Brown Trout – Syndication Server

Bowfisherman shoots record brown trout, sparking anger online

“Absolute waste of a trophy trout,” one critic wrote in response to the announcement by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks.

South Dakota last week recognized a new state bowfishing record for brown trout, stirring anger on social media.

“New state record alert!” South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks exclaimed via social media. “Ty Smith broke a record in the ‘bowfishing’ category with this 6lb, 12oz brown trout out of Lake Oahe. Congratulations, Ty!”

The issue some had was that brown trout are prized by most hook-and-line anglers (notably fly anglers) as a catch-and-release species. Trophy-size trout, they maintain, ought to be returned to the water.

“Absolute [waste] of a trophy trout, no records broken only a giant lost,” reads the top Facebook comment, which garnered more than 600 reactions.

MORE OUTDOORS: Burmese python tries to swallow 77-pound deer

South Dakota keeps hook-and-line records in a separate category.

Bowfishing records are part of a larger category described as “unrestricted records.” Unrestricted methods include spearing, snagging, and bow-and-arrow.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBryjD9q17o/

“I didn’t know this was a thing, or even ethical or legal,” one follower chimed in, in reference to bowfishing.

While many were critical of Smith, lots of followers were supportive.

A sampling:

–“Awesome trophy and great eating! The great sport of bowfishing continues to be awesome!”

–“Probably cooked up just fine.”

–“Fly fishermen are liberals of the sport.”

For those wondering, the South Dakota hook-and-line record for brown trout stands at 24 pounds, 8 ounces, for a fish caught (and kept) at Canyon Lake in 1990.

The world record is listed as a 44-pound, 5-ounce brown trout caught in New Zealand in 2020.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=421396721]

World-record brown trout caught from canal, a known buffet for fish

A fisherman who wished to remain anonymous landed a massive German brown trout that was certified as a world record by the IGFA.

A fisherman who wished to remain anonymous landed a massive German brown trout that was certified as a world record by the International Game Fish Association.

The angler, who asked to be known only as Seamus from Turgani, caught the 44-pound, 5-ounce brown trout last fall from a fishery known to produce large trout and salmon, and it recently became an official world record, as reported by Field and Stream.

Jack Vitek of the IGFA confirmed with USA Today/For The Win Outdoors that the catch was recently approved as a record and that the angler asked not to make a big media spectacle of this catch.

“He is an older gentleman that lives in a remote location and really didn’t want a bunch of media attention,” Vitek told For The Win Outdoors. “So we have respected that, but we still have our job of tracking and displaying the most current world records, which we have done.”

So on the IGFA page for the all-tackle world record for German brown trout, the angler’s name is listed as Seumas Petrie.

Of more intrigue is the location of the catch, listed as the Ohau Canal in Twizel, New Zealand, the same place as the previous record catch, a 42-pound, 1-ounce brown trout caught by Otwin Kandolf in 2013.

“The popularity of the canal fishery has increased dramatically since 2008 and is currently the most popular freshwater fishery in New Zealand,” Fish and Game, Central South Island states.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Anglers catch tarpon of legendary proportions

“The hydro canals provide anglers with the chance to catch a fish of a lifetime – trout in excess of 4.5kg [10 pounds] are common, trout between 10-13kg [22 to 28 pounds] get caught occasionally and in recent years a few have tipped the scales at over 15kg! [33 pounds]…

“As well as large trout, the canals also offer the opportunity to catch size-able salmon that were released or escaped from the various salmon farms. These fish are perfect for the table and make up the majority of the anglers catch and harvest. The canals and power stations they supply source their water from the pristine headwater lakes: Tekapo, Pukaki and Ohau and take their name from them. The salmon farms present in each section of canals provide a unique fishery dynamic whereby the trout and salmon in the canals benefit greatly from the additional food sources they provide. For this reason, the size and condition of the canal fish is unmatched by any other New Zealand freshwater sports fishery.”

Petrie donated his fish to the Razza Bar and Bistro, where a pair of 38-pound trout hang on the wall. The record catch will be mounted and join those two trophies.

Sean Colenso, an employee of Razza, told the Timaru Herald that the fisherman was staying in a campervan and got up early to fish the Ohau canal when he had trouble sleeping.

“He did not stipulate whether it was Ohau [canal] A, B or C—he did not want to give too much away,” Colenso told the Timaru Herald, adding that “it was the biggest brown trout I have ever seen.”

Colenso explained that the bigger fish sit at the bottom of the canal, eating food from the nets at the salmon farm.

“They don’t move, they just stay in one spot and eat and eat,” he said.

Angler breaks 55-year-old brown trout record, calls it ‘next-level big’

Robbie Dockter recalled a 25-pound salmon he once caught and thought the trout he landed might be bigger. He was right. It was much bigger.

Robbie Dockter was fishing the Marias River in Montana last Wednesday when he thought his lure snagged something. When it started moving upriver, he knew he had hooked into something big.

“I was thinking I’d finally gotten a brown over 10 pounds, but then she rolled in my headlamp and we realized this thing is next-level big,” Dockter told the Independent Record.

Dockter, fishing with his daughter at the end of daylight, landed what turned out to be a Montana record for brown trout, weighing 32.43 pounds, measuring 37 inches in length with a 28.5-inch girth and breaking the 55-year-old state record.

The old record was 29 pounds caught by E.H. Peck Bacon in Wade Lake in 1966.

Dockter, who was fishing a stretch of river known for its big trout, hooked the fish with a Kastmaster on an ultralight fishing rod and 4-pound test. When it started upstream, the brown trout “did whatever it wanted” as if it hadn’t even been hooked, Dockter told the Record.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Official ‘gobsmacked’ over huge brown trout caught ice fishing

He battled the fish for 15 minutes before managing to steer it downriver where he finally beached the fish. His daughter Sierra handed him the net and he scooped it up.

Dockter recalled a 25-pound chinook salmon he had caught in Tiber Reservoir and told Sierra he thought this fish might be bigger.

Back at the truck, the fish weighed 32 pounds on their scale. Sierra, meanwhile, went online and discovered the state record was 29 pounds.

“I called my wife and told her I think I just caught the state record and she didn’t believe me,” Dockter told the Record.

The next day, they met with a game warden, who authenticated the catch as they watched the brown trout weighed on a certified scale at Christiaens Meat & Grocery in Valier.

“It’s a really humbling experience and I think it proves that monsters do exist, and it’s proof that you just never know and it just takes that one cast,” Dockter told the Record. “That’s what makes fishing so cool.”

Photos courtesy of Robbie Dockter.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Huge lake trout is a last-minute catch through ice, but who caught it?

[jwplayer jKuoHRPh-q2aasYxh]

Boy’s disqualification in ice fishing tourney proves controversial

A 14-year-old who caught a brown trout that would have made him a second-place winner of $500 was disqualified, causing an uproar online.

A 14-year-old boy who caught a brown trout that would have made him a second-place winner of $500 in an ice fishing tournament in Colorado was disqualified by organizers in what turned out to be a controversial decision that caused an uproar online.

Darron Boling caught a 2.68-pound brown trout at Vallecito Reservoir on Saturday during the fifth annual ice fishing tournament put on by the Vallecito Conservation and Sporting Association, as reported by The Durango Herald.

Contest rules require competitors to purchase and display a $5 daily recreation permit in their vehicles. Darron was disqualified for not having a valid permit. Boe Boling, Darron’s father, had driven his son to the event but fished elsewhere and was not part of the competition.

The Herald reported that the Boling family maintains that Darron tried to pay the $5 fee when he registered on his own, but when asked if he drove to the event and answered no, that he was only 14, he was told by the registration attendant that he didn’t have to pay the fee.

“Watching my son be told he didn’t do everything by the book, watching him be told that he cheated and he wasn’t an honest sportsman hurt,” Boe told the Herald.

Tony Shurts, president of the VCSA, disagreed with Boe’s account, telling the Herald in an email, “It was determined that his father brought him. It was also determined that there was no recreation permit displayed in that vehicle.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Huge lake trout is a last-minute catch through ice, but who caught it?

The permit requirement was announced several times during registration and in the event advertising, Shurts told the Herald. The tournament website states, “At least one person in party must have valid PRID recreation pass display in their vehicle. Violators will be disqualified and forfeit their registration fees,” which were $40.