In this fishing season, it’s intriguing to contemplate “the ones that got away” in the past. More than a century ago, Timothy Woodward was walking along the shore of Varnum Pond in Wilton when he came upon the biggest trout he’d ever seen.

Because it was dead and beached, Woodward was able to get a good look and still could hardly believe his eyes. The trout must have been 3 feet long and nearly 40 pounds. Probably the tough old fish had finally died from old age, but as Woodward studied the carcass he could tell it had put up its share of fights. Parts of old broken hooks protruded from its mouth, along with one hook still whole, a line still attached.

Woodward never forgot the mammoth fish he discovered that day. The story was retold in the Farmington Chronicle in 1867, which is how it comes to us today. We don’t know when Woodward found the fish, and we have no proof that it really weighed 40 pounds.

But his find became the stuff of legend among outdoorsmen in the area.

The prices soared

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, early settlers in western Maine valued trout as a tasty source of meat, especially when times got rough. In 1816, an unseasonably cold summer led to crop failure. Without the usual harvests of wheat and corn, trout became crucial to the survival of struggling families.

While 10 pounds is considered a good-sized trout today, tales of 15-, 20- or 25-pound trout were common in the 1800s. Writer John Willard, a Wilton resident, claimed that in 1840 he could buy a 16-pounder for $1. However, prices increased rapidly after that, and 20 years later, local fishermen could sell the trout for a $1 a pound.

With such inflated prices, the fish became a “cash crop.” Locals needed the money far more than they need the trout dinner. Consequently, they fished with the intention of selling their catch, and local lake trout most often would find their way to the tables of exclusive Boston restaurants and palatial private homes.

Luann Yetter has researched and written a history column for the Sun Journal for the past 10 years. She teaches writing at the University of Maine at Farmington.

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