Catch some silver trout to put on table

Posted Jan 21, 2012 by The Tampa Tribune

Updated Jan 21, 2012 at 06:00 PM

BY BILL MILLER

Silver trout are schooling up all over the Bay area, and they are easy to catch and really taste good.

When I was a young man, I first heard them called sugar trout. The reason they were called that, I was told, was that when they were cooked they tasted sweet. I agreed with that then, and I agree with that now.

Other names I have heard for silver trout include white trout, summer trout and sand trout.

The silver trout looks like a speckled trout without spots and generally does not grow as big as its cousin the speckled trout.

Good places to catch silvers are the channel leading into Port Manatee, right off the Williams Park boat ramp in the Alafia River, the Weedon Island power plant channel, Gandy boat ramp channel, Davis Island boat ramp channel and hard bottom off the Gulf beaches in 10-15 feet.

Silver trout will be seen on your fish finder as a cloud from the bottom up. If you don’t have a fish finder, try drifting and fan casting the area where mackerel birds are dipping and diving. A good cluster of boats also usually indicates some silvers in the area.

I like to use eighth- or quarter-ounce tandem jigs tipped with a small piece of shrimp.

When I see a fish mark on the bottom, I drop my jigs straight down or just flip it away from the boat and jig it up about halfway off the bottom. If I don’t get a hit, I reel it up and do it again.

There is no size or bag limit on silver trout.

Most anglers only keep the bigger ones and what they can eat for a good meal.

Captain Bill Miller hosts “Hooked on Fishing” on Bright House Sports Network, Channel 47. To book a charter with captain Bill or his son captain Billy, call (813) 363-9927.