# Big Trout in Choctawhatchee Bay



## davidcobia (Dec 15, 2012)

I caught these two pigs yesterday at dusk on a bone spook Jr. I wade fished in about 2 feet of water over grass. The tide was pouring out of the bayou that I was fishing over grass flats. There were small mullet and big mullet on the flat. It was the first time this year that I saw the little mullet schooling out on the flats. I let the big one live and will enjoy the fruits of my labor in the grease tonight on the smaller of the two. 

24 inches 
26 inches

The bigger one was full of Roe. She is the heaviest trout I have caught this year. I would guess a solid 5.5 lbs.


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

Very nice!


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## BlackJeep (Jun 13, 2010)

Sucks you had to throw one back but they'll be out there for another day.


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## Softballmasher (Oct 24, 2012)

*Nice catch*

Very cool you threw the pregnant one back!! I did the same on NAS, caught a 30 inch speck a few years back and threw her back!! Aint many fish messing around with a 30 incher!!!


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## davidcobia (Dec 15, 2012)

Thank you. I try to let the big ones go if I have smaller ones to use for dinner. I also caught smaller ones on a Corky Fat Boy black back bone sides. (mullet color)


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## davidcobia (Dec 15, 2012)

30 inches is ridiculous. I have not heard of a 30 inch trout around here ever. They get em' like that West of here in Louisiana sometimes and Texas. That is the trophy of a lifetime. Congrats. I would have to think long and hard about letting that one go. I have caught 28 inch trout. If I catch one any bigger...I am going to have to skin mount her. I just couldn't stand it.


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## FishGolfDrink (Apr 19, 2011)

I caught a 27.5 in the yak tournament in 2010, weighed in at 5.8 lbs.. had a whole giant menhaden in her belly when Dr. Turpin cut her open.. I would have let her go had it not been a tournament... really wish we could do more catch/photo/release stuff around here.

30 is unreal... Corkys are the $hit though, great trout lure.


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## flounderslayerman (Jun 3, 2011)

Nice trout !!! I caught one 28" 1/2" and 9lbs 4oz back in 99 just west of the fuel docks in big lagoon. They're around just not many of them.


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## flounderslayerman (Jun 3, 2011)

FishGolfDrink said:


> I caught a 27.5 in the yak tournament in 2010, weighed in at 5.8 lbs.. had a whole giant menhaden in her belly when Dr. Turpin cut her open.. I would have let her go had it not been a tournament... really wish we could do more catch/photo/release stuff around here.
> 
> 30 is unreal... Corkys are the $hit though, great trout lure.


Nice fish but didn't weigh much for it's length.


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## SouthAlabamaSlayer (Oct 13, 2011)

Nice fish. We consistently catch 5+ pound fish over here on the west side of Mobile Bay. I caught a 31" and a 30" trout last year that both weighted 6lbs+.


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## flounderslayerman (Jun 3, 2011)

Well I've been thinking I caught a monster all these years my digital scale must have been reading wrong. I'll guess it was a much smaller fish then the scale said. Should've took it and had it weighed.


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## davidcobia (Dec 15, 2012)

I didn't know we had big fish that close. It is nice to know 30 inch trout are within a couple of hours drive time. I assume you caught yours in the spring? Feb-May. The big ones seem to be around more often during this time of year for me at least.


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## FishGolfDrink (Apr 19, 2011)

flounderslayerman said:


> Nice fish but didn't weigh much for it's length.


I don't know what to say other than it was measured and then weighed on an official/calibrated scale.. all these other guys tellin' fishin stories! 

It was this time of year 2 years ago, so she was pretty fat and had some roe. I have caught 25 inchers in middle of summer or winter that were long and skinny. Wouldn't weigh nearly as much for the length that time of year.


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## Flats15 (Mar 20, 2013)

Nice fish!


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## SouthAlabamaSlayer (Oct 13, 2011)

davidcobia said:


> I didn't know we had big fish that close. It is nice to know 30 inch trout are within a couple of hours drive time. I assume you caught yours in the spring? Feb-May. The big ones seem to be around more often during this time of year for me at least.


Caught in spring last year, but I often catch skinny 30" fish in June and they only weigh 4.5 most of the time.


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## DAWGONIT (Jan 16, 2009)

pretty work for sure.
thanks for sharing in your catch.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

Great fish! The big ones are in the C-bay waters, just very educated.


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## Linda (Oct 2, 2007)

solid fish both of them!!


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted

I wish I could find some monter gators, 24" is the biggest I have caught and that was late last year when it was super cold. I don't keep any specks 20" or over.


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## redfishing (Mar 31, 2012)

kanaka said:


> Great fish! The big ones are in the C-bay waters, just very educated.


i agree it has taken me a couple years to figure them out and catch large ones on a decent basis. 

Nice throwing her back, i do the same thing anything over 21" or so i normally put back, but if i get a monster one day around 28" i might just have to keep it.


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## Softballmasher (Oct 24, 2012)

*30 in Speck*

I caught my 30 inches in the summer, at night by the barge unloading spot on NAS, on a 6-8 in. Croaker! Thought it was a red cause drag was coming off, I could put my whole fist in her mouth and not touch a tooth! So wished I had my camera. Still got the mark on my pole though!! Lol


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## davidcobia (Dec 15, 2012)

I am still hunting that fish. I would like to see a 30 incher dead or alive. I would have to skin mount that one... no doubt. There is something about speckled trout when they get big...they are hard to catch and its difficult not to come unglued when you are lucky enough to have one on the string. I started fishing super light drags and my catches on the big fish went up big time.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

davidcobia said:


> I am still hunting that fish. I would like to see a 30 incher dead or alive. I would have to skin mount that one... no doubt. There is something about speckled trout when they get big...they are hard to catch and its difficult not to come unglued when you are lucky enough to have one on the string. I started fishing super light drags and my catches on the big fish went up big time.


Myself, I don't have the $$ for a mount but I can get the picture of the beast blown up to the exact measurements and crop it to fit a custom frame. There's a 28" trout looking over my left shoulder as I'm pecking this out....


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## tailfisher1979 (Jan 24, 2012)

They are full of roe right now. Caught a 27.5" last week that weighed out on the boga at a ****hair shy of 7lbs. Thought she was a nice slot red until she did a headshake next to the boat. Released her for the good genes.


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## davidcobia (Dec 15, 2012)

I was reading early in the thread that there was some discussion about the weight to length ratio of big trout (over 24 inches) I posted a picture of a 28'' trout I caught in June of 2012. It weighed 5.3 lbs. That same fish Jan.-May would weigh close to 7lbs. There is a huge diff. in the weight depending on the time of year and moon cycle. If they have laid out, or not.


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