Sorry nymph-wristed, I should have been a little more specific. I was not referring to warm water temps from this year (this spring). When I wrote the above comment I was referring to last summer’s warmth.
Large fish are more susceptible than avg or smaller size fish to the stress and mortality caused by warm water temps. Signs of poor condition at the end of the previous summer can carry over into the following spring if the fish doesn’t succumb to overwinter natural mortality. By May those that survive will show improved physical condition in comparison to the previous year, but an experienced eye can still spot that their condition is not up to par, especially when someone with your eye has handled as many fish from a creek as you did on a single outing.
I would add that big fish, especially trout, can also get that way (show signs of poor or reduced condition) due to age. Such fish are not long for this world when that is the reason. Additionally, there is the occasional fish that doesn’t do well with a hook lodged in its digestive tract until the hook passes or disintegrates from oxidation. We would see this occasionally in fish ( multiple species) handled while electrofishing and sometimes could remove the hook ( from mouth or anal area) that was causing the problem. Obviously, the ones in the anal area had nearly passed through, but we gave the fish a final assist….thank you very much. Along with this would usually come a short length of line or even part of a soft plastic lure.
As an aside, scented soft plastics in Maine ponds discarded by anglers after tearing have been cause for concern because ST scavenge them from the lake bottoms and then show reduced condition, probably because there is no nutritional value and the plastic mass in the stomach reduces room for other foods or suggests fullness.
