Speckled Trout Birthday Fishing [PHOTOS]

For my birthday this year, I was treated to a guided speckled trout fishing trip.

Having never fished the Calcasieu area, we decided to go with High Tide Charters, and we are so glad we did. Andrew was everything you'd hope for in a guide!

We met Andrew at Calcasieu Point Landing on Henry Pugh Blvd., just south of Lake Charles. The marina is a very nice public facility with a boat slip, cleaning stations, restrooms, fresh bait, public pier fishing, a store, and a pavilion.

It was a short boat ride at sunrise down the Intracoastal Canal to Black Lake where, when we arrived, we found only two other boats. Andrew eased the boat close to the grassy areas of the marsh to let us cast close to the shore. There wasn't much action for the first few minutes, and then Andrew said "birds!". He threw the trolling motor into "Rabbit" mode and we chased birds for the rest of the day.

Why did we chase the birds? Well (and I know most people who have done any saltwater fishing already know this, but we'll say it for the sake of those who don't), the birds chase baitfish, and game fish chase baitfish: ergo!

Andrew had us cast our lines, baited with live shrimp, right under the birds. Several times we had Speckled Trout on the line before the bait had a chance to sink!

We'd catch a couple of Specs before the birds moved on (meaning that the baitfish, and the game fish, moved on, too), but they would soon circle and swoop again, and the chase would be on, again.

In just a few hours, we ended our day with a great catch: 16 Speckled Trout, 2 Black Drum, and 2 Redfish (Red Drum).

One of the Redfish we caught was tagged - I'll be messaging Andrew to see what he learned about that tagged fish!

Thank you to Andrew with High Tide Charters for a safe, fun birthday on the water and for the tips/tricks we learned - I'll be using those on my next fishing trip!