Compared to its "fat" cousin, the siscowet, the lake trout is sleeker and leaner, but on average, the laker is the largest of all trout. This fish averages from 7-12 pounds [3-5.5 kg], but it can grow in excess of 50 pounds [22.7 kg]. In 1961, a 102-pound [46 kg] lake trout was caught in Lake Athabaska, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Lake trout have reproductive and developmental troubles in the Great Lakes. These fish are found in all of the Great Lakes, and they spawn in all five of the Great Lakes.But here's where it gets complicated. Lake trout successfully produce fry in only Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron and Ontario. And only in Lakes Superior and Huron do these fry survive to become adult fish. The reason lake trout are found in all Great Lakes, even those where their reproduction is not successful, is that they are artificially stocked into all the lakes.

Why the reproductive and developmental problems? Most likely the effects of chemical pollutants like dioxins.