Wanna see a huge Speck?

[Guest Beamer]

Acyually our hatcheries are part of Water Stewardship Branch of Manitoba Conservation, not private as you say.Dont know where you got that from.But yes, Manitoba has done a lot of hybrid trout species like tiger trout, a speck/arctic char cross called a spar, and splake. There has been a lot of speculation about this huge fish, but if Ken Kansas, who was the leading fisheries biologist in Mb regarding anything salmonid, says its a speck I believe him. Someone earlier hit the nail right on the head; the specks out here do look different than the specks in the Thunder Bay area. I grew up in TBay and have caught hundreds of beautiful wild specks; the hatchery fish here can not compare. But it is still a huge fish and it is too bad Mr Matheson did not keep it as it would have erased all doubt. They do not spawn in these stocked lakes so it would not be a huge loss to the fishery there.

BTW, according to the fisheries biologist who examined the photos it was stocked in Barbe lake as a fingerling in the spring of 1999. it was at the end of its life cycle anyway.

It is a beautiful fish no matter what it is and it has been a great topic for discussion but as you have seen in this discussion alone there are many opinions so with out a fish to examine the debate goes on. I have no reason to doubt the size of the fish and believe it is in the size range stated. Your right when you say that fish from different areas have different visual characteristics,I am basing my opinions on that as I have personally fished brooktrout in many locations from British Columbia to Quebec and have seen many variations but there are common simularities some of which are noticeably absent on this fish.It certainly looks like a brooktrout but as I read in a post on another site it looks 90% brooktrout and I agree with that statement. I am only stating my opinion right or wrong,I am just skeptical for reasons stated above but mainly because its from a stocked lake and man was involved in its creation and genetics are involved.As for the stocking program I stand corrected,but from what I understand it does use volunteers to help in these stocking ventures hence the Stewardship part which usually means partnerships between government agencies and angling/conservation groups.I originally heard that the hatcheries were privately run but am not sure on that. I was trying to point out that errors get made especially if the inexperienced people are involved.I doubt very much that every lake stocked directly by fisheries professionals.We can call it what ever we want(Brooktrout,splake or spar) and argue over the pictures but it prooves nothing if ten people look at the picture, opinions will be varied,we will just have to wait for someone to catch it or another record fish and hopefully keep it to end the controversy.Until then my skeptizisim stans until proven otherwise.Congratulations to Tim Matheson on his spectacular fish.

[Guest Beamer]

Heres a big one

[Guest TerryK]

That's a lot of growing in 6 1/2 years from fingerling to that in cold northern waters. To say they know when it was stocked by a photo???

I'm still not kinda sold----although I'm probably wrong.

Merc

That 40lb record rainbow was only 4 years old. 1 in the fish farm pens and 3 in the lake after it escaped. It could happen.

ALL the fish in the lake where Mr. Matheson's fish was caught are fin clipped then stocked. You can see the clipped dorsal fin.

40.68lb rainbow trout

[Guest Dan]

That 40lb record rainbow was only 4 years old. 1 in the fish farm pens and 3 in the lake after it escaped. It could happen.

ALL the fish in the lake where Mr. Matheson's fish was caught are fin clipped then stocked. You can see the clipped dorsal fin.

40.68lb rainbow trout

That Rainbow, the Manitoba Brook Trout and the fish that Beamer just posted are all man made fish. And it's really a shame that it has come to that. We are going downhill very fast here guys. Whatever happened to natural fish? A thing of the past it seems. Enjoy it while you can.

[Guest Dobsey]

All though those fish were man made what about the ones ithey have produced are those also considered to be man made?

None the less those 3 fish even if they are man made are still huge

I might add all my tophy fish which have all been released except a few that didnt make the boat ride back to camp because the camera was left at camp, have all been caught on a lake that will never be stocked probably because it is to big to be stocked...

[Guest Dan]

All though those fish were man made what about the ones ithey have produced are those also considered to be man made?

None the less those 3 fish even if they are man made are still huge

I might add all my tophy fish which have all been released except a few that didnt make the boat ride back to camp because the camera was left at camp, have all been caught on a lake that will never be stocked probably because it is to big to be stocked...

The Rainbow was an escaped fish from a pen that was holding fish that were restaurant bound. The Manitoba fish was released in a non reproducing lake, making it a catch and keep fish. The lake that it was released in wasn't capable of Brook Trout reproduction. I don't know anything about the fish that Beamer posted, but I suspect that it was an old hatchery fish that in fact had been bred.

[Guest merc]

Sorry Beamer I deleted your last post by mistake trying to quote the 40 lb rainbow post--apologies. too early --no coffee yet.

Re the 40 lb rainbow---I believe that frankenfish could be fairly young and achieve that weight due to it's highly digestable diet of smelts and alewives. that really bulks up all great lakes fish.

I also do not believe you can compare growth rates with a speck vs bow.

This northern Manitoba lake I can only ASSUME has a minnow forage base---growth rates should'nt even be close----everyone has heard how NWT lakers in the 40+ range are quite old due to the slow growth rate in those frigid waters---Is'nt this speck close in geographic range?

Can't fish---may as well debate somethin nobody can prove....keeps my typing skills sharp.

Merc

[Guest TerryK]

Sorry Beamer I deleted your last post by mistake trying to quote the 40 lb rainbow post--apologies. too early --no coffee yet.

Re the 40 lb rainbow---I believe that frankenfish could be fairly young and achieve that weight due to it's highly digestable diet of smelts and alewives. that really bulks up all great lakes fish.

I also do not believe you can compare growth rates with a speck vs bow.

This northern Manitoba lake I can only ASSUME has a minnow forage base---growth rates should'nt even be close----everyone has heard how NWT lakers in the 40+ range are quite old due to the slow growth rate in those frigid waters---Is'nt this speck close in geographic range?

Can't fish---may as well debate somethin nobody can prove....keeps my typing skills sharp.

Merc

I know what you're saying merc, but I'm not comparing the growth rates of different species of fish. i was just using the unusualy fast rate of growth of that bow' as an example. Those fish, and most stocked fish (like Mr Mathesons) are bred for fast growth so they will be table ready/catchable as soon as possible. Both are good examples of modern genetic technologies. Is it right to compare these fish to wild fish? Certainly not! And yes, I agree with you about how these fish are diluting our pure strain fisheries, but there is no turning back "progress".

[Guest merc]

Bam----Ouch!---Tripped climbing up on my soapbox!

So this will be the next question in our evolution--are genetically altered fish and game to be held up in the same light as natural ones?

My vote is no but trophy hunters and dollars will always prevail.

Seems like every time we try to "improve" on nature we send it backwards

ie; fish farms on the pacific--lice affecting wild stocks, CWD in wild deer transmitted as reports go from farmed elk.

Last week I watched Mark Krupa's show fishing the rivers in the Gaspe area for wild Atlantic Salmon---absolutely incredible----waters so clear as it looked from the dawn of time---fish with pure strains with so much cunning and strength----no wonder this beautiful area is a heritage site---now that's real.

I once talked to some hunters from the southern US who tell me of controlled hunts where someone takes you out and points to the deer you can shoot---yeah that's hunting--but the story on the wall probably tells better.

How about feeding deer calcium rich feed to increase antler growth---can't be the same.

It appears we cater to the people who have so limited time to hunt or fish due to our world's schedules that we've invented the "Easy Trophy"

"Yes folks step right up and for one low price you too can have your name in a record book"

Sometimes progress stinks---I'll turn the box over to someone else now

Merc

[fisherdude 69]

well id have to say i totally agree with you about everything u jus said, and il have to agree about that mark kruppa episode!..totally breathtaking..its an excellent show!

[Guest oldbeatuplund]

Just found out today Mr Matheson's big trout has been officially accepted by the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as the new Catch and Release World Record for Brook Trout.

BTW, this large speck was stocked as a 15-18 cm fish back in '99. Not a hatchery brood fish, not a "genetically altered for fast growth" fish, just a simple stocked trout released in a small lake with a large forage base. I just got the new Manitoba Master Angler List for last year. A 26.5" spec and a 25.5" speck were also caught and kept from the same lake. Lots of 29" and 28" rainbows also pulled from this same lake. I agree that nothing beats a wild speck from cold clean water, but at the end of the day these fish are just as challenging to catch consistently.