The coastal fisheries biologists of the new millennium are working hard to build a bigger, better trout for the 21st century. Here's how you can help them.
 
By Chester Moore, Jr.
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Science at work

TPWD fisheries managers have made great strides in genetic coding of speckled trout populations. They've determined that trout from the Lower Laguna Madre can't be stocked in Trinity Bay and vice-versa due to genetic differences. In fact, genetically unique trout populations exist between East Galveston Bay and West Galveston Bay.

They've also made great strides in research methods that have helped to determine these differences. TPWD coastal fisheries officials now insert bar code-like tags into the skulls of fish instead of the bulky gill-plate tags they used to use. These tags stay with the fish and help the biologists keep track of population dynamics via electronic technology.

Researchers at The University of Texas at Port Aransas have learned how to stimulate growth hormones in the ovaries of trout. And a team of Louisiana State University scientists have developed methods for preserving trout sperm so they can perfect trophy-targeted artificial insemination of the species.

Perhaps what's most promising is research being done by the Marine Gene Probe Laboratory in Maryland. They've created pedigrees for certain species of salmonoids. Aquaculturists are paying top dollar for salmonoid broodstock that grow extra large, and lab officials say it won't be long before they can develop pedigrees for other saltwater species (i.e. speckled trout).

Don't get the idea that genetics are the answer to everything, though. TPWD coastal fisheries officials are quick to point out that good genes may be important for producing big speckled trout, but other factors, including age, nutrition and environment also play a role.

Incentive for action

You can't have huge speckled trout if they're dying before they can get huge. Good genes can't do anything if the fish all die before they reach maturity.

On that note, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) officials are considering cutting back their daily trout limit from 25 to 10 and raising their minimum size limit to 15 inches from 12 inches.

They're not planning this move beyond the state's borders, but they are working with Texas officials to make standardized limits on Sabine Lake, which is jointly owned by both states.

TPWD Sabine Lake Ecosystem Leader Jerry Mambretti said LDWF officials are considering the move to try and create an experimental "trophy trout fishery." That's a big move from a state that just recently banned gill nets.

TPWD officials are getting in on the big trout mania. too. They've created the "Texas Gulf Coast Roundup," a program modeled after the ShareLunker program for bass in which coastal anglers donate live fish for coastal fisheries projects. They're not seeking speckled trout exclusively, but obtaining top broodstock from different ecosystems is one of their admitted goals.

These government agencies may not consciously be working toward the creation of the super trout, but you can bet they see the potential of such an accomplishment. The speckled trout is quickly becoming to the saltwater community what the largemouth bass is to the freshwater industry, and this is creating a serious economic incentive to create bigger, better fish.

Do you think Texas bass fishing would be as popular as it is without the introduction of the Florida bass? I think not. And along the same note, creating more large trout would benefit everyone.

The LDWF and TPWD see this, but they're not the only ones. Mickey Eastman, founder of the highly successful Gulf Coast Troutmasters, sees it, and so do all of the tackle and lure manufacturers who are seeing a serious demand for big speckled trout specific lures and the rods, reels and line with which to deliver them.

How many Corkys do you think were sold after Jim Wallace broke the state record with one back in 1996? Get the picture?

Back at the rig

A month after my underwater encounter, I found myself at the same rig, but this time I was armed with some Charlie Slabs, a type of jigging spoon I've had great success with at oil rigs off of Cameron, La. At one point I thought I may have hit the jackpot, but found myself fooled by a small jack crevalle. Feeling the fish hit made my heart jump, and seeing the flash of the jack's silver scales underwater nearly caused cardiac arrest, but there would be no trout that day, "super" or otherwise. And statistically speaking, I would probably never see such a trout again, neither on my line nor under the water.

Of course I never thought I would find myself face-to-face underwater with the trout of a lifetime in the first place, so you never know what hand fate is going to deal you. And when science gets in the mix, the line between fate and progress often gets blurred.

Throw in some economic incentive for good measure and your chances of seeing the creation of a super trout in the near future could be better than you ever dreamed.

The age of the super trout may not yet be here. But it's probably just around the corner.