You may remember that I spent a good deal of last year observing a black drum’s behavior (see Black Drum Observations) in a very large aquarium. Well, that super-cool fish unfortunately met his demise when he attempted to eat one of his cohabitants, a large eel. The phrase “bit off more than he could chew” has never been more apt. So for the next observational experiment, I brought home a speckled sea trout. After a few months I let him go and swapped the fish out for another. I’ve been watching specks in the tank for months now, and it’s provided a few interesting lessons that should help anglers catch more fish.
Observation number one: Specks are total scaredy-cats. They’ll cruise away and hide at the least little hint of… well, just about anything. Most fish behave this way initially when they’re in captivity, but within a week or so grow accustomed to their surroundings. Not the specks. The takeaway: we probably all spook a lot more of these fish than we think.
Observation number two: These fish are amazingly sensitive to vibrations. An 80-pound dog walking up a stairway 20 feet away, which I can hear but certainly can’t feel, triggers an immediate reaction from the specks. Same goes for their sensitivity to shadows. If someone moves in such a way that they cast a shadow across the fish (no matter how slow the movement is) it shows signs of feeling threatened and hides. The takeaway: again, we probably all spook a L-O-T more of these fish than we think.
Observation number three: Specks are super-choosey when it comes to what they’ll eat. Minnow species does make a difference, as does live shrimp versus live minnow. And this preference changes. One day the mud minnow go ignored while the silversides are chased and eaten. The next the speck will only eat shrimp. It varies, and at one time or another the fish is willing to eat anything that swims. But what it wants to eat in specific changes on any given day. The takeaway: when you aren’t getting bites, be quick to switch out your offerings.
Yesterday I swapped out the speck for a flounder – stay tuned…