Capt. Bobby Abruscato pushed the throttle forward as he maneuvered the 24-foot bay boat between pilings of the Dauphin Island Bridge and headed to the grass beds at the west end of the island with speckled trout on his mind.

This trip was more of a rarity than the norm for 2011. The two anglers on board – me and Bobby Cleveland, outdoors editor of the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger – have been fishing with the inshore guide for more years than we’d really care to admit.

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