LAC LA CROIX – A potential record fishing catch has become a Catch-22 for a Crane Lake angler.

A large lake trout caught by Rob Scott on Feb. 8 was confiscated from a Duluth taxidermist by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and sent to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, which is investigating the matter.

The fish, which unofficially weighed more than 52 pounds, could be a potential world record. According to the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wis., the current ice-fishing world record for a tip-up caught lake trout is 29 pounds, six ounce. The fish was caught in 1996 in Willoughby Lake in Vermont.

Scott’s trout would not only surpass that record, but also exceeds the record for a lake trout caught through the ice and kept. That record was set by Earl Palmquist of International Falls. Palmquist’s trout, caught on Clearwater West Lake near Atikokan, Ontario, in 1987, weighed 40 pounds.

Scott caught the mammoth trout while fishing on Lac La Croix on Feb. 8 on a tip-up line.

It was the second of two trout caught by Scott, who gave away his first trout to his nephew after catching the big trout.

And that’s where Scott may have run afoul of the law.

Scott’s nonresident Ontario conservation fishing license allows him to catch and possess one lake trout. Unlike Minnesota, Ontario does not permit “party fishing,” which means Scott couldn’t legally give the fish away.

Scott’s mistake might have gone unnoticed, but two Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources officers had visited him after he caught his first trout on Lac La Croix on Feb. 8.

Scott was allowed to continue fishing for other species or for additional lake trout, provided the trout were released.

After learning about Scott’s second trout through media reports on the big fish, they contacted the Minnesota DNR about assisting with an investigation.

Scott spoke with Ontario officials by phone and was interviewed at his home by Minnesota DNR enforcement officials Darrin Kittelson of International Falls and Mark Fredin of Aurora.

“I can’t say much because the matter is still under investigation, “ said Kittelson, who said the interview with Scott was part of the investigation.

Scott hasn’t denied that his actions were a violation of the province’s “party fishing” rules, but said because he used a gaff hook to pull the trout through the ice and it was unlikely to survive, he saw little harm in giving the other trout to his nephew.

But Kevin Elliott, area enforcement supervisor for the MNR stationed in Fort Frances, Ontario, said the rules don’t make allowances for such circumstances.

“That’s why we say catches should be returned immediately,” he said. “Just because a fish is bleeding or dying, you aren’t allowed to keep more than your limit. That’s why we encourage people to use fishing methods less harmful to the fish.”

In view of the fish’s importance as a potential record, the DNR and MNR are taking great care with the fish to preserve it.

Meanwhile, Elliott declined any further comment on the matter until the investigation is completed. He couldn’t provide a date when he expects the investigation to be finished.