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
Arctic Grayling
20
3.63 lbs.
6/28/03
Washtub Lake
Glenn Owens
* Big Mouth Buffalo
40.7
57.75 lbs.
6/4/94
Nelson Reservoir
Craig D. Grassel
Black Bullhead
14.37
2.60 lbs.
6/2/09
Smiley Slough
Birrell
Black Crappie
16.7
3.13 lbs.
1973
Tongue River Reservoir
Al Elser
Bluegill
11
2.64 lbs.
6/3/83
Peterson’s Stock Dam
Brent Fladmo
Blue Sucker
34.56
13.29 lbs.
4/19/19
Marias River
Jason Karls
Brook Trout
9.06 lbs.
1940
Lower Two Medicine Lake
John R. Cook
Brown Trout
37
32.42 lbs.
3/3/21
Marias River
Robbie Dockter
* Bull Trout
37
25.63 lbs.
1916
James Hyer
* Burbot
39
17.08 lbs.
4/18/89
Missouri River Wolf Point
Jeff Eugene Iwen
* Channel Catfish
38.75
35.18 lbs.
7/7/19
Colstrip Surge Pond
John D. Smith
Chinook Salmon
38-1/8
32.05 lbs.
08/16/20
Fort Peck Reservoir
Greg Haug
Cisco
18.2
2.08 lbs.
6/2/14
Missouri River
Troy Holstein
Coho Salmon
25.5
4.88 lbs.
5/29/73
Fort Peck Reservoir Face of Dam
Irven F. Stohl
Common Carp
38
40.2 lbs.
5/24/98
Nelson Reservoir
Jared S. Albus
Creek Chub
11
0.52 lbs.
5/12/13
Harbaugh Bass Pond
William Bibeau
* Cutthroat Trout
16 lbs
1955
Red Eagle Lake
Wm. D. Sands
Emerald Shiner
3.43
0.01 lbs.
6/9/06
Park Grove Bridge
Ike Braaten
Fathead Minnow
2.7 .01 lbs.
5/30/14
Dollar Lake
Chris Gustine
* Flathead Chub
11.2
0.59 lbs.
4/29/01
Thornton Pond
Douglas Jordan
* Freshwater Drum
29.5
21.59 lbs.
5/3/03
Fort Peck- Ghost Coulee
Matt Washut
Golden Trout
23.5
5.43 lbs.
7/16/00
Cave Lake
Mike Malixi
* Goldeye
3.18 lbs.
7/4/00
Nelson Reservoir
Don Nevrivy
Green Sunfish
9.0
0.84 lbs.
5/25/09
Hickson’s Pond
Bette Schmieding
Kokanee Salmon
26.8
7.85 lbs.
9/23/03
Hauser Lake
John Bomar
Lake Chub*
5.9
0.075 lbs.
7/23/10
Corner Lake
James Cashell
Lake Trout
42.5
42.69 lbs.
6/23/04
Flathead Lake
Ruth Barber
Lake Whitefish
27
10.46 lbs.
8/26/06
Flathead Lake
Swan T. McDonald V
Largemouth Bass
22.5
9.58 lbs.
4/24/21
Lake Elmo
Brandon Wright
* Largescale Sucker
23.1
6.16 lbs.
6/27/08
Woodland Pond
Kevin Fraley
* Longnose Sucker
19.50
4.21 lbs.
5/17/21
Holter Lake
Austin Wargo
Mottled Sculpin – See Rocky Mountain Sculpin
* Mountain Sucker
6.2
1.60 oz.
4/23/01
Beaver Creek Reservoir
Robert Garwood
* Mountain Whitefish
23
5.11 lbs.
10/10/07
Hauser Reservoir
Walt Goodman
Northern Pike
37.5 lbs.
8/29/1971
Tongue River Reservoir
Lance Moyer
* Northern Pikeminnow
27.125
7.88 lbs.
5/28/91
Noxon Rapids Reservoir
Darrel Torgrimson
* Paddlefish
77
142.5 lbs.
5/20/73
Missouri River Near Kipp Park
Larry Branstetter
* Pallid Sturgeon
60 lbs.
5/13/79
Yellowstone River Near Sidney
Gene Sattler
* Peamouth
16 1/8
1.52 lbs.
7/29/07
Clark Fork River
Mike Jensen
Pumpkinseed
0.96 lbs.
7/30/06
Upper Thompson Lake
Nathan Bache
Pygmy Whitefish
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
Rainbow Trout
38.62
33.1 lbs.
8/11/97
Kootenai River David Thompson Bridge
Jack G. Housel, Jr.
Rainbow-Cutthroat Hybrid Trout
35.75
30.25 lbs.
5/16/82
Ashely Lake
Pat Kelley
* Redside Shiner
6.5
0.10 lbs.
8/21/01
Lost Lake
Josh Ahles
* River Carpsucker
24
6.95 lbs
8/15/08
Fort Peck Reservoir
Brady Miller
Rock Bass
10.8
1.31 lbs.
4/26/14
Lower Crazy Head Springs Pond
Karson Campbell
* Rocky Mountain Sculpin
0.05 lbs.
7/30/01
Belt Creek
Brad Sullivan
* Sauger
28.2
8.805 lbs.
12/12/94
Fort Peck Reservoir
Gene Moore
Saugeye
15.66 lbs.
1/11/95
Fort Peck Reservoir Squaw Creek
Myron Kibler
* Shorthead Redhorse
20.25
4.68 lbs.
4/14/85
Marias River Near Loma
Ray Quigley
* Shortnose Gar
35
7.41 lbs.
5/16/13
Fort Peck Dredge Cuts
Brandon Hansard
* Shovelnose Sturgeon
39.75
14.125 lbs.
5/21/10
Missouri River
Chad Buck
Smallmouth Bass
22.0
7.84 lbs.
10/3/20
Fort Peck Reservoir
Theron Thompson
* Smallmouth Buffalo
38
38 lbs.
4/28/07
Nelson Reservoir
Brady Miller
Spottail Shiner
3
0.02 lbs.
8/14/10
Tiber Reservoir
Joe Hagengruber
* Stonecat
10
0.54 lbs.
6/16/96
Milk River
Dale Bjerga
Tiger Muskellunge
50
38.75 lbs.
9/2/11
Deadman’s Basin Reservoir
Leo Cantin
Tiger Trout
20.6
4.04 lbs.
2/9/97
Bear Lake
Joe Sobczak
Utah Chub
1.81 lbs.
2/5/92
Canyon Ferry Reservoir
Eugene Bastian
Walleye
32.25
18.02 lbs.
5/10/21
Holter Lake
Trevor Johnson
White Bass
17
2.8 lbs.
10/13/07
Missouri River South of Bainville
Vernon Pacovsky
White Crappie
18.5
3.68 lbs.
5/10/96
Tongue River
Gene Bassett
* White Sturgeon
96 lbs.
1968
Kootenai River
Herb Stout
* White Sucker
21.625
5.33 lbs.
2/10/83
Nelson Reservoir
Fred Perry
Yellow Bullhead
15.5
1.910 lbs.
12/17/20
Tongue River Reservoir
Roberta Legge
Yellow Perch
14.375
2.39 lbs.
2/19/06
Lower Stillwater Lake
Josh Emmert
Records current as of March 9, 2022