The One that Rules the South Branch!!!

[ajfromnj]

I got this one at the South Branch of the Raritan today! It measured in at 28 and a half inches. Torrey, the skeptic says it's huge! When I held it up I could feel all the fish that he had been eating in the recent past. I can tell you that there were more than 6 in there! Too bad it messed up and ate my size 16 Frenchie!!!

 

[Trouser Trout]

I think you just found your new avatar pic... awesome fish!!!!!

 

[ajfromnj]

I was just humbled when that thing was put in my net! I was just in awe....

 

[tomfly]

Nice Fish Aaron. Keep that spot a secret. We would not want to humiliate those fish with a hug.

 

[emoussa]

Holy Sh!t..

 

[Trouser Trout]

I guess around 9lbs? ..... again great fish!!!

 

[Fredy]

Nice Brownie!!

 

[ajfromnj]

The only bad thing is that he probably eats some wild brook trout I am sure he hammers a lot of chubs as well. That was just what the doctor ordered, work has been rough.

 

[Lloyd]

That's a sick fish , just awesome .

 

[Johnny Utah]

Now thats an ow now brown trout! Nice fish AJ. How long did it fight for?

 

[G Lech]

Kick ass fish!!!!

 

[lightenup]

Wow....:hubbahubba::hubbahubba::hubbahubba::hubbahubba::hubbahubba:nice fish.......

 

[Matt Grobert]

That's a beauty......

 

[Trout Guy]

Damn, thats not a trout!! Thats a MoNsTeR!!!

 

[Simms]

Hey Aaron,

Nice trout. Which private club did you use beads to coax that fucker to the net? Did you also deface anyone's property or cars prior to leaving?

You're white trash.

A little advice on your next euro presentation. Dont talk to the crowd like we are your fucking 2nd grade class. Pop that huge tihng on your shoulders called ego, and be gentleman on the water...

Sure, Marla is a bitch. Ive fished along side her on the deerfield and swift. But there was no reason to do what you did. Unfortunately, when you have two egotistical ASSHOLES in one area, something was bound to happen...

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Monster fish! When you texted me the picture, I thought you were kidding at first about the river it came from. A leviathan from the deep.

:bigfish:

 

[ajfromnj]

Brian

The crazy thing is that it was in a shallow pocket where we usually get a few wild brookies and smaller browns. The spot was nothing special. It took about 7-10 minutes to land it. He kept on trying to go for a bush on the other side of the river. So everytime he did that Tom would run over and spook him so he didn't go in it. That would have not been good.

He was caught in "club public water" Actually on a hot spot pheasant tail with a copper bead. So the fly did have a bead on it lol. The sulphur hatch and spinner fall were amazing. I would imagine that fish eats anything it can. People just don't walk far enough to get it. I've seen ones around 2 feet during low water and spooked them. Last summer was a good
one for a big fish to get huge. Also, having no winter helped it grow too.

 

[tomk6251]

OMG - sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet...I'll hold another RRTU hat for you to buy for your new found friend.

 

[Barleywine]

Amazing fish Aaron. Always extra fun to get a giant where it is not expected.

 

[danme]

That fish looks like BUBBA -- The fis Shannons Tags every year for a fly rod -- NICE CATCH AARON -- To bad the tag was taken already or you would have a nice NEW FLY ROD SETUP

Peace
Dan

 

[Drossi]

Awesome brown. What do you think the fishes story is, wild, multi-year holdover, single year holdover stocked big?

 

[ajfromnj]

I honestly think its a wild fish. The area where I caught it has produced fish from 19-21 inches in the last 5 years. That's why I took photos of the pectoral and adipose fins. Even if you look at the tail, it's perfect. I'm still shaking my head.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

It looks like a wild fish. There is one section of another river that used to see club stockings of rather large browns, but even those fish had somewhat deformed fins from life in the (PA) hatchery. Either way, it's one hell of a big fish! My best wild brown in the SBR is only maybe 20" - 21" and they come very few and far between unlike rivers like the upper D.

 

[GARYB]

I think it is a breeder stocked this spring. I saw somebody get a 28" brown in Barbours Pond, West Paterson a couple
of weeks ago. So they do dump them in that big.

 

[MACFLY]

Hard to say for sure but it's certainly a huge beautiful brown. One thing for sure the SBR can produce some very big fish. My biggest fish from the SBR was pretty close to that size but definitely a stocky courtesy of anglers anonymous club and caught by the wall down from the club.

Further downstream behind what was once welsh farms I saw 20 inch plus browns spawning every year. I also hooked a ginormous brown one summer evening on a hellgrammite pattern just after a rainstorm a bit further downstream. Fishing the whole Claremont stretch always produced large fish as well as plenty of smaller wild fish year round.
I know in middle valley there were also several sections that harbored big fish and little pressure. So the. SBR is certainly capable of growing them this big. I loved fishing that river.

It looks like a wild fish. There is one section of another river that used to see club stockings of rather large browns, but even those fish had somewhat deformed fins from life in the (PA) hatchery. Either way, it's one hell of a big fish! My best wild brown in the SBR is only maybe 20" - 21" and they come very few and far between unlike rivers like the upper D.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

I think it is a breeder stocked this spring. I saw somebody get a 28" brown in Barbours Pond, West Paterson a couple
of weeks ago. So they do dump them in that big.

Not with perfect fins, they don't. No way that is a recently stocked fish - from a concrete lined raceway or a pond raised fish. I think it's wild, but if it is not, it has lived in that river for a few years now. Any trout with re-grown fins will always have some deformity left on the re-grown fin(s). I don't see that here.

I've seen club stocked fish that were multi-year holdovers go 26" - 30" here in NJ, but this is the biggest river brown I've seen in the state that wasn't stocked recently.

 

[Drossi]

Not with perfect fins, they don't. No way that is a recently stocked fish - from a concrete lined raceway or a pond raised fish. I think it's wild, but if it is not, it has lived in that river for a few years now. Any trout with re-grown fins will always have some deformity left on the re-grown fin(s). I don't see that here.

I've seen club stocked fish that were multi-year holdovers go 26" - 30" here in NJ, but this is the biggest river brown I've seen in the state that wasn't stocked recently.

The spotting and coloration is also different than I've seen on even multi-season holdover stockies, they tend to stay silvery with lots of dark spots. That plus the fins have me leaning towards wild fish, I was curious what others thought. Either way its as beautiful a fish that you will ever see come out of an NJ stream, an absolute beast.

 

[BIGBOW]

That big fat f_ck would be on my wall.. replica of course. Nice friggin fish man.

 

[MACFLY]

Just a wild guess but I predict the SBR will see a slight uptic in the. Number of fisherman this coming weekend

Not with perfect fins, they don't. No way that is a recently stocked fish - from a concrete lined raceway or a pond raised fish. I think it's wild, but if it is not, it has lived in that river for a few years now. Any trout with re-grown fins will always have some deformity left on the re-grown fin(s). I don't see that here.

I've seen club stocked fish that were multi-year holdovers go 26" - 30" here in NJ, but this is the biggest river brown I've seen in the state that wasn't stocked recently.

 

[Trout Nazi]

Just a wild guess but I predict the SBR will see a slight uptic in the. Number of fisherman this coming weekend

And now, we sit back and wait. Who will be the first know-it-all to respond to this and provide us with the cautionary lecture on fishing when it's too warm?