But few fishermen are going to carp at getting to keep five good specks, even if that's only half of what they once could take along the Lower Gulf Coast.

Elsewhere along the coast, the limit is still 10 trout. They have to be at least 15 inches to keep, but even though you can't put them in the ice chest, those 13- and 14-inchers put up just about as much of a fight.

When you do release those not-quite-ready-for-prime-time specks, be careful. They have tender mouths, which not only makes them more of a challenge to keep hooked, but also demands extra care in getting the hook out once it's in. Using a de-hooking tool is the best bet. Also, dip your hands in water before picking up a trout. What feels like slime to you is actually a protective mucous that helps keep a trout disease-free. Trout slim is good. Keep it on the trout.

Trout can be taken on live shrimp under popping corks, with speck rigs or on a wide variety of artificial lures. Fishing for trout is particularly good at night under the lights, which attract baitfish that in turn lure in the specks. But you catch them while wade-fishing, from docks and jetties, from bay boats and more traditional boats, from kayaks in shallow flats -- just about anywhere along the coast where you can get to salt water.

For big trout, thinking big helps. Basically, big trout hit big baits. While the classic popping cork on a treble hook or speck rig (two white jigs or glow-in-the-dark jigs) is always dependable, especially for night-fishing, using large artificial baits is the way to attract trophy-sized specks. Also, the bigger trout tend to feed at night. Finally, big trout are more likely to be taken while wade-fishing, which allows an angler a greater element of stealth.

FLOUNDER
One morning last summer, tossing a golden spoon at Matagorda and hoping for a trout, as I retrieved I felt my line hang for a moment. Then it went slack again and I started turning the crank once more. Moments later, it hung up again and stayed hung. Figuring I had gotten my lure caught in some submerged riprap, I gave it a good jerk, halfway expecting the line to snap. To my relief, I started getting line again. But something continued to put steady pressure on the line. It wasn't zigging and zagging, so I knew it wasn't a trout or redfish.

Suspecting I might have foul-hooked a trash fish, or maybe "caught" some piece of submerged debris, I was more than a little startled when I got enough line in to see that I had hooked a nice flounder, well beyond the 14-inch limit. About 3 inches beyond, as it turned out.

Summer isn't the best time for flounder, and I only caught that one fish, but it sure tasted good with a baked potato and salad. At that time of year, most flounder are caught incidental to fishing for something else. But in the fall, your odds of success increase.

The annual fall run -- when the flatfish head from shallow water to deep water to propagate -- is still as important as Thanksgiving dinner to many of Texas' coastal anglers.