Angler’s ‘fish of a lifetime’ set new Idaho record. Experts say it’s a rare catch
A Georgia woman set an Idaho fishing record with an "exceptionally rare” catch that broke the previous, nearly decade-old record.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials said in a news release Wednesday that Caroline Langdale set the record for catch-and-release brown trout while fishing on the South Fork Snake River on May 30.
Langdale said she was fly fishing with South Fork Lodge guide Ed Emory on a multiday trip when she landed her catch. According to the news release, Langdale was using a rubber legs fly at a hole in the river, which is known as a trophy trout fishery, in the hopes of enticing fish.
The angler said it took a 10-minute fight to bring the brown trout to the surface, where she and Emory measured it and realized it was likely a state record contender.
At 30.5 inches, it beat the previous brown trout record — set in October 2016 on the Snake River — by half an inch.
Langdale called the catch “an amazing experience that I will always be thankful for,” according to the news release.
The Fish and Game news release said brown trout over 30 inches are “exceptionally rare” in the South Fork Snake River, though the non-native species is still regarded as a regular trophy catch in those waters.
The agency cited fisheries data of “over 57,600 brown trout dating back all the way to 1986” on the South Fork Snake River.
“In all those years, surveys have documented only four brown trout over 30 inches,” the news release said. “In other words, of all the brown trout captured during surveys, only 0.007% ever exceed 30 inches — that we know of.”
