Idaho's new catch-and-release rainbow trout record is a giant!
Surprisingly, we have not heard about a whole lot of new record fish catches this spring and through the early summer months. One would think that with more people getting outside fishing as a form of recreation during the coronavirus pandemic, we would see some more giant fish catches. One of the latest is a giant rainbow trout caught in Idaho.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced the giant catch in a press release on their website. The lucky angler is Wyoming resident Brett Jones who was fishing American Falls Reservoir on May 25 when he boated the giant 31.25-inch rainbow trout.
The press release does not state what Jones was using to catch the lunker, but the fish just barely edges out the previous record of 30.5 inches. That previous record only stood for two years and was caught by David Raisch in 2018.
If you follow trout fishing in any capacity, you are likely familiar with American Falls Reservoir. It has become a destination spot for large trout for years now. The lake also produced the state record hybrid cutthroat/rainbow trout record of 34 pounds in 2011.
Another nearby trout hotspot, the Snake River, produced the certified weight record for a rainbow in 2009 with a 20-pounder caught by Michelle Larsen-Williams. That fish was 34.25 inches long.
The IDFG also clarified that Jones' record is for a common rainbow trout and not the Gerrard strain. That variety of trout has a separate category. The record for a Gerrard-strain trout is also slightly larger at 36.5 inches long. The record for that fish was caught in Lake Pond Oreille.
Some of the other state records that have fallen in 2020 include New Hampshire's lake trout record, Kentucky's largemouth bass record and most recently, New York's rock bass record. Hopefully we will see some more start to fall as the summer gears into full swing.
Congratulations to Jones on his record-breaking catch from all of us here at Wide Open Spaces!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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