Biggest Trout Live In the Gulf?

Do the biggest speckled trout live in the Gulf?

In my opinion they do.

I have seen huge trout coming from the short rigs out of the Sabine and Cameron area and talk with several anglers along the coast who have caught and encountered massive fish in these areas.

There are three key reasons I believe there are record-sized trout potentially living in the nearshore Gulf.

Lack Of Pressure: Accessing Texas Gulf waters is dicey at best. We have in reality very few true quality days to target the fish here. On top of that, very few anglers pursue trout in the Gulf (other than in the surf) so you have chances of fishing growing to huge sizes.

Hidden Fish: This is another layer of the pressure issue but it deserves its own discussion. Most if not all trout targeted in the Gulf are around rigs. There are no doubt fish that around around small rock clusters, drop-offs, scattered along the hundreds of miles of shoreline and maybe live in areas we have never seen them. Hidden fish can get huge because they can live to their life expectancy.

Genetics: While I am not aware of any deep genetic study on trout living in the Gulf in relation to those in the bays, it is possible there are differences. Could some of the monster fish seen by anglers around rigs be the result of not only living to life expectancy but “better” genetics?

Anglers often talk about seeing trout that look different (more sliver, less spots for example) coming in on big incoming tides to the southern tier of bays. Is this a genetic thing or a habitat thing?

Have you encountered or caught big trout in the Gulf? What are your thoughts on the potential for huge fish here? Email me at chester@chestermoore.com with your thoughts. Also, take time to listen to the podcast I did on this topic below.

In this episode you will also learn the following:

*The link between salinity and trout

*The Louisiana study that shows the type of bottoms big trout prefer

*Secrets of trout mini-migrations revealed and much more.

Higher Calling Wildlife is sponsored by Texas Fish & Game.