It has been a great year for Idaho trout!
While most people can agree that 2020 has been collectively lousy for most things. We have seen the closing of hunting and fishing seasons. We are seeing a shortage of guns and ammo due to panic buying during the pandemic. In spite of all that, this has been an awesome year for trout fishing with multiple state records falling across the country.
Now, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has announced that the catch-and-release cutthroat trout state record is the latest to fall.
Sam Hix's massive 30.5-inch Yellowstone cutthroat, caught on August 7, becomes the second record fish fish caught by an out-of-state angler this year. Hix, who is from Texas, caught the giant Yellowstone cutthroat from the Snake River where the species is native.
The previous record was a 28.5-inch fish caught around the same time the state's catch-and-release records began back in 2016. The press release from the IDFG did not detail what the giant fish was caught on. Hix's giant catch is the 13th catch-and-release record to be broken in Idaho this year, making this year a great one for angling in the Gem State.
The news of Hix's catch comes almost two months after the catch-and-release record for rainbow trout fell back in mid-June. That fish, a 31.25-inch rainbow was also caught by an out-of-stater, Brett Jones of Wyoming on the famous big trout factory American Falls Reservoir.
Other trout records that have fallen in 2020 include the long-standing lake trout records for both Utah and New Hampshire. In the cases of both those records, they had stood for more than 30 years unchallenged.
Plenty of other state records for other species have also fallen across the country as more people have started hitting the water than ever before. We are betting a few more records will fall before the year is out. Keep it here at Wide Open Spaces for the latest news on these catches as they happen!
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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