My first toad

[Alnitak]

I haven't posted in a while, too busy with work. I mostly fish small streams for wild trout, so I don't see many large fish. I'm happy to catch a wild brown that is over 14" or a brookie over 9". This stream was small as you can see behind me--but this brown trout was not. It taped out at 23" and I would guess it was 3-4lbs as it was was fat and heavy. It was a long battle on my 7' 6" 3WT Orvis Superfine Trout Bum--not exactly big fish tackle--and he didn't fit in the net. A few quick pics and he went back in the water, pissed off but free. Lancaster County.

Jeff

 

[LeTortAngler2]

Nice fish, Not a bad way to start off the year.

 

[GenCon]

Wow, that is a great fish! Congrats.

GenCon

 

[Opie610]

Awesome fish, much respect.

 

[AndyP]

Very nice, congrats.

 

[jkilroy]

Very nice wild fish, congrats!

 

[J55tyger88]

Great fish man!
That stream seems small and clear, did you spot him before you casted to him?

 

[RCFetter]

Incredible fish for a small stream. Congrats,

 

[Flyinglion]

Wow. Very nice!

Lancaster county stream?

 

[Fishidiot]

Yeah, not doubt...that's a fish to remember. Real beauty.

 

[CenMD4458]

Wow that's awesome, nice fish!

 

[Flyinglion]

Looks like you got him on a nice warm day, been too long since I was able fish without 6 layers of sweatshirts!

 

[phiendWMD]

What did it take, if you don't mind sharing?
That is an awesome fish for that stream. I wouldn't expect such a large fish to in such small water.

 

[AFISHN]

Well done..and a nice way to start the year!

 

[streamerguy]

Pool boss!! That is a freakin' hog for a small stream...no doubt about that. Congrats!

 

[salmonoid]

phiendWMD wrote:
What did it take, if you don't mind sharing?
That is an awesome fish for that stream. I wouldn't expect such a large fish to in such small water.

Proximity to a larger stream or body of water (lake/reservoir) is all that is needed for residency of the fish for part of the year. The spawn will take care of getting these larger fish into smaller streams for the other part of the year. I've seen a handful of photos on some other sites in the past few months of ridiculously oversized fish for the tiny stream they were stated to have been caught in, and the only thing that makes sense to me is that the fish had migrated into the small streams for the spawn, as the habitat and forage base just isn't available in small streams to support year-round growth to the size the fish had attained. This carrying capacity limitation is particularly true when the small stream is a freestoner. I ran into one large fish last year in April that was on its way out of a small freestoner, which I counted as a fairly rare encounter, but is at least one personal data point to support that idea of seasonal fish migration. It's a pretty neat cycle to observe and try and figure out what streams are players in the game.

Warm weather is another time that big fish might move into small streams, seeking cooler water refuges. But given the time of the year the photo appears to be taken, I think the spawn was the motivator for movement.

One important takeaway is never write off a stream as not having trout. And if there are little trout there, never write off a stream as not having big trout, at least for part of the year.

 

[djs12354]

Nice way to start the year!

 

[Stenonema]

Salmon nailed it for me. Great fish. Every bit what a brown should be. So happy for ya man. Congrats.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Nice job on a quality fish. Looks like a spawn-er to me. Gotta be happy with that one.
GG

 

[Brown71]

Great fish man, real nice and healthy looking to boot. Love them biggies.

Also, great post above by salmonid. Lots and lots of big fish migrate to smaller waters, through fall and even early winter, one of your hands down best ways to get them if you find and a few places where this exists.

And one thing to add - if they're there once, they WILL be there again. In other words if you find a place, go back year after year and you will likely repeat your success.

Again, great fish to the original post.