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with the pig-like snout. Jacks are too blunt. Snook are cool, very cool, but almost too exaggerated. The big speck- led trout flows with subtle and undeni- able excellence.


The Lone Star State has spotted sea


trout of world-class caliber, perhaps not as many as the fabled Banana River/ Indian River country of south- east Florida, but we are right up there. But, regardless of venue, a true mon- ster trout (like a true monster any- thing) is scarce. A 30-plus speck is like a 170-net Boone & Crockett record-book white- tail. Well, make that that a low-fenced, free-ranging, non-juiced 170 buck. They manufacture giant deer now; the huge trout remains the real deal. Join the 30-Inch Club and you are a member of an elite crew.


TWO IN 40 YEARS


My long cast with the pink-and- white 52 came tight against a heavy strike. Line spun in a hard run from the lightly set reel drag. My first thought was, Oh, no, a big stud jack. But it wasn’t a jack crevalle. It was the Spotted Grail. The trout came out in a broadside leap, way out there far beyond any trout I ever had hooked. Even at distance the gleaming vault looked huge. The 4-inch plug looked like a pink dot.


Catching it while fishing alone,wading and plugging,carried the experience over the top.


Ten minutes of traumatic give-and-


take later, the great trout was stretched broadside on the surface. It looked huge in the faint shimmer of fading light. I lifted the rod, sliding the fish close, and made my grab. I remember the back was so thick I


had trouble with the normal “behind the shoulder” clamp with thumb and forefingers. I shoulder-gripped with the right hand and with the left clutched the underside.


MINE! The astute reader reviewing my


tackle might correctly conclude that the epic encounter occurred a long time ago — 1976, to be exact. The concept of


34


catch-and-release was a growing notion, but this fish was going on the stringer. I wanted it confirmed and mounted, the pinnacle of a plugging career. The trout measured a straight 30.25 inches and weighed 10 pounds, four ounces on certified scales. Catching it while fishing alone, wad- ing and plugging, carried the experi- ence over the top.


Consider this with specks: Length once attained cannot be taken away — except maybe by a hungry shark. But weight can fluctuate dramat- ically with girth.


Years later, while drifting a knee-


deep Laguna Madre grass flat with guide Wade Dunkin, I used an 8- weight fly rod to catch another 30-plus. I dropped a four-inch chartreuse Sea- ducer streamer ahead of the cruising sow and the gleaming fish rushed and struck like a barracuda.


The fight was short and lackluster and the post-spawn sow was gaunt. It had a head like an alligator and mea- sured 31.5 inches by an accurate mark on the rod, but I doubt the fish weighed more than 9 pounds. It was, indeed, the Spotted Grail; but, sadly, it also was a “spotted eel.”


Still, 31 and change is a lot of


speckled trout. We photographed and released it.


GO SOUTH, YOUNG PLUGGER Those are my only 30-plus trout in


more than 40 years of fishing. To repeat, I don’t care where you fish, they are jewel-rare simply because few speckled trout have the genetic horse- power to reach that length. On that note, in defining trophy sta- tus, I tend to favor length over weight. It’s the same concept for the 30-Inch Club for wild rainbow trout in Alaska. You might have a thick 28 or 29 top- ping 10 pounds from Lower Talarik Creek or Moraine Creek but, well, it’s not a 30. That extra inch or two just jumps out. It’s amazing. One look and you know the difference.


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Consider this with specks: Length once attained cannot be taken away — except maybe by a hungry shark. But weight can fluctuate dramatically with girth. For example, a pre-spawn sow might add a pound or more in egg mass and fatty tissue. Big trout often feed on large baitfish, and a speck that nails several sizeable mullet temporari- ly gains weight. A pre-spawn sow that hogs down a big meal might resemble a spotted football. The first trophy trout I caught weighed eight pounds but measured only 26 inches. It sported ridiculous girth. Was it a true eight-pounder? Well, no. Several weeks later it proba- bly would have been an honest 6-plus. Conversely, my spotted eel in its


pre-spawn prime several months earli- er might have topped 11 pounds. At least, I’d like to think so. Granted, most big-trout contests (including CCA’s STAR) are based on weight, but you get the idea. The best confirmation for bragging rights is to have both — a 30-plus that scales 10- plus. No argument there. That is why I consider that long-ago Galveston Bay trout to be my Spotted Grail. You always hope, but I doubt I’ll ever catch a larger one. Many veteran anglers more skilled and dedicated than I have yet to put their hands on such a speck. Luck was a factor, for sure, but at least I put myself in position and didn’t fumble-fluster the chance. It is ironic that my career trout came


from West Galveston Bay. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biolo- gists maintain that top-end trout are available in all the primary bay systems, but the farther south you go, the better the odds for hooking a really big one. The Laguna Madre complex, includ- ing fabled Baffin Bay, traditionally yields the most 30-plus, double-digit trout. Every state record speck (except Lanny Meyers’ long-ago 13-2 on a Bingo Worm from Galveston’s old Flagship Pier in 1969) has come south of Corpus Christi.


The upper coast yields good num- bers of 7-pound and 8-pound fish, even the occasional 9-plus, but cracking an honest 10 is a tough task in the Galveston Bay complex. This statement is based on years of documented weigh-in results from various big-trout contests.


No, go south Young Plugger, if your


quest remains the Spotted Grail. If you’re serious about this, fish specifically for big trout. Sacrifice grab- bag numbers for quality, and stay with


TIDE


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