Brookies!

Kickin back with some cold ones on this memorial day and resting my arm from landing some pigs over the weekend. landed many that measured well into the 20's, as far as lbs, I have no concept of that. Mayfly hatches haven't really started yet, so nothing on dries. Every large fish was caught on the same fly, olive hare's ear. I tie my hares with thin wire, not gold ribbing. That coupled with the black tungsten bead makes me believe they were feeding on the green caddis larva that are found in massive numbers in the river and mistaking my hare's ear for that. I never thought of the fly as a caddis larva imitation, but the way it's tied, I can see it. Either way, was a great time!

nice fish landed by my buddy
https://photos.app.goo.gl/71aKqUoeVa8siVIc2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/z1LzUzlE8O89iszq2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x2tulZEgl2cibsxO2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mg8GX0p3MQrNJc2f1

This one was a porker
https://photos.app.goo.gl/C3ib5iMHEZMlF1pS2

This pic upsets me. This was probably the largest/fattest brookie Ive ever caught or even seen in person. I couldnt hold it for a pic without 2 hands. I keep my fish right in the water on the bank of the river so I run the risk of them flopping and taking off which is exactly what this fish did, but its etched in my memory.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9A4n5dmb5ohWjEdF2

Then, there is the pic that doesn't exist. I hooked one fish that I cannot put into words. It ran me up and down. I was pretty close to netting it when something happened that I never expected from a brookie...It stripped the material off my fly right down to the underwire, and bent my hook to 90 degrees. Naturally, I lost it, but it was easily the largest river trout I have ever hooked, let alone a brook trout. Either way I landed an array of fish that I'll remember for a long time.