# New personal best!- 28" brown w/ pix



## Spin to Win (Dec 7, 2010)

Nice LRB and nice residents as well. Congrats on the great trip!


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## cdacker (Jan 10, 2011)

Spin to Win said:


> Nice LRB and nice residents as well. Congrats on the great trip!


Curious as to how you were able to positively ID that brown as a lake run? Unlikely that it's a lake run, that far up in the system, especially this early in the year.


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

cdacker said:


> Curious as to how you were able to positively ID that brown as a lake run? Unlikely that it's a lake run, that far up in the system, especially this early in the year.


LRB's are usually more "dull" in colors...

That fish could go either way and no reason to even speculate, great fish and on a mouse none the less, all hail Hully!

I have seen some LRB's show up here in the Joe in early August so they don't always run late...


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## cdacker (Jan 10, 2011)

Boozer said:


> LRB's are usually more "dull" in colors...
> 
> That fish could go either way and no reason to even speculate, great fish and on a mouse none the less, all hail Hully!


I agree, but there is really no way to tell based on a photo. I've caught and seen several fish in that stretch, particularly in one major unmentionable trib, in June and July that were all silver with no red spots or halos. Even a LRB would start to take on colors of a resident that far up the system. Very likely a resident, and a true beast.


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## Boardman Brookies (Dec 20, 2007)

cdacker said:


> I agree, but there is really no way to tell based on a photo. I've caught and seen several fish in that stretch, particularly in one major unmentionable trib, in June and July that were all silver with no red spots or halos. Even a LRB would start to take on colors of a resident that far up the system. Very likely a resident, and a true beast.


Agreed. I know the trib you speak of, in fact it used to hold the state record for brown trout back in the 1950s. The Rifle holds some absolute monsters.


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## Hullyscott (Sep 17, 2009)

Boozer said:


> LRB's are usually more "dull" in colors...
> 
> That fish could go either way and no reason to even speculate, great fish and on a mouse none the less, all hail Hully!
> 
> I have seen some LRB's show up here in the Joe in early August so they don't always run late...


Thanks for the accolades Kory 

Hully


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

Hullyscott said:


> Thanks for the accolades Kory
> 
> Hully


Seriously dude, that is an awesome fish! Jealous!

Hope your doing well man!


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## Spin to Win (Dec 7, 2010)

cdacker said:


> Curious as to how you were able to positively ID that brown as a lake run? Unlikely that it's a lake run, that far up in the system, especially this early in the year.


First of all, like somebody else said on here, it's an awesome fish, regardless of where it grew to such proportions. I'd freak out if I hooked that thing on my trout gear. 

And to somebody else's point, I guess that there's no absolute way to determine its origin since it was released. I'm not sure that there's any kind of testing a biologist could do even if it wasn't released.

With that being said, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that it was an LRB. 

The Rifle, and many of the East Side tribs get decent returns of browns from Huron each year. And they don't always have to come into the tributaries on spawning runs. I've read in more than a few books/magazines that there is documentation of LRB's and steelhead making 'temperature runs' to take advantage of favorable stream conditions when they present themselves. With the cool weather and stream temps in the 60's much of the summer this year, I would say you have a situation where a brown or two would enter the river ahead of 'schedule'. 

Also, look at the difference in coloration between the hog, and the rest of the fish, (which were awesome in their own right). Not an ounce of red on the big boy, and the even coloration and spot pattern throughout, seem much more like a lake run. The fact that this fish was up high in the system doesn't necessarily mean that it would have to be a resident. 30 miles between the headwaters and the middle stretches of the river is nothing for a migratory fish on the move. 

LRB. And a beauty at that! Congrats on the great fish!


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## cdacker (Jan 10, 2011)

Spin to Win said:


> First of all, like somebody else said on here, it's an awesome fish, regardless of where it grew to such proportions. I'd freak out if I hooked that thing on my trout gear.
> 
> And to somebody else's point, I guess that there's no absolute way to determine its origin since it was released. I'm not sure that there's any kind of testing a biologist could do even if it wasn't released.
> 
> ...


 I agree, it is an awesome fish regardless, but it is even more awesome because it is a resident. It's a testament to the potential of the Rifle and its tributaries (and of course to Hully's angling abilities). There is an absolute way to determine whether it's a lake run or not, but it would require a dead fish.
As I stated previously, some resident fish in that stretch exhibit those color traits. Not sure exactly why, but they certainly do. Worth some further research by fisheries biologists, IMO. And even if it was lake run, it would almost certainly take on colors of a typical resident within days of entering the system. Secondly, for it to be lake run, it would likely to have been staging around the mouth of the Rifle, Wigwam Bay, a few weeks prior to being caught. Wigwam is shallow and warm in August and September. Great for suckers, sheepshead, catfish, carp, and gar, but not trout. 
Congrats again on a true pig, resident brown


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## STEELHEAD JUNKIE (Feb 20, 2010)

Hully that is awesome! I would love to post those photos on my blog! Great job.

Congrats on that brown man that's a nice feecsh!


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## ShadRap (Jan 23, 2010)

Wow very nice brown!!!!!!I hope to get one like that one day.my biggest is 22 in and I thought that was a monster lol nicely done!!!

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## grouse25 (Dec 28, 2010)

That is a beast of a trout for sure. That fish had to explode on that mouse.


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## Hullyscott (Sep 17, 2009)

Grouse it was an absolute EXPLOSION! Completely shocked me since it was the first cast and about 5 ft away from me no less!

Hully


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## Boardman Brookies (Dec 20, 2007)

Hullyscott said:


> Grouse it was an absolute EXPLOSION! Completely shocked me since it was the first cast and about 5 ft away from me no less!
> 
> Hully


That is awesome when that happens. This June I was fishing a hex hatch and basically just pulling line out to make a cast and a 20 inch brown was less than 5 feet from me and gulped the fly instantly went I set the line down on the water. Crazy things happen at night!


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## feedinggrounds (Jul 21, 2009)

Great fish!! With daytime traffic those hogs like the evenings. It is hard water to wade in the dark...so I end up wet right away just to get that part over with then on with fishing! Ok now we wait for Hullys next trip!!Thanks for the posting!!


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## tom01mxz800 (Aug 2, 2006)

Beautiful fish!!! Can't wait to try my hand at it shortly


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## PERCHGILL (Feb 19, 2012)

That's what you get for making the effort to get up north after a full day's work. It's not easy to make the time for such a trip...especially from our neck of the woods. 
I've been on the fence as to whether to forego my usual Au Sable River & check out the Rifle. Your post has settled it.....Rifle it is. Now to just find the time to go.


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