Big fish caught in pilings on black-and-chartreuse cocahoe minnow in Vermilion Bay
Troy Amy never dreamed that a Thursday morning scouting trip for a weekend tournament would end with the speck of a lifetime.
“I’ve been fishing for that one a long time,” Amy said. “I knew they had some big ones out here. It was just a matter of time.”
Amy and fishing partner Don Naquin were actually on their way in around 11:20 Thursday when they stopped to fish some pilings adjacent to the line of camps and a row of wharfs reaching into Vermilion Bay.
They had already had a pretty successful morning, catching a few nice specks around Redfish Point and Dry Reef. Their plan was to fish the pilings and hit The Cove before heading for home.
“The current was rolling out hard,” said Amy, who works for Superior Energy Services in Broussard. “I threw between two pilings and he nailed it. It didn’t even sink to the bottom. He nailed it and started peeling drag into the pilings.”
Naquin quickly pulled up the anchor and used the trolling motor to close the gap on the big fish, while Amy thumbed the reel to slow the big speck down and keep him from getting hung up in the pilings.
“When I first saw him come up I thought it was a redfish, then I saw the black tail,” Amy said. “I said, ‘Oh no, no, no. That’s a speck.’”
Naquin eventually netted the fish, and the digital scale onboard pegged the speck at 7.87 pounds, right at the official weight of 7.85 pounds recorded later that day at Dago’s.
A STAR Tournament angler, Amy’s fish will be in second place in the Southwest Division if verified by CCA Louisiana. Currently Jeramie Sexton is in first place with a monster 8.2-pound speck weighed in at Gulfway Sporting Goods.
Amy, 46, caught the big speck on a black and chartreuse H&H cocahoe minnow with his own homemade plain ¼-ounce lead head. He was fishing with a Duce rod strung with green 15-pound Trilene Big Game line on a Quantum reel.
“We normally use 12 (-pound test), but I knew we were going around those pilings and stuff, so I spooled some brand new 15-pound test for a little extra weight,” Amy said. “It just so happened I had just retied my lead head, and boom, he got on and I was thumbing him. If it would have been 12-pound test, I probably would have lost that fish.”
The big speck was on ice Friday morning, but was destined for the dinner table, Amy said.
“He’s still in the ice chest,” Amy said. “I want to show him off a little bit.”
