INTERNATIONAL GAME FISH ASSOCIATION
WORLD RECORD JUNIOR ANGLER –RYAN MAHONEY, HAVERHILL, MASS.
Record Brook Trout, 6 lb, 8 oz, caught at Igloo Lake, Labrador, June 29th, 2006

Excerpts from write up in “ The HAVERHILL GAZETTE”, by Tom Vartabedian

 A routine fishing trip to Igloo Lake, Labrador, Canada, turned into a memorable experience for 11 year old Ryan Mahoney.

 Mahoney, a grade 6 honors student at St. Joseph’s School, hooked and landed, for a child his age, a world record  6 lb 8 oz Brook Trout at Igloo Lake in Labrador, Canada .

The boy’s father, William, had documented the catch on Video, before it was released.  Ryan also caught two others weighing about 7 pounds, along with many other large brookies, before their release.

“We had no idea any of these would be a world record,” said Ryan’s father. “It was just by accident that I happened to film most of the trout. It turns out that it shattered the world mark of 5 pounds for anyone 11 and under”

The fish measured 25 inches long and was reeled onto the boat after quite a struggle. Ryan used a fly rod and tied the fly himself. Ryan, his father and an adult friend, spent a week at Igloo Lake Lodge and hauled in 150 brook trout, many of  them large catches.

Igloo Lake Lodge is about 1200 miles from Haverhill and so remote you can only get there by pontoon plane. “All you could see for miles was green and blue, because of all the trees and water below, said Ryan. “It was really cool”. So was his fish.

The camera caught the guide, Wayne Moores, weighing the trout before it’s release. The elder Mahoney checked with the International Game Fish Association and provided all the information, such as photos and scale certification. The particular lodge where the Mahoney’s fished has a  “catch-and-release’ policy.

William Mahoney, said, “A pilot told me this could be a record, so we looked it up on the computer. Sure enough, there was nothing bigger in his age group. Ryan caught a bunch over 5 lbs, but we didn’t record any of  it. The one we did film was strictly by accident. I’ve been chasing brook trout in Canada since 1988 and I can’t recall seeing any this big. Ryan went right by me”.

Mahoney returned home and made some calls to Florida to see what the requirements would be to get the fish documented.

“This is the first time he’s had such an experience”, said Ryan’s mother, Alicia. “Ryan’s never fished to that  extreme.”

Ryan felt privileged to be invited to “a man’s camp” in the wilderness.