So far this fall I have done very well on what will remain an un-named creek. Down low I got into two nice holdover rainbows. And I've landed probably 20+ gorgeous native browns. I knew that there had to be some bigger browns since the population seems healthy, but with the low water didn't have very high hopes of finding one. Well that changed yesterday. The first pic is about the average fish I've been catching. The second pic is the mama bear. Question - Am I correct in saying that this is a native brown as well? Or do the native's just not get that big and is this likely a old holdover from when the state used to stock browns? I have no idea if the state ever stocks the river that this feeds with browns, but I guess they could have? Whens the last time the state stocked browns?
Quick note - I handle all of my fish with the utmost respect. This fish was out of the water for no more then 6 seconds. The stone was wet prior to super gently laying her down and right back in the water she went and swam away strongly. I realize it wasn't the optimal situation but I was balanced on a small rock and wanted to release it quickly. This was most definitely the most beautiful healthy looking fish I've ever caught in NJ. So glad to see the population survived the crazy heat and low water this summer. Hopefully we get some rain soon.
Quick note - I handle all of my fish with the utmost respect. This fish was out of the water for no more then 6 seconds. The stone was wet prior to super gently laying her down and right back in the water she went and swam away strongly. I realize it wasn't the optimal situation but I was balanced on a small rock and wanted to release it quickly. This was most definitely the most beautiful healthy looking fish I've ever caught in NJ. So glad to see the population survived the crazy heat and low water this summer. Hopefully we get some rain soon.