Samanie speck

Ted Samanie caught this 29-inch speckled trout while fishing near Pointe-aux-Chenes last Friday. (Ted Samanie photo)

If a catch from last Friday is any indication, the spring of 2017 is going to be an amazing one for trophy speckled trout. Ted Samanie of Schriever, fishing Pointe-aux-Chenes with his buddy Brent Verdin, landed a 29-inch speckled trout that weighed more than 10 pounds, louisianasportsman.com reported.



The anglers were having good success on green soft-plastics not far from where they launched when Samanie realized instantly he had hooked something much bigger than the specks they'd been catching, Verdin told the website.



"He said, 'I think I've got a shark,' and I told him, 'That ain't no shark,'" Verdin said. "When he got it a little closer to the boat, I got the net and scooped the fish up.



"When I got it into the boat, the bottom of the net ripped out."



According to Verdin, Samanie was happy with the catch, but he wanted to get back to fishing. He dropped the lunker in the ice chest and continued to cast.



Verdin said the spot they were fishing is known to produce mules. His cousin, he said, has already mined it for 26- and 27-inch trout.



Although many anglers think such big speckled trout can't live that far inland, they're often found in low-salinity waters during the cool months of the year. In Southwest Louisiana's Calcasieu Lake, in fact, the most productive winter and early springtime waters are those at the farthest north section of the lake, where salinities are lowest.



Verdin said they finished with 41 fish, counting the big one, and they filleted them all.



"Ted said he'd rather eat it than (see) it collect dust on the wall," he said.

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Todd Masson can be reached at tmasson@nola.com or 504.232.3054.

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