By the time mid-February comes around on the Gulf coast, signs of spring are usually in the air and have not gone unnoticed by fish and fishermen alike. Now that water temperatures have begun their climb to more accommodating levels, gamefish will soon become more accommodating, too, as the sun warms the shallow flats and baitfish gather on the shorelines.

There is probably no better time of year than between February and May to catch a trophy speckled trout - for the wall, or a once in a lifetime photo, then quick release. This is particularly true if you are fishing the lower Texas coast. If it has survived in good health since its catch and release in May 2002, when it bottomed out a 15 lb. scale, there