REXBURG, Ida. — There aren’t many places in the Snake River where the opportunity to land a 30+ inch Yellowstone cutthroat trout comes along.
But sure enough, Teton Vally Lodge fly fishing guide, Nate Burr, from Rexburg, Idaho landed a monster trout which broke the Idaho state record by just a smidge. The fish had measured at 31 inches, surpassing the previous record by half an inch, also caught in the Snake River, by Sam Hix in August.
“Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout over 30 inches are exceedingly rare – especially in river systems where they do not grow as quickly as in large lakes,” Idaho Fish and Game said. “Even more remarkable, is that this fish just barely beats the 30.5-inch monster Yellowstone cutthroat trout record set in August by Sam Hix, also from the Snake River.”
“I had seen the fish the day before, but he just window shopped the fly, never ate,” Burr said. “I didn’t know how big he was until I watched him eat my fly the next day, 10 feet off the bow of my boat. The fish inhaled a streamer like it was nothing.”
The adrenaline kicked in and Burr was thrilled just to have the fish on his line.
“Throughout the fight, I prepared myself to lose the fish, that way I wouldn’t be as heartbroken when I just had a fish story to tell, the fish somehow stayed on until we could get a net around it,” Burr stated.
The state record came as a surprise when Burr’s friend later looked it up. However, for Burr, it was all about the experience.
“I had no idea what the state record even was prior to this fish,” Burr said. “On the ride home from the river my buddy looked it up just to see and it turns out it was just a hair over the record. Although I think the record is cool, I really don’t care much for it. I still think about watching that fish eat and getting to hold the fish of a lifetime and that is what I cherish.”
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