After reeling an enormous lake trout that weighed 53 pounds, 3 ounces in a recent ice-fishing expedition across the border in Ontario, Canada, a Minnesota angler was obviously thrilled.
Rob Scott's enthusiasm was understandable since it was the largest trout he had ever tangled with. Later, he would find out that the 45-inch fish was nearly 24 pounds heavier than the existing world record for a tip-up-caught lake trout, GrindTV reported.
According to GrindTV, "But three weeks after the February 8 catch on the Ontario side of Lac la Croix, Scott finds himself the subject of an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources investigation, his fish-of-a-lifetime seized as evidence."
Instead of being credited with a world record, Scott will now possibly be facing a fine and restriction of fishing privileges.
Why so much fuss, you ask? A simple explanation is that the catch appears to have put Scott one fish over the legal limit.
"It turns out that also on February 8, before catching the behemoth, he landed a 4-pound lake trout, and the Ontario daily bag limit for the species is one per day," GrindTV reported. "What's interesting, though, is how the 65-year-old U.S. Navy veteran was caught."
GrindTV added, "After landing the giant trout, he gave the 4-pound trout to another angler, and toted the big fish back to Minnesota via snowmobile. He had only one trout in possession, and seemed home free."
"But two officers with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources had checked Scott's fishing license on February 8, before he landed the 52-pounder. They had noticed the 4-pound trout."
A newspaper report on the monster catch alerted one of the officers and reminded him of his encounter with Scott, and making note of the 4-pound trout.
The officers contacted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which helped track down Scott and his fish, which was being stored by a taxidermist. The fish was scheduled to be delivered by the DNR to the MNR, where it would be stored as evidence, GrindTV reported.
Claiming that there was nothing malicious about his actions, and that he was not trying to hide anything, Scott was quoted in the Minnesota Star Tribune last week.
"I called the Ontario officers and said I owed them an apology," Scott said. "It wasn't illegal for me to keep fishing after I caught the first trout. But when I caught the bigger fish, with the adrenaline and everything I had going, and the fact that it wasn't going to survive if I released it, I figured if I gave the smaller fish away, that would be OK."
Due to the prolonged struggle, Scott explained that the big trout probably would have died if it'd had been released.
Officers are not talking about the investigation, GrindTV reported.
As for a chance at the world record, the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame states that "fish must be taken legally" to qualify.
