Stringers of specks in the surf were once the rule, but are now the exception
Catch Cormier, GCC Conservation Director
Last week, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries dropped a bombshell. They reported that a “preliminary, but incomplete” draft indicated that the state’s speckled trout stock was overfished and that landings had decreased to their lowest levels in recent years.
The report went on to say that the preliminary findings are “… going through a re-evaluation and finalization process that will take several months.”. The press release then finished with the following:
“LDWF will bring the finalized stock assessment that will include potential management options to improve the status of the stock at a future commission meeting. The analysis will include several possible recommendations, including, but not limited to, bag and size limit modifications. The public will also have ample opportunity to comment during commission meetings and public hearings prior to any management changes being finalized by the Commission.”
An epic fishing trip one March with my dad and younger son Jacob taught me a valuable lesson about sacalait (a.k.a, crappie, a.k.a, white perch). We were out in my dad’s boat on Henderson Lake. This idyllic cypress-laden backwater lake is a jewel of the Atchafalaya River basin; it’s stained waters teeming with bass, bream, crappie and more.
