Northwoods Sporting Journal > Articles > Featured Articles > Moosehead Brookie Bonanza

Moosehead Brookie Bonanza

By Suzanne AuClair

 

In recent years, Moosehead Lake has been seeing an ungodly number of these big, fat, native wild brook trout. It has not been the norm. But, it is true. How long this will last, who knows. But for right here, right now, in 2025, anglers are seeing the best of the best.

There are big fish stories. These are often embellished after a couple of Crown Royals. Then, there are Big Fish stories. Not embellished, just the talk of the town because they are just damn Big Fish. So it is here on Moosehead Lake, year after year over at least the past seven years.

Some of the wild native brook trout in the lake are growing to unprecedented sizes, tipping scales at between three and five pounds. This spring local sportsman Eric Ward caught the largest trout ever in recorded history, through the ice. That weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, at 25 1/16th inches long. This monster trout, speckled with the most spectacular coloring that is only seen in wild fish, upended one caught on July 4, 1959 by one John Dixon. Dixon’s catch weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces, was 25 1/2 inches long, 17 1/2 inches in girth.

In recent years, Moosehead Lake has been seeing an ungodly number of these big, fat, native wild brook trout. It has not been the norm. But, it is true. How long this will last, who knows. But for right here, right now, in 2025, anglers are seeing the best of the best. It is not just the brook trout, but also the lake trout (togue) and the landlocked salmon. Some are as wide and deep as footballs.

The stories just keep coming. Most recently, a couple who live on the Moose River decided to try their luck on the lake on this one cold, blustery day. A story recorded by the Bangor Daily News told about Nancy Labbe, who on Mother’s Day caught a 22 1/2 inch, nearly 5 lb. salmon.

Because the fish in Moosehead Lake are growing to unusual size, kudos has to be given to the fisheries management practices of Moosehead Lake Region Fisheries Supervisor Tim Obrey of the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, whose life-time work has been supported by a number of local organizations, including the Moosehead Lake Region Fisheries Coalition. Obrey attributes the change to the closer scrutiny, and management, of the native lake trout (togue). Prior to Obrey’s willingness to test the togue, most of the sport species were often long and thin. In 2008, he made a bold proposal to thin down the numbers of young lake trout in that long-lived population to see if that made a difference in the predator-prey relationship, in the numbers of fish, and sport species, competing for a finite amount of food, namely smelt. Apparently, it did, because after that, the trout and salmon started gaining. Rick Labbe, Nancy’s husband, said they counted 47 smelt in the belly of the salmon she caught.

This year, Obrey and staff are taking their search into the numbers of lake trout in Moosehead Lake a step further. It is his belief that understanding just how many lake trout live in Moosehead Lake will be like finding the holy grail for learning how to balance the growth of all species of game fish in the lake. The quest is in finding that sweet spot.

For July, if you like big country, big water, and big fish, Moosehead Lake is the perfect place to be this summer. This 75,000 acre lake is the biggest in one state east of the Mississippi. Like a small ocean, with warm winds and high swells, she is finicky, larger than life, and makes you glad to be alive. This summer, a bonus is the big lake is giving big fish.

On another note, on July 23-24, there will be an estimated 30 birch bark canoes gathered on at the Greenville Junction Boat Landing in West Cove, Greenville Junction. If you’re up fishing, it’s worth coming over to take a look.

For more articles about hunting, fishing and the great outdoors, be sure to subscribe to the Northwoods Sporting Journal.

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