Fact: The challenge of catching trophy trout in the Upper Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay is not finding the secret spots, but beating the seasoned and savvy competition.

Three out of four anglers fishing those areas are local residents, according to angler surveys conducted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Most are serious seekers of super-specks who have played the game since long before the advent of the brown tide, back when the waters were pristine and the choice trout structure was easy to see and correlate on a map.

After the prime rocks, holes and breaks became obscured by water-staining algae for most of the past 7 years, the regulars coped by learning to recognize the top fishing guides and expert anglers and marking their fishing locations. Hand-held GPS units came into regular use to pinpoint spots where the pros gathered over secret rocks and holes.

Whatever the anglers may have forgotten during the brown tide years, they became reacquainted with during the past year when the waters of the lagoon and Baffin Bay cleared up and remained clear for months. An extra bonus in December of 1997 was a spate of the lowest tides anyone could remember, allowing serious anglers to scout the nooks and crannies where a trophy trout might hide during the spring spawning season.

Throughout the years, the fanatical trout fanciers also developed an information grapevine that rivals AT&T for spreading the news. The catch of a monster trout becomes known within hours, and the boats converge within the day. Suffice it to say, there are few secrets left in the lagoon.

The pursuit of trophy trout has rather become a game of timing-knowing when and where to be during certain weather conditions. It has also become a kind of chess match-being at square 2 while the crowd is gathered at square 1 or whatever. Given those ground rules, let's talk to some of the top pros about when and where they hope to capture trophy trout this spring.