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You make a good point and I do agree that throwing bigger baits can help you weed out smaller fish. Having said that, I do think there are times where sizing down is actually more effective when targeting bigger fish. Big Trout legends like Jay Watkins out of Rockport, Tx or Matt Chipperfield out of Jacksonville, FL preach this a lot. I know those are very different fisheries but I hear the same things from my fishing mentors. Like all rules with trout, you can throw a big “Depends” into any of these points. Matching the hatch and knowing conditions are important no matter what you are targeting.
I also agree that location is the most important factor in all of this. I’m limited by a smaller boat so I have to look outside of what is probably the best big trout fishing areas in the state: Outside Rigs and Islands. I think having an understanding that all things are relative really helps me keep my head in the game. I can’t compare myself to the Carter brothers in Venice when I mostly fish Lake P, Bievenue, and the Hopedale area. It’s just like the idea that a big buck in Louisiana would be laughable in OK or Kansas. Even the big trout in Venice are just a decent fish south of Corpus, Tx or the Guana River, Indian River, and Mosquito Lagoon in FL. Those trout you caught are hammers for those areas.
