A Skowhegan man caught a record-setting rainbow trout on Lake George in Canaan, according to Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife regional fisheries biologists.
Michael Thebarge of Skowhegan landed the rainbow trout on February 6, 2009, while fishing at Lake George in Canaan.
The fish weighed 7 pounds on a certified scale at George’s Banana Stand in Skowhegan last year. The record was confirmed by a regional fisheries biologist based in IF&W’s Sidney Regional Office.
It wasn’t until this week that Mr. Thebarge decided to contact IF&W and the Maine Sportsman, which maintains that state record book, to see if it was a record.
Thebarge’s record-setting rainbow trout was a product of IF&W’s Casco Fish Hatchery, as evidenced by its fin clips. The rainbow trout was stocked as a fall yearling (one-plus-years) in the fall of 2004, and was six years old when it was caught.
The previous state record was caught by Steven Day of Madison on the Androscoggin River on June 5, 2007. It weighed 6.52 pounds.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Maine Sportsman newspaper, which is edited by avid outdoorsman and TV personality Harry Vanderweide, jointly announce new records. The publication has maintained the state record book for more than 40 years.
