Biggest wild trout this season?

18". Seems to be a sticking point for me every year. This was the first of four or five this size.
 

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Pics of my best brown of the year, from 2 weekends ago. I would surely have claimed this fish to be larger than the 17" my tape measure told me it was - very fat and healthy fish! It was the only fish I caught that morning on a small MD freestone stream. I probably will not top it this year unless I can get some casts in after a summer storm at some point.

Fish was hiding under the rock on the right side. I stood on the mossy rock in the middle and dunked a size 4 heavy streamer and let the eddy current carry it into the undercut. Saw the line move, set the hook, and a tough fight ensued but I was prepared with 2X tippet this time. Kept the fish in the pool and kept it from pulling any line - still took 2 minutes to land though.

The pool immediately downstream is where I caught a 22" monster last year. Stream is crazy.
 

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I bummed i couldn't get a pic but last weekend i landed my personal best 23" brown on a sz. 16 sulphur in stilesville. The fish never made any runs just hugged the bottom and shook her head. Weighed 5 to 6 lbs and fat as a football. I couldn't get her to the bank and didn't want to stress the fish anymore for a pic but it made my entire trip worth it.
 
Landed this wild brown on a fly I tied (hare's ear). The largest wild trout of the season for me (close to 17 inches) and largest on a fly I tied so far. Pretty stoked, especially since this was just out my back door.

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raftman- Very unique pattern on that one. It has the blue cheek and red on adipose like a wild fish but I do have to wonder about it's origins. Would like to hear from others on this one. Either way a very nice trout.
 
I agree, not wild. Has the classic PFBC stockie brown weird spot pattern and beat up dorsal fin. But I'd be pretty happy to catch it, and even better on a self tied fly
 
I don't believe it's wild, but it doesn't matter. A beautiful healthy fish.
 
Thanks guys. Good possibility it's a holdover now that you mention it. Either way, still pretty stoked.
 
yes probably a holdover for sure. very colored up by eating lots of bugs and there again a lot of people think the blue cheek indicates a wild fish but that is not always true. Very nice fish indeed though, would be stoked to catch that fish on my own fly.
 
My biggest wild trout of the season I caught this afternoon on the smallest freestone stream I fished this year. The stream does not measure much over 10 feet across anywhere along it's length. I caught the same brown trout in the same spot back in April 2015 . He measured 15 inches then. I targeted this trout each time I fished this stream since but never hooked him again, until today. He had grown some as he was deeper and heavier and his kype was even more pronounced. I measured him at 17 inches today. Smacked my size 14 parachute Adams dry and the fight was on. Several times I thought he had me snagged but he was just pulling hard to stay on the bottom. He fought the same exact way the last time I caught him. My little Sage TXL 7' 4 weight was really getting a workout. I finally guided him down into the tail of the pool and finished the fight. What a great fish from such a small stream! He is my personal best trout from this stream both times I caught him. What a TROPHY! I released him to fight another day and hope to fool him a third time at some point in the future. :-D
 
I agree on holdover. But mc, I don't see any blue/black eye spot on him. Blue cheek, yes, but I've never heard that as an indicator.

I really don't see any good wild indicators at all, other than nice overall color. I'm not sure that's red on the adipose. Fins are pretty opaque, especially the anal fin.
 
There's red on the adipose, which is what led me to believe it was wild, it just doesn't show in this photo. There is also what looked to be a blue/black eye spot on him when I looked up close before releasing. But, like I said, after looking at it awhile and hearing other's thoughts, it's most likely a holdover.
 
It's amazing to me how one of those crappy State browns can end up looking like this fish after being in the stream for a while!
 
The_Sasquatch wrote:
It's amazing to me how one of those crappy State browns can end up looking like this fish after being in the stream for a while!
Click to expand...

We don't know that that is what happened here.

Some people said that they think it's a holdover. But that does not mean that it IS a holdover.

We don't know if it's a stocked trout or wild trout.

And if it's a stocked trout, we don't know if it was from a state hatchery, coop hatchery, or private hatchery.

My guess is that it's a wild trout. Someone said the dorsal fin looks damaged, but that fin is folded down, so you really can't see it. The other fins look good. The rays are parallel, not bent and the fin edges look good.

But it could be a trout raised in a small hatchery. Those often have little fin damage and often have access to some wild foods, so often have decent coloration.

The chances that this was a typical PFBC hatchery brown trout that has been in the stream awhile seem very low.






 
I believe many of us were basing the "holdover" status on the spot patterns of the brown, which seem very typical of the standard PAFC stocked brown. I've never seen a wild brown w/ that kind of spot pattern. Have you?
 
The_Sasquatch wrote:
I believe many of us were basing the "holdover" status on the spot patterns of the brown, which seem very typical of the standard PAFC stocked brown. I've never seen a wild brown w/ that kind of spot pattern. Have you?
Click to expand...

Yes. In some of the large limestone streams, such as Bald Eagle Creek and the Little Juniata, there are wild browns with similar patterns.
 
Fair enough. Knowing Raftman caught it in Lancaster County, while I certainly haven't caught every wild trout in the county, I have caught a lot of trout in a lot of streams all over Lancaster, I personally have not seen a wild brownie here w/ these kinds of patterns. However, I do not know the stream he caught it on, and that would certainly effect whether I believe it is a well-held over state stocker, or if it's a privately stocked fish.
 
Sasquatch, just because I said it was out my back door doesn't necessarily mean Lancaster. Tho it may 🙂.
 
Gotcha. Well, I'm comfortable expanding that range by a few counties! And don't get me wrong, I almost hope this IS a state stocker 'cause I think it would be awesome to see a fish like that become a fish like you posted.
 
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