It came out of the hole by its tail.
Cameron Muncey, 25, of Chester was fishing Monday on West Grand lake with his brother Sammy Muncey, 32, of Lincoln in one of the ice shacks Sammy uses for his business.
Cameron was using an ultralight jig pole equipped with 4-pound test line, perfect for white perch, Sammy said.
But what Cameron caught was a 12 ½-pound 32 ½-inch lake trout, which apparently was dining on perch in the area. The men were fishing in 22 feet of water.
“Cameron battled for a good 15 minutes and the fish had three or four good runs,” said Sammy, who owns Muncey & Son Guide Service in Lincoln.
The big fish was tired out, but wouldn’t lift its head toward the hole. It kept presenting its tail, Sammy said.
The brothers’ fishing buddy Eric Gipson of Lincoln took advantage of one of those times and grabbed the fish by the tail and pulled it out of 16 inches of ice. The hook was still in the fish’s mouth.
The men measured the fish quickly and released it to the lake. Sammy hopes they catch it again sometime, and that they would recognize it because it has a big black dot on it.
All lake trout between 23 and 33 inches must be released alive immediately, according to the special rules for West Grand Lake listed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. There is no minimum length but only one of the two lakers allowed can be longer than 33 inches, the rules dictate.
Sammy has two shacks on West Grand and said he probably will take them off the lake after the weekend’s predicted warm temperatures.
The guide service has had an excellent season, but Sammy said he has never caught a laker that big on West Grand.
“We’ve caught them in the 7-9 pound range but have not broken 10 pounds there before,” he said.
Sammy said he and his wife each have lake trout from East Grand Lake on their wall. One is 11 ½ pounds and the other is 10 ½.
There may be a replica mount in Cameron’s future for this fish, according to Sammy’s Facebook post.
