01-03-2007, 09:10 PM
A potential world-record 29-inch brook trout was recently caught by Tim Matheson while fishing Manitoba's Barbe Lake. The fish measured 29 inches in length and had a 21-inch girth. After measuring and photographing the fish, Matheson and his fishing partner released it.
The fish was estimated at between 15 and 17 pounds, and the standing International Game Fish Association's world record brook trout is 14 pounds, 8 ounces and was caught in July 1916.
According to Matheson, weighing the fish in the manner necessary to meet IGFA world record guidelines would have likely killed the massive brook trout, and that was never an option for him..
"As much as I love fishing, it wasn't worth the risk of killing that magnificent fish to have a world record," Matheson says. "So after measuring the fish and taking some pictures, we slid it back into the lake."
Matheson's fish was caught during the inaugural, four-week "Fish'n Win" tournament. The angler who entered the best fish during each of the four weeks was awarded a cash prize of $1,000.
The fish was estimated at between 15 and 17 pounds, and the standing International Game Fish Association's world record brook trout is 14 pounds, 8 ounces and was caught in July 1916.
According to Matheson, weighing the fish in the manner necessary to meet IGFA world record guidelines would have likely killed the massive brook trout, and that was never an option for him..
"As much as I love fishing, it wasn't worth the risk of killing that magnificent fish to have a world record," Matheson says. "So after measuring the fish and taking some pictures, we slid it back into the lake."
Matheson's fish was caught during the inaugural, four-week "Fish'n Win" tournament. The angler who entered the best fish during each of the four weeks was awarded a cash prize of $1,000.