Do Speckled Trout Migrate

Smolts will shoal together to migrate to sea usually around late MarchApril and usually at night.

Do speckled trout migrate. Going to sea gives the trout access to a much richer source of food so sea trout will often be substantially bigger than the resident brown trout of the same river. Thats an example of thinking in terms of extremes and it can hurt our ability to see the marsh for what it is. I have tagged speckled trout before releasing them back into the water and all of them so far have been recaptured within the same estuary.

But this doesnt mean every single speckled trout is outside the marsh and that its impossible to catch just one inside. Speckled trout seem to stay inside the estuary they were born and raised in. Specimens of 10kg have been caught in the rivers of Wales and Scotland.

The surviving young of sea trout will generally migrate back to the sea to feed in estuaries and coastal waters. 09092016 Spotted seatrout are unique in that that their entire life is estuary dependent and they rarely migrate far from the estuaries where they were spawned. Anglers despair when they see cold-stunned trout floating on the surface because it usually means the recreational fishery wont be good in the coming year.

Speckled trout have woken from their winter slumber deep inside the marsh and are preparing for the summertime spawn by eating a lot and migrating towards saltier water outside of the marsh. The minimum size also increases the overall yield of the fishery. Knowledge gained over many years tells me trout will follow a plentiful and predictable food source during the spawn as long as water conditions and bottom structures continue to be favorable along the migration route.

Each year since the regulation. The seatrout is a member of the drum family which includes spot weakfish red drum black drum and Atlantic croaker. For example its known that during summer speckled trout will migrate outside the marsh to spawn.

Migration in Full Swing The shrimp are well on their way out of the marsh having gathered in larger numbers due to the tide pushing them to the same location. Speckled trout are still moving in but not yet heavily concentrated in large schools. They can tolerate wide salinities and may be found in waters ranging from fresh to hyper saline.