The recent catch of a 30.5-inch Yellowstone cutthroat trout has been approved by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game as a state record.
Sam Hix, visiting from Bellaire, Texas, caught the behemoth on Aug. 7 while fly-fishing on the Snake River with Idaho Falls guide Josh Heileson.
The pair released the fish after taking measurements and photographs. The record is in the catch-and-release category, replacing a 28.5-inch Yellowstone cutthroat trout caught by Nate Ivy in 2016.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout are native to the Yellowstone River, Snake River, and Falls River drainages.
Inside Yellowstone National Park, they’re an important source of food for mammals such as bears, otters, and mink. Large birds such as ospreys also prey on the fish.
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In Idaho they’re found in the eastern portion of the state and native to the Snake River from Shoshone Falls upstream to the headwaters.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout are one of four subspecies of trout found in Idaho.
–Image showing Sam Hix (right) with his record cutthroat trout is courtesy of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
