepers. In my opinion, it seems the larger fish had not moved up shallow just yet. As with Saturday, the best bite occurred during the major feeding time and quickly tapered off afterward. All our fish were caught using either a Ball Tail Shad or a Wig-A-Lo Jr., worked slowly along the bottom.
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I know it’s late, but here’s my fishing update from this past weekend in the cold.
I launched at 11:00 AM on Saturday, and the water temperature was 45 degrees. After rescuing and dropping off some stunned sea turtles, I set out to fish. I drifted for two hours without a bite, so I moved closer to the ICW, where I found warmer water, specifically in a dead-end gut that was 49 degrees. The first signs of life were some black drum up shallow, followed by my first mullet of the day. Walking the edge of it, my initial casts with a Ball Tail Shad produced immediate hits, and I caught two trout. However, they were short-striking, so I switched to the junior version on a 3/16-ounce jighead. For the next 45 minutes, either I got bit or caught a fish, resulting in a total of 21 trout, including two limits from 15 to 18 inches. Additionally, by the time I left the was temperature was 52 degrees.
After that, I met up with two friends to wade a shoreline point adjacent to a deep drop-off, which coincided with the moonrise minor feed. I was wading in waist-deep water that was also at 49 degrees and had scattered seagrass beds. This was the most mullet I’d seen all day, and there was even a brown pelican feeding nearby. While fishing through the evening, I ended up catching four more trout (the biggest two weighed 4.5 and 5.5 pounds), four redfish, and a black drum, all on a Ball Tail Shad.
On Sunday, a friend and I waded along a spoil island where the water temperature was 50 degrees. He caught a big drum and some trout, while I waded farther out into waist-deep water with seagrass beds and potholes. The mullet were definitely more active, and the trout we caught were fat. We caught the tail end of the major feed and ended up with 10 trout (two keepers). From the afternoon until dark, we fished in areas similar to the previous day and saw water temperatures increase to 51 degrees. We caught over 40 trout with a total of seven limits. The trout he kept for dinner had some interesting prey items in their stomachs. Besides pinfish and mullet, one 16-inch trout had a 9-inch Violet Goby in it, and another had an Atlantic Needlefish. All our fish were caught on a Ball Tail Shad or Wig-A-Lo. With more cold weather expected this Sunday, I hope this gives you some insights into strategies you can use to catch some fish.
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Hi everyone,
In addition to being a guide, I am the Angler Engagement Coordinator for the Sportfish Center at the Harte Research Institute. I plan to periodically share fishery science content that I believe will help members improve their knowledge. Here's an example for those concerned about how fish will react to cold temperatures. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.
This table shows the lethal water temperatures for selected bay species. Although water temperatures dropped from 70°F to 46°F since Sunday, the decrease was gradual compared to the rapid drop we experienced during the freeze in 2021. This gradual change allowed fish more time to acclimate to the changing conditions. While many species should be fine, subtropical species like snook and tarpon may perish, as they are not adapted to handle such low temperatures.
In the worst-case scenario, if air temperatures remain around or below 32°F for three consecutive days, it can lead to fish kills, with various species affected differently. Thankfully, this did not happen, and I hope it won’t for a long time.
*NOTE: These are only estimates. Factors such as fish size, water depth, bottom composition, rate of temperature change, duration of exposure, and many other variables can affect temperature-related mortality in fish species.