The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.
And yes, all those bass have gotten bigger.
??
Ah! From what I knew back when I chased them, SB popns crashed back in the late 80s early 90s. Regs changed and they rebounded with huge numbers of young bass. They've grown since and I see many photos of 40" fish now. Haven't followed things though to really know.
Love your crab fly btw.