Did you know that Dr. Cook’s world record Brook Trout had a very adventurous afterlife? After it was caught, it was carried out of the bush and was weighed several days later at 17.5 pounds. Now because it was so big, there was some controversy about its species. So, the skin was sent to Ottawa for confirmation by the experts. After, it was deemed to be, in fact, a Speckled Trout.

It was skin-mounted on birch bark and, sometime later, given to the railways to put on display. The mount was used as a promotion to go to the Nipigon – by rail, of course! – and catch monster fish.

It finally came home to the Nipigon Museum in 1978 where it was virtually destroyed in a museum fire in 1990. Today, even an old picture of that huge fish makes you want to get out there and Go Fish in Ontario.