World’s Largest Brown Trout Is Located in Michigan, But Where?
While on vacation I spotted the biggest brown trout that I had ever seen in Michigan. You can find out where it is in Michigan and why it's there in the first place.
Brown Trout
In Michigan, you hear about rainbow trout, steelhead trout, brook trout, and lake trout, but the least talked about of the trout family seems to be the brown trout.
Brown trout also get called lake trout but that can get confusing since lake trout are actually separate species. Brown trout look more like salmon than other trout but that is because they are closely related to salmon.
When Was Brown Trout First Introduced to Michigan?
Brown trout are not native to Michigan because they come from Europe. Brown trout were introduced into Lake Michigan in 1883. In the beginning, the yearlings did not do well and only a few fish survived.
German Brown Trout were planted in Baldwin, Michigan, on April 11, 1884. It started off with 5,000 brown trout fry that later grew into the highly prized all-American trout. The yearlings were planted in the Baldwin River which is now known as a world-class, blue-ribbon trout fishing.
Where is The Biggest Brown Trout in The World?
The biggest brown trout in the world is located in Baldwin, Michigan. It's not an actual brown trout but a huge sculpture you see when traveling north and south on M37.
I have driven by this giant trout several times but finally got out of my vehicle to take some pictures and do a little investigating on why it's here.
The brown trout sculpture is 25 feet tall and 8 feet wide at its widest point. It was created by Ivan Iler of St. John's, Michigan. It's located next to the Pere Marquette State Trail that many use for hiking, biking, snowmobiling, and more.
The sculpture was donated in 2018 and is definitely an eye-catcher when going north or south down M-37.
