As with most creatures, their beauty will deceive you, especially if you are an unsuspecting baitfish. Spotted seatrout are ravenous predators that hunt by sight and feature a wicked set of razor-like fangs for capturing mostly smaller fish.

"If you asked most people, they would say that fall is the best time to catch spotted seatrout," Brown said. "However, I catch the most big trout from April to June."

Brown said that live shrimp under a popping float will work for spotted seatrout, but he prefers to use big mud minnows. Like the big finger mullet for spottails, he notes that the trash fish do not seem to bother the big minnows as much. He speculates that maybe the larger minnows are more active.

"If it is early or late in the day, I will try a topwater lure," Brown said. "Trout seem to be light sensitive, so once it gets bright, I usually switch back to the float rig, but it is hard to do since it is so much fun catching those fish on top."

Brown suggests looking for places where two creeks come together and there is water washing over some oyster shells. He also said another good location would be edges of creeks that feature structure along the bank. For example, the Wando River features many trout-holding spots that are underwater brick piles left over from the plantation days.

"Once the water starts getting warmer, over the low 80s, I usually start fishing deeper spots for trout," Brown said. "I switch to live menhaden about 3 to 4 inches long on a Carolina rig and fish these baits around structure."

Hotspots that Brown describes include bridge pilings, train trestles or even the jetties. He said the key is that the location must have moving clear water. His average depth ranges from 5 to 15 feet deep.

"You will want to use only enough weight to keep the bait on the bottom," Brown said. "At the jetties the water can be moving fairly quickly. I might have as many as three 1/4-ounce pieces of lead on the line."

Spotted seatrout populations took a dramatic hit following the winter of 2000-2001. There was a two-week spell when temperatures never made it into the 40s. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) marine fisheries biologists estimated that 80 percent of the seatrout population perished.

"I feel like the trout have come back pretty well since 2000," Brown said. "We have had some mild winters since then, and I have seen trout back in areas where I haven't seen them for five years."

FLOUNDER
When fishing for deep-water seatrout, Brown will occasionally latch onto a dandy structure-loving flounder.

"I will catch a fair number of flounder when fishing around the bridge pilings," Brown said. "When this happens, I will switch from a circle hook to a No. 2 or 4 Kahle-type hook."

Brown said that he catches flounder in many of the same areas that he catches spotted seatrout, but he tends to seek out more structure when exclusively targeting flounder.

"I like to fish for flounder around docks, seawalls, rocks and big piers," he said. "I tend to catch flounder in shallower water than I do trout."