or is it just me? This is only my third fall as a permanent resident but the trout I have caught have definitely been larger than the past two years, from a lot of the same spots. Seems like every trout before was just over the limit if it was legal, and this year the 16-18 inchers are in the same areas. Even caught my first 20" ever on Sunday although it was a new spot I had not fished before, at least on that tide. Raddaddy? any thoughts?
Last week when I fished the under-slot fish were in the minority. Caught multiple over 20.
Flats Aficiando
I don’t think they have been larger, just larger than normal for this time of year. Typically at this point in the season the larger ones that are being caught have moved out of the normal areas, but because of the warmer weather I feel that they are hanging around longer. The larger trout are more solitary fish while the smaller ones will school up more often. I do feel that there are larger numbers of trout this year than the past few years, but once again, I feel the warmer weather is to thank for that. Once the bait leaves in the next few weeks the larger trout will be harder to catch and it will be back to the smaller slot fish.
Yes they are no doubt bigger this year than the past 2 years. Unfortunately, even with a mild winter they will not get much bigger on average. They will just increase in numbers. During the unusually long mild spell 02-09, numbers were incredible, but catching one over 20 inches in this area will always be fairly rare as it was back then. That’s not to say there weren’t some 23-25 inch trout around, but we don’t HOLD big trout here like other places in the state. If it stays mild, April and May will be your best shot at a 23+ inch fish.
Yes, bigger. Might be weather, might be luck. But i like.