‘Monster trout’ caught in eastern Idaho shatters state record
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MONTPELIER (Idaho Statesman) — An angler reeled in a “monster trout,” crushing the previous Idaho state record, wildlife officials said.
Kody King of Montpelier caught a tiger trout in Montpelier Reservoir, Idaho Fish and Game said in a May 30 news release. When King saw his catch, he had a feeling it would break a record, so he didn’t release it, officials said.
The 29-inch tiger trout ended up weighing 8.47 pounds, nearly double the previous record of a 4.8-pound fish caught by Gatlynn Mayes from Becker Pond in 2020.
King’s massive fish now holds the state’s “certified weight” record, officials said.
Tiger trout are “unique-looking” fish that are a hybrid of brown trout and brook trout, officials said. They are created in hatcheries and put in a “select few waters” in the state.
“They are (occasionally) stocked as predators to help take advantage of overpopulated smaller fishes such as yellow perch or shiners,” wildlife officials said in the release.
Montpelier Reservoir is in southeast Idaho.