World Record Brown Trout topped again?

[Fish Junkie]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/98619539.html

Potential world record brown trout caught off Racine

By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel

July 16, 2010 |(53) Comments

Fishing the waters off Racine Friday morning, Roger Hellen of Franksville landed a 41.5-pound brown trout. The fish is more than a whopper - it's a potential world record.

Hellen was taking part in Salmon-A-Rama, the long-standing fishing contest run in Racine by Salmon Unlimited of Wisconsin, Inc.

He caught the fish trolling in the Lake Michigan waters near Wind Point in northern Racine County.

"Unreal," said Hellen, 38, and a veteran Lake Michigan angler. "But if you fish out here often enough, you know almost anything is possible."

The fish was identified as a brown trout by Cheryl Peterson, a Department of Natural Resources fisheries technician working the Salmon-A-Rama weigh-in tent.

The DNR stocks two strains of brown trout in Lake Michigan - domestic and Seeforellen. Hellen's fish appears to be a Seeforellen, said Peterson. Tissue samples were taken by the DNR to age and assess the genetics of the fish.

The Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and the International Game Fish Association list the world record brown trout as a 41 lbs. 7 oz. ( 18.7956 kilograms) fish caught Sept. 9, 2009 in the Manistee River, Michigan.

Hellen's fish was taken to Brossman's Meat Market in Racine so it could be weighed on a certified scale. If the weight (41 pounds, 8 ounces) holds up, it would be a world record for the species.

The photo below was taken by Salmon Unlimited member Mary Lee Hetland and shows Hellen holding the brown trout on the Salmon-A-Rama grounds near the Racine harbor.

We'll have more on this breaking story later today.

[PolarBear]

ok ....I just want to catch a 20 pounder