Quote Originally Posted by MOturkE
Bostonangler,

Latest State record was set on October 3, 2005 of 27 lbs, 10 ounces by Rick Osborn of Camdenton, Missouri. Caught in Lake Taneycomo.

Nope! It was caught by a fellow from STL in Taneycomo this July. It was recently made official. I forget the weight, but it supercedes Osborn's fish.

But my point was:

I was fishing backcountry streams in very high country, not a stock pond in Gunnison. A huge Brown on the Lake Fork is a 20-incher. Rainbows tend to run smaller. I was also fishing upper Henson Creek above Capitol City. There we're talking about Brookies in the 5" to 12" range. And these are WILD fish...not carryovers from a hatchery. Not the same deal...apples and oranges...dumb to try to compare based on fish size. It is two very different types of fishing experiences. And I enjoy both very much for what each has to offer.

For me, fly fishing isn't always about the size or numbers of fish caught. It IS always about catching fish or I wouldn't go, but when fishing for native Brookies in a 6" deep 5' wide beaver pond off of a 10' wide creek at 13500' in the Rockies using dries on a 4wt I am not targeting 20 lb lunker Browns in the Ozarks in a park at the base of a dam in the middle of town. Capiche?