Man sets state record with 8-pound brook trout catch: ‘It’s a special fish’

LAKE CITY, Colo. (Gray News) - A Colorado man set a new state record by catching a massive brook trout in Waterdog Lake near Lake City.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Lake City resident Matt Smiley caught an 8-pound, 9-ounce brook trout on Oct. 8. The fish measured 26.25 inches in length and had a girth of 16 inches.

“The experience of this catch has been surreal. It took a few days to soak in. It’s a special fish,” Smiley said.

Wildlife officials said Smiley sells tackle for a fishing company and has chased large brook trout in lakes across Colorado for a decade.

Smiley said he battled the massive fish and waded into the water to get it in his net that afternoon.

“The fish stayed hooked, and I brought her in a second time. It was a wild, crazy deal,” Smith said.

Wildlife officials said before this year, the record stood for 75 years. In 1947, a 7.63-pound brook trout was caught out of Upper Cataract Lake in Summit County.