A fisherman in Maryland landed a state-record 17.44-pound rainbow trout using a technique unique to most American anglers.
Jean-Philippe Lartigue caught the impressive rainbow on Feb. 10 in the section of Antietam Creek that runs through Devil’s Backbone County Park in Washington County, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Lartigue, who formerly worked as a fisheries biologist consulting with governments in Africa, used a 12-foot, crappie-style spinning rod with a reel loaded with eight-pound test. He put a small split shot on the line and a No. 8 hook baited with a worm.
“Lartigue is French and originally from Morocco, where he learned from his father the European style of fishing natural baits with long rods for trout,” the DNR stated. “The long rod helps control the drift and presentation of natural baits in swift stream currents.”
The fish, which measured 32 inches in length, was weighed on a certified scale at Ernst’s Country Market in Clear Springs. It was confirmed by John Mullican, DNR’s Director of Freshwater Fisheries and Hatcheries.
The old record was 14.2 pounds caught by Dave Schroyer on Oct. 21, 1987.
“I knew the fish was a very large trout, but I did not see how big it was at the beginning of the fight,” Lartigue said. “I finally saw the fish, and it made two very long runs to the opposite side of the creek and was hard to move. I also had to keep the fish away from some bridge abutments, which could have cut the line easily.
“After a very long 30-minute fight, I was able to tire out the fish and grabbed it by the jaw with my fingers since I did not have a landing net large enough.”
He dragged the fish onto a rocky bank, cutting his finger on the trout’s sharp teeth while doing so. It was a small price to pay for catching such a big trout.
“We are extremely impressed by the weight of the fish, which bests the old record by over 3 pounds, a record that many of us in the department thought would never be broken,” Recreational Fisheries Outreach Coordinator Erik Zlokovitz said.
Photo courtesy of Jean-Philippe Lartigue and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
