Angler reels in record fish at Payette Lake in Idaho that signals trout recovery
A Utah angler caught a monster lake trout in McCall last month, Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials announced Monday, and his catch broke the state catch-and-release record and signaled the species’ recovery at the trophy fishery.
Aaron Goettsche, of Stansbury Park, Utah, was fishing solo on McCall’s Payette Lake on June 19 when he reeled in a lake trout, according to a news release from Fish and Game. The fish, which he later released, measured 42 inches long, nabbing the state record by half an inch.
The previous record lake trout, caught by Dylan Smith in 2018, was also from Payette Lake.
Fish and Game officials said the noteworthy catches are a sign that the lake has returned to its status as a trophy fishery for lake trout, which are also known as Mackinaw trout. The agency said in the early 2000s, the species suffered as its primary prey, kokanee salmon, was depleted. As a result, lake trout grew thin.
“It wasn’t uncommon to catch a 30-inch fish that looked like a snake,” said Jordan Messner, Regional Fisheries Manager for Idaho Fish and Game in McCall, in the news release.
Fish and Game worked to restore the lake trout population beginning in 2018 by stocking kokanee and removing smaller lake trout so there were fewer fish to compete for prey. Since efforts began, the agency said, it has seen an uptick in relative weight of lake trout.
Data from Fish and Game showed Payette lake trout’s average weight last year was the highest it’s been since 2006. Fisheries researchers caught a 54-pound lake trout from Payette Lake in June 2023, nearing the 57.5-pound state weight record from a fish caught on Priest Lake in the 1970s.
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 1:26 PM.
