Brown trout

[couesmagnet]

Str8 shot your trying hard to prove my point. Why do you think you have to hike multiple miles to catch a reasonable fish. Again my point. I also hike many miles in to catch a decent fish and i don't fish tonto or oak creek either. Why do you think you have to hike multiple miles to catch something decent? Could it be because of exactly what i'm saying about catch and release???? You would argue with me if i said the sky was blue. You just proved my point. If we had more catch and release you wouldn't have to hike like me also. Thanks for proving my point, i couldn't have said it better than you just did!!! Now carry on, my work here is done, thanks to you!!! Long live the dink without catch and release, and without being in good shape and having to hike several miles you'll see what i'm saying when you can't hike any longer!!! Have a wonderful day chief!!!

[couesmagnet]

One more thing chief, i have no complaints about the fish i'm catching. It would blow your mind how many giant fish i catch year in and year out, so again i'm not complaining. I was complaining for the average guy with a couple kids that can't get into remote sections to fish. Get over yourself please, and yes i know there's much better stuff to use these days than a spinner, i just didn't want to give the farm away to people who would use such diff lures to keep a stringer full. I need to convert to fly fishing because there's a mortality rate associated with using any artificial bait other than a small hooked fly. Someday i will switch over completely because of that very mortality rate associated with using anything on the end of a spinning rod. i owe it to the fish. I just can't get over the strike on a spinning rod, in my opinion it's twice as hard as a fly rod. Call me selfish but i can't get over that big strike!!! For now ill keep crimping my barbs and using a single hook. My last post on this one. Go get um chief star.

[Str8Shot]

Not proving your point .. just talking real world .. Stream and Creek fishing is like that anywhere .. The fish disperse upstream and down stream .. they find areas that offer what they need and have a capacity ... Trout can get very territorial of their pools on small creeks and streams thus spreading the fish out more .. Just the nature of that type of fishing .. You talk of quality waters, but small creaks and streams rarely have true quality waters like the larger rivers that have size and flow to carry a capacity for large breeding areas .. Lees ferry was once very quality waters that is now over populated and holding much more fish than it once used to and because of that the quality is not what it used to be. Can you still catch a couple big ones at Lees, sure , but I can still catch 20 inch browns in the areas I like and have fished for 30 + years ... One of them that suffered almost a complete kill not that long ago is seeing some numbers and quality bounce back in the areas.

 

You say the answer is More Stocking and catch and release only , which is not always the remedy for quality fish but it is still implemented in areas ... Many areas have designated catch and release , artificial lure only ( which is all I use ) , Barbless hooks and so on to promote the same improvement in quantity and quality ...

But areas you keep mentioning are high traffic recreational areas stocked for the very purpose to promote recreation and harvest...

 

As an example at a fairly popular creek Seen 3 groups fishing all saying there is nothing there to catch, 20 yards down stream fishing differently then they were, I had 4 hooked and released in about 20 minutes with one about 15 inches .... They were casting the pools and middle water , I was fishing the edges less than 2 feet from shore parallel ... there is a reason it is called fishing not catching .

[trphyhntr]

itt arguing about trout. might as well be talking about barbies

[Couzer]

Those Browns are hard to get rid of. I was on a project to shock sheeps crossing after AZGF poisoned it and the only fish we found were the Browns, about a dozen or so in a mile. We were told to bank these fish (throw them on the bank so they would die). I'm surprised we found so many. I don't think the Browns are going to be gone in AZ

[Becker]

Nothing better than a big ol' brown fillet!!!! My mouth is watering as I type!

[standman]

itt arguing about trout. might as well be talking about barbies

Ha ha!!!

[couesmagnet]

 

itt arguing about trout. might as well be talking about barbies

Ha ha!!!

 

Guys if i had the choice tomorrow i would trade any 105 to 110 buck with a rifle for a 25 inch type brown from a creek in az tomorrow. There isnt a 110 buck walking that could rattle my nerves like a 25 inch type brown from a creek. I like fishing that much, and a giant trout from az is much much much harder to find than any 110 buck. There's so many 110 bucks in this state it's not even funny, but there's so so few really big trout. 25 inch trout are about as rare as a 130 buck in my mind.

[trphyhntr]

 

 

itt arguing about trout. might as well be talking about barbies

Ha ha!!!

 

Guys if i had the choice tomorrow i would trade any 105 to 110 buck for a 25 inch type brown from a creek in az tomorrow. There isnt a 110 buck walking that could rattle my nerves like a 25 inch type brown from a creek. I like fishing that much, and a giant trout from az is much much harder to find than any 110 buck. 110 bucks are almost a dime a dozen in this state. 25 inch trout are about as rare as a 130 buck in my mind.

 

do they even exist? our stream fishing is garbage here

[couesmagnet]

 

 

 

itt arguing about trout. might as well be talking about barbies

Ha ha!!!

 

Guys if i had the choice tomorrow i would trade any 105 to 110 buck for a 25 inch type brown from a creek in az tomorrow. There isnt a 110 buck walking that could rattle my nerves like a 25 inch type brown from a creek. I like fishing that much, and a giant trout from az is much much harder to find than any 110 buck. 110 bucks are almost a dime a dozen in this state. 25 inch trout are about as rare as a 130 buck in my mind.

 

do they even exist? our stream fishing is garbage here

 

My biggest is 24 from a creek. I've seen and lost a couple that i think would go 25 ish but that was several years ago. I saw a pic of a fish caught last year in a creek near payson that was 25. Can you imagine how many guys that had caught that fish and had to have released him. I was with a friend 2 years ago that caught one that went a hair over 24 less than 3 hours from phoenix. I have to believe there's a couple still roaming but without more catch and release their days are numbered.

[trphyhntr]

wish i knew why AZGFD was against us having nice things to catch.

 

 

8" easy to catch stocker rainbows sell more licenses than wise big browns that compete with and eat 8" rainbows i guess

[standman]

 

 

 

itt arguing about trout. might as well be talking about barbies

Ha ha!!!

Guys if i had the choice tomorrow i would trade any 105 to 110 buck with a rifle for a 25 inch type brown from a creek in az tomorrow. There isnt a 110 buck walking that could rattle my nerves like a 25 inch type brown from a creek. I like fishing that much, and a giant trout from az is much much much harder to find than any 110 buck. There's so many 110 bucks in this state it's not even funny, but there's so so few really big trout. 25 inch trout are about as rare as a 130 buck in my mind.

I live in the White Mountains. I grew up catching trout. I've caught a bunch of big trout. Caught some good ones out of Sunrise this past year. However, I can't hardly stand to go trout fishing anymore. I'd rather catch a 2lb crappie than a 20+" trout, but that's just me. I've been trying to to catch a 3lb+ crappie most of my life and can't get it done. That's what gets my motor running. Its just interesting (sometimes funny) to see everyone's views and opinions on different things and what they are passionate about.

 

Brian

[couesmagnet]

Standman, it is funny to see everyone's diff passions when it comes to the outdoors. My biggest passion is coues deer for sure, but fishing for trout is a super close second. I would love to catch a 2 pound crappie also, because it's a spectacle to see, and a 3 pounder would be super cool even though i'm not into crappie fishing at all. Basically anything freakish in size whether a coues or a fish is what i live for. The freaks of any species in this state are up against tall odds without throwing back the little ones. Store bought fish still taste good. Well said standman.

[Str8Shot]

I heard trphyhntr caught a 300 lb. one not too long ago ....

[Becker]

IMO big browns are just like big coues. Both are out there and there a quit a few of them. The problem is most people don't know how to catch big browns. Same with finding and consistently taking giant coues.

 

You guys saying everyone should practice catch and release is no different than if I came on here and said no one should be shooting coues under 100 inches. I want to be able to go out and see a 120 every time I go out. It's just not going to happen.

 

I have a little honey hole on a small creek where myself and a buddy have caught the same brown a couple times. The fish has a very distinct pattern in its spots on one side. Given the time of year we catch the fish it weighs anywhere from 3 lbs to 4.5 almost five!!! Summer time low flows it is just stuck in its hole and turns into a big headed skinny ugly looking thing. I don't think that fish will ever get any bigger. Just doesn't have the water room and food availability to get any bigger. I fish that hole on the regular yet I hardly ever catch that fish. She's there but doesn't always bite.

 

Our lakes are a different story. Could they be managed better for trophy fish. OH YEAH. The problem is the cost. Other problem is the demand. We have lakes that have lots of trophy (24" or bigger Browns) fish. But I sure as heck don't see many people putting in the effort to catch those. 95% of the people are there with cheap poles, lawn chairs, and a couple cans of power bait. They are completely content catching stocked rainbows all day long.

 

The last 3 times I have fished trout lakes I have caught a brown that weighs 4lbs +. Would I like to catch a lot more bigger fish. You bet. But you are going to have to come up with some way to keep everybody happy. I think G and F does a pretty good job of feeding the fish I wanna catch.m with those stockers. I don't have much of a complaint about being able to chase trophy browns. It could be better but I don't think bad mouthing people that like to keep and eat some of their catch is the right answer. I know I enjoy a long day of fishing with a fresh fillet to finish it off.