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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Jeff Simpson is living proof you don't always have to travel far from home to land a lunker.

Earlier this month, the 32-year-old construction worker hauled in a 42-pound lake trout on Prosperous Lake, just a short drive down the Ingraham Trail from Yellowknife.

Jeff Simpson hadn't had a bite all day before landing this 42-pound lake trout on Prosperous Lake. There have been no confirmed reports of a fish this size from the lake in many years. - photo courtesy of Bethan Williams

It may well be the largest trout caught in that body of water since it was commercially fished during the 1950s and '60s.

Simpson and his fiancee, Bethan Williams, were out fishing on the lake, Saturday, Aug. 9 - a scorcher of a day with temperatures reaching 30 C.

"We hadn't caught anything, not a bite," said Simpson.

"Beth noticed some terns in the water, and we saw some fish ducks and we thought they must've been feeding on ciscoes. I thought maybe there were some trout underneath and sure enough."

The couple were fishing on the north end of the lake in some 50 feet of water. Attached to Simpson's line was a three-way swivel with an eight-ounce weight and five feet of line rigged with a cisco and a herring teaser 20 feet down.

After a long day on the water with no action, Simpson was pleased to finally get a bite but didn't think much of it at first.

"I thought it was a small one," said Simpson. "I actually tried to hand the rod to Beth."

It wasn't long, however, before he realized the fish was bigger than he had realized. After 20 minutes of fighting it, he saw a mass of bubbles percolating to the surface. He said that's when he realized it was a monster.

Some 10 to 20 minutes later the trout was at the surface. With no net on board, Simpson could only hope that he could get a hold of its tail and haul it on board the boat.

"I kept saying, 'I got to get it to the boat, I got to get it to the boat or no one will believe me,'" said Simpson.

Fortunately, he was able and after a couple quick photos and some measurements, he released the enormous fish back into the water. It was 40 inches long; its girth 30 inches.

Williams said her fiance's giant catch was ironic considering that he had spent $5,000 on a fly-in fishing trip to Great Bear Lake a month before, where his best catch weighed 26 pounds.

"I laugh at him now because I told him you could catch a 40-pound trout in your backyard and all it will cost you is $40 in gas and some sandwiches," said Williams.

Gary Steele at Wolverine Guns and Tackle said he has never heard of a trout that large coming out of Prosperous Lake. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans reduced catch limits for lake trout on Prosperous several years ago for fear that they were being fished out. Catch limits today for Prosperous, Prelude Lake and Walsh Lake are one per day from Nov. 1 to Aug. 31 and zero between Sept. 2 and Oct. 31 when the fish spawn.

"There was one 37-pounder caught in 1983 or '84," said Steele. "I knew there were big fish in there but not that big. That's amazing news. That might be the fish of the summer, anywhere."

Albert Bourque, who knows the waters of Prosperous Lake well, said he has heard unconfirmed reports of two 40-pound trout caught in the lake about 10 years ago. He said Simpson's fish is exceptional but he's not surprised considering the lake's large size and the abundance of food there.

"The fish you catch in that lake are good, healthy fish compared to what you'd catch in other lakes, and they're always full of ciscoes," said Bourque.

Simpson, whose largest fish on Prosperous prior to this was 14 pounds, said he was just happy he could release it so it can continue breeding and produce more big fish.

His fiancee, meanwhile, said Simpson has a ways to go yet before he can claim boasting rights in their clan.

"I caught a marlin in 2006," said Williams.

"It was 450 pounds so Jeff still has some work to do to catch up."