Spotted Sea Trout
Spotted Sea Trout (Cynoscion nebulosus) is a saltwater species. The first thing to check: distinct round black spots scattered over the upper flank and back, running onto the second dorsal fin and across the whole tail fin. The look-alike to rule out is Weakfish: weakfish carry dark wavy or diagonal markings on the back rather than distinct round spots, and their tail fin is unspotted.
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| Scientific name | Cynoscion nebulosus |
|---|---|
| Also called | speckled trout, speck, spotted weakfish |
| Water | Saltwater |
| Group | Drum |
| Temperature | Feeds best between 68 and 82 °F. Below the mid-50s it stacks in deep holes, and a hard freeze causes kills in shallow estuaries. |
How to identify a Spotted Sea Trout
- Distinct round black spots scattered over the upper flank and back, running onto the second dorsal fin and across the whole tail fin.
- Two prominent canine teeth at the front of the upper jaw — large enough to see with the mouth closed on a big fish.
- A long, soft, elongate body with a sloping head and no chin barbels.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Weakfish | Weakfish carry dark wavy or diagonal markings on the back rather than distinct round spots, and their tail fin is unspotted. |
| Sand Weakfish | Sand seatrout are plain silvery-yellow with no spots anywhere, and have a smaller mouth. |
Side-by-side comparisons
Read the full entry for Weakfish and Sand Weakfish.
Where it lives
Atlantic and Gulf estuaries from the Chesapeake to Texas. Holds over seagrass flats, sand potholes, oyster edges and drop-offs, moving into deeper channels and holes as water cools.
Temperature
Feeds best between 68 and 82 °F. Below the mid-50s it stacks in deep holes, and a hard freeze causes kills in shallow estuaries.
The conditions that matter
Seatrout are a tide and light fish. They set up on the down-current edge of a grass flat or pothole and feed on moving water, and the bite concentrates hard around first and last light. Water temperature governs the seasonal move between flats and deep winter holes — logging tide stage and water temperature against each fish is what turns a flat you like into a flat you know the timing of.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about spotted sea trout into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.