Another Milestone...

[steveo27]

I caught a handful of 9-11" natives this past year, but I couldnt seem to break the 12" mark.

Saturday, I added another fish to the almost 12" list -

Then shortly after, I finally broke that 12" mark.


This fish measured in right at 12.5". I think hes too big to be a gemmie, right?

This dude came from a small headwater stream in the Laurel Highlands that doesnt get much pressure even though its very accessible.

Cross another one of my goals off the list. Next up 12" wild brown.

 

[wildtrout2]

Great looking natives! Yea, that's what they are, natives. Gemmies has gotten very old.

 

[Swattie87]

They both look wild to me. I say count em' as Gemmies. Very nice fish.

I'm in a slump for big Brookies. Haven't had one better than 9 inches and change in over 2 years.

Browns get bigger than Brookies, so once you find a stream with Browns catching a 12"er shouldn't be all that hard. Even on small freestoners (that have Brown Trout), a 12"er is a once an outing type of fish, where a 12" Brookie is a once every few years or more type of fish for comparison.

 

[afishinado]

Good job! They are very nice fish. Small stream brookies top out at 12" +/- in our state. You won't find more gemologists anywhere than on here at PAFF. Many thousands of brookies caught amongst all the guys and none grow much past a foot long.

You accomplished the most difficult thing first, since catching a larger wild brown will be a lot easier.

 

[PocketWater]

Very nice SteveO. Very pretty fish. Congratulations on hitting another goal.

 

[steveo27]

Thanks dudes. I just assumed once a gemmie grew to a certain size, it was no longer considered a gemmie and turned into a real fish.

I shoulda been a little more specific with my next goal. I realize 12"+ wild browns are very common in PA. My goal is to catch one in the Laurel Highlands. Ive caught a few in the 10" range so far, but no larger. I know I could head 2 hours east and be into bigger browns, but Id love to catch one close to home.

afishinado wrote:

You accomplished the most difficult thing first, since catching a larger wild brown will be a lot easier.

Ive been doing alotta things backwards. I started this year off with a wild tiger trout, then wild trout trifecta, and now the 12"+ gemmie.

 

[raftman]

Beautiful man!

 

[salmonoid]

steveo27 wrote:

Cross another one of my goals off the list. Next up 12" wild brown.

Set that bar higher. 12" wild browns are minnows :-D

 

[steveo27]

Baby steps. Ive broken the 10" mark twice this summer. 12" is next, then 14", 16", ect....

 

[NPflychucker]

Great looking fish! I too finally broke the 12" brookie mark on a Laurel Highlands stream this year. Nice to see some nice fish coming from our part of the state!

 

[PocketWater]

What were they hammering? EHC?

 

[steveo27]

A variation of Royal Wulff I tie. I use elk hair instead of calf body hair and I dont split the wing. And tie the body with an orange stripe instead of a red one.

Ive been using this pattern all summer with awesome success.

 

[wildtrout2]

steveo27 wrote:
Thanks dudes. I just assumed once a gemmie grew to a certain size, it was no longer considered a gemmie and turned into a real fish.

It does. When they become 10" or bigger they're called big native brook trout. :-D

 

[WildTigerTrout]

wildtrout2 wrote:

steveo27 wrote:
Thanks dudes. I just assumed once a gemmie grew to a certain size, it was no longer considered a gemmie and turned into a real fish.

It does. When they become 10" or bigger they're called big native brook trout. :-D

:lol:

 

[Acristickid]

Was it cold enough to fish for them??

 

[HopBack]

^ what is your cutoff for fishing brook trout streams? I've personally never temped one above 65 degrees and just figured they wouldn't exist in a stream that got hotter than that anyway.

 

[wildtrout2]

HopBack wrote:
I've personally never temped one above 65 degrees...

Neither have I, but it's not so much what water temp they can tolerate as much as it is the stress placed on them after being hooked/played with upper limit water temps. That's what puts them at risk.

 

[sarce]

I have found that fishing for them once the water is above 65 is not worth the effort. Might get one or two. They can survive well into the 70's but it's certainly not good for them.

To the OP, wow, those are great fish! Try bigger nymphs and streamers if you want to find some bigger browns - and on a mountain freestone stream, every undercut boulder is worth a drift or 5.

 

[HopBack]

Neither have I, but it's not so much what water temp they can tolerate as much as it is the stress placed on them after being hooked/played with upper limit water temps. That's what puts them at risk.

Yah I can't say that I have ever overplayed fish that are 12 inches or less and can usually get them in by just picking up my rod. I agree with sarce: I usually skip the Brook trout if temps are that bad, you won't find any feeding fish anyway. Low flows can produce decreased dissolved oxygen which stress a trout but again area of slack low gradient water is not typically suitable habitat for Brook trout.

 

[Reeder]

Nice job. If a stream can produce 11 and 12 inch brook trout, and it also holds browns, I would bet that there are some 14-16" browns cruising around somewhere. Maybe even bigger.