world record lake trout Enloe

TROPHY TUESDAY: World-record lake trout caught by Colorado father & son

“My dad crushed some records yesterday,” Hunter Enloe writes of his father, Scott, who just reeled in the new all tackle world-record lake trout. And the photos make it clear: this is an absolute beast!

As Hunter further cites in his May 7 post to Instagram, “This fish was 23 lbs over the current state record and almost two pounds over the current world record for lake trout.”

Per their boat’s handheld scale, this giant female trout weighed in at a whopping 73.29 pounds when caught on May 5, 2023. Scott’s angle was no accident, either. “Dad and I have put in serious time to learn about these fish and how to catch them,” Hunter says. “Most days they will outsmart you and that’s what keeps us addicted to them.”

The Stats: New World-Record Lake Trout (IGFA Pending)

Lake Trout Record/AnglerWeightLocation
Pending current IGFA All Tackle World-Record, Scott Enloe (2023)73.29 lbs.CO
Previous Colorado state lake trout record, Donald Walker (2007)50.35 lbs.CO
Previous IGFA All Tackle World-Record, Lloyd Bull (1995)72 lbs.Canada
Largest lake trout ever caught (non rod & reel, non IGFA record, 1961)102 lbs.Canada

As Hunter cites, his father’s mammoth female beats out the previous Colorado state lake trout record by 23 pounds. That’s about as remarkable of a jump as you can ask for, and it’s not even the only record Scott’s broken.

“We released this old, big girl to be caught again when she’s even bigger,” Hunter continues of their catch & release. “She swam off strong as we handled her properly getting weights and measurements and a few pictures.”

Thanks to their method, Enloe’s trout qualifies for the International Game Fish Association’s (IGFA) All Tackle Length World Record, too. The current champ sits at 42.9 inches (per IGFA’s record book), where Scott’s measures an incredible 47 inches.

lake trout illustration
Lake Trout, Lake Trout (Salvelinus Namaycush). (Photo By Encyclopaedia Britannica/UIG Via Getty Images)

Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), a species of freshwater char native to North American lakes, have many names. They are the mackinaw, the namaycush, lake char, grey trout, etc. Their typical weight? Around 40 pounds. The illustration above shows their typical body proportions. Scott Enloe’s catch truly is a monster trout.

‘Congrats to my dad on another catch and release record’

So as Hunter says, “Congrats to my dad on another catch and release record. It was a special day and we just sat on the boat for a few hours not fishing just taking in what happened. Another awesome memory with my dad.”

Doesn’t get much better, or more Outsider, than that.

“Thanks to everyone who has already congratulated my dad and I on this fish! And enjoy some true rednecks freaking out in the videos,” Hunter adds of their videos from May 5, which you can view in his Instagram post above.

Cheers, gents! Here’s to many more records and Trophy Tuesdays! For more, see the sunfish caught by Oklahoma teen that smashed a 50-year record next.