Idaho angler lands rainbow trout weighing over 20 pounds. Was that a record?
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Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman
FRUITLAND (Idaho Statesman) — An Idaho angler broke a state record for rainbow trout earlier this month when he landed a fish that outweighed the previous record by less than half an ounce.
Todd Phillips, of Fruitland, reeled in the huge rainbow trout at Dworshak Reservoir in North Idaho on Jan. 13, according to an Idaho Department of Fish and Game news release.
The news release said Phillips was “taking advantage of some breaks in the cloudy weather” when he caught the fish. It weighed in at 20.03 pounds — just .48 ounces more than the previous record. That catch was made by Michelle Larsen-Williams on the Snake River in 2009.
Phillips’ fish measured 33.5 inches long and 23.75 inches in girth. The previous record fish was longer, but not as big around as Phillips’ catch.
Fish and Game also tracks catch-and-release records for fish, though those records document only length. The record catch-and-release rainbow trout was caught at American Falls Reservoir in 2020 and measured 31.25 inches long.