New Montana fish record caught
East Helena man catches new chub record
MONTANA LIVING — Steve Hagen of East Helena reeled in a record Utah chub on March 7 from Canyon Ferry Reservoir. The fish weighed in at 2.39 pounds and measured 15.9 inches in length and 10.4 inches in girth. The previous record Utah chub, caught at Canyon Ferry in 1992, weighed 1.81 pounds.
Hagen’s catch adds to the list of Montana record fish caught in the last year and a half including a walleye, a chinook salmon, a smallmouth bass, a yellow bullhead, a brown trout, a longnose sucker, and a largemouth. (See the list of Montana fish records below.)
With a total of 91 native and introduced fish species found in Montana, interest in fish records has increased in recent years. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks maintains the list of record fish, and it is available 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:
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To prevent loss of weight, do not clean or freeze the fish. Keep the fish cool — preferably on ice.
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Take a picture of the fish.
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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.
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Contact the nearest FWP office to have the fish positively identified by a fisheries biologist.
MONTANA STATE FISH RECORDS
Fish |
Length (inches) |
Weight |
Date |
Site |
Angler |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
20 |
3.63 lbs. |
6/28/03 |
Washtub Lake |
Glenn Owens |
|
40.7 |
57.75 lbs. |
6/4/94 |
Nelson Reservoir |
Craig D. Grassel |
|
|
14.37 |
2.60 lbs. |
6/2/09 |
Smiley Slough |
Birrell |
|
|
16.7 |
3.13 lbs. |
1973 |
Tongue River Reservoir |
Al Elser |
|
|
11 |
2.64 lbs. |
6/3/83 |
Peterson's Stock Dam |
Brent Fladmo |
|
|
34.56 |
13.29 lbs. |
4/19/19 |
Marias River |
Jason Karls |
|
|
|
9.06 lbs. |
1940 |
Lower Two Medicine Lake |
John R. Cook |
|
|
37 |
32.42 lbs. |
3/3/21 |
Marias River |
Robbie Dockter |
|
|
37 |
25.63 lbs. |
1916 |
|
James Hyer |
|
|
39 |
17.08 lbs. |
4/18/89 |
Missouri River Wolf Point |
Jeff Eugene Iwen |
|
|
38.75 |
35.18 lbs. |
7/7/19 |
Colstrip Surge Pond |
John D. Smith |
|
|
38-1/8 |
32.05 lbs. |
08/16/20 |
Fort Peck Reservoir |
Greg Haug |
|
|
18.2 |
2.08 lbs. |
6/2/14 |
Missouri River |
Troy Holstein |
|
|
25.5 |
4.88 lbs. |
5/29/73 |
Fort Peck Reservoir Face of Dam |
Irven F. Stohl |
|
|
38 |
40.2 lbs. |
5/24/98 |
Nelson Reservoir |
Jared S. Albus |
|
|
11 |
0.52 lbs. |
5/12/13 |
Harbaugh Bass Pond |
William Bibeau |
|
|
|
16 lbs |
1955 |
Red Eagle Lake |
Wm. D. Sands |
|
|
3.43 |
0.01 lbs. |
6/9/06 |
Park Grove Bridge |
Ike Braaten |
|
|
2.7 .01 lbs. |
5/30/14 |
Dollar Lake |
Chris Gustine |
||
|
11.2 |
0.59 lbs. |
4/29/01 |
Thornton Pond |
Douglas Jordan |
|
|
29.5 |
21.59 lbs. |
5/3/03 |
Fort Peck- Ghost Coulee |
Matt Washut |
|
|
23.5 |
5.43 lbs. |
7/16/00 |
Cave Lake |
Mike Malixi |
|
|
|
3.18 lbs. |
7/4/00 |
Nelson Reservoir |
Don Nevrivy |
|
|
9.0 |
0.84 lbs. |
5/25/09 |
Hickson's Pond |
Bette Schmieding |
|
|
26.8 |
7.85 lbs. |
9/23/03 |
Hauser Lake |
John Bomar |
|
|
5.9 |
0.075 lbs. |
7/23/10 |
Corner Lake |
James Cashell |
|
|
42.5 |
42.69 lbs. |
6/23/04 |
Flathead Lake |
Ruth Barber |
|
|
27 |
10.46 lbs. |
8/26/06 |
Flathead Lake |
Swan T. McDonald V |
|
|
22.5 |
9.58 lbs. |
4/24/21 |
Lake Elmo |
Brandon Wright |
|
|
23.1 |
6.16 lbs. |
6/27/08 |
Woodland Pond |
Kevin Fraley |
|
|
19.50 |
4.21 lbs. |
5/17/21 |
Holter Lake |
Austin Wargo |
|
|
Mottled Sculpin -- See Rocky Mountain Sculpin |
|||||
|
6.2 |
1.60 oz. |
4/23/01 |
Beaver Creek Reservoir |
Robert Garwood |
|
|
23 |
5.11 lbs. |
10/10/07 |
Hauser Reservoir |
Walt Goodman |
|
|
|
37.5 lbs. |
8/29/1971 |
Tongue River Reservoir |
Lance Moyer |
|
|
27.125 |
7.88 lbs. |
5/28/91 |
Noxon Rapids Reservoir |
Darrel Torgrimson |
|
|
77 |
142.5 lbs. |
5/20/73 |
Missouri River Near Kipp Park |
Larry Branstetter |
|
|
|
60 lbs. |
5/13/79 |
Yellowstone River Near Sidney |
Gene Sattler |
|
|
16 1/8 |
1.52 lbs. |
7/29/07 |
Clark Fork River |
Mike Jensen |
|
|
|
0.96 lbs. |
7/30/06 |
Upper Thompson Lake |
Nathan Bache |
|
|
9.84 |
0.36 lbs. |
2/13/10 |
Little Bitterroot Lake |
Richard Geldrich |
|
| Rainbow Smelt | 7.1 | 0.08 lbs. | 2/18/20 | Fort Peck Dredge Cuts | Nathan Cooper |
|
38.62 |
33.1 lbs. |
8/11/97 |
Kootenai River David Thompson Bridge |
Jack G. Housel, Jr. |
|
|
35.75 |
30.25 lbs. |
5/16/82 |
Ashely Lake |
Pat Kelley |
|
|
6.5 |
0.10 lbs. |
8/21/01 |
Lost Lake |
Josh Ahles |
|
|
24 |
6.95 lbs |
8/15/08 |
Fort Peck Reservoir |
Brady Miller |
|
|
10.8 |
1.31 lbs. |
4/26/14 |
Lower Crazy Head Springs Pond |
Karson Campbell |
|
|
|
0.05 lbs. |
7/30/01 |
Belt Creek |
Brad Sullivan |
|
|
28.2 |
8.805 lbs. |
12/12/94 |
Fort Peck Reservoir |
Gene Moore |
|
|
|
15.66 lbs. |
1/11/95 |
Fort Peck Reservoir Squaw Creek |
Myron Kibler |
|
|
20.25 |
4.68 lbs. |
4/14/85 |
Marias River Near Loma |
Ray Quigley |
|
|
35 |
7.41 lbs. |
5/16/13 |
Fort Peck Dredge Cuts |
Brandon Hansard |
|
|
39.75 |
14.125 lbs. |
5/21/10 |
Missouri River |
Chad Buck |
|
|
22.0 |
7.84 lbs. |
10/3/20 |
Fort Peck Reservoir |
Theron Thompson |
|
|
38 |
38 lbs. |
4/28/07 |
Nelson Reservoir |
Brady Miller |
|
|
3 |
0.02 lbs. |
8/14/10 |
Tiber Reservoir |
Joe Hagengruber |
|
|
10 |
0.54 lbs. |
6/16/96 |
Milk River |
Dale Bjerga |
|
|
50 |
38.75 lbs. |
9/2/11 |
Deadman's Basin Reservoir |
Leo Cantin |
|
|
20.6 |
4.04 lbs. |
2/9/97 |
Bear Lake |
Joe Sobczak |
|
|
|
1.81 lbs. |
2/5/92 |
Canyon Ferry Reservoir |
Eugene Bastian |
|
|
32.25 |
18.02 lbs. |
5/10/21 |
Holter Lake |
Trevor Johnson |
|
|
17 |
2.8 lbs. |
10/13/07 |
Missouri River South of Bainville |
Vernon Pacovsky |
|
|
18.5 |
3.68 lbs. |
5/10/96 |
Tongue River |
Gene Bassett |
|
|
|
96 lbs. |
1968 |
Kootenai River |
Herb Stout |
|
|
21.625 |
5.33 lbs. |
2/10/83 |
Nelson Reservoir |
Fred Perry |
|
|
15.5 |
1.910 lbs. |
12/17/20 |
Tongue River Reservoir |
Roberta Legge |
|
|
14.375 |
2.39 lbs. |
2/19/06 |
Lower Stillwater Lake |
Josh Emmert |
|
Records current as of March 9, 2022
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