What to do after catching speckled trout? Catch what speckled trout eat
After an incredibly successful fishing trip for speckled trout near Grand Isle, I connected with Capt. Daryl Carpenter, who has been pulling a 12- or 16-foot trawl every day, directly behind his camp on Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island.
Trawling for shrimp used to be a huge recreational activity in South Louisiana, but outdoorsmen and women have gotten away from it, probably because the tasty crustaceans are so readily available in supermarkets. But it’s a lot of fun, and in years like this, it’s ultra-productive.
Carpenter said his hauls have been large, and so have the shrimp, with an average size of about 60 to the pound. That’s excellent for brown shrimp, which are usually a bit smaller than their white cousins.
The season will run another few weeks before it’s closed by the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The annual closure is designed to protect juvenile white shrimp, which will begin making their big move into the lower estuaries sometime in the summer.
When the closure is announced, Carpenter will hang up his net, but not for long. The white shrimp season will open in July or August.
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