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It may be an unprecedented catch, but the fisherman who pulled a 44.3-pound (20.1-kilogram) brown trout from the Mackenzie hydroelectric canals near Twizel wishes to remain anonymous.
The man, who just wants to be known as “Seamus of Tūrangi,” brought the screech fish to the Razza Bar and Bistro in Twizel on Tuesday, and donated it for taxidermies and hung it on a wall in the establishment along with others. major catches: a 38.9 pound trout and a 38.2 pound trout.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Larney Craig, left, and Jaime Linton weigh the trout at The Point Butcher on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the “precious cargo” traveled to Pleasant Point in refrigerated transport where it was weighed at The Point Butcher, before being taken to O’Rourke Taxidermists.
According to the website of the International Sport Fishing Association, the current record catch is 19.1 kg (42 lb 1 oz) of fish caught by Otwin Kandolf, in the same channels in 2013.
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Supplied
Sean Colenso shows off the huge trout at the Razza Bar and Bistro on Tuesday. This photo was taken by the anonymous fisherman.
Razza Bar and Bistro employee Sean Colenso said the fishermen did not want to be named, only to be known as Seamus of Tūrangi, and that the fish was the largest trout he had ever seen.
Stuff You have tried to contact the man.
Colenso said that the fisherman, who was staying in a motorhome, told him that he had caught the trout in the Ōhau canal, that he had gotten up early because he had trouble sleeping and had decided to go out to the water early.
“He did not stipulate if it was Ōhau [canal] A, B, or C: I didn’t want to reveal too much.
“Nor did I ask him how he got it.
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Brown trout, once taxidermied, will join these two other great catches on the wall of the Razza Bar and Bistro in Twizel.
“He said he caught him around 7:30 AM.”
Realizing that his catch was of significant size, he took the trout to High Country Salmon for weighing.
“The first time you put it on the scale, it read OL, that’s for overload.
“The second time he did it, he weighed 45.55 pounds.”
Not knowing what to do, the man carried the trout to the Twizel bar where Colenso was filleting salmon.
“He told me he had a pretty big fish and he was right.
“It was the largest brown trout I have ever seen.”
Colenso said he thought large catches could become more common in the future as the larger fish would settle to the bottom of the canal, eating food from the nets at the salmon farm.
“They don’t move, they just stay in one place and eat and eat.”
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
The trout weighed 44.3 pounds or 20.1 kilograms.
Central South Island Fish and Game Field Officer Rhys Adams said the catch was “exciting,” but a process would have to be followed for it to be made official and the fisherman would have to be identified.
“The scales should be certified,” Adams said.
He said he was always looking forward to the “next big shot” and that 50 pounds was the “magic number.”
“It is not a surprise to me that a fish of this size was caught.”
In January 2019, there were eyewitness reports saying they saw a fisherman land a 55-pound brown trout in the Pukaki-Ōhau A channel.
In September 2016, Nelson’s fisherman Bryce Helms caught a brown trout in a channel near Twizel that tipped the scales at 19.05kg.
