Merwin: A Lake Trout Surprise
This monster lake trout, estimated at about 38 pounds, looks like something you’d see from northern Canada. Most surprisingly, though,...

This monster lake trout, estimated at about 38 pounds, looks like something you’d see from northern Canada. Most surprisingly, though, it came from a small lake in New Hampshire where it was netted and released by state biologists doing a late Fall survey a few weeks ago.
The lake itself is one of a dozen small lakes that I fish fairly often. And no, I’m not going to tell you which one or where. More to the point, I had no idea this kind of thing was lurking in the depths where I sometimes fish. It’s almost scary.
Chances are that no matter where you fish there’s one or more trophies living, elusive and undetected–so far, at least. It might be a 3-pound perch instead of the 8-inchers you most often catch, or a pot-bellied 30-pound pike hidden deep in a lake best-known for 6- or 7-pounders. Such fish are indeed out there, and they give us something to think about all winter long.