A 40lb Brown; Creating a Monster

[Guest]

ORIGINAL MESSAGE POSTED BY Second Chance...

My six year old grandson, Will, holding his second trout of the morning. He was just as excited with the 12 1/2 inch brown he had caught just 15 minutes earlier. (well almost) Even with the added pressure on our trout streams within an hour of the cities the average size trout unlike our crappie population is on the increase. Anyone have any thoughts on the subject?

Don't forget to pass on your passion and create your own Monster BRING A KID FISHING It doesn't take this big of a fish to create a fisherman for life.

Second Chance

[Guest]

...and THAT'S what it's all about!

That pic is PRICELESS! CONGRATS! You have a life-long fishin Pal there now!

"LUND-MAN"

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"Leave NO Trace"

[smellzalilfishee]

mj5 nice fish.. i have noticed an incline in both population and overall trout size in the rivers i haved fished. this impresses me even with the fact that trout regs on many rivers have some liberal regs and like you mentioned the overall numbers of fishermen stalking trout are on the rise..what do you attribute this to? perhaps c&r is becoming more popular among us trout fishermen...

[smellzalilfishee]

mj5 how long is that brown???

[Second Chance]

Hey SMELZ The fish was 25 1/2 " and my grandson Will landed it by himself!!! I held onto his shirt so he didn't get pulled into the river and his dad jumped in and netted the fish for him.
You don't get to see a lot of fish this large but the average size fish has been getting a lot larger.
I think habitat restoration of the streambed by the local sportsmans clubs in association with the DNR have a lot greater impact than C&R. I havn't been out for the preseason C&R this year but Last year I noticed more than usual numbers of dead fish in the river during the C&R period.

Any other observations?

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><> Enjoy each day. ><> CONSIDER ORGAN DONATION ><> S.C.

[smellzalilfishee]

hello S.C. i agree that stream restoration has a huge impact on fish population, and your right its not enough to just release fish but to release them properly if you are going to do it. just a thought--- some years back a favorite stream of mine had some extreme flooding and for years after i noticed a major decline in the crayfish numbers.. just within the last couple of years i have seen more and more crays, this in one particular instance may have something to do with it on this river. once again nice fish and nice teamwork, the boy won't soon forget that day.. i would love to hear some of your thoughts..

[Second Chance]

Smellz....I think the loss of crayfish as a food suppIy was only part of the problem. The flooding you noticed not only washed away some of the food sourse (crayfish)but did serious damage to the streambed; resulting in warmer water conditions. This will hurt all species but will be tougher on the Brooks and Rainbows.
I was lucky enough to sit in on a stream survey for one of my favorite streams conducted by a DNR Fisheries Biologist last year. This included fish per acre by species and the increase over the years tied to stream improvments.
Makes me wish I was 18 again, I would have chosen a different vocation!!!

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><> Enjoy each day. ><> CONSIDER ORGAN DONATION ><> S.C.

[Renneberg]

That's a nice trout Second Chance!

Great to see the such a young angler catch such a big trout.
You'll never have a problem getting him to go fishing with you again.

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"Study to be quite"

[Second Chance]

Thanks Renneberg, You spend your whole life trying to get a fish like that, and your 6yr. old Grandson gets the fish.
His dad did the same thing to me on this same river when he was @ 10 yrs old! GREAT GUIDE HUH!
I think its great!! Make sure all of you pass on our love of fishing...Take a kid fishing.
Shore trout fishing is great for kids!! When they get bored they can always search the bank and fields. Second Chance

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><> Enjoy each day. ><> CONSIDER ORGAN DONATION ><> S.C.