# Largest resident trout?



## redneckman

I was curious as to what some of your guys/gales larget resident trout are from local streams? Feel free to tell the whole story too if you want.

My largest resident trout happened to be a nicy healthy brown. I was fishing with a buddy one morning throwing spinners and rapalas targeting browns and brookies. I was fishing one stretch that is straight with a large undercut bank. We snuck up to edge of the bank and my buddy started casting upstream while I stared casting down stream. On my 2nd or 3rd cast my panther martin was heading straight for some brush on shore. I grabbed the line to stop the spinner from reaching the brush and it shot back and splashed into the stream. When it hit the water something splashed right near shore. I thought maybe it was a muskrat jumping into the river, but I figured I would cast there anyway to check. Not 2 or 3 cranks of the reel and the spinner was crushed. The fish jumped right away and peeled some drag. I fought the fish for what felt like 5 minutes, but was mostly likely 30 seconds or so. With the help of my friend I managed to guide the fish into the net. We put the tape to the fish and I had my largest brown trout of my life. The brown went 21.5 inches and was a riot to catch on my 5.5ft ligt rod with 6lb lin. 

I wish trout season would come quicker.

Redneckman


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## doogie mac

Nice fish!!! 
I will plead the 5th!  Just know that if anyone catches 18plus incher resi troutlings,he/she should be darned proud cause you just outsmarted the alpha predator of that stretch!


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## LSSUfishmaster

21 inch rainbow on a size 18 sucker spawn fly on the muskegon river.


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## Gooseanator26

26 in. brown on the forth of july on the pm mousin


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## Speyday

Gooseanator26 said:


> 26 in. brown on the forth of july on the pm mousin



Holy cow thats an unbelievable fish. I'd love to see a pic if you have one. Kasploosh !

One night in August on the PM I was fishing giant undressed #6 homemade spinners, trying for early kings, and got a 22 and an almost 24 within an hour of each other out of some major huge log jams down by maple leaf. And, yes, these were for sure river fish. After the second one; I just unstrung the rod, broker her down, and went back to camp after only 2 hours on the water. Just didn't want to push my luck.


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## fishinDon

When my daughter was only 3 or 4 years old, I would take her to a favorite local watering hole on a trout stream in the area. She could fish there because we could drive right to the river, it was open and she could even cast a little and get a little bit of a drift without snagging up. 

Of course after just a few minutes she would typically lose interest in fishing, after having maybe caught one trout...on this day, dad got to have some fun too - this is the post I made on it back in 2006 - just about teared up re-reading it...little girl is growing up fast:

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137808


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## quest32a

Got one around 23 and one that was 20.5. One I was steelhead fishing and one I was fishing on a small stream known for big browns and i was targeting them. 

Best accomplishment is catching the same 19 inch brown on back to back casts. That was fishing a SW stream that was over its banks. That day I fished 3 hours and caught 10 or so browns over 15 with 2 over 17 in addition to the one that I caught twice that was 19. Every ever river in the area was blown to high hell, and this one has a lot of gravel and runs off pretty quick. Even though it was over the bank I knew the water well and there was still 8-12 inches visibilty. To say the fishing was stellar is an understatement. Ive tried to hit that river again under the same conditions and have not had near the success.


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## brushbuster

but i once caught 5- 20 + inch browns in one night all within 30 minutes and all out of the same run. It was the start of the brown drake hatch on the nortbranch of the Aus.I was just about to pack it in after a faint spinner fall. I untied my spent wing and had the first 2 sections of my 4 piece taken apart when i heard it. Slurp. and then slurp. and yet another slurp. I was all by lonsesome on some flat water on an inside seam. The sounds of fish feeding got more intense I shined a light on the shallows and saw duns coming off out of the muck. i hurriedly slammed my rig back to gether and tied on a roberts paradun and ran over to the comotion. i saw em rise simultaneously. I waited and watched and then got layed the fly out and whamo. It happened very quicky and then it was done. 5 over 20 in one night. My record.


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## Bull Market

brushbuster said:


> but i once caught 5- 20 + inch browns in one night all within 30 minutes and all out of the same run. It was the start of the brown drake hatch on the nortbranch of the Aus.I was just about to pack it in after a faint spinner fall. I untied my spent wing and had the first 2 sections of my 4 piece taken apart when i heard it. Slurp. and then slurp. and yet another slurp. I was all by lonsesome on some flat water on an inside seam. The sounds of fish feeding got more intense I shined a light on the shallows and saw duns coming off out of the muck. i hurriedly slammed my rig back to gether and tied on a roberts paradun and ran over to the comotion. i saw em rise simultaneously. I waited and watched and then got layed the fly out and whamo. It happened very quicky and then it was done. 5 over 20 in one night. My record.


And a record not soon to be broke eitrher, I'd say. Great story. Too implausible to be made up . . . it has to be the truth.


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## plugger

24.5 " is the largest for sure resident. I have caught several river colored fish in the 15 to 16 lb range but surmise these were lake run fish. One brown was in april and was a perfect river appearance except for being 36" long, that fish came on spawn. My son caught a river appearing fish that weighed 16 lbs but we didnt measure length, that fish came on a crawler.


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## steelheadmaniac

Hey Mike- The last brown I helped you land a few years back was around 14-16lbs. Big resident Hook-Jaw Torker Male!!! I have NOT been out yet this yr. - hard to believe eh! Got the sinus plauge (sp) before x-mas and have got it all except pnemonia I guess? P.M. Me if you have any info as I'll be laid off all thru mid-feb-april so Ill hit it hard. Looks like another arctic blast through the middle of next week?
Nice seeing U last fall on the river too.
Richie


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## Flyfisher

23" during an iso spinner fall on the Au Sable "trophy waters" below Mio. It was feeding in 12" of water, mid-river, just below the takeout at Comin's Flats.


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## tannhd

All good stories. I caught a 22 inchnbrown a few months ago. Threw it back obviously, but I would love a nice 22+ inch resident mount on my wall. 

I think hat the dnr should differentiate between stream and lake brown trout for master angler awards. I've caught many 30 inch browns off piers and on boats, but I am much more proud of anything over 20 out of a small stream.


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## MrFysch

Have caught several over the years being a trout fisherperson and a guide for 25 years. Biggest myself was 26 inches fly water of the PM. BUT a guy I work with caught a resident brown during the hex hatch near Grayling that was 29.5 inches....the next summer he caught the SAME brown out of the Same spot during the hex hatch and it broke the 30 inch mark. Swear on my daughters life saw the pics and the tape next to the fish. My Grandfather had a cabin in Mio and logged every trout he ever caught. He caught countless browns over 25 inches back in the 60's. My father caught a 27 inch rainbow drifting a crawler around midnite near the whirlpool on the ausable below Luzerne.....could go on forever!!! LUV BIG TROUT!


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## swampbuck

I have caught several browns over 20. On a very woody part of the Ausable south branch.....In fact I would almost expect at least one 18-20" when I go there... once every 2 or 3 years. Its not fly water.......Barely get a 5' rod and a crawler in there. No pictures taken, I fish for the fryin pan.:corkysm55

I prefer brook trout and have a fine spot......But working on figuring out a new spot, seen one there last year that I would probably take a picture of.


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## Fishslayer5789

brushbuster said:


> but i once caught 5- 20 + inch browns in one night all within 30 minutes and all out of the same run. It was the start of the brown drake hatch on the nortbranch of the Aus.I was just about to pack it in after a faint spinner fall. I untied my spent wing and had the first 2 sections of my 4 piece taken apart when i heard it. Slurp. and then slurp. and yet another slurp. I was all by lonsesome on some flat water on an inside seam. The sounds of fish feeding got more intense I shined a light on the shallows and saw duns coming off out of the muck. i hurriedly slammed my rig back to gether and tied on a roberts paradun and ran over to the comotion. i saw em rise simultaneously. I waited and watched and then got layed the fly out and whamo. It happened very quicky and then it was done. 5 over 20 in one night. My record.


That's awesome! You were definately on a river that has been famous for producing trophy fish. I have seen plenty of pictures of trophy browns from the AS.


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## doogie mac

swampbuck said:


> I have caught several browns over 20. On a very woody part of the Ausable south branch.....In fact I would almost expect at least one 18-20" when I go there... once every 2 or 3 years. Its not fly water.......Barely get a 5' rod and a crawler in there. No pictures taken, I fish for the fryin pan.:corkysm55
> 
> I prefer brook trout and have a fine spot......But working on figuring out a new spot, seen one there last year that I would probably take a picture of.


 Yep,Im a brook trout dude as well. I dont think i need to tell ya mums the word on your spot,eh? -unless you want to send me a pm with the exact coordinates!!!:lol:


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## Fishslayer5789

swampbuck said:


> I fish for the fryin pan.:corkysm55


 
I'm the same way most of the time for trout. I ALWAYS fish for the frying pan when I fish small creeks. It's about half/half on larger rivers. I figure that if I am going to crawl on my hands and knees through pricker bushes and swamps to drop a line into a 6-inch space between some sticks and rip out a trout that is 8 or 10 inches without even fighting it for more than 2 seconds, then I am going to throw it in my trout bag and take it home. I've always viewed creek fishing as strictly a way to catch trout for dinner. There isn't a whole lot of sport to it compared to fishing on bigger rivers, and it takes a LOT more effort. I almost always come back with mud and mosquito bites all over me, but the dinner is WELL-WORTH the effort! Heck, I just found some pics from some dinners I had this summer from creek fishing, so enjoy!

























I'm already hungry for trout season!!!


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## ausable_steelhead

I've caught two stream browns over 20 inches. The first was a 22" out of the Little Man in mid August on a crawler. The second was from a NW unmentionable in early June, that one was 21" and caught on a tubejig.


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## Matt3ddsteel

My biggest resident brown is 22.5" and biggest brookie is 19"...(not a coaster either).


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## steelslam

my biggest river brown was caught after slidding the boat in at rainbow bend. it was six years back in early nov while fishing for steelhead. the brown hit on a #2 size black nose dace. its size was 29 1/2'' an just under 11 pounds. it hangs on the wall above my fly tying bench. it had the biggest kype ive ever seen on a male brown. the kype was close to 3'' long.


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## foxfire69

steelslam said:


> my biggest river brown was caught after slidding the boat in at rainbow bend. it was six years back in early nov while fishing for steelhead. the brown hit on a #2 size black nose dace. its size was 29 1/2'' an just under 11 pounds. it hangs on the wall above my fly tying bench. it had the biggest kype ive ever seen on a male brown. the kype was close to 3'' long.


 
Wow, nice lake run Brown! I would like to see a photo of your mount!


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## RiverRat22

Went on a couple day fishing trip the on the pine river that produced plenty of fish with none breaking the 15 inch mark..... making the last part of the float through what we thought was marginal water i was casting a number 3 floating rapala when I got the brusier in the picture below. Caught him on a 5 foot ugly stick with 6 pound test that had became very coiled up from to much spinner fishing without a swivel lol. The cheapo real was also slipping the entire time i had the fish on. Felt like a miracle i got him in. Love trout fishing even though I don't get out as much as I'd like. I only have a couple of fish over the 20 inch mark but hope to change that this spring!


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## PunyTrout

My best resident Brown trout is the 27" 7 lb. posted in my gallery. Feel free to post it here. My best limit is over 70" of Brown trout with three fish. 22", 23.5", and 26" all caught and released. All were caught in the middle of the day.

The secret? Presentation. "Make this cast" should be your constant mantra when hunting big browns.


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## tannhd

This is a great thread. It's killing me that the end of April is so far away still.


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## Hullyscott

RiverRat22 said:


> Went on a couple day fishing trip the on the pine river that produced plenty of fish with none breaking the 15 inch mark..... making the last part of the float through what we thought was marginal water i was casting a number 3 floating rapala when I got the brusier in the picture below. Caught him on a 5 foot ugly stick with 6 pound test that had became very coiled up from to much spinner fishing without a swivel lol. The cheapo real was also slipping the entire time i had the fish on. Felt like a miracle i got him in. Love trout fishing even though I don't get out as much as I'd like. I only have a couple of fish over the 20 inch mark but hope to change that this spring!


That is a beast!!!


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## Hullyscott

PunyTrout said:


> My best resident Brown trout is the 27" 7 lb. posted in my gallery. Feel free to post it here. My best limit is over 70" of Brown trout with three fish. 22", 23.5", and 26" all caught and released. All were caught in the middle of the day.
> 
> The secret? Presentation. "Make this cast" should be your constant mantra when hunting big browns.


When my nephews ask me to take them trout fishing, we always spend an hour in the front yard the day before, practicing a variety of casts. I tell them that a good cast in the 'sweet spot' is the number one thing to catching elusive, wary browns.

Hully


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## Sam22

When I was very young, like 12 or 14 years old I caught a 24 and 26 inch brown two casts apart, with a big brookie right after them. It was in a pond with a small stream flowing in and out. I didn't realize what I had done. If I ever catch another 26 or larger I am having a replica made. It was the opening day of trout season, first thing in the morning.... and I don't have a picture!!!!


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## itchn2fish

My largest resident trout was also caught at a young age and was a 28" brown from a Grand River trib., and I creeled it and we had it for dinner. Now, all large trout are always released, except for a big brown my daughter caught in another Grand Trib that I had mounted for her. The pic is in my photo album.


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## Trout King

I2F, you lie! there are no big trout in the Grand River system! Actually I caught a dandy brookie out of the Grand a couple weeks ago steelie fishing. :16suspect


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## mondrella

I have caught more than my share of big trout. When I decided to try trout fishing I was 21 years old. My first trip on my first cast produced a 21" bow 2 cast later I had my second fish a 23" bow. This river section still holds big bows. I now know how special those fish were. My best stream bow is a 27" fish and a brown 27 1/2" best brook trout was 18". I have hooked bigger browns and brook trout but never have came close to the rainbow again. 
My most memorable big trout I never even caught. I was fishing a stream and had landed a 3 fish over 20" when I came up to one of the biggest holes and had a brown give chase. I was sure that it would push the 30" mark. Two days later there was a front moving in and conditions where perfect I knew that every fish in the river would be willing to eat. This river just so happens to pass right thru a small city. I was pumped at the chance to hook into this fish. when I reached this spot a 10 year old boy was fishing. I stopped and asked if he had caught any fish. He said just the chubs as he proceeded to flip another up on the bank. The hook was to big for them to get in thier mouth and he was just flipping them on the bank. I continued to talk to this boy and found out his dad and grandpa dropped him off to fish while they went to get a drink. 
I asked him if he wanted to catch a trout. His eyes lit up and he said yes. I said catch one more of those chubs and I will show you what to do. He flopped one onto the bank. I peeled the shredded worm off the hook and ran the hook thru the head of the chub and told him where to cast. He over casted the distance needed to hit the sweet spot. A couple quick turns of the reel handle and that chub floated right where it needed to go. His rod just doubled over. He never even set the hook. The big brown did not even give him a chance to set the hook he did it for him. After many big runs and this kid about done in I pushed the big trout to bank with my hand to help beach it. The big brown hit the 32" mark on my tape when I laid him on it. By far one of the most special trout I have ever seen. I have since hooked 4 trout that I am sure would be bigger than that one yet they have all won the battles we have had. 

Heres a few pics of some nice trout from over the years.


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## DoninNe

That is one of the most unselfish good deeds I have ever heard of. Good job mondrella!! That kid was probably hooked on trout for life.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Fishslayer5789

I would have loved to have seen the look on the Grandpa and Dad's face when they got back to that spot and saw a 32 inch brown laying there!!!


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## swampswede

Graet story, thanks for sharing


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## Splitshot

Very nice Steve. Help some little kids out but where is you consideration when you fish with older guys. This is what you generally do to me!










Remember this embarasssment!


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## mondrella

Ray,
You know I just get lucky. Heck the first fish I think you are the one that pointed out to fish the spot it came from. The second I got really lucky and caught it fishing behind you. 
I think you bring me good luck. We need to hit the river more often together. 

I prefer to fish behind Ray that way there my ego " which every one has" does not get so badly hurt. Considering he normally catches 5 fish to my one. I am just grateful to get a quality fish once and a while with him. He maybe the best rounded trout fisherman I have ever met. 

Like I said a long time ago somewhere. I got lucky and figured out how to catch trophy trout before I learned how to trout fish. 

It looks like I may be up around Petosky and East Jordan area for the first part of season working. Sorry guys I have poked around up there before and I think this may be my year to pop a 20" brookie. It has been few years since I broke the 15" mark I think I need to focus on them this year.

Ray thanks for posting a couple of those pics. Ray should post some of the monster trout he has caught if you want to seem some true dandies.


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## redneckman

***Bump to top***

Figured I would bump this up since we are almost there!

Redneckman


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## Flyfisher

Found an old picture of my largest on a dry fly, caught and release below Mio in June of 2000, I believe.


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## TroutStlkr

Probably 6 or 7 summers ago, I landed and released a brown that just reached the 20" mark. I was fishing with a 5 1/2' UL and 4lb line and remember anxiously barking orders at my net man from almost the moment it was hooked until it finally came to net as previous encounters with 20 plus inch trout had ended in dissapointment. In fact I remember one exciting yet frustrating day on the river right after I had gotten my drivers license where in about an hour I hooked up with 3 lunker browns which all were probably at least 22 inches, only to part with all 3 without bringing them to hand. I went back the next day with my steelhead gear thinking that was all I needed to tilt things in my favor, but it ended up taking a few more summers before I eclipsed the 20 inch with the trout mentioned above. I wish I carried a digital camera in my vest like I do now, but was glad to have a couple of friends to witness and one to net the fish. 

In recent years though it seems like resident trout have taken a back seat and fishing trips have been planned to maximize opportunity to hook up with something that matured in the big lake. That is going to hopefully change this year. I really love fishing small water with ultra-light gear and need to make it a point to get out there and hunt those lunker residents. To me a 20" brown is still an impressive fish, but I'm optimistic that when this thread or a similar one starts up again during next year's doldrums, I have a more impressive trout to talk about. I'm envisioning a lunker brown somewhere in the mid 20s and I think a brookie somewhere approaching 20" is my new holy grail in fishing. I haven't really been as eager for the start of trout season since I can't remember when. Salmo trutta, Oncorhynchus mykiss and Salvelinus fontinalis beware.


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## BeanOFish

Here is one I nailed this weekend tossing streamers with Mike from Baldwin Creek Lodge. It went about 22in and weighed around 5 or 6 lbs, took a white Sex Dungeon.


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