‘Monster’ trout breaks an Idaho state record after angler fights to reel in the fish
Hailey Thomas was on the lake with her family, struggling to find many fish, when they began raising their boat’s anchor to find a better spot.
As they did so, a “heavy fish” took Thomas’ bait, according to an Oct. 12 news release from Idaho Fish and Game. She quickly began reeling in the exciting catch from Henrys Lake.
“Hailey did a phenomenal job fighting the fish and keeping it out of the abundant weeds, notorious for knocking large trout off the line,” her husband, Shane, told the state department. “After a stressful minute or so, I reached out and scooped up the fish. The net I usually use for chasing carp looked so small, as the fish barely fit in!”
He began shouting with excitement, calling her catch “the biggest trout I’ve seen in my life!”
“Knowing they landed something special, they used the boat’s live well to help the fish recover,” Idaho Fish and Game officials said. “Suspecting they might have caught a record, the angling pair got the measurement and photos needed to document the catch.”
The Rigby angler had reeled in a “monster” rainbow/cutthroat hybrid trout, officials said.
It measured in at 36 inches long with a 21-inch girth, according to the release. Experts estimate it likely weighed between 17 to 20 pounds.
Thomas posed for a couple of photos with her catch, then she released it back into the lake, officials said.
Her Oct. 4 catch easily broke the existing state catch-and-release state record for rainbow/cutthroat hybrid trout, set by Ryan Ivy in 2018. He had caught a 30-inch long fish from the Snake River.
Henrys Lake is in eastern Idaho, about 85 miles northeast of Rigby.
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