Originally Posted by swamp snorkler (Post 435257) Batter them eggs and fry them! Lifelong fan of the Super Bowl 44 Champions New Orleans Saints!!!!!

In Louisiana, speckled trout almost always spawn in groups numbering in dozens to thousands in deep, moving water, such as passes between barrier islands or natural and manmade channels in open water. Water depth in these locations is usually between 10 and 100 feet deep. Current seems to be necessary to keep the eggs from sinking to the bottom and suffocating.
Spawning always takes place between 6 p.m. and midnight. Males typically gather at the site an hour or two before sunset. There, they begin drumming — vibrating their tough swim bladder with surrounding muscles. The grunts, knocks and raps made by hundreds of males at one time sounds like a constant roar.
Drumming hits its peak around 8 or 9 p.m. and decreases sharply after 11 p.m. It is assumed that drumming activity attracts females to the site.
During spawning, the trout in the school mill constantly, with light side-to-side contact between the fish. Eggs and sperm are discharged into the water for random fertilization. The outgoing current in the channel or pass rapidly sweeps the eggs out to Gulf waters, where they float untended until they hatch.

Originally Posted by "W" (Post 435357) Smaller females can spawn up to 7-10times a year while larger females may only spawn 2-3 times a year ...and older and real large females may not spawn at all or only once a year(reason why keeping them don't hurt)

Originally Posted by cmdrost (Post 435572) From TX wildlife and Fisheries site: "A female spotted seatrout may spawn several times during the season. Younger females may release 100,000 eggs and older, larger females may release a million eggs. Recent studies indicate that spotted seatrout spawn between dusk and dawn and usually within coastal bays, estuaries and lagoons. They prefer shallow grassy areas where eggs and larvae have some cover from predators. " Also answers worm question in other thread: "Some trout caught may have worms embedded in the flesh along the backbone. These "spaghetti" worms are larval stages of a tapeworm that can only reach maturity in sharks. The worms cannot survive in man even if the seatrout is eaten raw. The worms can easily be removed when the fish is cleaned to make the meat more appealing. The spotted seatrout is a member of the croaker family (Sciaenidae) and is a first cousin to the Atlantic croaker, red drum, black drum, and sand seatrout."

Originally Posted by cmdrost (Post 435572) From TX wildlife and Fisheries site: "A female spotted seatrout may spawn several times during the season. Younger females may release 100,000 eggs and older, larger females may release a million eggs. Recent studies indicate that spotted seatrout spawn between dusk and dawn and usually within coastal bays, estuaries and lagoons. They prefer shallow grassy areas where eggs and larvae have some cover from predators. " "

Originally Posted by TheLongRun (Post 435610) Size limits are set based on sexual maturity. 12" means that they have likely had a chance to reach spawning size. From fingerling to that size probably about 4-5 years, I believe.

Originally Posted by "W" (Post 435614) More like one year....to reach spawn size the max life of a trout is about 7 years

Originally Posted by TheLongRun (Post 435620) From fingerling (An inch or two) to 12 inches in a year? That's incredible. The hatcheries are overstocking :)

Originally Posted by TheLongRun (Post 435625) http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/cynosc_nebulo.htm The avg life span of a spotted seatrout is 18 years. The most exponential growth rate does occur in year 1, however, I'm not sure that will get you to 12", from plankton stage. Cite for your info?