Colorado State Brook Trout Record Broken Again With Massive Fish After Record Stood For 75 Years

For the third time in a matter of months, the state of Colorado has a new fishing record for Brook Trout. For 75 years, the Colorado state fishing record for Brook Trout went unbroken.

Brook Trout was the longest-standing fishing record in the Centennial State. That was until was broken in May by Tim Daniel who was fishing on May 23rd in Monarch Lake, in Grand County. He landed this massive 7.84-pound record Brook Trout which broke the previous state fishing record for Brook Trout in Colorado that stood for 75 years.

The fish that held the record for 75 long years was a 7.63-pound fish that was caught in 1947 out of Upper Cataract Lake in Summit County. For the longest time, anglers in Colorado thought that record might never be broken. Then boom, it was broken three times in a matter of months.

Tim Daniel caught the 7.84-pound record Brook Trout in May. His record was then broken by Larry Vickers of Lake City who caught an 8.22-pound Brookie but didn’t go through the certification process. Instead, Larry Vickers opted to eat his 8.22-pound state record Brook Trout instead of wasting the fish meat.

Then on October 8th, Lake City’s Matt Smiley caught his record Brook Trout weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces. His record-setting fish measured 26.25 inches long and had a whopping girth of 16 inches. This was an absolute beast of a fish:

🚨 State record brook trout alert 🚨

After the previous state record brook trout catch stood in Colorado for 75 years, it has now been broken THREE times this year. Check out the story of the new record brookie caught by Lake City’s Matt Smiley!

STORY: https://t.co/lQ1tSsfg9U pic.twitter.com/acfvqIDpZc

— CPW SW Region (@CPW_SW) November 15, 2022

Matt Smiley is certainly holding that record-setting Brook Trout right. His arms are extended and the perspective makes it look like a tiny whale. But it really is one of the biggest Brook Trout in the nation and the catch of a lifetime.

For anyone out there wondering about the coloration of that fish and why it looks a bit like a Lake Trout, a representative from Colorado Parks and Wildlife released this statement to me:

“Fish lost its color after a 3 hour hike out of the lake. It’s a brook trout. We survey this water regularly and there are zero splake or lake trout in that lake. Look at picture of it on the scale, measuring board in news release. We don’t certify state records if not accurate.”

The fact that this Colorado state fishing record stood for 75 long years without being broken then fell 3 times in 6 months is pretty surreal. Colorado is one of the most popular trout fishing destinations in the United States.

The fishing pressure there is immense but somehow anglers went 3,900 weeks without breaking the Brook Trout record and then suddenly it snaps three times in six months. Make it make sense.

For what it’s worth, the Brook Trout has always been my favorite game fish. It has the most stunning coloration of any fish on the planet. Others like the Mahi-Mahi come close but the Brook Trout is tops for me.