iStockphoto / christiannafzger
The Gem State has a fishing record for Westslope Cutthroat Trout after angler Daniel Whitesitt of Post Falls broke the existing catch-and-release record of 24-inches.
It is extremely rare for Westslope Cutthroat Trout to grow over 20 inches. Anything close to that is a trophy fish to be sure. But Daniel Whitesitt managed to land a 25-incher while fishing on the Clark Fork River on April 13th, a Northern Idaho oasis for fly fishermen.
In a press release, Idaho Fish and Game announced that Daniel’s catch-and-release Westslope Cutthroat Trout record was official and bested the previous record set by Madison Nackos who caught a 24in fish on Priest Lake which is quite close to the Clark Fork River where Whitesitt caught his fish. Idaho Fish and Game also shared this photo of Daniel posing with his new record-setting cutthroat trout:
Daniel Whitesitt / Idaho Fish and Game
The cutthroat trout is the ‘State Fish’ of Idaho which I find to be interesting because there are three distinct subspecies and a hybrid species for which there are catch-and-release state fishing records kept.
Cutthroat subspecies in Idaho include the Westslope, Yellowstone, and Bonneville cutthroat trout and the hybrid that anglers can submit for catch-and-release records is the Rainbow/Cutthroat Hybrid Trout. Of those, the hybrid is the largest with a 36-inch state record that was set back on 10/4/22 by angler Hailey Thomas who was fishing Henrys Lake.
The Yellowstone and Bonneville cutthroat subspecies are found in Southern Idaho (southeast) while the Westslope Cutthroat is found in the northern part of the state.
Idaho Fish and Game recently released this video which illustrates how this unique species of trout that is only found in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest is under constant threat from more aggressive species. It’s a very cool mini-doc that is only six and a half minutes and was released earlier this month:
For those who are curious about Idaho’s catch-and-release fishing records, a full list can be seen here. The largest fish caught in the state (to date) is a 124-inch white sturgeon landed by Greg Poulsen in 2022. Another angler who was just 12-years-old came within one inch of tying that Idaho sturgeon fishing record too!
The IGFA fishing world record for Cutthroat Trout is a 41-pound, 0oz fish caught on Pyramid Lake, Nevada waaaaay back in 1925. Pyramid Lake has produced nearly 95% of all the Cutthroat Trout fishing world records according to the IGFA database. Might be a good spot to mark down for a bucket list fishing trip.