Teenage angler lands record breaking fish at Giant Springs State Park

Catching a state record golden shiner probably doesn’t top the list of fishing achievements most Montana anglers dream of. In fact, landing the diminutive fish - which typically doesn’t grow much bigger than a largish goldfish in a home aquarium - probably seems more a nuisance than something to brag about.

Still, being able to rightfully say that you’re a record-breaking angler, no matter how unimposing the species might be, is nothing to sniff at. Especially when your 15-years-old and had no greater expectations than to wet your line at the children’s fishing pond at Giant Springs State Park.

“Samuel Grisak, a 15-year-old angler from Great Falls caught a new state record golden shiner on July 3 from Giant Springs Pond in Giant Springs State Park,” a news release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reports. “Grisak’s fish weighed .03 pounds and measured 4.41 inches in length with a girth of 2.6 inches and was caught on a dry fly.”

Golden shiners are members of the minnow family, but they are not native to Montana. Their native range, according to the U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS), occupies much of the eastern half of North America, from Nova Scotia, Canada to southern Texas, where they prefer to inhabit the quiet waters of lakes, ponds, sloughs, and ditches.

Because they are commonly used as bait fish, golden shiners have been either inadvertently or intentionally released into bodies of water all across the American west. Their presence has been confirmed in at least 23 lakes, rivers, and streams scattered across central, eastern, and southeastern Montana. Golden shiners are also acknowledged as “probably the most widely pond-cultured fish in the United States.”

Grisak’s golden shiner has been confirmed as the Montana state record breaker, but it’s a long way from the North American record for the species. Golden shiners up to 10-inches in length have been reported in both Michigan and Florida. In fact, Grisak’s golden shiner is the first of that species to be submitted to the FWP’s fish record book.

“With a total of 91 native and introduced fish species found in Montana, interest in fish records has increased in recent years,” the FWP news release states. “Grisak’s catch adds to the growing list of new Montana record fish caught in the last year and a half including a Utah chub, a walleye, a chinook salmon, a smallmouth bass, a yellow bullhead, a brown trout, a longnose sucker, and a largemouth bass.”

Below is a graph of the seven record breaking fish species caught in Montana since October 2020.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks maintains the list of record fish, which can be seen via the Montana Field Guide accessible on FWP’s website at https://fwp.mt.gov/fish/anglingData/records.

Anglers who think they caught a state record fish should keep the following things in mind:

• To prevent loss of weight, do not clean or freeze the fish. Keep the fish cool — preferably on ice.

• Take a picture of the fish.

• The fish must be weighed on a certified scale (found in grocery stores or hardware stores, etc.) and witnessed by a store employee or other observer. Obtain a weight receipt and an affidavit from the store personnel if no FWP official is present. Measure the length and girth.

• Contact the nearest FWP office to have the fish positively identified by a fisheries biologist.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Great Falls teen lands record breaking fish at Giant Springs State Park