“Submarine”-sized Brown Trout Caught in New Zealand
OutdoorHub Reporters 03.22.13
For angler Otwin Kandolf, his first predicament after landing a gigantic brown trout was finding a scale big enough for it. According to 3 News, the New Zealand resident was fishing in the Ohau B hydro canal when he was approached by the massive fish. It had been feeding on pellets in the water when he cast a line towards it.
Kandolf described the fish as, “Very ugly. Small head, big belly. Just amazing.”
Measuring at over 36.6 inches long and just about a foot wide, this brown trout is a behemoth among its species. Brown trout have a wide and diverse range across the globe and can live up to twenty years if they survive spawning season. Age could explain why this particular specimen grew to such a large size. Environment also plays a factor in how big the fish get, and because of the trout being commonplace in streams around the world, some regional trout get larger than others.
“It looked to me like a submarine,” said Kandaolf, who transported the catch to a local butchery for the weigh-in. Officials measured it at 42 pounds and one ounce, which tops the International Game Fish Association’s record holder Roger Hellen, who previously caught a 41-pound, 8-ounce trout in Lake Michigan. Conflicting reports differ on whether this catch will be certified as the world’s heaviest brown trout hooked.
World record aside, the trout earned its place as the biggest of its kind caught in New Zealand. Kandolf sent the fish off to taxidermist Bob King where it will eventually be immortalized on his wall, granted that his wall can support the fish.
