The largest brook trout in the world was caught in the Nipigon River. The date was July 21, 1915, and the angler was Dr.J.W. Cook, from Fort William Ont. (now part of Thunder Bay) The story of the world record brook trout has been told many times over the years, by a wide variety of writers, including yours truly. Like all legendary tales, there are rumours and stories about what happened that day. However, we also have some quite detailed information. The Nipigon brook trout that anglers chase today, more than 110 years on, have a direct connection to this fish. The fact that brook trout still thrive in the Nipigon fishery is no accident. Three Hydro dams, erosion, poor management and overfishing nearly wiped them out. Only a determined effort by a lot of people has allowed the brook trout fishery to sustain. More on that in a bit.  

 

But let’s talk about the world record brook trout first. It is one of the oldest all tackle records in the IGFA book, and it has proven the most difficult to topple. If it does ever happen again, it will be on the Nipigon system.   

 

One of the best sources of information on the world record brook trout is found in the book “Paddle, Pack and Speckled Trout,” by Edwin W. Mills. A writer and tourism promoter, Mills explored Ontario’s legendary brook trout waters – including the Nipigon – between 1930 and 1951. He also researched and compiled a vast quantity of information about the world record brook trout, including newspaper and magazine articles of the time.  Here is how Mills described the day the world record happened, including several anecdotes ascribed to Dr. Cook himself. Keep in mind that in 1915, the Nipigon was a wild, untamed river. It had several falls and miles of rapids. Most angling trips took several days, and left from the bottom of Lake Nipigon, above Virgin Falls. Those fishing adventures included First Nations guides, who took “the sports” down the rapids in freighter canoes and would show them where to fish and with what. 

 

 

According to the Mills recount, the anglers on July 21, 1915, composed of Dr. J, W Cook, R.J. Byrnes, H.H. Neeland and J.A. Fyfe. Andrew Lexie was the lead guide of the trip. Others in the party who witnessed the event were Lafelle Boudain. cook, and guides Jo Hardy, Sam King, Michael Bouchard, Johr Ogama, Louis Musquash, Jim Shuse and Lawrence Martin.

The group were fishing the Nipigon River, near MacDonalds Rapids, at Rabbit Rapids. The camp site here was known to be poor and the bugs bad. There was a deep pool where trout would sit, waiting for food to wash over. This deep pool is where the world record was caught.  It was at 6 p.m. in the evening when Dr. Cook hooked the great fish. There has always been some difference of opinion as to what Dr. Cook used for a lure. Some accounts give it as a fly, others a cockatouche (or sculpin). The sculpin is a small, squat fish commonly found under the stones of the Nipigon River. The cockatouche have always been an eagerly sought after forage by speckled trout in the Nipigon. Forty years later, Don Gapen would tie the first muddler minnow on the Nipigon River, to mimic this minnow.

 

 

According to Mills’ book, Dr. Cook laid the question of what he caught the record fish on to rest in a CP wire story from May 12, 1949.

“The river that day was covered with brown flies,” Dr. Cook recalled. “I was fishing with a minnow. When it had settled a little below the surface, the big fish took the bite and was away.”

We don’t know much about the actual battle, but Dr Cook was using a five-weight bamboo fly rod. The author has had this rod in hand, and it had very little back bone. You can still see this legendary fly rod at the Nipigon museum.

According to the CP story, Dr. Cook played the fish and called his friends to bring the net. He played it for some time and netted it after a great struggle. Dr. Cook first thought he had landed a lake trout. But as it lay on the shore, the First Nations guides insisted he had caught an extremely large, speckled trout   

Mill writes that because of “the incredulity of the general public. upon hearing of this enormous trout, Dr. Cook wisely had his mounted specimen examined by ichthyological authorities at Washington and Ottawa, as well as by scientists of the Department of Biology at the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology, Toronto. All pronounced it as unquestionably a true speckled trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis). Its authenticity therefore is beyond question.”

 

 

The brook trout officially weighed 14 pounds, 8 ounces. The trout’s length was measured at 31 and one half inches. The depth (not girth) was 11 and one half inches. Research into the measuring techniques of the day has revealed the fish may have been even larger than recorded (see sidebar).

The brook trout’s skin was mounted on birch bark panelling, as was the First Nation custom along the Nipigon, and the names of the angler and witnesses inscribed upon the panelling.  A second mount, presumably crafted at the same time, was also done. For decades these mounts toured Sportsman’s shows across North America and promoted the fishery of the Nipigon region and northwestern Ontario. Sadly, both mounts have been burned in different fires. What is left of the mount that burned in the old Nipigon museum fire, in 1990, can also be seen in the new museum.     

 

 

Today, the Nipigon River is quite a bit different place than it was when Dr. Cook was around. Three dams now generate hydro electric power on the river and have flooded a lot of the once roaring rapids, including where Dr Cook caught his great fish. So how does a sustainable, trophy brook trout fishery remain here?  It is a long story, but here is the short version:

In 1987, a biologist named Rob Swainson came to Nipigon to become district biologist for the Ministry of Natural Resources. He was excited to be in the community, as he was a brook trout expert and new about the world record and the river’s history. What he discovered was that Nipigon in 1987 had a badly degraded fishery, with very few brook trout, never mind large ones. Any brook trout that were caught by anglers were usually killed. On top of that, the flow regime on the river sent water levels up and down so often that erosion was a huge problem. There was also evidence of spawning shoals being exposed. What followed was several years of lobbying hydro, government and anglers to get on board and save the Nipigon brook trout. It took years, but an agreement was struck to control water levels and anglers adopted a catch and release ethic that helped turn the fishery around. To further enhance brook trout populations, a protective sport fishing regulation was applied in 2005, allowing the possession of just one brook trout greater than 56 cm (22 in) in length. This regulation allowed for a brook trout to have spawned three times before potential harvest. These changes in regulation – and angler attitude – have had a massive impact on the fishery.

 

 

I’ve been fishing the Nipigon system since 1982 and experienced it at its very worst. Back then, we would often go a full day on the river without touching a brook trout. If you did catch one, it was often not very large. Trophy sized brook trout were an extremely rare catch in the 80s and 90s. Since the regulation was change two decades ago, and thanks to catch and release, the Nipigon fishery has rebounded. Brook trout are more numerous throughout the system, and the over-all size is larger. Brook trout measuring two feet long are possible, with even larger specimens showing up. In 2025, one of my clients caught a 26-inch brook trout on the fly.  That size of a brook trout is a unicorn in the fishing world.            

Could a new world record be caught in the Nipigon? I believe it is possible. A client broke off a brookie last year that was as big as any, I’ve ever seen in the system. It hit not that far from where Dr Cook caught his world record 110 year earlier.   

It is ok to dream big on the Nipigon River!           

 

 

Sidebar: Was the World Record Brook Trout 34 inches?

The world record brook trout was caught in the Nipigon River on July 21, 1915.  It weighed 14- and one-half pounds. But there has been confusion over the dimensions of the record for 100 plus years.    

Both mounts display the size as 31.5 inches in length and a depth of 11.5 inches. Yet, research done by retired OMNRF biologist Rob Swainson has revealed interesting facts. He says the length of 31.5” was the distance from the nose tip to the base of the tail fin.  It does not include the tail. Swainsons says this scientific measure is rarely used today and is called Standard Length. Total Length – the distance from the nose to the tip of the tail – is the modern measure. Using this measure, the world record brook trout is 34 inches in length.  

The depth of the world record is recorded as 11.5 inches. This is the distance from the top of the dorsal fin to the bottom of the belly. This measure is also no longer used today. Instead, girth is the measure commonly used. This is the distance around the fish, measured just in front of the dorsal fin.  For the world record brook trout, girth has been determined by adding the depth of one side, plus the depth of the other (both 9.25”) plus the distance across the belly (3”). This gives a conservative girth of 21.5″.

That makes the world record brook trout a very impressive 34 x 21.5 inches. A record brook trout that will be tough to top.